Theme: Life Unscripted

TEDxFondduLac will return for its third event in Downtown Fond du Lac on what is sure to be another beautiful summer day. Tickets for this event go on sale May 1, 2019.

THELMA Sadoff Center for the Arts
51 Sheboygan Street
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 54935
United States

Angela Damiani

Social Architect

The leader of the NEWaukee team, Angela has spent over a decade developing engagement strategies that work. She helps communities and companies build meaningful connections and attract top talent. Angela is a serial entrepreneur launching four businesses, guest contributor and writer for national publications like Fortune, New Geography and Style Salute, frequent public speaker at economic development symposiums like Future Wisconsin and was a 2016 40 Under 40 Award Winner. She lives by the mantra, “uncompromising momentum forward” – there is no challenge too big that can’t be tackled by simply asking “how”.

Arletta Allen

Motivational Speaker

Arletta Allen is a dynamic speaker who serves as a great example of perseverance and resilience. Arletta was raised by a single mother, who relocated with all five of her children to escape a highly domestic and abusive relationship. Allen was born and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi and currently resides in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin with her four sons. Allen is the CEO/founder of the dynamic lifestyle brand Authentically Arletta and promotes Daring to Persevere and Authenticity. Arletta’s academic background is in the fields of leadership development, communication, public speaking, and management. She also serves as a student leader at Marian University. Arletta anticipates graduating in 2019 from Marian University with a bachelor of communication degree with a minor in business. Prior to enrolling at Marian University, she earned an associate’s degree in leadership development at Moraine Park Technical College.

Ashley Anne

Neurocounselor

Dr. Ashley Anne is a licensed neurocounselor and founder of Lotus Healing, an online health education company that empowers its clients and students to heal themselves one lifestyle change at a time. Her lifelong struggle with physical and mental disease and disorder inspired her as a researcher to translate research findings within the field of Interpersonal Neurobiology into understandable, applicable tools and practices for everyday people. Through qualitative and quantitative research methods, Dr. Ashley proposed a new framework for mental health diagnosis and treatment, one that veers away from symptom-based conceptualizations and instead ties observable behaviors to the dysregulated neurological mechanisms that correlate to them. Her hope is to push the envelope of how we understand disease and disorder to ultimately transform the manner in which we resolve it.

Craig St. Clair

Youtube channel host

Craig St. Clair is a 27-year old bindery and mailing assistant from New Berlin, WI. Diagnosed with Autism at age 3, life has been nothing short of unique. He views every day challenges in a positive light, often referring to his creative solutions as “finding the back door”. His hobbies and interests include drawing, painting, writing, movies, videography, traveling, ships, planes, and trains. Craig has hosted a YouTube channel called “Cruiseshipz Studios” since 2008 showcasing these interests; this is also where he has met many of his friends, the majority of which share his diagnosis and interests.

Deano Pape

Professor

Deano is a teaching specialist in multimedia communication and assistant director of speech and debate for Simpson College. He taught for 17 years at Ripon College where he was named a Severy Outstanding Professor and three times recognized for the Faculty / Staff Excellence in Leadership Award. He also worked for the National Speech & Debate Association, the national nonprofit honor society for middle and high school speech and debate. Additionally, he also directed the Public Speaking & Argumentation Division of Harvard Debate Council's Summer Workshops.

Emily Trusk

Poet

Emily Trusk is an empath, a vivid dreamer, a singer, an artist, but most of all, a poet. She uses words and voice to draw meaning from darkness. Poetry is her way of healing trauma and using those experiences to create art. Emily graduated from UW Oshkosh with a Bachelor of Science in English Literature and is now the Community Engagement Coordinator at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, WI.

Emily Waisanen

Middle school teacher

Emily Waisanen is a middle school English teacher at Oakfield Middle School, a wife, and a mother of two daughters. She promotes kindness wherever she is: work, home, or in the community. She believes that the key to understanding kindness is to think about interpretation rather than the intention of kind acts in order to make an impact.

Holland Dickirson

Student

Holland Dickirson is a senior at Marian University working toward a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and Psychology. She aims to pursue a career in psychiatric nursing and eventually attain a master’s degree to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. In her spare time, Holland enjoys spending time with her 3-year-old daughter, reading, playing guitar, and volunteering. Some of her current and past volunteer activities include: facilitating an art group for juveniles and a bible-based recovery group for women in the FDL jail, teen mentoring with Youth for Christ, and assisting students with emotional and behavioral disorders at Evans Elementary school. Holland is passionate about mental health advocacy and strives to use her own experiences to encourage and empathize with others. She is excited to use this platform as a way to further break the stigmas and misconceptions that often surround disordered eating.

