2018

Osarietinme Ashley Adenomo is currently a student at University of Wisconsin – Fond du Lac with goals of establishing her own business and earning a self-designed degree combining Literature and Social Work. She has experience caregiving for humans from all walks of life, including the disabled and the elderly, and helping emotionally disturbed children create healthy lifestyles for themselves through self-awareness of their thoughts and actions.

Born in Bronx, New York and relocating to various cities of Wisconsin, including Milwaukee and West Bend, Osa has experienced the duality of being a biracial American her whole life. The summer of 2017, her beloved sister and she had the opportunity of visiting Nigeria, which is where their ancestral roots reside, and they were able to explore their cultural roots and more fully comprehend childhood experiences based in Nigerian culture. It is her visit to Africa which sparked her topic for TEDxFondduLac.

Anna Budelman is a 24-year-old Fond du Lac resident. She was raised here and enjoys giving back to a community that shaped her youth and young adulthood. She is a Marian graduate of 2018 with a Bachelor of Social Work. Anna is engaged with many different areas of social services, but enjoys working with at risk youth and domestic and sexual violence survivors. She loves to spend time with her partner and dog when she isn’t trying to save the world. Anna is a writer, artist, and loves to adventure in the outdoors. She takes every opportunity and is beyond excited to share her ideas at TEDxFondduLac.

Dahli Durley is a traveling portrait and wedding photographer, capturing raw and authentic moments on camera. Though she hails from Southwest Wisconsin, her travels taker her around the country and the globe in search of documenting and recording people in places to expand viewer horizons on social media. She has an MBA from Viterbo University and was an AAUW Selected Professions Fellow, and is currently working on her first book.

An expert in cybersecurity and network infrastructure, Nick Espinosa has consulted with clients ranging from small businesses up to the Fortune 100 level. Nick founded Windy City Networks, Inc in 1998 at age 19 and was acquired by BSSi2 LLC in 2013 where he is their CIO. In 2015 Security Fanatics, a Cybersecurity/Cyberwarfare outfit dedicated to designing custom Cyberdefense strategies for medium to enterprise corporations, was launched. A nationally recognized speaker, member of the Forbes Technology Council, regular columnist for Forbes, on the Board of Advisors for both Roosevelt University’s Center for Cyber and Information Security and Bits N’ Bytes Cybersecurity Education, award winning co-author of a bestselling book “Easy Prey”, and host of “The Deep Dive” radio show on 101.3FM WHIW, Nick is known as an industry thought leader and sought after for his advice on the future of technology and how it will impact every day businesses and consumers.

Greg Giles, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, has over 20 years of non-profit experience in youth development, marketing, community education, public speaking, fund development, and collaborative services.

Greg’s professional career has predominantly involved leadership of several YMCAs.  For more than 14 years, he has served as CEO of the Fond du Lac Family YMCA.  During this time, Greg’s leadership has enhanced community service through collaboration.  As a result of Greg’s ability to work in collaboration with other organizations, Greg, through his work at the YMCA, established a one of a kind collaboration between the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club that has gained national recognition and resulted in a new facility and greater resources for this community, but more importantly, new hope for a brighter future in Fond du Lac.

Recognizing the need for laughter in the workplace, Greg has spent more than 20 years speaking to organizations and corporations about enjoying their jobs, but more importantly enjoying their lives.

In 2010, Greg was recognized as the Collaborator of the Year for the State of Wisconsin presented by Ripon College. Greg also has been recognized as Director of the Year for the YMCA in the State of Wisconsin.  He has served on numerous local community boards and service clubs including Young Professionals, City of Fond du Lac Redevelopment Authority, Fond du Lac City Council, Fond du Lac Health County 2020, Loaves and Fishes, Kiwanis Club of West Bend, Fond du Lac Noon Rotary and more. Greg also continues to volunteer his time with youth programs at his church.

He and his wife, Laura stay busy raising four children and share the philosophy that “our time on earth should be spent making a difference in the lives of others”.

While still in college, Neil’s fiancee (now wife of 23 years) asked him what he wanted to be. “I think I want to be a professional speaker.” It took him a few years to figure out how one does that and what exactly he was going to talk about, but in 2006 he formed his speaking company called Life IQ where he helps groups and individuals work, play, relate, and live intelligently. Fast forward 12 years and he has worked with twenty-five Fortune 500 companies including GE, Merrill Lynch, PepsiCo, and AT&T among others. Neil has also consulted internationally with clients from a dozen countries. After turning 45 last year, his five-year goal is to speak in all 50 states by the time he is 50. 50 by 50! He is thrilled to be a part of TEDxFondduLac!

Owen Karcher, MA, LPC, is an art therapist and social justice consultant with the Center for Community Healing, LLC (www.arttherapymadison.com). He works with the individual and collective healing of trauma and oppression through embodied, creative expression. Owen facilitates group processes that invite participants to learn how power, privilege, and identities impact their relationships and work. He has over ten years of experience working as a care provider and educator in the fields of mental health, violence prevention and intervention, child sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, building healthy relationships, and moving towards social justice.

Mel Kolstad is an artist, speaker, instructor and arts advocate who makes her home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She is a printmaker, collagist, fiber artist, and papermaker, specializing in tiny art. She is also delighted to be a Certified Papermaker for Arnold Grummer, Inc.; the membership chair of Wisconsin Visual Artists – Northeast Chapter; a member of ArtSpace Collective in Oshkosh; and curator for the Langdon Divers Gallery, located inside the Fond du Lac Public Library.

Mel has participated in many artist residencies throughout Wisconsin and also teaches various classes all over the state. You can view her artwork on her website, melkolstad.com.

