Theme: Say it Loud

Our goal is to concentrate on lifting others up and to bring individuals together to focus on our similarities and celebrate our differences. The 2020 TEDxWVU Talks are encouraging others to Say it Loud. We want to inspire others to speak their truths, lift voices that have been silenced, and to celebrate individuals for who they are, not who we want them to be.

Zoom Webinar
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Morgantown, West Virginia, 26505
United States

Christina Fattore

Associate Professor

Christina Fattore is an associate professor of political science at West Virginia University, where her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of international political economy and gender issues. She received her BA in political science and history at Gettysburg College and her MS and PhD in political science at Florida State University. She is quite active on Twitter (@cfattorewvu), where she writes about gender issues in academia, imposter syndrome, and her two kids and three cats, among other things. Instead of working toward a better work-life balance, she encourages folx to reject a separation of their professional and personal life and instead live a more whole, authentic existence. She went viral in early 2020 with her authentic “decade in review” tweet that was featured on Good Morning America , Headline News, Parents magazine, Working Mother magazine, and George Takei’s Facebook page.

Kassandra "Kassie" Colón

Founder of Project La Resolana

Kassandra “Kassie” Colón graduated from West Virginia University in December 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Geography. A 2019 Truman Scholar, their work emphasizes the importance of cultivating social justice in education, focusing specifically on cultural representation in the K-12 classroom. In 2018, Kassie founded Project La Resolana, a grassroots organization that matches students with representative literature as a medium for challenging dominant perspectives in education. Involved in Policy Debate since high school, they believe in the power of ideas to transform our world. Kassie is a Community Fellow at The Center for Resilient Communities and a Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute. As a Puerto Rican and Mexican-American scholar, Kassie’s continued work focuses on bridging Puerto Rican/Chicano/Latinx studies and a practice-oriented approach to knowledge construction and dissemination.

Nicole Russell

Executive Director of Precious Dreams Foundation

Nicole Russell is a lead advocate for mental health and the well being of children. Nicole serves as the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, “Precious Dreams Foundation,” and CEO of her own consulting agency, “Pitch House Productions.” Nicole has made a global impact on thousands of youth transitioning through homeless shelters, detention centers or foster care by teaching self-care and healthy coping mechanisms. Since the inception of PDF, Nicole’s efforts have been recognized by O, The Oprah Magazine, GLAMOUR Magazine as their “Everyday Hero of the Year”, Observer’s “Top 20 Heroes Under 40” and Walmart.

Raimah Hossain

Student at WVU

Raimah Hossain is a 21-year old junior, attending WVU, pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering and a history minor. Raimah was born in Starkville, Mississippi and moved to Morgantown, West Virginia in the 8th grade. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. when she was little. She is very grateful for the experiences, both positive, and sometimes even negative, that being a first-generation American immigrant has granted her. She believes that for many people such as herself, finding one’s identity in American society given one’s background can be difficult, sometimes even isolating. She is passionate about informing people in that position that many people struggle with this adjustment daily. These passions have driven her goals and extracurricular activities. She serves as the Inclusion Coordinator on behalf of the WVU Student Government Association, and even attended the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where she had the opportunity to meet many such as herself.