Jacy Imilkowski

Mental Health Advocate

Jacy Imilkowski (just think “I-milk-cows-on-skis”), PMP, CPCC, ACC, CLL is a mental health advocate, communication nerd, and champion of finding choices. She combines emotional intelligence, stories, and brain science to help people see the choices they didn’t know they had in their communication, relationships, and lives. An avid learner, Jacy has spent the last 20 years trying out careers to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. She’s been a store and restaurant manager, customer service representative, massage practitioner, professional trainer, professional artist, project manager, and executive coach. Jacy is currently living her dream as a professional speaker. She’s also the Co-Dean for the National Speakers Association-WI chapter Speakers Academy and a foster home for Greyhound Pets of America-WI. She loves her dog and probably loves your dog too.

Maggie Wentzell

Neurobiologist

Dr. Maggie Wentzell draws from her experience as a woman in science to explore unconscious biases and their biological origins. Tracing contradictory behavioral drives to specific areas of the brain allows us to begin to understand how to correct them. This TEDx talk will describe the reasons why we sometimes unconsciously behave in ways that are not in keeping with our conscious values. A neurobiologist, Dr. Wentzell is an assistant professor at Carthage College in Kenosha. Her research interests focus on sensorimotor integration and behavior driven by specific neural networks. Maggie is an “Equity Warrior”, a member of the Carthage community devoted to adopting inclusive practices and programs to create opportunity for all. She leads an annual study abroad trip, focused on health care in India. Maggie was born and raised south of Fond du Lac and graduated from St. Mary’s Springs. She earned her PhD in Biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mike Petersen

Compliance Director

Two years ago, Mike became an instrumental part in an ecommerce business startup and he is looking forward to his to the next business challenge. Before entering the business world, Mike practiced Criminal Defense for several years. He holds a Juris Doctor from Mitchell-Hamline School of Law and a Bachelor’s Degree from UW-Green Bay. During his time in school, Mike discovered his passion for the Constitution and media and its impact on everyday life. Mike is proud to call Fond du Lac home with his wife, Angie, and their sons, Alex and Aaron.

Robert Pamenter

Sleep Medicine Expert

Mr. Pamenter has over 35 years of experience in the field of sleep medicine having developed and managed numerous sleep laboratory facilities, co-founded an institute for the training of physicians and technicians in clinical sleep medicine, and given lectures to groups of all kinds from community organizations and schools to international professional conferences. He currently serves as a volunteer coordinator for a hospice and volunteers himself for several organizations. And yes, he portrays S. Claus.

Samuel Bice

Survivor Advocate

Samuel Bice is currently working as an Assembly Technician at Mercury Marine in Fond du lac. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Business Economics from Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California. Helping others has become a lifelong goal of Samuel’s by coming alongside people who are hurting, listening to their stories, and sharing his own story of childhood trauma. Samuel hopes to inspire communities to come together to help each other and have difficult conversations about issues that are affecting our neighborhoods, specifically, in the case of sexual abuse.

Shelley Winner

Restorative Justice Activist

Shelley Winner is a Restorative Justice Activist whose goal is to change the world, reduce crime and advocate for justice involved people all while helping companies improve productivity and revenues. 76% of people released from prison will re-offend and return to prison; this is called recidivism and Shelley is working to turn the tide on this statistic. Someone has to challenge the societal stigma that prevents companies from hiring people with criminal records and Shelley has taken up that mantle. Shelley Winner, a technology specialist, is very active in the restorative justice movement in San Francisco and wants to educate the public about the benefits of hiring the formerly incarcerated. Through her work with “Winner’s Circle”, she is closing the gap between soon to be released inmates and technology companies by developing and delivering training to inmates and helping technology companies create internships for justice involved individuals.

Theresa Menting

Empowerment Advocate

Theresa currently works for Fond du Lac County as the Volunteer Coordinator and Music and Memory Specialist where she developed a program to bring iPods to individuals who have onset Dementia and Alzheimer’s to relieve anxiety and help make our community dementia friendly. She also developed the Women’s Empowerment Series. This series focuses on providing the struggling women of Fond du Lac County an opportunity to share their story, attend guided classes with professional speakers and create relationships with mentors and each other to work through the trying time they are going through.