Speakers from TEDxRainier 2011
Emcees
Adnan Mahmud is a social entrepreneur with a passion for using technology to solve the world's most pressing problems. As a child in Bangladesh, Mahmud witnessed some of the world's most deplorable and inhumane living conditions firsthand, an experience that drives him in his mission to employ his passion for technology to create solutions to better society and improve lives.
To that end, in 2008 Mahmud co-founded Jolkona, a nonprofit technology start-up that aims to inspire the next generation of philanthropists and enable other nonprofits to make a greater impact through the use of Jolkona's online micro-giving platform. He initially served as Jolkona's CEO and currently serves as its director of research and development. Mahmud has been featured in media outlets including NPR, CNN Newsmakers, The Seattle Times and GeekWire, and is a frequent speaker at groups including Fulbright Scholars, University of Washington Social Entrepreneurship Club and Seattle Microfinance Organization. He also blogs and tweets regularly.
In addition to his tireless work at Jolkona, Mahmud is a program manager at Microsoft Research Asia, where he leads technology transfers out of Microsoft's research lab in Beijing. He holds a bachelor's degree from Angelo State University and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Southern California.
Under Akhtar Badshah's visionary leadership, the Global Community Affairs Office at Microsoft works to narrow the technology gap for communities worldwide. Through monetary grants, software and curriculum donations, technology solutions and employee volunteer hours, Microsoft has been a big supporter of global nonprofits, providing nearly $4 billion to them in cash, services and software since 1983. Badshah directs Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program (CTSP), a global initiative that provides technology training through community technology centers. Badshah also oversees programs aimed at helping nonprofit organizations improve their effectiveness through increased technology capacity. This includes Microsoft's signature partnerships with organizations such as NPower, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, telecentre.org, TechSoup and NetHope.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Badshah was CEO and president of Digital Partners Foundation, a Seattle-area nonprofit focusing on IT-based anti-poverty efforts. Badshah is an active board member of many local organizations and chairs the board of the US Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center. An MIT-trained architect, Badshah has authored and edited many books, including Our Urban Future: New Paradigms for Equity and Sustainability and Technology at the Margins—How IT Meets the Needs of Emerging Markets.
Named one of Time's 100 most influential people and Foreign Policy's top 100 global thinkers, Amory Lovins has been at the nexus of energy, resources, environment, development and security in more than 50 countries for 35 years and is widely considered among the world's leading authorities on energy-especially its efficient use and sustainable supply-and a fertile innovator in integrative design. His critical thinking has driven people around the globe, from world leaders to the average Joe, to think differently about energy and its role in some of our biggest problems.
Lovins, who calls himself a "recovering physicist," has a lengthy list of titles, accolades and accomplishments, chief among them the invention of super-efficient ultralight hybrid cars, and the co-foundation of the influential Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), an entrepreneurial nonprofit "think-and-do tank" that addresses issues related to the efficient and sustainable use of the world's resources. Lovins currently serves as chairman and chief scientist at RMI.
A Harvard and Oxford dropout, Lovins is a former Oxford don and Swedish engineering academician, advisor to major firms and governments worldwide on advanced energy efficiency, distinguished lecturer and visiting professor, and author of 31 books, including the highly esteemed 2004 tome called Winning the Oil Endgame that outlines how all U.S. oil use can be eliminated by 2040, and more than 450 papers. He is recipient of the Blue Planet, Volvo, Zayed, Onassis, Nissan, Shingo and Mitchell prizes, MacArthur, Ashoka and Royal Society of the Arts fellowships, 11 honorary doctorates, and the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood ("alternative Nobel"), National Design and World Technology awards.
As founder and CEO of Digital Royalty, Amy Jo Martin helps companies, celebrities and professional sports leagues, teams and athletes build, measure and monetize their digital universe. Clients include Shaquille O'Neal, the Chicago White Sox, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the Los Angeles Kings, Jabbawockeeez, Doubletree by Hilton, Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com and author of the bestselling book Delivering Happiness. Martin also provides customized social media education programs through her company's Digital Royalty University, which offers a comprehensive curriculum blending strategic and tactical training.
