Theme: Make Your Mark

What do you want your legacy to be? How will you make your mark in the communities you are in? For the average college student trying to balance classes, clubs, meetings, social obligations, family, and more, these questions are often buried at the bottom of our to-do stack despite their importance in making our life choices. At TEDxLafayetteCollege 2016, we want you to stop and mull these questions over for a minute. Join us and a diverse line-up of speakers at TEDxLafayetteCollege Spring Conference to be inspired to "make your mark" on campus and beyond.

Colton Chapel
Lafayette College
111 Quad Drive
Easton, Pennsylvania, 18042
United States

David Sunderlin

Associate Professor of Geology, Lafayette College

Dave Sunderlin is a natural historian and therefore walks slowly. Half geologist/half biologist he wanders the world with outlandish curiosity, misconstrued as aimlessness, exploring the coupled evolution of earth and its life with a deep time perspective. His research program considers the meaning of the fossil and rock record with the premise that understanding the evolutionary past can help explain the fleeting present and forecast a dynamic deep future. He is Associate Professor of Geology & Environmental Geosciences at Lafayette College where he has been for 10 years. There he teaches students about sedimentary geology and paleobiology and conducts research on rocks under campus and clear across the continent in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains. Dave’s work has been supported in part by the National Geographic Society, the National Park Service, and the National Science Foundation.

Evan Puschak

YouTuber & Video Essayist

Evan Puschak is the creator and producer of The Nerdwriter, a popular web series of weekly video essays about art and culture. Evan launched The Nerdwriter in 2011, a year after graduating from Boston University, where he studied film production. One of his first videos landed him a job at MSNBC as a writer and web content producer. Almost three years later, the Discovery Channel asked him to write and host a show on their digital network called Seeker Daily. After launching a successful show for Discovery, he left to pursue The Nerdwriter full time. Evan has never been fond of offices or working for other people. He hates meetings and quarterly earnings reports. Now that he’s working for himself, pursuing his passion on YouTube, Evan has never been happier.

Lizabeth Kleintop

MBA Director, Moravian College

Lizabeth Kay Kleintop is a transgender woman living full-time in her chosen gender since September 2013. She holds a PhD in Business Administration from Temple University and is a member of the economics and business faculty of Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, where she teaches change management, analytics, and human resource management, as well as managing the graduate degree programs of the department. Her research agenda is focused on inclusion in the workplace, particularly for transgender and gender fluid employees. Dr. Kleintop is active in the LGBT community holding board positions on the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center and the LGBT Business Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, as well as others. Her preferred pronouns are she/her/hers.

Melissa McCracken

Synesthetic Artist

Melissa McCracken is synesthetic artist. In her late teens, she discovered she had a rare neurological condition called synesthesia, allowing her to virtually see music as a mix of hues and textures. After graduating from William Jewell College in 2013 with a degree in Psychology, Melissa utilized her condition to create dynamic and interactive works of art. Combining her love of both music and visual aesthetics, Melissa allows the audience to take a look at the world through the eyes of a synesthete. Melissa has been featured in Oprah Magazine, MTV News, CNN’s Great Big Story, and Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine.

Taylor Trudon

MTV Voices Editor

Taylor Trudon is the Voices editor at MTV News, where she launched and oversees the teen and millennial focused contributor platform. In addition to leading various youth initiatives, she frequently writes on teen Internet culture and their representation within media, tech and politics. Taylor is passionate about community-building, advocating for young voices and using social media as a catalyst for starting conversations. As a 2015 TEDxTeen speaker, she spoke about the power of the written word and how to amplify your story in today’s technology saturated world. She regularly speaks at conferences and industry events, including the It’s Our Turn Conference for young women, New York Social Media Week, SXSW, and VidCon, a multi-genre online video conference that is the largest of its kind.