TEDxDrewMiddleSchool

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Gabriel Pons

  Gabriel Pons is a mixed-media artist based out of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He and his wife, Scarlett, own PONSHOP - an art gallery and retail store in downtown Fredericksburg. Their mission is to share their love for art and design with their community through art exhibits, student workshops, and events. Gabriel graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1997 and after living in New York City and working in the architecture profession for eight years, he and his wife began pursuing their shared goal of owning their own art studio and gallery. Gabriel’s work encapsulates inspiration from his travel experiences, his love of skateboarding and street art. His creative process is grounded in an intimate knowledge of the subject matter coupled with a rigorous layering of material and information that, when complete, inform and delight.

• Anna Johnson

  Anna Johnson is a 24 year old who grew up in Stafford County. She is the owner of SACKdress, a one size fits all custom convertible dress shop on Etsy. Anna graduated with a degree in Fashion Design from VCUarts, where she founded the Eco Fashion Student Organization and was awarded Critic's Choice for her Plus Size women's collection. After graduating she gained industry experience working for the world's largest supplier of clothing in the heart of New York City. After just six months, she made a bold move from 36th and Broadway to where Jefferson Davis meets 610, and decided to pair her passion for sustainability with her dream of dressing women of all sizes to launch the one-woman dress making operation from her home in Aquia.

• Tramia Jackson

  Ms. Tramia Jackson is the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the College of William and Mary in 2008. She went on to achieve her Master’s degree in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program at the State University of New York at Oneonta in 2012. She served as the Emerging Museum Professional for the Virginia Association of Museums Council from 2012-2014 and currently lives with her family in Stafford County, Virginia.

• Rahmein Mostafavi

  Addressing heavy social and political topics with brilliant satire along with hilarious observational comedy and character voices, actor/comedian, Rahmein Mostafavi overcomes every crowd with charm, comic timing, and charisma. His hard hitting comedy has earned him the chance to share the stage with some of the best comics in the nation including Tim Meadows (SNL), Joe Matarese, Bob Marley, The Sklar Brothers, Jen Kirkman, Jake Johannsen, Godfrey, Joe Torry, Dave Attell, Bert Kreischer, Kyle Kinane, Finesse Mitchell, Artie Lange, Tammy Pescatelli, and Maz Jobrani. He headlines clubs and colleges throughout the country and has been heard on SiriusXM, seen on FOX and PBS. In the Stafford area, Rahmein produces and hosts a monthly show in Downtown Fredericksburg and at the old prison in Lorton to consistently sold out crowds. See details on his appearances and the shows he produces at www.coolcowcomedy.com

• Jamie Summerlin

  Have you ever dreamed of doing what you once thought was unimaginable? Have you ever wanted to make a difference not only in your own life, but in the lives of others around you? What about having an impact in the lives of many you would never meet? In 2012 at the age of 39, Jamie Summerlin ran across the United States, completing the equivalent of 132 back-to-back marathons in 100 days, running an average of more than 240 miles a week, all to raise awareness and honor our Military & US Veterans. Jamie’s Freedom Run speaking message and the imagery of the run are universal, whether you’re an athlete or not. Stories continue to pour in about the impact that his Freedom Run not only made on those he would meet along the way, but from those who served our country so bravely in the past, honor us with their service today, and the many who will make a difference in the future. It’s about realizing a dream that less than 2 1/2 years prior to his mind-blowing run seemed impossible, and working as a team to understand the strengths and weaknesses that would help make that dream a reality. It’s about not allowing bumps in the road to slow you down, or the hills ahead tempting you to give up hope. It’s about finding inspiration through others to help you achieve personal goals that otherwise seemed insurmountable. Ultimately, it’s about staring fear in the face, digging deep from within, overcoming physical and mental hurdles, and inspiring others to Dream Big!

• Dyan deNapoli

  Dyan deNapoli is a penguin expert, TED speaker, and award-winning author. She dreamed of working with dolphins from the age of five, but didn't have the courage to pursue that dream until she was 30 years old. Once she did, however, her life changed forever. She eventually became a Senior Penguin Aquarist at Boston's New England Aquarium, and in July of 2000 she helped save 40,000 penguins from an oil spill in South Africa. After nine years at the aquarium, Dyan reinvented herself as The Penguin Lady, and began traveling the world to teach children and adults all about penguin biology, behavior and conservation. She has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows including CNN and the BBC, and is excited to be leading a penguin-viewing trip to New Zealand with Absolute Travel this winter. Dyan's mission is to raise awareness and funding to protect disappearing penguin species – to that end, she donates 20% of the proceeds from her book, THE GREAT PENGUIN RESCUE, and from every appearance to penguin rescue groups.