With nearly 1.3 million Twitter followers (@AmyJoMartin), regular contributions to publications including Harvard Business Review and Sports Business Journal, and global speaking engagements ranging from Harvard Business School and National Sports Forum to the Design Leadership Summit in Italy, Martin is a recognized expert in this field, sharing her insights on topics including trends in social media, the monetization of various social platforms and personal brand building utilizing social media. She and Digital Royalty have been featured in outlets including Vanity Fair, TIME, Forbes, The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN SportsCenter, USA Today, MSNBC and Newsweek. Martin is currently working on her first book, which will be published in February 2012.
Andrew Himes, author of The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family, was born into one of the leading fundamentalist families of the 20th century. His grandfather, John R. Rice, was considered "dean of American fundamentalists" for decades until his death in 1980, serving as founding editor of The Sword of the Lord newspaper and mentor to many up-and-coming Baptist preachers including Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell. His great-grandfather, Will Rice, was a preacher, Texas State senator and member of the Ku Klux Klan. By the time he was four, Himes had been saved. By the time he was 20, he'd turned his back on the Baptist ministerial career expected of him, becoming instead an activist in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 60s. Only later in life did he begin a spiritual journey to reconnect with and redefine his family's spiritual heritage.
In 2003, Himes co-founded the international movement called "Poets Against the War," and produced the acclaimed 2005 documentary, Voices in Wartime, which is an exploration of the trauma of war through the lens of poetry. He is also founder and president of Voices, a web site dedicated to amplifying the voices of veterans and civilian witnesses to war in order to heal the wounds of war and lay the foundation for a more peaceful world. In April 2011, he was selected as Ambassador of the Charter for Compassion.
A writer by both passion and profession, Alyssa Royse has worked in marketing, PR, education, theater and the non-profit world. Fast Company named her one of the top 50 entrepreneurs in the world, and PR News dubbed her one of the best PR professionals under 35. Royse founded JUST CAUSE Magazine, an all-digital magazine (before people knew what digital magazines were) dedicated to social change, which unintentionally turned into an altruistic, non-profit venture by virtue of its charge.
A rape survivor and daughter of a gay man, Royse has been observing, writing and speaking about sexual shame for years. She is currently working to launch a new site, NotSoSecret.com, with the mission of increasing exploration of the wide spectrum of human sexuality for women. Her goal is to create a world in which sex is fun, fulfilling and safe for everyone, and a never-ending adventure that provides a lifetime of thrills. She also writes a personal blog at AlyssaRoyse.wordpress.com.
A fresh and captivating voice in the tradition of American satire from Mark Twain to Jon Stewart, Chris Bliss has been one of the country’s top comedians for the last 15 years, logging credits that include The Late Show with David Letterman and multiple appearances on The Tonight Show. Prior to his stand-up career, Chris was an internationally renowned variety artist, opening hundreds of concerts for superstars such as Eric Clapton to Michael Jackson, who chose Chris as the exclusive opening act for his record-breaking Victory Tour in 1984.
In 2006, a video of Bliss’ juggling finale became one of the Internet’s first truly viral videos, with more than 40 million downloads that year alone. Chris used the publicity to promote his new nonprofit, MyBillofRights.org - the Bill of Rights Monument Project, a common ground project promoting awareness of the freedoms and principles embodied in the Bill of Rights through the creation of monuments and permanent displays in civic spaces across the country. In 2008, MyBillofRights.org dedicated America’s first permanent display of the Bill of Rights in Montezuma, Iowa. Fundraising is currently underway for monuments approved in Arizona, Texas and Washington State.
As a photographic artist, Chris Jordan explores the detritus of contemporary mass culture, from photographs of mountains of garbage to photo-based conceptual works that visually connect the viewer to otherwise abstract statistics associated with the things we waste. In his Running the Numbers series, millions of plastic bottles become an ocean, the ocean plastic pollution becomes a tsunami, and so on.
Jordan’s work has been exhibited around the world in solo and group exhibitions, most recently at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, and at Passage de Retz in Paris, where he was awarded the 2011 Prix Pictet Commission Prize. In 2010 he received the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, and in 2007 participated in the “Envisioning Change” exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, where he was presented a Green Leaf Award. With large-scale prints held in public and private art collections around the globe, Jordan has been featured in magazines, newspapers, blogs and documentary films around the world, and has published three of his own stunning books of photography.
