Theme: Breaking The Mold

“Breaking the Mold” embraces the innovative spirit of the City of Akron and The University of Akron and is dedicated to having a healthy disregard for the impossible and not using the past as an excuse for the future.

The University of Akron Student Union Theater
303 Carroll St.
Akron, Ohio, 44325
United States

Andrew Thomas

Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business at the University of Akron

Andrew R. Thomas is the bestselling author of 19 books- including, most recently, THE CUSTOMER TRAP: HOW TO AVOID THE BIGGEST MISTAKE IN BUSINESS. A successful entrepreneur, he has traveled to and conducted business in more than 120 countries on all seven continents. Dr. Thomas is Contributing Editor at Industry Week; and, Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business at the University of Akron.

Emily Kennedy

Biomimicry Fellow in the Integrated Bioscience PhD Program at the University of Akron working for GOJO

Emily Kennedy is a Biomimicry Fellow in the Integrated Bioscience PhD Program at the University of Akron. Her graduate studies are sponsored by GOJO Industries, the inventor of PURELL® Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer. Emily works part-time in the GOJO R&D department, training innovators to explore biology as a source of creative inspiration and model for sustainability.

Hazel Barton

Professor of Biology and Geosciences at the University of Akron and an avid cave explorer

Dr. Hazel A. Barton is a Professor of Biology and Geosciences at the University of Akron and an avid cave explorer, having explored caves on five continents. She is a past director of the National Speleological Society and an award winning cave cartographer. Her research has been featured in numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Outside, Popular Mechanics and Wired, as well as the IMAX movie Journey into Amazing Caves. Dr. Barton is currently a Fellow of the National Speleological Society, a Kavli Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, and the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Holly Pilcavage

professional speaker with ForCollegeForLife

Holly is the Founder of Project Wednesday, a weekly inspirational message to participants across the nation. She is a professional speaker with ForCollegeForLife, has held multiple positions in higher education, specifically in Student Affairs, and is an aspiring Life Coach. Her passion is people, which fuels everything in which she engages. Holly travels as much as possible to learn more about people and how we all fit together as individual puzzle pieces creating the bigger picture we often refer to as the world.

Hugues Bastien

Founder of Institution Univers and Coalition of Children in Need Association in Haiti

Hugues Bastien is a native Haitian who emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 15. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from City College of New York. Through deep, genuine, almost gut-wrenching urgency to improve conditions for fellow Haitians, Hugues returned to his home village in 1994 and founded Institution Univers and Coalition of Children in Need Association. These organizations were created to guide and teach Haitians how to better their own stations in life through education and acquisition of practical working skills. In 2013, Hugues was named the Entrepreneur of the Year in Education in Haiti. He has built a school for children and one for adult education; he planned and built a medical clinic to service a population of 150,000; he has added housing for professionals who have moved into the area; he planned and implemented a working agricultural farm which now provides food for 2,700 students and staff; the village now has a bakery which provides jobs and bread

Madison Hexter

Student at the University of Akron

Madison Hexter is in her senior year here at the University of Akron, and she's majoring in Biology with Minors in Chemistry and Dance. When she's not in class, she works on campus with Student Academic Success as the Learning Assistant (LA) for Organic Chemistry and is an undergraduate research assistant in Biochemistry. She enjoys volunteering in the Ehko Middle School Ministry at The Chapel, cooking, ice cream, working out, skiing, hiking, and ice skating.

Mark Krohn

Member of the Corporate & Securities practice group

Mark dedicates his life to helping others. In doing so, commitment, creativity, passion, and an aversion to the words “no” and “cant” define him and are at the heart of all he does. Mark specializes in making the complex simple, creating action plans that allow people to achieve things that are deemed impossible and realize and accomplish their dreams.In addition to his legal work, Mark also serves as Chairman to a regional private investment firm, Co-Founder/Chairman of a regional not-for-profit consulting company, Chairman of a social media and marketing company and is the Chief Operating Officer of a technology consulting company.

Troy Haslinger

Founder and Board Chairman of "Life Is Good No Matter What"

Troy is the Founder and Board Chairman of Life Is Good No Matter What. The mission of LIGNMW is to grant adults with advanced cancer and their loved ones an escape from their battle through a cherished experience. Troy founded the charity in his sister Holly's honor because of what he witnessed her go through personally with cancer. Holly passed away from cancer at the age of 39, never getting an escape from her battle. Troy also is an Account Executive at Foundation Medicine where he promotes the utilization of a fully comprehensive genomic profile assay to find the genomic drivers of cancer. Troy is a Father of two amazing boys Sam and Max and is soon to be married to Dawn who makes him want to be a better person everyday and her three awesome kids Jordan, Audrey and Noah - The Brady Bunch.