TEDxCortland

Speakers

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

• Robert J. Spitzer

  Robert J. Spitzer (Ph.D. Cornell, 1980) is Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at SUNY Cortland. He is the author of 15 books, including five on the presidency and five on gun policy. His most recent book, “Guns across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,” will be published in early 2015 by Oxford University Press. He is also a panelist on the weekly TV program, “Ivory Tower,” which airs on Fridays at 8PM on WCNY, Syracuse.

• Kelsey Moody

  Mr. Moody is a biotechnology entrepreneur in Syracuse, NY. As a medical student at SUNY Upstate Medical University, he independently raised over $1 million and founded Ichor Therapeutics, where he currently serves as CEO. In 2014 he transferred to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to begin a Ph.D. in Industrial Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Previously, Mr. Moody served as CTO at ImmunePath, a venture capitalist backed stem cell therapy company in Silicon Valley. Before ImmunePath, he founded the SENS Foundation Academic Initiative, a student development program. Mr. Moody received a BS from SUNY Plattsburgh and an MBA from Concordia University.

• Blake Fall-Conroy

  Blake Fall-Conroy is an artist and self-taught mechanical engineer. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he moved to Ithaca, New York in 2002 where he later received a BFA in sculpture from Cornell University. As a mechanical engineer he works for International Climbing Machines, where he designs and fabricates remote-controlled robots that climb vertical surfaces. As an artist, Blake’s projects are conceptually motivated, commenting on a wide range of issues from consumerism and the American spectacle, to surveillance and technology. His projects often incorporate mechanical and electronic components as well as objects or motifs found within the routine of everyday life.

• Angela Winfield

  Featured in the Wall Street Journal, profiled in Investor’s Beat as a successful woman in real estate, contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive, voted a Super Lawyers’ Rising Star two years in a row, featured in Holistic MBA’s World Class Master Coach video summit and recognized as a Zeta Phi Beta Woman of Courage, Angela Winfield is the queen of inspirational transformation. Despite being declared legally blind at age ten and going totally blind at age 20, now, at age 30, Angela is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University and Cornell Law School, Of Counsel at Hiscock & Barclay, one of the top 250 law firms in the country, a sought-after motivational speaker, a certified life and success coach from the renowned IPEC coaching school, published author, a community leader, real estate investor, wife, and successful entrepreneur. Angela is committed to motivating, educating and inspiring individuals to reach their highest potential and founded Blind Faith Enterprises LLC, her personal growth and development company where she shares her system for success through presentations, 1-on-1 coaching and home study programs. Angela values giving back to the community and serves on four not-for-profit boards of directors including being the youngest and first ever minority or disabled vice president of the United Way of Cayuga County. You can learn more about her at www.AngelaWinfield.com.

• Greg Eells

  Greg Eells holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in the State of New York. He has worked in higher education mental health for 20 years and has served as a director of a university counseling service for the past 16 years. He currently serves as the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Cornell University. Dr. Eells regularly publishes articles in scholarly journals and presents frequently. His areas of interest include leadership, staff morale, mental health delivery systems, and providing care to challenging students. He is a member of various professional organizations, is the Chair of the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and a past president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). He has been a strong advocate for college mental health issues appearing on CNN, ABC News and National Public Radio. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife and three children.

• Kate Dimpfl

  Kate Dimpfl is a professional doula, birth counselor, educator, and owner of Holistic Childbirth. She tumbled into birth work when she was pregnant with her son nine years ago. In her pregnancy she felt frustrated with the lack of education and support for new families, and decided to help fill these needs in the community. Kate left her work with a health care non-profit to train with Doulas of North America (DONA) and Childbirth Education Association of Metropolitan New York and has been talking about “what’s not talked about” ever since. She spends much of her time reframing and unpacking myths about childbirth, as she helps expectant parents feel comfortable and confident in their bodies’ capability to birth. Her goal is not to idealize one type of birth, but to engage parents with their sexual health, prenatal care, and education, so that they are able to navigate and feel satisfied with any type of birth. Kate has been featured on The Katie Show and lectures frequently at Cornell University. In addition to her business, she also co-coordinates the Ithaca Childbearing Loss Network, is a member of the Ithaca Doula Collective, and serves on the board of the Ithaca Children’s Garden and BirthNet of the Finger Lakes.

