TEDxTampaBay Presenters

TEDx TampaBay is this Friday! Here are the people who will be presenting this Friday, February 12.

Charles Armstrong

website: sparklabs.com

As CEO of SPARK LABS, Charles Armstrong balances creative vision, cutting-edge technical expertise, and strategic business insight. From national award-winning website projects to revolutionary, new product IP, his is a proven record of groundbreaking concepts and successful implementations. In recent history, Charles has overseen the launch of Tour Wrist, a powerful, new mobile platform which allows users to view and share locations in immersive 3D.

Brent Britton

website: brentbritton.com

Born and raised in Bangor, Maine, Britton earned a BA in computer science from University of Maine in 1989, an SM from the MIT Media Lab in 1991, and a JD from Boston University School of Law in 1994.

Britton founded and co-published one of the first ever online magazines, NutWorks, from January 1985 through March 1990. In 1992 and 1993, he was the first volunteer law clerk for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In 1994, he founded and served as Editor in Chief of the Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law, the first all-digital law journal.

Britton co-founded Britton Silberman and Cervantez, LLP, one of the first law firms devoted exclusively to internet companies. He has also been Partner and Of Counsel with several other major international law firms, and is now a shareholder and firm-wide head of the Emerging Business and Technology practice group at the Tampa, Florida, office of GrayRobinson, P.A. He is a recognized expert in laws relating to virtual worlds and online communities, including virtual crime. He is often quoted, teaches, and publishes, on developments in law and entrepreneurship in the fields of technology law, science, and art.

Elizabeth Davis

website: akilahinstitute.org

Elizabeth is currently the Executive director of the Akilah Institute for Women, a school that she founded in Rwanda to provide hospitality career training. Elizabeth graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Political Science and Human & Organizational Development with a focus on international development. Before falling in love with Rwanda, Elizabeth worked on education and community development projects in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and South Africa. Elizabeth was a founding member of Students for Kenya, an organization supporting the Lwala Health Clinic in Western Kenya. She was the president of STAND: Students Taking Action Now Darfur, and a co-founder of Fashion for A Cause. Elizabeth first came to Rwanda in 2006 as part of a delegation on post-conflict reconciliation and human rights advocacy. In 2007, she founded a nonprofit organization in the States to provide scholarships to street children in Rwanda, support an orphanage in Kigali, and organize reconciliation and conflict resolution conferences for genocide survivors and high school students. In 2008, Elizabeth was selected as a StartingBloc fellow. Elizabeth received the Woman of Peace award from the Womens Peace Power Foundation in October 2009.

Guy Hagen

website: innovationinsight.com

Guy Hagen, who has worked since 1995 as a professional strategist and researcher in Florida’s technology and entrepreneurial communities, is the founder of Innovation Insight. Guy Hagen is an experienced senior researcher for social network analysis, public relations, market research, and applied research. He has deep connections and expertise in technology industries and issues, and specializes in social media strategy, analysis and development, organizational and social network analysis, and qualitative+quantitative research design and execution.

Mr. Hagen has generated nationally recognized network analysis, technology, and research publications, and has presented and published internationally for his activities in technology transfer and development. Mr. Hagen is regularly engaged as a speaker on the intersection of social media, strategy, and technology.

Mr. Hagen has a Masters degree in Applied Anthropology focusing on urban research methods and network analysis and has a background in computer science. He has been a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and has been a member of the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) since the mid 1990s. He is also a past board member of Financial Florida and the Tampa Bay chapter of the National Defense Industry Association.

Terry Olson

website: plaxo.com

Terry Olson has a Masters Degree in Theatre Arts with a minor in journalism from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in Theatre Arts with a minor in visual arts from Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1982, he moved SAK Theatre to Orlando to perform at EPCOT and to perform in the Tampa Hillsborough Schools. He is one of the founders of the Orlando Theatre Project, the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, the Orlando International Fringe Festival, the Creative Gift Foundation and the Central Florida Performing Arts Alliance. Prior to initiating the position of Orange County’s Arts & Cultural Affairs Director, he was already nurturing and promoting area culture as the Executive Director of the Theatre Alliance.

