Speakers are listed in alphabetical order. Speaker order will not be released until the night of the event.
Name |
Biography |
Title of Talk |
Talk Description |
| Richard Baxter | I am an ex-drug dealer who was sentenced to 121 years in prison. I stayed in the law library until I received my freedom. Upon my release I attended TCC and graduated the paralegal program with honors. Shortly after my graduation I founded the social nonprofit “#racismstinks” I also work as a paralegal at Tate Law Firm and intern at the Tulsa Public Defender’s Office. | KEEP ALL YOUR POWER | Durring this time when racial tensions and divisions are at a frantic high #racismstinks champions the vision of unity. We know that racism affects all human beings and for us to create a lasting positive change we have to include people from all cultures in the change. “Together We Will Change The World.” #racismstinks |
| Jen Boyd | Jen Boyd, the Exhibitions & Programs Associate, manages the 108|Contemporary gift shop, oversees memberships, and assists in the preparation of exhibitions. She graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in Arts Management and a certificate in Advertising and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters of Museum Studies. During her time at the University of Tulsa, she participated in an internship in London, England at the London Diorama, organizing an arts festival. | Contemporary Craft: Not Your Grandmother’s Knitting | Part of my mission at 108|Contemporary is to engage as many people as possible with contemporary fine craft. Through this incredible platform, I would share the numerous opportunities one has to participate at 108|Contemporary including experiencing new art mediums, learning a new skill, or participating in thoughtful discussions. From whatever walk of life, everyone has the ability to engage with and something to gain from our contemporary fine craft programming. |
| Tasha Kay Douglass | Tasha Kay Douglass is a founding board member and officer (Data Governor) of Tulsa Data Science, Inc., a new non-profit working to make a difference in Tulsa by educating the community on data science and taking on data analysis projects directed toward solving community challenges. Tasha Kay also serves on the board of directors of Techlahoma, a non-profit serving to advance Oklahoma’s grassroots technology community. | Tulsa + Data + Science | Are a bunch of data science nerds the key to unlocking a city’s potential? We think so! It’s time to drill down into Tulsa’s untapped data prospects from all over our community to find the data gushers that will lift Tulsa up as a world class city. Who’s with us? |
| Kevin Furguson | We are organization that provides mentoring programs as well as quarterly seminars to help young men in the preparation for adulthood. | Boys 2 Men | We have the ability to gather men from all walks of life to give Hands-On instruction and communication to younger men as they transition into adulthood we try best to arm them with the skills they need to be successful and everyday life. |
| Patrice James | Still She Rises is the first public defender office dedicated exclusively to representing mothers. Still She Rises has been developing targeted practices that are aimed at reducing the rates of incarceration, supervision, termination of parental rights, and recidivism that plague some mothers in North Tulsa. Still She Rises provides its clients with seamless access to an interdisciplinary team of advocates, including criminal and family attorneys and social workers to advocate for each mother. | Re-imagining Holistic Defense for Women in North Tulsa | We will explore the use of holistic defense when tailored to the specific needs of mothers. We will tackle the question of “how does targeted indigent defense change outcomes?” as we explore how to respond to the individual needs of justice involved mothers. Participants will learn about the impact of collateral consequences for women in the criminal justice system and the various legal and extra-legal needs of criminal justice-involved women living in North Tulsa. |
| Lauren King | Lauren King is the Communications Coordinator for 36 Degrees North, Tulsa’s non-profit coworking space for entrepreneurs. Before stepping into that role, she worked in the crazy world of TV news as a producer at local stations in Tulsa and Oklahoma City; her leadership at KOTV lead to an Emmy nomination in 2015. When not at 36°N, Lauren can be found hiking at Turkey Mountain, reading autobiographies in her hammock, drinking tea with friends or stuffing her face with tacos at El Guapo. | The One Thing I Know | If there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans were created for community. In America, we have this ideology engrained in us that, when we fall, we should pick ourselves up by our bootstraps, and that’s great, but it’s also exhausting. And sure, creating authentic community can also be hard, but I’ve learned that, if done correctly, it leads to human flourishing. |
