TEDxHomer

Speakers

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

• Jonny Cohen

  Jonny Cohen is just your typical 16-year old high school Junior. Except that when he’s riding the bus to school in the morning, he’s thinking about aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, and drag coefficients. Jonny couldn’t shake the thought of how inefficient most real vehicles on the road actually were– particularly school buses, with their broad, flat windshields. The idea of the head-slappingly simple Green Shield was born: fix a plexiglass shield of the right aerodynamic dimensions to the front of a school bus from the hood to the top of the windshield, channeling the air currents up over the bus, rather than straight into the windshield.

• Kirsten Dixon

  Chef, cookbook author, wilderness lodge owner Chef Kirsten Dixon owns and operates three backcountry adventure lodges in Alaska along with her husband Carl. She is also the owner of The Cooking School at Tutka Bay and the RusticWild retail store in Homer. Kirsten attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and earned a master’s degree in gastronomy from Adelaide University in Australia. She also has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Kirsten has written several cookbooks, including The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook, which won the “Gourmand International Cookbook Award – Best Female Chef USA”.

• Mavis Muller

  Through the art forms of contemporary basketry, photography, poetry and storytelling comes the voice of the natural world. Mavis Muller is a story weaver. As she weaves intricate baskets using consciously gathered natural materials, she introduces the grasses, plants, trees, and landscapes as carriers of messages, stories, and earthly blessings

• Tom Reed

  Wilderness photographer, writer, martial arts instructor, and hypnotherapist Tom Reed spent a decade under the guidance of a master of Japanese aesthetics.

• Larry Merculieff

  Larry Merculieff has almost four decades of experience serving his people, the Aleuts of the Pribilof Islands and other indigenous peoples in a number of capacities. His reach has been broad and varied. As Director of Public Policy and Advocacy in the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Merculieff led the largest subsistence rights march in Alaska’s history and emceed the subsistence rally after the march. The march was instrumental in protecting Alaska subsistance. Seven Generations Consulting

• Alex Knudtsen

  Alex Knudtson is a traveler. I was born in Homer, Alaska 15 years ago, and am lucky to have seen more of the world than most people. I love meeting people and learning new things. As my mom’s assistant in organizing and leading tours, the world has been my greatest teacher. My formal education has been at a private educational center, a charter school, and now I homeschool. Because I like the freedom of my life and couldn’t imagine a future on someone else’s schedule, last year I created my first business, a trolley tour company, and work for myself. For me, connecting and engaging with people is the most important thing on earth. No matter what cultural differences or beliefs people may have, I’ve learned we are all human.

• John Cronin

  For 37 years, John Cronin has dedicated his career to water and environmental affairs. For his accomplishments, Time magazine named him a “Hero for the Planet” and People magazine described him as “equal parts detective, scientist and public advocate.” Cronin is known internationally for his 17 years as Hudson Riverkeeper, a position that has inspired a legacy of 200 Waterkeeper programs that fight pollution on six continents.

• Sam Beard

• Robert Ford

• Nikos Kilcher

• Simon Jackson

  "In the telling of his unique story, from lemonade stand to making a Hollywood movie, Simon Jackson illustrates how he overcame roadblocks and skeptics in the pursuit of saving the rare white Kermode or spirit bear. The lessons he learned and the insight he gained is not just a recipe to save the spirit bear, but a tool kit for action for anyone who wants to make a difference in our world. Indeed, his message of the power of one underscores that one young person with no remarkable skills or intellect, but armed simply with a passion, can take hold of a cause and unite the world." Topic: Continue working towards saving the spirit bear, specifically stopping the coastal bear trophy hunt; continue working towards the release of The Spirit Bear Movie; and continue speaking to audiences to encourage them to do their part to save the bear and stand up for the issues they're passionate about. Founder and Chairman, Spirit Bear Youth Coalition Executive Producer, The Spirit Bear CGI Movie www.spiritbearyouth.org Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story is a 2005 independent Canadian film based on the real life campaign by Spirit Bear Youth Coalition founder Simon Jackson to save the habitat of the Kermode bear. It stars Mark Rendall as Jackson, Katie Stuart as his love interest, Graham Greene, and Ed Begley, Jr.. Plot Simon Jackson is an awkward high school teenager who befriends a white bear that saves his life. He learns that the bear is endangered by the destruction of its habitat from logging and grows out of his shell to launch a campaign to the government to protect the bear. He then learns about the hardships of a campaign but succeeds with the help of his friend, Lloyd Blackbird, and his supporters. Awards The movie won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival External links Simon Jackson Story at the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition website

• Lorrie Heagy

  From Juneau, where Lorrie is a music teacher and librarian at Glacier Valley Elementary School, she advocates for the arts as an essential part of every child’s public education. Juneau, Alaska Music Matters (JAMM) is an early childhood music education program that grew from her training as an Abreu Fellow at the New England Conservatory in Boston. TED helped create this fellowship in honor of 2009 TED Prize winner, Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu whose wish is to train passionate musicians dedicated to transforming the lives of children and their communities through music. Currently JAMM provides all sixty kindergartners at Glacier Valley Elementary School violin instruction as part of their school day, free of charge. This year, Lorrie is honored to represent Alaska’s teachers as the 2011 Alaska Teacher of the Year

• Libby Roderick

  Since 1990, Libby has toured as a solo concert performer. She has performed at universities, colleges and conferences across North America, for folk and community organizations, and for groups such as the Ms. Foundation, the World Wilderness Congress, the National Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Oregon State's Spring Creek Project (for Nature and the Written Word), the National Peace Alliance, and many, many others.

• Rich Chiappone

  Richard Chiappone is the author of Opening Days, a collection of essays, stories and poems, and the short story collection Water of an Undetermined Depth. His work has appeared in national magazines, including Alaska Magazine, Playboy, Gray’s Sporting Journal, and The Sun; and in literary journals including Crescent Review, Missouri Review, and ZYZZYVA, and has been featured on the BBC radio.