Emily Roth

Emily Roff is a solo singer/songwriter in the genres of jazz, blues, and funk, who plays and performs around the greater Tampa Bay Area. She started writing her own music and performing at the age of fifteen. She holds a bachelors degree in music and vocal performance and recently returned from an east coast tour performing her album, “Analog.” Shortly after releasing the release of “Analog,” Emily was faced with the prospect of never signing again, as she was forced to undergo a potentially career-ending, vocal chord procedure. Luckily for her, and for the ears of all who’ve grown to love her music, she has recovered to retake the stage. Emily is currently working on her second album while serving as music director of a church in her hometown.

Dr. Paul Schnitzler

website: www.paulschnitzler.com

Paul earned his Ph.D. (E.E.) from the Polytechnic University of New York and the B.S. and M.S. in E.E. from New York University. He received the RCA Laboratories’ Doctoral Study award and the Hugo Gernsbach Award, was elected to Sigma Xi, and is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World. Paul holds several patents and has published over twenty papers in circuit design, microwaves, television, and telecommunications. In 2007, he was honored by Tau Beta Pi who named him an Eminent Engineer. Currently, he is on the faculty of the University of South Florida (USF) where he teaches in the MS in Engineering Management program. Paul is also Senior Director, Systems, for Deep Sea Link, Inc. a special applications telecommunications company. Since 2005, he has taught Venture Business and Entrepreneurship at Fudan University, Shanghai, China, in the Executive MBA program of the Center for American Studies.

Peter Taylor

website: wood-firedpizza.com

Peter Taylor is a nationally recognized pizza expert, researcher, author, teacher, and pizza consultant. He has dedicated his life to exploring his true passion; pizza.

Peter built his own wood-fired oven, and prepares his dough without refrigeration of any kind adhering to the ancient tradition of a long room temperature fermentation. Peter uses natural yeast, caught off the coast of Florida, which has a unique microflora that produces a naturally leavened crust just like the yeast used by ancient civilizations six thousand years ago.

James E. Tokley

website: jamestokley.com

The City of Tampa’s first official Poet Laureate, James E. Tokley Sr., has also been cited by former National Urban League president, John E. Jacob, as the Poet Laureate of the National Urban League. Tokley’s epic poem “Genesis” was introduced at the 1992 National Urban League Conference held in San Diego, and was adapted for cinema.
Tokley’s poem “The Pursuit” has been adapted for cinema, featuring the poet-actor, among others, and has won critical praise throughout the nation.

Tokley received his B.A. degree in English from Delaware State University, his Masters of Education degree from Temple University, and has completed doctoral coursework at both Temple and University of South Florida.
Tokley and his wife are owners of Tokley and Associates, a human resources training and consulting firm. Photograph courtesy of Steven Roake.

Diego Uribe

website: www.idemax.org

Diego is a creativity consultant and specialist with a Master’s degree in Creativity from the International Center for Studies in Creativity, State University of New York, Buffalo State. He is the head of IDEMAX consulting and works as a trainer and facilitator of Creativity, Creative Problem-Solving (CPS), change leadership and innovation for both profit and non-profit

organizations such as: Xerox, IBM, Taca Airlines, Zideas, Buffalo State College, the Western NY Green Economy initiative, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Canal 13, MBA UC Santiago, Chile, and Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile. Diego is also a Research Resident at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, State University of New York, Buffalo State. His research work focuses on the opportunities and challenges of the marriage between digital technologies and creative behavior/expression.

Carlton Ward

website: carltonward.com

Carlton Ward Jr. is an environmental photojournalist from Clearwater, Florida, with graduate training in ecology and anthropology. Through his photographs, he aims to promote conservation of natural environments and cultural legacies. At home and abroad, Carlton seeks stories where he can use photographs to make a difference.

For his first book, The Edge of Africa, Carlton spent eight months in the tropical rain forests of Gabon, documenting the unseen wonders of life at the edge of the African continent. He participated in 5 different multi-taxa bio-diversity research expeditions with the Smithsonian Institution – the most intensive bio-diversity research yet conducted for Gabon. Using custom-made studio and camera techniques, Carlton documented over 400 different species of living plants and animals. Many species he photographed for the first time and several were new to science.

Beyond the value for scientific record, Carlton recognizes the power of photographs to influence public perceptions and inspire change. He seeks pictures that capture the essence of subjects in a way that will engage readers and help carry the science-based messages to broader audiences.

For his most recent international project, Carlton has been photographing endangered desert elephants in the Sahel region of Mali, at the edge of the Sahara near Timbuktu. He is working closely with researchers and conservationists from the WILD Foundation and Save the Elephants to raise awareness for this special herd – the last popluation of elephants in the Sahel of West Africa.