A librarian, writer and community-builder, Chrystie Hill worked in special, academic and public libraries before founding It Girl Consulting, a small venture that helps libraries enhance their services to meet current community needs. In 2003, Hill joined OCLC, a non-profit library cooperative, where she serves as director of community services for WebJunction, a learning community for public library staff. Named a Library Journal “Mover and Shaker” in 2007, Hill is author of the book Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community, a regular contributor to numerous library journals and trade magazines, and frequent presenter at global meetings and conferences.
Hill currently serves on the boards of Communities Connect Network and the Public Access Technology Benchmarks Roundtable, and as a strategic advisor to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global libraries program. She holds undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology, and master’s in history from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as a master’s in library sciences from University of Washington.
A true example of the power of viral and social media, and a likely indicator of the future of the music business, singer/songwriter Daria Musk can lay true claim to the phrase 'overnight sensation.' Musk might just be the very first musician to be discovered globally live, and in the moment through the world's newest social network, when she performed what is being dubbed the first pro-level concert on Google+ Hangouts. Within minutes of beginning her broadcast, Musk had hundreds of Google+ users around the world clamoring to participate. One of Google's top engineers took notice and began adjusting the tech on the fly to work around the 10-person Hangout limit, while the fans began a community-organized rotation in and out of the top ten seats so that others could join in. To play for as many people as possible, Musk performed 6.5 hours straight for an audience of global viewers, who interacted with her and each other face to face.
Her second performance a week later was live-streamed for unlimited viewing and watched by 9,000 viewers in 100 countries. Her third concert integrated with YouTube Live, bringing in an estimated viewership of more than 200,000 people. Those fans helped to pick her first single and the cover of her debut EP, which hit #22 on Amazon.com the night it was released. Fans even recorded their own voices via Soundcloud to create a multi-lingual intro for her song, "You Move Me". Musk has since used her newfound fame and global reach for the greater good, organizing a give-back tie-in with The ONE Campaign to garner signatures to petition the UN to alleviate the famine in Somalia and other countries in the Horn of Africa.
A two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, columnist for Hearst Newspapers and contributing commentator at MSNBC.com, David Horsey has a gift for delivering social and political commentary in a way that truly resonates. After graduating from the University of Washington, Horsey embarked on a multi-faceted career as a political reporter that took him to national political party conventions, presidential primaries, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, assignments in Europe, Japan and Mexico, and two extended stints at Hearst Newspapers in Washington D.C. He has published seven books of cartoons and his work has appeared in hundreds of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Newsweek. Besides winning two Pulitzers, Horsey also received the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Award for Cartoonist of the Year and won the Best of the West Journalism Competition for his columns about the 2008 presidential election.
Horsey is a beloved public speaker for both local and national organizations including the Pacific Council on International Policy, National Press Club, American Society of Human Genetics, the ‘Iolani School in Honolulu, and numerous other groups of lawyers, nurses, doctors, educators, state workers, university audiences, chambers of commerce, trade and economic development conferences, city and county executives and many more. A Rotary Foundation Scholar, Horsey holds a master’s in international relations from University of Kent at Canterbury (UK) and an honorary doctorate from Seattle University.
Diane Douglas joined CityClub as its executive director in May 2007. Formerly she was the founding director of Bellevue College's Center for Liberal Arts and the director of the Bellevue Arts Museum. Douglas is co-author of Choosing Craft, a social history of the American craft movement since WWII published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2009. Douglas is program chair and a board member of Humanities Washington and on the visiting committee for the Master of Nonprofit Leadership Program at Seattle University. She is excited to be co-chairing Seattle's Next Fifty celebration of Civic Month in October 2012.
A pediatrician, researcher, activist and author, Dimitri Christakis’ passion is developing actionable strategies to optimize the cognitive, emotional and social development of preschool children. The pursuit of that passion has taken him from the exam room, to the community and, most recently, to cages of newborn mice as he studies the effects of early environmental influences on child health and development.
Christakis is professor of pediatrics at University of Washington, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and an attending pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is author of more than 150 original research articles, a textbook of pediatrics and the book The Elephant in the Living Room: Make Television Work For Your Kids. A frequent speaker to international audiences of pediatricians, parents and educators about the impact of early learning on brain development, Christakis’ work has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS and NPR, as well as major newspapers both nationally and internationally.