Nadine Machkovech is a certified recovery coach and person in long-term recovery. As an educator on addiction and mental health, she looks to positively disrupt the current landscape for adolescents, especially young women, across the country. Through her unique style of storytelling, Machkovech leaves her audience feeling inspired and motivated; reminding them that they have the choice to utilize their power to help change their world and the world around them.  

Machkovech has traveled the country, been featured in Forbes, and is often aspired after for her dynamic peer leadership skills. She has created measurable social change while educating students, teachers, professionals, and peers on topics of substance use and misuse, mental health awareness, leadership, and the development of life skills.

She is also a Co-Owner and Program Manager of RISE TOGETHER, a grassroots organization that is helping to lead a movement of young people to stand up and break the silence around suicide, bullying, mental illness, drugs, and alcohol. Recently recognized by the White House Office of the National Drug Control Policy, Rise Together’s mission is rapidly spanning the United States. Since September of 2013, Nadine has traveled over 200,000 miles, taken the stage nearly 400 times with her team, and educated over 130,000 young adults and adolescents on addiction and mental health.

Machkovech carries this responsibility with a great amount of passion and purpose in hopes that these efforts will help to not only develop peer leaders but also help others towards the achievement of their vision and life-long goals.   

Dr. Ryan Martin is the chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a nationally known anger researcher.  His work focuses on healthy and unhealthy expressions of anger, including how we express anger online.  He teaches courses on mental illness, emotion, and anger and violence.  He also hosts the popular UW-Green Bay Psychology podcast, Psychology and Stuff, and manages the anger and violence blog, All the Rage.  Ryan’s work has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, BBC Radio, and Invisibilia. Ryan received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of St. Thomas.

The talk of Dr. Martin has been re-posted as an official TED talk and that is the link provided in this post.

Garry Moïse is a management professional serving primarily in Higher Education. His academic background is in the fields of Management, Marketing, and Organizational Leadership. He is a proud alumnus of both Fox Valley Technical College and Marian University.

He is a dedicated education advocate who is involved in multiple initiatives established to make significant contributions to the others life. His passion for helping others on their personal growth journey led him to self-describe as a Leadership Cultivator and Leadership Aficionado.

He is currently serving as the director of Marian University’s Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program and as co-advisor/instructor for the Model U.N. program. Additionally, for the past few years, he has had the privilege of conducting conference presentations for audiences that include professionals as well as pre-college and college students.

In addition to his daily administrative duties, he serves on the board of his local church as well as numerous local, state, and regional organizations or associations that promote either lifelong learning, inter-cultural relations, and healthy living. He also enjoys opportunities to serve, locally and abroad, as a guide and mentor to young people, who are in needs of various types of support.

Moise lives in the Fond du Lac community with his wife, two sons, and one daughter.

Samantha Petitte is a Master’s student and Graduate Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in Therapeutic Recreation. Her research interests include the treatment of eating disorders and related disorders, the use of nature-based therapy, place attachment theory, music therapy, equine-facilitated psychotherapy and the benefits of different therapeutic recreation interventions for marginalized groups and for mental health. She is currently working on publications involving nature-based therapy, the intersection of leisure and the drag community, and her thesis on the benefits of equine-facilitated therapy. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Community and Leadership Development from the University of Kentucky, where she was the vocal percussionist (beatboxer) of the female a cappella group Paws and Listen. Samantha has been exploring ways to combine her personal skills with her career goals, which has led her to discovering ways to combine beatboxing and therapeutic interventions.

Joe cofounded and is the CEO of Scanalytics, the leading Internet of Things company focused on sensor-fusion for physical environments that pioneered the smart-flooring sensor. Scanalytics helps future-proof buildings by using proprietary sensors that are embedded into permanent fixtures like floors and ceilings. These sensors, combined with other sensor data, give buildings the most granular, accurate, and consistent observation of space utilization so the building can automatically react to occupant behaviors. Scanalytics is making it possible for the built environment to have a “brain.”

Prior to Scanalytics, Joe studied a range of subjects from Organizational Behavior to Applied Neuroscience, and is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He sits on the board of multiple technology companies in the computer vision, artificial intelligence, and medical device fields. Joe has contributed to and authored books, papers, and patents in the fields of spatial science, sensor design, and natural language processing. He is currently part of a project that is using computational linguistics to help identify and attenuate mental health deterioration. Joe helped create “On Spatial Science” which is a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on promoting urban intelligence through adoption of smart buildings.

Outside of work, Joe is an avid triathlete, enjoys jiu jitsu, and likes pretty much anything with a motor that can go fast. His newest and most important job is that of a father to his recently born baby girl, Sloane.

Nathan “Nate” Scheer is an assembly tech at Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac, as well as a local recovery advocate. After an inconvenient intervention from his probation agent on December 23rd, 2016, Nate got sober after a ten year addiction to opiates and heroin.

Born out of a need to fill a time void, with limited money, the father of 3 started a community service effort with his youngest son that came to be known as “Adventures of a Baby Jerk Face” in which the father and son go to local parks and small businesses to pick up trash and help rebuild a community he (Nate) helped destroy in active addiction.

Sharissa Sebastian is a Career Success Coach for Women in Corporate Leadership. She’s also a writer for Forbes and the Huffington Post, a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, author, radio show host and the Co-Owner of Stop.Smile.Breathe. Women’s Retreats. Her passion is helping women fully own their value, step into their confidence, build strong professional relationships and have a career and life they love. Her 13+ year corporate career, primarily in technology leadership, led her on a journey to discover joy and fulfillment in her career and she now helps others do the same through coaching, speaking, writing and corporate engagements.