Theme: The Great Unveil

This year's theme is "The Great Unveil." We interpret this theme to mean "new discoveries, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things." In other words, we invite individuals to share the knowledge they have acquired through different life experiences that they feel others would benefit from learning.

Luther College
700 College Drive Luther College
Decorah, Iowa, 52101
United States

Brittany Todd

Brittany is a full time entrepreneur who resides in Decorah. She's the founder of the R.E.S.E.T. Business Conference (a conference created for rural small business owners, start up entrepreneurs and side-hustlers) and is the head of Marketing/Co-Owner for Sugar Bowl (a multi-location ice cream shoppe). She thrives on guiding people to a path that helps them quickly determine their purpose both in and out of the workspace and classroom. A mom to three boys and married to her husband Nathan for 12 years, she can be quickly won over with dark chocolate, comfy sweatpants and a reason to celebrate anything and anyone. She believes firmly that birthday MONTHS are real, and that one of the best parts about being an adult is you can have ice cream any time of the day...or night.

Cole Blalock

Cole Blalock has spent his life developing and honing a unique talent that has given him confidence, an outlet, and a career. He’s taken that talent and paired it with a desire to understand mental health and to be an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. He has a passion for motivating, uplifting, and inspiring. As someone who has spent a large portion of his life battling bouts of depression and anxiety, he knows what it feels like to not have complete control over your mind. Because of this, he uses his unique perspective to help people learn more about the intricacies of navigating this life when the deck might seem stacked against you.

Jodi Enos-Berlage

Jodi Enos-Berlage has served as a professor in the Luther College Biology Department for over 20 years, with primary areas in microbiology, immunology, and introductory cell biology. Her 10+ years of student-centered research on water quality in Northeast Iowa has resulted in the Dry Run Creek Watershed being one of the most monitored watersheds of its size in the state. More recently, her teaching and research has integrated student-sourcing antibiotic discovery from microbes in Northeast Iowa soils. In the last 5 years, Dr. Enos-Berlage has also focused attention on student career and life design development, having co-developed, launched, and implemented a new high impact, immersion internship program in Rochester, MN and served a three-year term as Associate Dean for Integrating Academic and Career Development, partnering with Luther’s Career Center Director to lead career and life design efforts on campus. Dr. Enos-Berlage grew up and was actively involved in her family’s Northwest Illinois cow-calf beef and crop farm and currently owns and operates a direct sale beef and hog farm outside of Ridgeway, IA with husband John and family. She finds peace in flowing water, energy from walking in the wild, and joy in dancing and storytelling. Her most treasured moments have been reading out loud to her children after dinner for over two decades. People who know her well describe her as a “relentless advocate for positive change”.

Laura Meihofer

Dr Laura Meihofer is a pelvic floor physical therapist who has spent over 10 years focusing on the study and treatment of the pelvic floor. This area of the body deals with many major functions that are often associated with shame such as bowel and bladder habits as well as sexual functioning. Dr. Laura has made it her mission to normalize the pelvic floor and its functions through education, advocacy and treatment. With the rise of anti-transgender bills and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Dr. Laura believes that knowing what is normal and abnormal regarding what’s between your legs is more important than ever. Through her various social platforms, websites and speaking engagements. Dr. Laura improves access and quality of life through knowledge and movement.

William Tuchtenhagen

My name is William Tuchtenhagen, I am from River Falls, Wisconsin, and I am a current senior at Luther majoring in political science and international studies with a minor in management. I work as a Career Peer Advisor in the Luther Career Center and in my free time I am a frequent user of the Luther basketball courts. Since starting college, the energy market has fascinated me, it is everywhere and it has the ability to dictate our lives and our future as a species. Researching and preparing for this TED talk has given me an outlet to learn as much as I can and I look forward to passing some of this knowledge on to you!