A commercial rated pilot, artist, entrepreneur and speaker, Erik Lindbergh is the grandson of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Erik is the Founder and Chairman of LEAP whose mission is to stimulate innovation for a resilient future. LEAP has two programs: the LEAP Education Program, where student teams create short video documentaries focusing on innovation, and the LEAP electric flight program, designed to accelerate the development of the electric aircraft industry. www.lindberghprize.org
Erik currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Aviation High School in Seattle, and the Olympic Park Institute. Previous experience includes serving as Vice President and Trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation, Chairman of the board of the Lindbergh Foundation, Public relations for Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing, Spokesperson for Immunex, and as the National Spokesperson for AOPA's project pilot mentorship program. Erik is also an accomplished artist whose unique sculpture and furniture designs out of wood and bronze can be seen at www.LindberghGallery.com
Erik's work with the XPRIZE Foundation showed him that the impossible dream is indeed possible. "We shifted the worlds perspective on spaceflight with the Ansari XPRIZE, and in the process, we unleashed the potential for incentive prizes to be applied to the great social, technical, and environmental problems of our time. Now, we must realize that potential."
A master storyteller, Erik uses exciting images, video clips and humor to take his audiences on a journey from the past, to the present and into the revolutionary future of flight. This journey sets the stage for LEAP, which uses video storytelling to incentivize existing innovators and inspire the next generation of student innovators to ensure a healthy and prosperous future for our planet.
Writer and technologist Gideon Rosenblatt’s “soulful geek” musings at his online publication Alchemy of Change focus on the impact of technology on people, organizations and society, and the challenges of preserving our humanity in our technology. Rosenblatt formerly served as executive director of Groundwire, a mission-driven technology and strategy consulting firm dedicated to building a sustainable society. Over his nine years there, he led Groundwire’s transformation into a nationally recognized leader in citizen engagement and authored two widely-read thought pieces, one offering an alternative framework for structuring social change movements and another suggesting a new model for helping organizations engage people in their work.
Prior to Groundwire, Gideon held a variety of senior management positions in marketing and product development during 10 years at Microsoft, pioneering some of the company’s earliest work on the Internet with “CarPoint,” one of the world’s first large-scale e-commerce websites. Gideon received his MBA in marketing from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and lived and worked in Japan and China for several years before relocating to Seattle.
Pastor Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Imam Jamal Rahman-now known as the Interfaith Amigos-started working together after 9/11. Since then, they have brought their unique blend of spiritual wisdom and humor to audiences in the US, Canada, Israel-Palestine and Japan. Their work is dedicated to supporting more effective interfaith dialogue that can bring greater collaboration to the major social and economic issues of our time.
Karen Armstrong calls their "exuberant and courageous" new book, Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith, "an inspiration and example for all of us in these sadly polarized times." Their first book, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith (2009), brought them international attention with coverage from the New York Times, CBS News, BBC Radio, and various NPR programs.
An innovator and visionary, Jackie Heinricher's work is helping to support economically challenged communities domestically and internationally by expanding markets for agriculture, forestry, bio-fuel, textiles, green building materials, pulp for paper production and climate mitigation. As founder and CEO of Booshoot, a pioneer and leader in bamboo tissue culture, Heinricher has developed unique, patent-pending technologies that have fueled a transformative shift in how bamboo is grown, propagated and harvested worldwide, offering the potential for it to be grown sustainably and rapidly on a mass agricultural scale.
Prior to founding Booshoot, Heinricher spent a decade in fishery science and management including serving as reservoir manager for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and coordinator for a 28-state study for the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association. Named one of Seattle Business Magazine's Top Innovators and winner of Martha Stewart's "Dreamers Into Doers" award, Heinricher has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and been featured in The New York Times, Reader's Digest, Smithsonian, The Seattle Times and on NPR. She holds a master's degree in fisheries from Tennessee Tech University.
Jenn Lim’s unique title of “Chief Happiness Officer” is something she lives, embodies and embraces. As co-founder of the social venture Delivering Happiness, she’s dedicated to inspiring happiness in work, community and everyday life. Delivering Happiness was co-founded with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh after Lim led the launch and management of Hsieh’s best-selling book by the same name, which hit #1 on multiple bestseller lists, was lauded as the best business book of 2010 and has now been published in more than 17 countries and languages.
