The following are confirmed presenters and guests for TEDxPresidio 2012. Final line-up subject to change. *Listed in alphabetical order by category.
HOSTS:
Deb Nelson
Executive Director
Social Venture Network
Deb Nelson is the Executive Director of Social Venture Network (SVN), a national organization of business leaders, investors and social entrepreneurs who are committed to transforming the way the world does business. Before joining SVN, Deb was Marketing Director for Working Assets and Western Region Marketing Director for American Express. Deb has a B.A. in English from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in marketing and management strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She co-founded the Social Impact Leadership Coalition (SILC), a network of organizations that promote socially responsible business practices and economic justice initiatives. Deb served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon from 1987 to 1989. When she’s not at SVN, Deb enjoys exploring the Bay Area with her husband Nick and her two sons Sam and Will.
William Shutkin (@shutkinpres)
President and CEO and Richard M. Gray Fellow in Sustainability Practice
Presidio Graduate School
William is the President and CEO of the Presidio Graduate School, where he is also the Richard M. Gray Fellow in Sustainability Practice. In addition, he is a Senior Advisor at Aravaipa Ventures, a green investment fund in Boulder, CO. William’s career covers an expansive terrain, from sustainability to social innovation, urban planning to economic development, green design to global warming. He has founded and led several organizations at the forefront of the sustainability field and, from 1999-2008, was on the faculty of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. William is the author of the award-winning book, The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, and A Republic of Trees: Field Notes on People, Place, and the Planet. David Brower described him as “an environmental visionary creating solutions to today’s problems with a passion that would make John Muir and Martin Luther King equally proud.” William received his bachelor’s degree in history and classics from Brown University and a JD and MA in history from the University of Virginia. He also completed doctoral studies as a Regents Fellow at the University of California Berkeley and graduated from the Executive Program in Business Strategies for Environmental Sustainability at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. William was a law clerk for U.S. District Court Chief Judge Franklin S. Billings, Jr.
Jennifer Taylor
Chief Operation Officer
Presidio Graduate School
Jennifer Taylor is Chief Operating Officer of the Presidio Graduate School. Jennifer’s management roles have spanned business development, product licensing and regional sales management for biopharmaceutical Fortune 500 companies Merck, Abbott and ALZA. A former COO and General Manager, she helped lead several start up ventures. Jennifer brings a track record of success and deep know-how to her role at Presidio. Jennifer was Marketing and Admissions Director at the Graduate School of Business at Santa Clara University where she took an enterprise approach to non-profit management, helping the school exceed enrollment targets and launching the university’s first social media strategy. Jennifer holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Food Science from the University of California Davis.
SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Brown (@jenniferbrown)
Founder & CEO
Jennifer Brown Consulting
Jennifer Brown is the Founder & CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, a certified woman- and LGBT-owned strategic leadership and diversity workplace consulting firm based in New York. JBC’s guiding principle is to transform human potential by creating more inclusive and therefore innovative workplaces, while aligning individual performance with organizational results. The company provides consulting, facilitation, coaching, workshops, products and seminars that unleash the power of traditional and diverse talent. The Company’s groundbreaking diversity expertise and models have informed corporate strategies at Cisco, Toyota Financial Services, Disney, Wells Fargo, McKesson, Bank of America, and many others. Jennifer is an acknowledged expert on future workplace practices, specializing in career dynamics for women, LGBT, and emerging leaders.
The Honorable José Cisneros (@sfofe)
Treasurer
City and County of San Francisco
José Cisneros is the elected Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco. José serves as the City’s banker and chief investment officer, and manages tax and revenue collection for San Francisco. José created the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, launching programs such as Bank On San Francisco to bank the unbanked, Kindergarten to College, the first universal matched children’s savings account program and CurrenC SF, to provide electronic pay to all San Franciscans. On a national level, San Francisco joined with New York City to create the Cities for Financial Empowerment coalition.
Brooke Deterline
Corporate Director
Heroic Imagination Project
Gary Erickson
Founder, Co-Owner and Co-CEO
Clif Bar & Company
Mark Finser (@RSFSocFinance)
Chair of the Board
RSF Social Finance
Porter Gale (@portergale)
Marketing Consultant & Author
Porter Gale Consulting
Dr. Peter Graf (@PeterGGraf)
Chief Sustainability Officer & Executive VP Sustainability Solutions
SAP
Chris Hoffmann
CEO
RYNO Motors
Van Jones (@vanjones68)
Co-Founder & President
Rebuild the Dream
Jake Kloberdanz (@jakekloberdanz)
CEO & Founder
ONEHOPE Wine
Jake is the CEO and Founder of ONEHOPE. ONEHOPE is a cause platform. Their organization specializes in cause branding, marketing, e-commerce, and distribution. ONEHOPE is the creator of a proprietary practice they refer to as Cause-Centric Commerce. Their cornerstone product is an award winning wine portfolio made in Napa by Rob Mondavi. They’ve grown their brand by 100% for 4 years, and have gone from 0 to over 600,000 bottles a year in that time. Jake has been written about with regards to Cause-Centric Commerce in Entrepreneur, Leaders, and Forbes magazine and was recognized by business week as “Top 25 under 25″, 40 under 40 in Orange County, and many others.
