SoCal

Confirmed Speakers

• David Mocarski
  David Mocarski has explored the boundaries of the creative process for more than thirty years. He is the principal of Arkkit forms design, as well as chairman of the Environmental Design Department at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Whether it's creating an object, a place or a destination, he feels that the most effective design is always about: attraction, involvement, interaction & producing satisfaction and/or inclusion beyond expectation.
• Brian Ulaszewski
  As Executive Director of CITY FABRICK, Brian works with public agencies, private entities and community groups to advocate for and develop improvements to the physical environment. Brian has managed and led design efforts on award-winning urban planning studies and buildings, including adaptive reuse, affordable housing and retail projects.
• Sithea San
  Sithea San is a Cambodian genocide survivor having escaped the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge as a teenager in 1980. Her story is one of strong determination and perseverance as her journey took her across landmine-riddled Cambodia to Thailand and eventually immigrating to Long Beach, California. She is currently a Customer Service Officer with Union Bank and the immediate past Board Chair for Cambodia Town, Inc. For her commitment to preserve and share her Khmer heritage, she has received numerous awards and recognition for community service and leadership at local, state, and national levels.
• Dr. Judy Rosener
  Judy is a teacher and researcher in the areas of men and women at work, cultural diversity, and business and government. She has authored two books and published numerous articles in academic journals and the mass media, including the path-breaking article "Ways Women Lead" (Harvard Business Review).
• Damon Dunn
  From humble beginnings in Fort Worth, Texas, Damon went on to graduate from Stanford University, play in the NFL, serve as Executive Director of the East Palo Alto Stanford Summer Academy, and co-found a successful real estate firm. In addition to working with many community, youth, and religious organizations, he has also started his own.
• John Tarnoff
  John is a communicator and strategist with over 30 year's management expertise in motion pictures, interactive technology, and workforce development. His consultancy, Newspeak Media LLC, helps organizations and individuals successfully identify, understand, and adapt to the profound business, cultural and personal paradigm shifts we are facing in the 21st century.
• Dr. Katherine Loflin
  As Principal of Loflin Consulting Solutions, Dr. Katherine Loflin has emerged in the placemaking field as an in-demand consultant across the country and internationally. She advises elected officials, planners, foundations, corporations, academic institutions and community leaders who are trying to improve their cities, using the placemaking model. She has created and hosts the nation's only radio show dedicated to the topic of placemaking, "Place Matters with Dr. Katherine Loflin."
• Mick Ukleja
  Mick Ukleja is founder and president of LeadershipTraQ, a leadership-consulting firm based in California. He helped found the Ukleja Center For Ethical Leadership at Cal State University, Long Beach. His book, Who Are You? What Do You Want? Four Questions That Will Change Your Life, has been praised by legendary coach John Wooden and many prominent leaders and CEOs, as "The one book to read that will immediately impact your life."
• Steve Zee
  Steve Zee, world-class tap dancer and has shared the bill with numerous tap notables. He has been a featured soloist in the Jazz Tap Ensemble, a member of Rhapsody In Taps and he has performed and taught across the United States, Canada, Brazil, France and Germany. Steve is on faculty in the dance department at Cal State University, Long Beach where he teaches a tap dance history course in addition to regular studio dance classes. He is the director of the nonprofit arts organization, LA Ironworks.
• Rudy De Felice
  Rudy DeFelice is a recovered large-firm lawyer turned entrepreneur. He founded the software and internet company Practice Technologies, Inc., which grew to 100 people, raised venture capital and earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America. He has since founded 3 companies, invested in several others and sits on the boards of another four.
• Natasha Case/ Freya Estreller
  After making ice cream sandwiches for their peers, Natasha and Freya bought a beat up postal van on Craigslist and officially called the ice cream sandwich line Coolhaus – after architect Rem Koolhaas, Bauhaus - the minimalist design and lifestyle movement of the 1920s and '30s in Germany, and because the sandwiches looked like little 'cold houses.' Their first event with the barely drive-able Coolhaus postal van was the Coachella Valley Music Festival in 2009, where they served their product to an audience of 100,000. Since then, they have built a national fleet of trucks in LA, New York City, Miami, Austin, and Dallas.
• Laura Schenasi
  Laura Schenasi is Executive Vice President of the Torrance Memorial Health Care Foundation, a nonprofit corporation created to develop and increase funding sources for the exclusive benefit of Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Prior to joining Torrance Memorial, Schenasi served as Director of Major Gifts for the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
• Khmer Arts Academy
  Khmer Arts is a public benefit organization dedicated to fostering the vitality of Cambodian arts and culture and to expanding the role arts and culture play in the development and well-being of young people and of society as a whole. Khmer Arts sees itself as a nexus of arts and culture in a transnational community endowed with wonderful traditions and looking for ways of using those traditions to improve its quality of life.
• Kodi Lee
  Kodi is a young, aspiring musical phenomenon who was born blind due to optic nerve hypoplasia and was later diagnosed with autism at age four. Through song, music and rhythmic majesty, Kodi embraces his unique existence with true grace and beauty
• Culture Shock LA
  A troupe of individuals, who through the power of music and dance, cultivate self-worth, dignity, and respect for all people. Today's performers are from one of the high school education programs.
• Larry Ward
  Deeply inspired by the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Larry has spent his life committed to non-violent social change, healing, and transformation on a global level. Self-described as a "Teacher, Scholar, Social Artist," Larry is currently completing his doctoral program in Religious Studies majoring in Buddhism. He volunteers as Director of the Lotus Institute and has served as Adjunct Faculty at Claremont Graduate University.
• Mrinalini Ingram
  As Cisco's Smart + Connected Communities Strategy and Business Lead, Mrinalini has worked with government, developers, enterprises, service providers, and other technology partners, creating business architectures that leverage intelligent networking capabilities to weave together people, services, community assets, and information into pervasive solutions.