Lim met Hsieh in 2005 when she created the first “culture book” for Zappos, an online shoe and apparel store that was sold to Amazon.com in 2009, and listed in 2011 as #6 on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Zappos Culture Book, now in its 7th edition, has become a global symbol of how companies can successfully create cultures based on happiness and be profitable at the same time. With the success of the Culture Book and Delivering Happiness, Lim is in demand as a speaker at companies like Twitter and Pixar, universities including Stanford and UCLA, and organizations such as the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, National Association of Women Business Owners and American Marketing Association. Prior to founding Delivering Happiness, Lim was a consultant for a wide range of industries, specializing in online strategies, branding, writing and graphic design.
As a master facilitator and highly sought-after public speaker, Jim Sorensen has designed and facilitated workshops and keynote presentations for more than 30 years. As director of program development for corporate training company Fierce and as an independent consultant, his audiences range from seasoned CEOs to new hires, from small local clients to large organizations all over the globe. His clients include Fortune 100 corporations, government agencies, healthcare institutions, foundations, public schools, colleges, the armed forces and public seminars. A well-known “trainer of trainers,” Sorensen has also taught facilitation and presentation skills for the past 23 years, and has been interviewed on more than 50 talk shows.
Sorensen’s delivery resonates with his audiences. His humorous and engaging style involves participants by creating an enjoyable and respectful environment in which to learn and improve their overall results. He also has a unique ability to take complex information and deliver it in a way that is easy to understand and easy to apply to everyday situations.
Not to be pigeonholed purely as a master of the verbal, Sorensen is also an accomplished artist and illustrator with seven books to his credit.
A lean-software consultant and entrepreneur, and a registered automotive manufacturer since 2007, Joe Justice is an expert on social web application development, project methodology and agile best practices. In 2010, Joe’s X Prize team, WIKISPEED, tied for 10th place in the mainstream class of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a $10 million challenge for 100+ MPGe automobiles. Currently CEO of WIKISPEED and on assignment at Zynga, Justice is a frequent speaker at institutions including Denver University, University of California at Berkley, Google, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, and many more.
A pioneer in the systems approach to biology and medicine, Dr. Leroy Hood and his colleagues at Caltech developed the instruments that paved the way for the successful mapping of the human genome, prompting the Academy of Engineering to recognize him with the 2011 Fritz J. and Delores H. Russ Prize, awarded for automating DNA sequencing that revolutionized biomedicine and forensic science. A pillar in the biotechnology field, Dr. Hood has played a role in founding more than 14 biotechnology companies, including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Darwin, The Accelerator, Integrated Diagnostics and, most recently, Institute for Systems Biology, where he currently serves as president.
Dr. Hood’s work has been widely published, and he has coauthored numerous textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and genetics, as well as a popular book on the human genome project. In addition to receiving numerous awards, including the Lasker Award, the Kyoto Prize and the Heinz Award in Technology, and 17 honorary degrees from prestigious universities in America and abroad, he has published more than 700 peer reviewed articles and currently holds 30 patents. Dr. Hood is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine, one of only 15 scientists worldwide that belong to all three academies. He is also a member of the American Philosophical Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Photographer, educator and author Michelle Bates Michelle has been a passionate photographer since she was young, and learned her way around a camera in 1991 at the Maine Photographic Workshops, where she first discovered the Holga. Since then, Bates has shown work in solo exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest, Los Angeles and Israel, and in group shows around America, Italy, Germany and Thailand, photographing for weekly newspapers, album covers, performers, artists and many others.
Bates’ passion for low-tech photography has driven her to educate others about the joys of film and creativity, and she now lectures on plastic and toy cameras to groups all over the U.S., including the Society for Photographic Education, SF Camerawork, Powell’s Books and the Creative Center for Photography. She also teaches at Photographic Center Northwest, Newspace (PDX), Maine Media Workshops, The Julia Dean Photo Workshops and International Center of Photography in New York, among others. Bates is author of Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity, widely recognized as the definitive guide to the world of Holga and Diana cameras and other toys that have helped this exciting creative genre continue to grow.
A nationally acclaimed comic performer, high-performance business consultant, speaker, strategic illustrator and newly minted author, Patti Dobrowolski spends her time focused on new neuroscience discoveries that leverage the power of imagination and visuals to actualize a vision of the future. Dobrowolski works with teams and leaders of Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits around the world to inspire them to create new and different strategies while literally capturing the organization's vision in a 4' x 8' illustration.