Marc Lesser (@doingless)
CEO
SIYLI (Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute)
Marc Lesser is the CEO, a founder and board member of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, SIYLI a non-profit bringing mindfulness and emotional intelligence trainings into businesses and organizations, with the mission of creating the conditions for world peace. Marc is an executive coach and consultant to companies including Google, Genentech, and Twitter. Marc is a long term Zen student and teacher, a former resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years and director of Tassajara. He is the author of Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less. He received his M.B.A. degree from New York University.
Evan Low (@Evan_Low)
Vice Mayor
City of Campbell, California
As a community leader, elected official and local Mayor, Evan Low has worked tirelessly for over a decade to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing Silicon Valley. In 2010, the Silicon Valley Metro Newspaper named him one of the “Top 25 People who will change Silicon Valley.” Evan attended local public schools and earned degrees from De Anza Community College and San Jose State before going on to graduate from the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 2010, Evan made history by becoming the youngest Asian-American Mayor in the country. He also became the youngest openly gay mayor in 2010. He currently serves as Vice Mayor of the City of Campbell and as President of the National League of Cities Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials
Ben Mangan (@earn)
President & CEO
EARN
Robin Mansukhani (@RobinMansukhani)
Co-Founder & COO
BlueStamp Engineering
Gavin McIntyre
Co-Founder, Chief Scientist
Ecovative Design
Michael Meyer (@not_the_actor)
Partner
Essential
Sam Mogannam (@biritesf, @sammogannam, @eatgoodfoodbook)
Founder
Bi-Rite Family of Businesses
Charley Moore (@charleymooreesq)
Founder & Chairman
Rocket Lawyer
Charley is the Founder and Chairman of Rocket Lawyer Incorporated, a long-time entrepreneur and a legal commentator. His experience as a lawyer working with consumer services, start-up businesses, and small law firms taught him that something was missing — an easy and affordable way for everyone to understand and manage their legal needs. That’s why he started Rocket Lawyer.
Brian Solis (@briansolis)
Principal
Altimeter Group
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research-based advisory firm. Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging media on business, marketing, publishing, and culture. His new book, The End Of Business As Usual, looks at the changing consumer landscape, its impact on business & what companies can do to adapt & lead. Solis’ previous book, Engage, is regarded as the industry reference guide to build and measure success in the social web.
James Steyer
CEO and Founder
Common Sense Media
Jim has spent more than 20 years as one of the most respected experts and entrepreneurs on issues related to children’s policy and media in the United States. As CEO, he is responsible for the overall leadership of Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the media lives of kids and families. Over the past decade, Jim has appeared regularly on a variety of national television and radio programs, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah, CNN, The O’Reilly Factor, Fox and Friends, Fresh Air, Morning Joe, and Larry King. He hosts a regular weekly segment, “Kids and the Media,” on CBS-5 TV in San Francisco, and his work has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and The Wall Street Journal. Jim grew up in New York City and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford. He received his JD from Stanford Law School, where he founded the East Palo Alto Community Law Project. Jim is the father of four children and lives with his family in the Bay Area.
Chade-Meng Tan (@chademeng)
Jolly Good Fellow
Google
Chade-Meng Tan (Meng) is Google’s Jolly Good Fellow (which nobody can deny). Meng was one of Google’s earliest engineers. His current job description is, “Enlighten minds, open hearts, create world peace”. He is a founder and Chairman of the Board of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, SIYLI a non-profit with the vision of “Enlightened Leaders Worldwide.” Outside of Google, a Founding Patron of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). He is also a Founding Patron of the World Peace Festival, and adviser to a number of technology start-ups. He is the author of Search Inside Yourself.
Ann Winblad (@HumWin)
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
Ann Winblad is the co-founder and a Managing Director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Hummer Winblad Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm focused exclusively on software investing and manages over $1 billion in cumulative capital. Since Hummer Winblad Venture Partners’ inception in 1989 the firm has launched over 100 new software companies. Ann has over 30 years of experience in the software industry as a successful software entrepreneur, strategy advisor, technical author and venture capitalist. Her background and experience have been chronicled in many national business and trade publications. Ann has a BA in Mathematics and in Business Administration. She has an MA in Education with a focus in International Economics from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. Ann also has an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of St. Thomas. Ann has served as a Director of numerous start-up and public companies. Ann currently serves on the Boards of Ace Metrix, Karmasphere, MuleSoft, Sonatype, Star Analytics and Voltage Security. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of St. Thomas, co-chair of SVForum and serves as an advisor to many entrepreneurial organizations.
