TEDxEdmondsCollege 2024 will feature 16 speakers on “Rethinking Resilience”

07/29/24

Edmonds College has selected 16 speakers for TEDxEdmondsCollege on Thursday, Oct. 10. The event will be held from 1-5 p.m. and feature thought-provoking discussions on “Rethinking Resilience.”

A limited number of tickets for TEDxEdmondsCollege, held at the Black Box Theatre, will go on sale on Aug. 1. During the event, the campus will host additional viewing parties at Brier Hall and Woodway Hall.

The speakers come from diverse professional and personal backgrounds. Each will share how they help redefine the concept of resilience by shifting the focus from individual achievement to collective action. This will inspire a paradigm shift in the understanding of resilience, emphasizing its true power when cultivated within a supportive community.

 

“Our faculty, staff, and students are a testament to the human spirit's resilience,” said Edmonds College President Dr. Amit B. Singh. “Their strength, adaptability, and determination inspire us all. Our students turn obstacles into opportunities in their pursuit of higher education. 

“We welcome the community to TEDxEdmondsCollege as we explore new frontiers of resilience and build a community that not only endures but excels."

Speakers include:

 

Ahmad Hilal Abid 

Equity in education

An Edmonds College graduate in paralegal and current University of Washington student with goals of attending law school, Ahmad is an immigrant from Afghanistan who overcame many challenges to thrive in the United States.  He started the House of Wisdom, a tutoring and mentoring service open to all in the community, from his family’s garage, and has since expanded to a space on Edmonds College’s campus.

Alonda Williams 

Mentoring youth

Alonda is the President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, where she is responsible for strategic vision, advocacy, managing operations, program impact, and community relationships. She has over 20 years of leadership experience across technology, education, and the nonprofit industries.

Arra Rael 

Intersecting identities and resilience

Arra is the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Director for the Center for Human Services, a Washington-based behavioral health and family support non-profit. She has a passion for community work and a DEIB approach that incorporates the concepts of anti-racism, cultural humility, and decolonizing behavioral health.

Blair Kaplan Venables 

Resilience through grief

Blair is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and the founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured in media outlets, including Forbes, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast, a motivational speaker, and bestselling author. 

Cameron Kinley 

The process of resilience rather than just the end result

Cameron is a visionary, decorated athlete, and motivational speaker who attended the United States Naval Academy, where he served as the president of his class and the football team captain. Today, he continues to serve as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy and is an active mentor throughout his community.

Casey Davis 

Food insecurity

Casey began working at the Edmonds Food Bank in 2018. She uses her background in business and degrees from the College of William and Mary (BBA) and Johns Hopkins University (MAS) to support the journey toward food security in Edmonds. She is a member of the Edmonds Lions Club, Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, and Edmonds Petanque Club.

Cathy Assata 

Intersecting identities and resilience

Cathy is the Substance Use Disorder Department Director at the Center for Human Services in Washington state. She is a substance use disorder professional and a certified trainer in several evidence-based practices. Cathy is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE).

David Voetmann

Director The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

David runs the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Edmonds College. He is a lifelong designer and maker who spent his childhood in Africa. This formative experience instilled a conviction that it’s better to create your own solutions than to wait around hoping someone else will solve your problems. 

Dr. Nekya Jenise Young

HBCU's and community resilience

Dr. Nekya is a Civil Rights and Environmental Justice Manager and a three-time Historically Black College & University (HBCU) graduate who is passionate about sharing HBCU stories of hope, resilience, and community. In her 12-minute story, she will share the journey of HBCUs that were denied the opportunity to apply for and receive U.S. Housing and Urban Development grants until the late 1980s. 

Emmanuel Williams

The Power of Persistence: Reshaping Community Narratives

Emmanuel serves as the Director of Community Justice & Equity at the Black United Fund and is a renowned podcaster in Portland, Oregon. He is also the founder and principal trainer of YPD Equity Consulting, an organization committed to advancing conflict management through a racial equity lens.

Erica Walters

Embracing Collectivism

Erica is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Mental Health Counseling Associate and works as a full-time mental health counselor at Edmonds College. Erica’s counseling work includes facilitating workshops and presentations to create outreach opportunities and increase student body access to resources. Erica has been a researcher for the International Resilience Research Team for the last three years.

J-Anne Carlson

From Stigma to Strength: Resilience in Education with Inattentive ADHD

J-Anne will share her journey of learning of a late-stage ADHD diagnosis as a woman and its impact on her education. She will discuss the challenges for those with existing stereotypes and systemic barriers to getting treatment for ADHD. She wants to empower marginalized individuals, especially women, to learn how coping mechanisms are used to mask ADHD-presenting traits. 

Josh Epstein

Reconomy

Josh is the director of Seattle REconomy, a nonprofit creating an economy of reuse, and manager at their Shoreline and NE Seattle tool libraries, where they lend free tools, like a book library lends free books. REconomy offers over 10,000 tools that are often otherwise inaccessible to underserved communities, either because of price, space, or, in some cases, gender or cultural norms.

Mira Kraft

The many layers that make up resiliency

Mira Kraft is the visionary force behind MKPR—a dynamic events and creative direction company established in 2017. With a multifaceted background spanning artist management, event production, booking and tour managing, creative strategy, and marketing, Mira has etched her mark in the entertainment world. 

Sarah Koski

Community Resilience: Supporting Homeless Individuals Affected by Disaster

Sarah is a homeless advocate and Community Resource Liaison for Lane Transit District (LTD), in Eugene, Oregon. Sarah is building new programs at LTD, navigating the intersection of transit, infrastructure, and those experiencing homelessness. Sarah's community efforts garnered her a 2022 Vital Voices Visionary fellowship and the 2024 Oregon Women's Commission Woman of the Year award.

Xenia Dolovova

Furniture repair bank

Xenia, Founder and Director of the Furniture Repair Bank, is a visionary leader dedicated to tackling furniture waste and promoting equitable access. After a decade in business and marketing across Europe and the Middle East, she pivoted her career in 2019 to address waste issues at Zero Waste Washington, before founding the first-in-the-nation Furniture Repair Bank.