A veteran change agent, Dobrowolski spent her early consulting years on the front line listening to and inspiring teams to re-engage following a reduction in force or merger and acquisition. After she witnessed an artist drawing a real-time picture of the company's new direction, she added this powerful visual aspect to her work. She now works as a change agent at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to engage the entire staff in extensive cultural shifts. Dobrowolski received her master's in psychology with an emphasis in drama therapy from California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a member of the National Speaker's Association, won the Association of Women in Communications Woman of Achievement award in 2004, and in 2008 her former company, Alchemy: The Art of Transforming Business, became an awardee of the Make Mine a Million $ Business program.
Paul Shoemaker is Social Venture Partners' (SVP) executive connector. Anyone who's met him knows why. If you're out to change the world, he's there to connect you to the people and organizations on that same journey. Recently named amongst the 'Top 50 most Influential People in the Non-Profit Sector' by The Nonprofit Times, Shoemaker is founding president of SVP and in addition to running the show at SVP day-to-day, currently sits on the Board of Directors for that organization as well as Microsoft Alumni Foundation and Partners for Our Children. He previously served on the boards of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Chilldren's Alliance and TreePeople.
Shoemaker was previously a product manager at Nestle USA, and then served as group manager for worldwide operations at Microsoft, where he developed a group of 22 direct marketing professionals and implemented a direct marketing infrastructure. Shoemaker holds a bachelor's in accounting from Iowa State University and an MBA in marketing and finance from University of Texas.
As a real-life ambassador of love and relationships (for the AARP), Dr. Pepper Schwartz has translated her knowledge and passion of human sexuality and relationships into a career as a scholar, speaker, author, columnist and, most recently, virtual match-maker. Schwartz created a tool for PerfectMatch.com called the Duet Personality Profile, which is similar to a Myers Briggs personality test, but used to help identify compatibilities that will ideally lead to stronger romantic online matches.
A member of the KIRO-TV news staff for 12 years, columnist for Glamour magazine for eight years and American Baby magazine for nine years, Schwartz is author of 16 books and more than 50 scholarly articles, as well as contributing columnist for the likes of The New York Times, Sexual Health and Psychology Today, in addition to appearing on numerous national TV programs and documentaries. Schwartz currently serves as professor of sociology at University of Washington, in addition to juggling national and international consulting and speaking gigs. Schwartz was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Washington University, where she received both a bachelor's and master's degree. She also holds a master's and doctorate degree in sociology from Yale University, and has been recognized by multiple organizations for career achievement in sociology and her study of sexuality.
Philanthropist, world traveler and visionary business leader, Peter Blomquist is principal of Blomquist lnternational, a consultancy focused on organizational development, philanthropy and global engagement. In addition to his role as head of the Northwest office for CARE for more than 13 years, Blomquist also served as vice president of constituency development for Mercy Corps, executive director of Global Partnerships, executive director of Starbucks Foundation and director of the Better, Safer World Campaign, a coalition of nine U.S. nongovernmental organizations that worked to increase awareness of global poverty.
Blomquist has published multiple articles on international development, global travel and philanthropy, and teaches courses on global citizenship at Seattle University and University of Washington.
Rick Steves advocates smart, affordable, perspective-broadening travel. As host and writer of the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, and best-selling author of over 50 European travel books, he encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe - and Europeans - for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.
Over the past 20 years, Rick has hosted over 100 travel shows for public television, and numerous pledge specials (raising millions of dollars for local stations). His Rick Steves' Europe TV series is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick has also created two award-winning specials for public television: Rick Steves' European Christmas and the ground-breaking Rick Steves' Iran. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions. Rick Steves also hosts a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. With a broader approach to travel everywhere, in each hour-long program Rick interviews guest travel expert, followed by listener call-ins. Travel with Rick Steves airs across the country and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tour podcasts for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, London and Athens.
Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (now updated annually), in 1980. He has also written more than 50 other country, city and regional guidebooks, phrase books, and "snapshot" guides. For several years, Rick Steves' Italy has been the bestselling international guidebook sold in the U.S. In 2009, Rick tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act, reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives, and travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. Rick's books are published by Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group. In addition to his guidebooks, TV and radio work, Rick is a syndicated newspaper columnist with the Tribune Media Services. He appears frequently on television, radio, and online as the leading authority on European travel.
Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Rick jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 80 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 450 departures - attracting around 11,000 travelers - annually.
Rick is outspoken on the need for Americans to fit better into our planet by broadening their perspectives through travel. He is also committed to his own neighborhood. He's an active member of the Lutheran church (and has hosted the ELCA's national video productions). He's a board member of NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). And Rick has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.