Tom Wujec
Fellow
Autodesk
Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the world’s leader in 2D & 3D design technology. As a recognized thought-leader and award-winning innovator, Tom works with the Fortune 500 to foster innovation practices at all stages, from strategic and business planning to the design and implementation of digital design tools. Common to each practice is the application of making work visible, and transforming ideas into images that enhance clarity, engagement and persistent intelligent action. Tom has brought several software applications to market including Autodesk SketchBook Pro, PortfolioWall, and is a pioneer of business visualization the emerging practice of using images, sketches and data-driven infographics to help teams make better sense of their work. Tom is also the author of three books on creative thinking and is a highly sought after international speaker who shares fundamental principles in innovation talks, workshops and knowledge maps. Tom has worked as a creative director, writer and animator, has designed dozens of museum exhibits, and was part of a team that won an Academy Award for its software contribution to the film industry.
SPECIAL GUESTS, PARTNERS & PERFORMERS:
Performing a piece from the 1831 Opera “L’Elisir D’amore” by Gaetano Donizetti: Ariel Bowser and Jens Ibsen, accompanied by Ava Soifer on piano.
Ariel Bowser
Soprano
A graduate of Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts Vocal Program, Ariel is profoundly grateful for the “life-changing inspiration and encouragement” of Director, Todd Wedge. “Without his support and belief in me, I never would have found my voice or attended college. Despite assumptions that African-Americans don’t do classical music, I’m proof that that is untrue, as I love singing classical music! It prepares one to learn any type of music and the discipline required imparts an essential life skill.” Ariel studies music at the College of San Mateo and hopes to continue her studies at Pepperdine University.
Jens Ibsen
Tenor
As a principal soloist and first African-born member of the world-famous, 514-year-old Vienna Boys Choir, Jens has performed solos at Carnegie Hall, the UN, on German TV, sung in numerous venues from Shanghai to Dubai, on three CD recordings and acted in the feature film, Songs Along The Silk Road and Time. A Senior in the SFSOTA Vocal Department under Mr. Todd Wedge’s superb direction, Jens has perfect pitch, synesthesia, is tri-lingual, adores musical composition, good jokes and cars. A recently-accepted student of Mz. Sheri Greenawald, SF Opera’s renowned Master Teacher, Jens hopes to pursue a professional career in opera.
Ben Malkevitch
Piano
A graduate of Hofstra University with a BA in Music, specializing in Piano Performanceand of the Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master’s in Collaborative Piano and, Ben is not only well-versed in the standard sonata and concerto repertoire but specializes in opera and a wide variety of classical vocal repertoire. A former vocal coach at SFSOTA and rehearsal pianist at Lamplighter’s Musical Theater, Ben is currently the Music Director at the First Congregational Church of San Francisco. Ben is also an Artist in Residence at SFArtsEd and is a highly sought-after performer, accompanist and teacher.
Special performance by the Joe Goode Performance Group, led by:
Joe Goode (@JoeGoodeGroup)
Artistic Director
Joe Goode Performance Group
Joe Goode is a choreographer, writer, and director widely known as an innovator in the field of dance for his willingness to collide movement with spoken word, song, and visual imagery. As artistic director of Joe Goode Performance Group, Goode has created over 25 works since its inception in 1986. Goode was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, the United States Artists Glover Fellowship in 2008, and is a New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”) winner for choreography. Goode is also a professor at UC Berkeley in the department of theater, dance, and performance studies.
On display, photography by:
Andy Isaacson
Freelance Writer and Photojournalist
Andy Isaacson Writing and Photography
Andy Isaacson is a Bay Area-based writer and photographer who covers wide-ranging topics for The New York Times and various magazines, including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, AFAR, Smithsonian, Wired, and Mother Jones.
Special performance by:
Andrea Williams
Sound Artist
Web Site
Andrea Williams is an artist, composer, and educator currently based in Oakland, CA. She enjoys using site-specific elements and perceptual cues to reveal the unseen connections between people and their environment. Listening, memory, urban ecology, and group collaboration are recurrent themes. Her compositions, soundwalks, installations, and videos have been exhibited and performed both solo and with various artists at galleries and alternative spaces, most recently at the Whitney Museum, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Joyce Theater Soho, Children’s Creativity Museum, Fountain Miami Art Fair, and the Mamori sound artist residency in the Amazon rainforest. Andrea is the Co-Director for the sound art non-profit, 23five, a Co-Founder of the New York Society for Acoustic Ecology, and has an MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College
Special performance by:
Youth Speaks
Youth Speaks was founded in San Francisco in 1996, and remains committed to working with Bay Area youth to find, develop, publicly present and apply their voices as leaders for social change. Through a series of programs that integrate arts education, civic engagement, youth development practices, and artistic presentation, Youth Speaks works with close to 40,000 Bay Area youth each year. At Youth Speaks, the life of young people is the primary text.