• Bobby J. Smith, II

  Bobby J. Smith, II is a PhD student in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and SUNY Diversity fellow at Cornell University. Bobby graduated summa cum laude from Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, studying Agricultural Economics in 2011, and a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University in 2013. His current research interests involve the interplay between agriculture, applied econometrics, and public policy analysis. His research on Farm-to-Hospital programs was recently published in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review and won first place at the 2013 National Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) conference in Sacramento, CA. He has also been a guest lecturer in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education at Ithaca College and for the Cornell McNair Scholars Program and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

• Doug Bentley

  Doug Bentley has been a Cortland resident for over half a century. He and Conni, his wife, are the parents of six adult children who they helped survive being teenagers. He is grandfather of nine young people, most of whom are now adolescents. Doug is a design engineer at Cortland Company with a passion for understanding young people and helping them find their path to adulthood. He is a community mentor and looks for ways to connect young people with their community.

• Sophie Somerfeldt

  Since forging her parents' signature in grade school, or inspiring controversy—and new policy—in college, Sophie Somerfeldt has been a passionate 'do-er' and social justice advocate since her teens. She has started organizations, won major funding, helped launch big events, and supported the projects of others—making lots of mistakes and sometimes, a big difference. However, it is learning whole new ways of being that led to her most personal and surprising accomplishment: becoming a happy person—without even getting anything she had wanted! Having also worked on farms, with kids, cleaning houses and as an interior painter, Sophie is a community organizer and educator, writer, artist, designer, happiness coach, and visionary. She lives in a home of her own design in EcoVillage in Ithaca, NY.

• Bob Cat

  Bob Cat grew up on Long Island, where food was the center of the universe for him and his family. He loved food so much he decided to not only grow it for a living, but also to teach and inspire kids about good healthy food. Bob Cat is farm manager, lead educator, and co-owner of Main Street Farms, an education center and plant nursery with diversified urban farms in Homer and Cortland, NY. Using aquaponics principles, Main Street Farms raises tilapia and grows lettuce in a symbiotic relationship year round. Bob Cat also moonlights as a radio DJ and has previously held many jobs, including outdoor environmental educator, trip leader, landscaper, and dabbled in the food service industry. He has eaten food his whole life.

• Teodora Buzea

  Teodora Buzea was born in Hollywood, Florida, in 2000. She started writing 'The Meeting of the Waters', her first novel, when she was 11. She enjoys traveling all over the United States and in other countries, and is dedicated to learning about different cultures and customs. Teodora is an advocate for diversity, and for treating others with dignity and respect; these core values are the foundation of her book. She now lives in upstate New York.

• Pranay John

  Pranay John is a mechatronics engineering graduate student. Born in Mumbai, India, he moved to Buffalo, New York, in 2013 where he is completing his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. His father, a surgeon by profession, enjoys reading books that are generally meant for people in management positions and encouraged Pranay to read them, so naturally he picked up a few. Pranay's favorite authors are Malcolm Gladwell (whom he had the pleasure of meeting recently) and Timothy Ferriss.

• Hank Roberts

  Over his nearly four-decade career, Hank Roberts has forged a compelling original voice on the cello, encompassing abstract improvisation and soulful folk melodies, intricate new-music compositions and vigorous rock songs. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Roberts studied at Berklee and made his name on the legendary Downtown scene in 1980s New York. Faced with a dearth of mentors or peers on his instrument, he carved his own path through that fertile ground alongside such frequent collaborators as Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, Marc Ribot and John Zorn, finding a second home at the famed Knitting Factory. Like those fellow innovators, Roberts is equally at home in grand concert halls or dingy rock clubs, covering a wide swath of modern music. Roberts has shared stages with many artists, including Gavin Friday (with the members of U2), Sting, Joel Grey, David Sanborn, Mamadou Diabate, Andy Summers, Gary Burton, Marty Ehrlich, and Julius Hemphill.

• Joseph Rayle

  Joseph Rayle is a Professor in the Education Department at SUNY Cortland.