• Melvin Brown

  Melvin Brown has a true passion for inspiring and encouraging others to pursue and achieve their own greatness. He is motivated to consistently seek the truth in order to have a clearer perspective on life. Born and raised in the Fredericksburg area, Melvin has always taken pride in his hometown and promoting the Fredericksburg region. As the owner of VideoMann Productions, Melvin first promoted the Rappahannock area through his own independent YouTube channel Fredericksburg LIVE. Through this platform he filmed celebrities such as Paula Deen, Jake T. Austin, Zendaya Coleman, and Corbin Bernsen in their visits to the Fredericksburg region. Fredericksburg LIVE also raised awareness on numerous local events and important community issues. Most notably, Melvin recently collaborated with other videographers in the region to produce the very well received Fredericksburg Happy video. This video showcased many of our areas civic leaders and townspeople enjoying the burg.’ NBC and Good Morning Washington broadcast about the video’s sensational success and it has received nearly a hundred thousand YouTube hits.

• Dayna Klein

  Dayna Klein is the Major Gifts and Grant Manager for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. After spending more than twenty years in the for-profit sector of the business world including 6 years with Capital One, Dayna returned to UMW to complete her sociology degree and begin interning for a local non-profit. At the completion of her internship, the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank hired Dayna to help raise awareness and grant funding for new programs being implemented by the food bank to benefit the hungry and food insecure of the community. Dayna and her husband live happily in Stafford and have three grown children and one beautiful granddaughter. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in business leadership through Liberty University.

• Luke Wright

  Luke Wright ,Motivational Speaker, who empowers people to bridge the gap from where they are to where they want to be, by disabling their fears, procrastination, and excuses. U.S Marine Officer, Toastmaster, Author, Coach

• Sarah Crain

  Originally from North Carolina, Sarah Crain is the Literacy Coach at Mountain View High School. She has been a guest lecturer on a variety of topics in Literacy Education at the University of Mary Washington, as well as a two time presenter at the Virginia English Standards of Learning Institutes sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education. Currently, Mrs. Crain is the President of the Virgina Association of Teachers of English (VATE) and was recently appointed to the position of Coordinator of Professional Development for VATE. In addition, Mrs. Crain is pursuing her doctorate in Literacy and Leadership at George Mason University where her current research focus is content area literacy, specifically writing in the mathematics classroom.

• Abby Carbone

  Abby is a Full International Baccalaureate (IB) senior at Mountain View High School who plans on majoring in Chemical Engineering. She was a finalist in the Stafford Rotary Club Speech Contest and received Honorable Mention in the regional level, and one of her biggest goals is to do a TED talk. She will be speaking about how the idea of what it means to be successful is changing, which inspires the potential for innovation in the current generation.

• Mirinda Reynolds

  Guest presenter Mirinda Reynolds is the recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Women in the Arts award 2013 and the Paul Harris Fellow Rotary International Foundation Award 2014 for her Downtown Mural Project. Street artist, oil painter, and art educator, Mirinda Reynolds has worked with over 10,000 students to find their creative potential. She was Grafton Village's Teacher of the Year in 1999 and currently teaches ages 3-11 at Fredericksburg Academy. She now oversees a Local Visiting Artists Program, where she interviews and shares techniques of local artists in her classroom. She travels as a guest street painter across the nation, organizes local street painting festivals annually, and designs large-scale public murals for the Fredericksburg area. A member of Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg, she sells her work locally and online.

• Abbas Haider and Robert Davis

  Abbas Haider and Robert Davis, recent graduates from the University of Mary Washington Class of 2012 have both been innovative and inspiring entrepreneurs for the youth. Abbas started Aspetto in his freshman dorm room where he would stay up all night working with manufacturers and meet clients during the day in between his classes. Robert joined Abbas in his senior year where together they invented America’s first bullet-resistant suit. Since then, the team has launched a full line of bullet-resistant clothing and continuously strive to invent the “next best thing” in the industry. Their story is both inspiring and daring as they went against the grain and established a brand name in the industry that is heavily saturated by seasoned businessmen and women. Today, Aspetto is sold all over the world and is known for its innovation. Abbas and Robert make every effort to inspire the youth to choose the path of entrepreneurship.

• Joni Kanazawa

  Joni Moore Kanazawa is a fighter. Joni has spent the last 7 years supporting the battle of others that go through cancer, and then she was faced with what it meant to be up close and personal with the very same illness. Ironically, after being an advocate for cancer awareness and Team Captain through her Georgia-based organization, Team Pink, this wife and mother was diagnosed at age 34 with invasive Breast Cancer. While battling, Kanazawa continued fund raising for cancer organizations and local schools. After a year of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, Joni was cancer free and ready to pay it forward to her supportive family and community. By creating the Pink Heals Color Rush 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run and grassroots organization, Ellie’s Elves, Joni gives back to those who supported her through her journey.