Theme: If Not Us, Who?

This year’s TEDxWVU theme of “If Not Us, Who?” works to share ideas that are charged with action, inspire change, and overall encourages individuals to reflect and begin visionary conversations of their own. Our goal is to connect our community with a space where they are able to converse about the ways they can indulge in new ideas and ultimately move forward with a ”Go First” mindset. We are dedicated towards spreading ideas and encouraging a space of learning for all.

Gladys G. Davis Theatre, Creative Arts Center
1 Fine Arts Drive
Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506
United States

Cooper Simmerman

Centurion Wealth’s Director of Communications

Cooper is a Financial Advisor, the Director of Communications at a high net worth financial planning firm, and a digital media entrepreneur. A born and raised West Virginian, Cooper uses the skills and values from his childhood to drive his professional career. His passions revolve around community activism, entrepreneurship, networking, investing, and communication. Cooper first discovered his passion for serving others by running his own lawn care service in West Virginia. He then went on to study finance and completed his MBA at West Virginia University. As Centurion Wealth’s Director of Communications, Cooper helps develop financial literacy within the firm’s clientele and the communities in which they live. In a world where staying connected means being online, Cooper shares Centurion’s core values. His interest in entrepreneurship and community activism inspired Cooper to co-found Mountaineer Media, a forward-thinking digital media agency that advocates for West Virginia.

Eric Mason

Chief Financial Officer for Quincy, Massachusetts

Eric Mason is the current Chief Financial Officer for his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. He is a 2014 graduate of WVU’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics with a B.S. in economics and is currently enrolled in WVU’s master’s degree program in applied economics. Mason’s career has been exclusively in the public sector. He has been involved with the financial and economic component of such endeavors as: affordable housing, education, historic preservation, economic development, and local taxation. In his current role, he manages a $345 million dollar budget and a $500 million debt portfolio, as well as constructing the City’s tax rate. Additionally, he provides policy analysis to the city’s elected officials. His career has led him to work with local, regional, and state officials and given him the opportunity to learn how local government can solve big problems.

Hunter Moore

Student at West Virginia University

Hunter is a senior and an undergraduate researcher at West Virginia University, where he serves as Student Body Vice President. He has worked to support the First2Network WV STEM Hub - an online resource cataloging opportunities for young West Virginians - and has spent time interning with the West Virginia Governor’s Schools and the NASA Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility. A native West Virginian studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, Hunter has had to confront his perceptions about his Appalachian identity in his studies and in his work. His talk will focus on the young Appalachians who have left, those who have stayed, and those still trying to find their voice in the region.

Mark Garofoli

Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Experiential Learning for WVU’s SoP

Dr. Mark Garofoli is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Experiential Learning for the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Pharmacy (SoP), a faculty member in the WVU School of Medicine Pain Fellowship Program, and a Clinical Pain Management Pharmacist at the WVU Medicine Center for Integrative Pain Management. Dr. Garofoli received his PharmD at the University of Pittsburgh SoP in 2004 and his MBA from Strayer University in 2008. He is board certified in Geriatric Care (BGCP) along with being a certified pain educator (CPE) and certified tobacco treatment specialist (CTTS). Mark has consulted as a CDC grant reviewer, a professional journals reviewer, a civil and criminal expert witness, and is the host of the “PAIN POD” on the Pharmacy Podcast Network with an international audience of 80,000 healthcare professionals. Mark’s professional passions lie within pain management and addiction patient care and education for healthcare professionals and society alike.

Olivia Dowler

Student at West Virginia University

Olivia Dowler is a sophomore at West Virginia University studying History and Spanish. She grew up in the town of Weirton, West Virginia and is a 2020 recipient of the WVU Foundation Scholarship. All of her identities–a first-generation student, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, an activist, among others–have guided her perspective through life. Growing up, she often wondered which of these characteristics would become her one “identity” as perceived by other people. With time, she realized that nobody else can define your character and that one trait does not have to dominate your identity. Self-acceptance has allowed her to dive deeper into her passions and leadership abilities. At WVU, she serves as the President Pro Tempore of the Student Assembly within the Student Government Association. Olivia aspires to obtain her JD and PhD in American History to practice Human Rights Law to teach at the collegiate level.

Samantha Mariano

Student at West Virginia University

Samantha (Sam) Mariano is a junior at West Virginia University (WVU) who is majoring in Civil & Environmental Engineering & minoring in Spanish. She currently serves as a club officer within the WVU chapter of Engineers Without Borders, American Society of Civil Engineers & Society of Women Engineers. In a time where both mental health & environmental issues have been brought to the forefront, Sam has a passion for helping the community in every way she can -and that includes sharing her ideas with others to educate and inform them. Within the WVU community, she contributes articles centering around mental health through Her Campus WVU and has advocated for better mental health resources and campus sustainability initiatives through Active Minds WVU and the Sierra Student Coalition, respectively. She also devotes time to engineering projects that are in progress within Engineers Without Borders. In her free time, she spends much of her time outdoors, especially when going on hikes.