UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center hosts Inaugural TEDx Series in Green Bay

Tickets go on sale today (Monday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m.)

Green Bay, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is bringing its first independently organized TEDx series titled TEDxUW-GreenBay to the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Howard Hall on Nov. 1 2018 at 6 p.m. Tickets go on sale Monday, Sept. 17, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. and are available at WeidnerCenter.com and by phone at 800-895-0071. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Ticket Star Box Office at the Resch Center or at the University Ticketing and Information Center, University Union, UW-Green Bay.

This year’s theme is RISING. “We are often faced with barriers and unanticipated challenges,” says TEDxUW-Green Bay organizers. “Rising above challenges is the hallmark of resilience and the pathway to a brighter future. The series features eight established speakers discussing various topics.” These speakers include the following:

Illene Noppe Cupit is the Ben J. and Joyce Rosenberg Professor of Human Development, Psychology and Gender Studies at UW-Green Bay. She received her Ph.D. from the Educational Psychology Department of Temple University. Her research and publications have focused on college student bereavement, adolescent grief, the influence of the Internet in death and dying, and global issues related to trauma and loss.

Kelly Ellis is the Founder & Fearless Leader of the Greater Green Bay STEM Network, an organization created in 2013 to connect STEM education resources in the region. She is passionate about working closely with community nonprofits. Ellis graduated with a Business Administration degree (emphasis in Marketing) and high honors from UW-Green Bay in 2008. She minored in Studio Arts.

Fred Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of InitiativeOne. He has created and implemented Leadership Transformation processes that accelerate positive culture change by helping leaders become more authentic, courageous, open and human than ever before. He is passionate about elevating leaders and exponentially impacting the leadership culture of an organization.

Lorenzo Lones is a neuroscience Ph.D. student at Washington University in St. Louis. He received bachelor of science degrees in Psychology and Human Biology from UW-Green Bay in 2016. Currently, he works in the lab of Dr. Aaron DiAntonio where he studies the molecular mechanisms underlying axon degeneration.

Dr. Ashok Rai is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Prevea Health and is committed to the health and wellness of local communities. His passion to redesign health care in the U.S. embraces the movement from fee-for-service methods of payment to value-based care, which rewards health care organizations for their work in preventive health care and encouraging patients to live healthy lifestyles — and not for the amount of procedures they perform.

Anne Schauer-Gimenez is the Vice President of Customer Engagement and co-founder of Mango Materials, a startup company that uses biogas (methane) to feed bacteria that manufacture a biodegradable polymer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science ’00 and a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy ‘02 from UW-Green Bay, along with a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Marquette University.

Dan Terrio has inspired countless youth and adults from all walks of life with his story of perseverance, strength and determination. Terrio began his motivational speaking career while recovering from injuries sustained in a car/train accident that left him temporarily confined to a wheelchair. To date, he has traveled to all 50 states presenting his inspiring story from growing up on an Indian Reservation to working in Washington D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies ’12 and a master’s degree in Applied Leadership for Teaching and Learning ’14 from UW-Green Bay.

Jennie Young is an Assistant Professor of English and the Director of the first-year writing program at the UW-Green Bay. She has a Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research interests include rhetorical theory and the rhetoric of education, specifically as it applies to high school students. She is also interested in creative nonfiction and its place in English composition programs and has published articles in both academic and creative journals.

Along with the eight speakers, TEDxUW-GreenBay also includes two coaches that help shape each discussion to fit TEDx standards. This year’s coaches include Danielle Bina and Shauna Froelich, two lecturers of Communication at UW-Green Bay. Bina offers experience with media and public relations training and is “excited to help the speakers share their stories in a compelling and engaging way.” Froelich holds experience in public speaking and hopes to provide constructive feedback that promotes confident speakers.

The creators and co-organizers for the TEDxUW-GreenBay series include Aaron Weinschenk, Kelli Strickland and Regan A. R. Gurung. Weinschenk is an associate professor and chair of Political Science on the UW-Green Bay Campus. “TEDxUW-GreenBay is going to be an amazing event and is a perfect way to bring the University and the community together! We have a fantastic lineup of speakers who will be presenting ground-breaking ideas on all kinds of issues,” Weinschenk said.

Executive Artistic Director for the Weidner Center, Kelli Strickland states, “As a cultural center, we are committed to serving as a catalyst for dialogue and idea sharing. The speakers featured this year demonstrate a willingness and enthusiasm in this community for wrestling with the largest systemic challenges and the more intimate personal ones.” Gurung is a UW-Green Bay professor of human development and psychology. Expressing his excitement, he said, “There is a hunger in our community for the type of mental stimulation these talks are bringing. Each speaker brings a perspective and set of experiences that I am eager to see play out in their talks.”

Dean of UW-Green Bay’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Chuck Rybak, also shared his enthusiasm about TEDxUW-GreenBay… “UW-Green Bay strives to deliver knowledge and ideas to our community in as many forms and venues as possible. TedxUW-GreenBay, with its innovative format and timely subject matter, promises to be a forum that is both accessible and provocative.”

About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a comprehensive public institution offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to nearly 8,000 students with campus locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Established in 1965 on the border of Green Bay, the University and its campuses are centers of cultural enrichment, innovation and learning. The Green Bay campus is home to one of the Midwest’s most prolific performing arts centers, a nationally recognized 4,000-seat student recreation center, an award-winning nine-hole golf course and a five-mile recreational trail and arboretum, which is free and open to the public. This four-campus University transforms lives and communities through student-focused teaching and research, innovative learning opportunities, powerful connections and a problem-solving approach to education. UW-Green Bay’s main campus is centrally located, close to both the Door County resort area and the dynamic economies of Northeast Wisconsin, the Fox Valley region and the I-43 corridor. UW-Green Bay offers in-demand programs in science, engineering and technology; business; health, education and social welfare; and arts, humanities and social sciences. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.About the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.

About the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts
UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts opened on January 15, 1993 and is known for its elegant design and the acoustic excellence of its 2,000-plus seat main hall, Cofrin Family Hall. It also houses two smaller performance spaces, the Fort Howard recital hall and the Jean Weidner Theatre, along with a dance studio and Grand Foyer. The Weidner Center has a distinct benefit in being part of a leading institution of higher learning. The Center is a home for UW-Green Bay Music and Theatre and Dance programs, community events and productions and performances by visiting artists and touring companies. For more information on the Weidner Center, visit www.WeidnerCenter.com, call 920-465-2726 or 800-895-0071, or follow ‘Weidner Center for the Performing Arts’ on Facebook, Twitter (@WeidnerCenter) and Instagram (@weidnercenter).

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference inVancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on ‪TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Monica Lewinsky, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include ‪TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to  thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

For more information please visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxUWGreenBay/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TEDxUWGreenBay

Website: http://www.tedxuwgreenbay.com/

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