Rick Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. Rick was divorced in March, 2010. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
As co-founder and editor of The Common Language Project, an award-winning journalism non-profit based at University of Washington that is committed to connecting stories around the world, Sarah Stuteville has a mission to engage, educate and inform Americans of all ages on the crucial human issues of our time through innovative and accessible journalism.
Sarah’s work on topics such as human rights, gender equality, social and economic justice, immigration, education, labor, health and the environment has been published by The Seattle Times, GlobalPost, Seattle Weekly and KUOW among others, garnering her a 2008 Unity Award for Reporting of Economics, Society of Professional Journalism Awards for Business Reporting, and Edward R. Murrow Award, two Knight Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and several Independent Press Association awards.
Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, author and community activist, Scott Oki aims to marry his passion for philanthropy and entrepreneurship in ways that encourage others to do the same. Oki has founded or co-founded 18 non-profit organizations including Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Scoutreach Foundation, Outrageous Learning Foundation, Densho, TheParentsUnion.org, SeeYourImpact.org, Sounders For Kids, Seattle Parks Foundation, Executive Development Institute, America's Foundation for Chess, First Tee of Greater Seattle, Microsoft Alumni Foundation, Social Venture Partners and Seattle Police Foundation.
Prior to founding his most current ventures, Oki Developments and The Oki Foundation, Oki founded the international division at Microsoft and served for 10 years in a variety of executive positions, including as Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Service. Oki serves on dozens of advisory boards and boards of directors for both for-profit and not-for-profit companies, including United Way, Million Dollar Roundtable, University of Washington, Children's Hospital Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Japanese American National Museum, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, Microsoft Alumni Foundation and the National Science Center. Oki earned both his MBA and bachelor's in accounting and information systems from University of Colorado.
Will Hewett is an organizational transformation consultant, executive coach, learning designer, vocalist and improviser. As consultant and practice leader with JMJ Associates, Hewett works with corporate clients around the world to raise their capacity to act inside complexity, and to bridge their deepest commitments with their daily work.
From 2010-2011 Hewett began a practice, called Sing15, of simply singing continuously for 15 minutes each day. A daily blog about Hewett's singing journey, guidance on starting your own Sing15 practice and Hewett's upcoming offerings can be found at vocata.com
Hewett holds degrees from Dartmouth College in English, and from Antioch University in Whole Systems Design.
Bill Radke hosts "Seattle's Morning News" on 97-3 KIRO-FM, weekdays from 5 to 9 am. He's a keynote speaker and emcee, and he's hosted national and local public radio programs. Bill was a Seattle condo-dweller for years. Then he moved away, got married, had three kids and he's like a different person.
If you want to know anything about the arts scene in Seattle, Nancy Guppy is the person to see. Host and producer of Art Zone with Nancy Guppy, a weekly half-hour show devoted to showing Seattle's fabulous creative scene, with fresh highlights from local arts, entertainment and cultural happenings throughout the area. Art Zone features interviews with local artists and performers, reviews and previews of current offerings, and lots of surprises.
And surprise! You just might recognize Guppy from Seattle's very own late-night sketch comedy show on KING-TV, Almost Live, a show patterned after Late Night with David Letterman, where Guppy spent 10 years entertaining and delighting us as a writer, producer and on-camera performer.
Phil Klein strives to create conversations and build connections between individuals, organizations and communities in Seattle and beyond. Klein is a business intelligence consultant for Microsoft through ProjectLine Services and runs an independent consultancy called Pen & Pixel, that builds web databases for clients including Child Care Resources, Senior Services, Philanthropy NW, Crisis Clinic and others. Klein's cultivation of community information includes working with network organizations such as NPower, N-TEN and TechSoup, and serving as lead developer on the TechAtlas project, an online planning toolset, expertise distribution and recommender system used by more than 20,000 nonprofits and libraries worldwide, which was funded and acquired by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Klein also co-founded and publishes Sound Opportunities, a listing of nonprofit jobs and a guide to working in the nonprofit sector.
Klein first attended TEDGlobal in 2009, then spoke at TEDx events in Anchorage and Albuquerque, and attended several more events including TEDxSeattle and TEDxRedmond, all of which inspired him to become active in the community of TEDx organizers, and fearlessly take the reins of this year's TEDxRainier event as its curator.