Theme: Beyond the Blackboard

Each talk given at this years TEDx event will follow the theme of "Beyond the Blackboard," calling attendees–students and non-students alike–to take their education beyond the traditional classroom setting. In an education system that is becoming increasingly standardized, it is easy to view education and learning as a few exam grades and a GPA. This years theme aims to promote ideas that will help develop not students, but learners and world-changers.

1 College Circle
Geneseo, New York, 14454
United States

Benjamin Conard

Benjamin Conard is a junior Business Administration major and German minor at SUNY Geneseo. He is the founder & president of the Fair Trade Club on campus, the Student Chair on the National Steering Committee for Fair Trade Colleges & Universities, and a Communications Intern for the World Fair Trade Organization. In his spare time, Ben like to juggle & unicycle around campus.

Dr. Carol S. Long

Dr. Carol S. Long is currently interim President at SUNY Geneseo. From 2009 to September 2013 she served as Geneseo's Provost, a position to which she will return in July 2015. Prior to 2009 she was at Willamette University in Oregon where she served as Dean of the College. She holds degrees from Pomona College and Northwester University; her research interests are in British literature and the rhetoric of science. She has a long-standing passion for whitewater rafting and kayaking.

Dr. Melanie Medeiros

Dr. Melanie Medeiros has been on faculty with the Anthropology Department at SUNY Geneseo since 2014. Her research focuses on how inequality at the intersection of race, gender, and class affects relationships and health and well-being in structurally vulnerable communities of African descent, an interest which builds upon a myriad of life experiences both before and after college.

Dr. Wendy Pogozelski

Dr. Wendy Pogozelski received her B.S. in Chemistry from Chatham University and her PhD from The John Hopkins University. She was an Office of Naval Research post-doctoral fellow at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. In 1996, she came to Geneseo where she now holds the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor and serves as Chair of the Chemistry Department. In her laboratory work, Dr. Pogozelski and her students investigate the effects of radiation on mitochondria. Since developing an interest in the biochemistry of nutrition, Dr. Pogozelski has been working with an international group of scientists and clinicians who are trying to bridge the gulf between scientific research and nutrition education.

Howard Blumenthal

Howard Blumenthal is an alumni of Suny Geneseo, the CEO of the innovative public media organization Independence Media, and the author or co-author of more than twenty books about media, marketing, history, creativity, games, music, and time travel. He has been an executive at what is now time Warner, Hearst, CDNow, and Bertelsmann. Past consulting and project clients include AOL, American Express, Nickelodeon, MTV, Wiley, HarperCollins, Rutgers University, the nation of Denmark, and various tech startups. Among his many credits as a television producer and creator: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? PBS. Howard is currently working with the Carmen team to develop a follow-up series for the internet, which is the subject of his TEDx Talk.

Jordan Griffen

Jordan Griffen studies Chemistry and Economics as a member of the Edgar Fellows Honors Program at SUNY Geneseo. Over the past twenty years, he has been an athlete, a singer, a dancer, an actor, a writer, an artist, an entertainer, an entrepreneur, and almost everything in between. Jordan never has been hard to locate, and on any given day can be found lifting weights at the gym, reading a book on the porch, or napping on the beach. He has always considered himself blessed to have an amazing support system of family and friends that enable him to pursue his dreams.

Keith Walters

Keith Walters is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo (2011) where he also serves as the Campus Photographer. In addition to his work for the University, Keith runs a photography business providing services for a variety of clients around the region and country. He currently lives in the village of Geneseo with his wife, Joanna (also a Geneseo alum '13) and their dog, Lady.