Theme: The Art of Resilience

Rural Central Minnesota needs more people who believe they can accomplish something great - and then go doit! TEDxGullLake helps members of our community believe in their own capacity for greatness. TEDxGullLake gives them a platform and connects them to the people, tools, ideas, and inspiration for them to create large- scale change quickly.
We find that as we let people share their great ideas, others are sparked. Through our event, people will become inspired, and that inspiration will sparking a movement of hope in our community.

Madden's on Gull Lake
11266 Pine Beach Peninsula
Brainerd, Minnesota, 56401
United States

Mike Link & Kate Crowley

Mike and Kate have authored several books together, including Going Full Circle: A 1,555-mile Walk Around the World's Largest Lake. They stay busy as guides on outdoor adventures to places like Isle Royale and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Arlene Jones

Arlene never thought she would be a farmer. Now she co-owns The Farm on St. Mathias, near Brainerd, with her husband, Bob, and forged a vital new role promoting locally-grown foods in our schools, hospitals, and restaurants. She started a for-profit food hub, SPROUT, which now markets the berries and vegetables raised by more than 50 local growers.

Benjamin Thwaits

An evolutionary biologist by training, Ben didn't even know he liked working with kids. That changed when he took a job with Northwest Passage in western Wisconsin, a long-term treatment center for teenagers at risk.

Col. Scott St. Sauver

Col. St. Sauver is Garrison Commander of Camp Ripley and Commander of the Training Support Unit that is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 53,000-acre facility.

Corey Medina

Corey Medina was born and raised in the small town of Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Reservation, where he developed his particular brand of blues. At age 12, Corey picked up the guitar, discovering blues riffs and scales that fueled his fire for music.

Hannah Stonehouse Hudson

Hannah is a professional photographer, specializing in photos of dogs.

Jason Edens

A thought leader on issues of energy and equity, Jason has been advancing the solution of using solar energy to address low-income fuel poverty in cold climates. Jason is a former high school teacher, who also taught English in Japan for three years. He earned a masters in Environmental Studies Policy and Planning from Bemidji State University. He currently lives in a solar-powered home in northern Minnesota with his wife and a small pack of dogs.

Jessica Willits

Jessica is a natural talker and thinker. Her first spoken words at nine months old came out as a complete sentence: “More scrambled eggs, please, dad.” Jessica likes to write songs and stories, sing for different events, play piano, and watch anime on YouTube. She hopes to be an aeronautical engineer someday and work for NASA

Luca Clemente

Luca is a PhD candidate in endocrinology at the University of Wisconsin. While medical research is his specialty, social justice is his passion. “As people drop down a rung on the social ladder, ever increasing numbers fall off that last rung into homelessness,” he says. “If the Occupy Movement showed us anything, it’s that an equitable and sustainable world can only be created by direct action.”

Marie Johnson

Marie is the founder and president of AUM Cardiovascular, Inc., a company now in the process of testing and marketing this medical innovation. Marie holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.

Matthew Fluharty

Matthew holds a PhD in English and American Literature from Washington University in Saint Louis, where he wrote on the concept of “rural modernity” across transatlantic art and literature. Matthew serves on the Board of Directors for the M12 art collective and is a Research Fellow in American Culture Studies at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Rick McLean

Currently based out of Duluth, Rick is an acoustic artist that blends various styles and influences into his music.

Sara Sherman

Sara is a certified practitioner of equine-based counseling/coaching and trainer for the Touched by a Horse program.

Tane Danger

As founder of The Theater of Public Policy, Tane Danger uses the fun and fascination of improv to teach about risk-taking, creative problem solving, and collaboration. In addition to his work with The Theater of Public Policy, Tane presents keynote addresses and workshops on the intersection of improv theater with civic collaboration and leadership.