| Danielle Merill | I am the ELL specialist with the Tulsa City-County Library’s adult literacy program. We offer free, volunteer-led, one-on-one tutoring services for any adult learner in need of improved literacy. | Top 5 Myths about Adult Literacy Learners | Adult literacy needs, both Basic Literacy and English Language Learning, are growing in Oklahoma at a time when equal access to information is more important than ever. Increased adult literacy means improved quality of life, improved health, improved childhood literacy rates, increased civic engagement, and decreased crime rates, to name only a few benefits. We need volunteers who understand the needs and are willing to participate in the process in order to benefit our community. |
| Brooke Myers | Brooke is the Founder and Executive Director of Together Tulsa, an organization that seeks to empower underserved teens through professional development. She is also the Director of Marketing for Digi Security Systems. Before founding Together Tulsa, she taught 8th grade English for two years as a Teach For America corps member at Hale Junior High. She’s a proud 2013 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with degrees in Journalism, International Studies and Religious Studies. | From At-Risk to At-Opportunity: Unlocking Teenage Potential | There’s often a misperception about the capabilities, desires and intelligence of teens from low-income communities. But the reality is they’re equipped with a range of skills and adaptations that enable them to thrive in some of the most challenging situations. How can we leverage that potential and channel that energy into something that lays a foundation upon which they can build a mansion of greatness? The answer lies in something as simple as giving them the tools and the place to build. |
| Scott Phillips |
Scott is a serial entrepreneur, community builder and thought leader on emerging trends and technologies. As the founder of Civic Ninjas, Scott’s passion lives at the nexus of entrepreneurship, the maker movement, and civic technology, three transformative movements that are democratizing how we live, work and play. Scott’s community building is focused on fostering innovation, inspiring creativity and enabling serendipity, inputs that he believes are critical to a vibrant sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. |
Building a Better Oklahoma |
Oklahoma played a huge role in the last 100 years of infrastructure in America, but how can Oklahomans make a difference in the next 100? By pioneering the next generation of infrastructure we have an opportunity to fix Oklahoma’s economy and export Okie ingenuity across the country. |
| Noah Roberts | After working for Apple, Noah cofounded multiple startups that have taken him all over the world. He is a TED Fellow and 2007 TEDGlobal presenter. As Founder and Chief Bottle Washer at The Water Co, Noah is on a mission to help communities improve health and habitat by choosing sustainable alternatives over single-use plastic bottles, cups, straws and bags. | Recycling isn’t the Answer | Single-source plastic bottles, cups, straws (and grocery bags!) pose one of the single greatest threats to Tulsa’s future health and habitat. The City of Tulsa has the opportunity to become one of the largest cities in the world to solve this problem for good. By supporting and encouraging the adoption of drinking water infrastructure and plastic-free food and drink packaging, Tulsa can improve health outcomes for its citizens, protect the quality of its water sources, and boost its economy. |
| John Schumann | President of OU-Tulsa. Longtime blogger and now radio host bringing transparency to health care. Never forget that we’re all patients. | Health is More than Health Care | We spend $3 trillion on health care in the U.S., and don’t get what we pay for. If we turn our attention UPSTREAM, we not only keep people healthy, we save money: a win-win. |
| Karl Siewert | Karl is an academic librarian, a father, a knitter, and a former professional yo-yo player. They built a ukulele so that they could learn how to play it. They have taught school in towns no one has ever heard of and waited tables in restaurants everyone makes fun of. They are a lifelong feminist, an anti-racist, and an advocate for LGBTQIA+ persons. | Queering My Self: How Not to Be a Good Boy | What does it mean for me to be a boy? A man? A guy? I struggled with these questions for years before realizing that the answers didn’t matter, because I wasn’t really any of those things. I will talk about the process of discovery that led me to call myself a non-binary genderqueer femme. This is a story that needs to be heard, especially in a place like Tulsa. |
