Theme: PIVOT

All big ideas have more than one vantage point. Our theme this year encourages attendees to look at the world from different points of views and to not be afraid to pivot when one point isn't clear enough.

Performing Arts Center Main Stage
Western Washington University
516 High Street
Bellingham, Washington, 98225
United States

Baozhen Luo

Sociology Professor

Baozhen Luo’s unique life story involves being born and raised in China before coming to the Southern United States to pursue graduate education, followed by a move to the Pacific Northwest as a faculty member at Western Washington University.  Her training in sociology equipped her to understand the impact of social injustices on a personal level.

Bryant D'Hondt

Motivational Speaker

Bryant has had 15 concussions and was told that he was looking forward to a life with Parkison's Disease. Through his hard work and dedication to recovering a brain that seemed lost, he hcame with an uncoventional process for recovery. Bryant is currently a professional golfer and motivational speaker.

Christie Castagna

Ecological Design Student

Christie is a student at Fairhaven College studying ecological design to create sustainable cooperative communities and regenerative food systems. At 14, she was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, an invisible chronic autoimmune disease. Now, as a community organizer and proud queer disabled woman, she is outspoken on the need for dialogue on ableism and disability justice in activist spaces and the greater community. She hopes this will inspire a reframing of the way we view disability as a society, and challenge the stigma that prevents those with invisible illness from receiving the accommodations they need.

Jordan Crahan

Business Student

In pursuing his degree in Policy and Markets: Behavior and Social Responsibility, Jordan Crahan’s academic career has been devoted to studying the interconnectedness of economics, business, and government. As both an investor and objective observer of the stock market, Jordan sees the problems that exist when such a large and powerful economic institution is not held accountable for things beyond the scope of its own wellbeing. With his knowledge of free market and societal institutions, Jordan has set about solving this problem by reconstructing why the stock market exists and how it should contribute to society.

Joshua Thompson

Researcher / Psychology Student

Joshua is currently completing a Master of Science in Experimental Psychology at Western. Along with Dr. Catherine Riordan, he leads the WWU Political Psychology Lab with a research focus on morality and political communication. Additionally, he has worked closely with Dr. Joseph Trimble and Dr. Jean Lau Chin (Adelphi University, Garden City, NY) with their research involving leadership and diversity. He has published in the areas of personality, leadership, and politics and his research has been presented at the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, and Western Psychological Association conferences.

Kevin Wilhelm

CEO / WWU Professor

Kevin is the Wilder Distinguished Faculty Member at Western Washington University and the CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting where he is one of the world’s pre-eminent business consultants & teachers in the field of sustainability. He has worked with over 110 clients in 37 industries, with the majority in the Fortune 500. He is the author of three books in this field including the acclaimed: Making Sustainability Stick: The Keys for Successful Implementation. Kevin has also taught 12 courses on this topic at 7 different Universities.

Lenny Moore

Research Artist

Lenny Moore is a “Research Artist” working in multiple fields including mathematics, physics, computer science, psychology and linguistics. He graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Western Washington University in 2014 and currently resides in Bellingham, Washington.

Rachel Herd

Judicial Clerk

Rachel Herd is a Western Washington University alumna with a degree from the College of Business and Economics and a minor in Spanish.   Splitting her time between Denver and Santa Fe, Rachel currently works as a judicial clerk for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she supports a federal appellate judge as he decides current legal controversies. Rachel previously spent time in the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and in the Seattle Juvenile Court system’s Youth Advocacy Clinic.  After her year in the southwest, she will return to Seattle to work as a litigator. 

Ray Deck III

Serial Intrapreneur

A serial intrapreneur, Ray Deck III has a decade of experience inciting change from within complex organizations. He leads Skookum Kids, a not-for-profit that cares for children in their first 72 hours of foster care. When he’s not wrestling with bureaucracy, you can find him running, surfing, or backpacking through the Cascades. But you should go look for him. He has a terrible sense of direction, and is probably lost.

Roger Libby

Sexologist

Dr. Roger Libby is a sexologist, a certified sex therapist and a sexual troublemaker. He was a visible leader of the second sexual revolution from 1963 to 1975. He coined the term “sex positive” with Unitarian Rev. Ron Mazur in 1976, and he started National Orgasm Week during Spring Break in the early 1980’s. He pioneered the Pre-Sex Discussion in 1993, and he has been on The NBC Nightly News and Oprah Winfrey (twice). He hosted “The Pleasuredome” call in sex show on a rock station in Atlanta for three years, and he wrote The Naked Truth about Sex and a humor book, Sex from Aah to Zipper.

Sara Alkhedairy

Human Services Student

Since beginning her studies in the Human Services program at Western Washington University, Sara has found hope and joy in recognizing the possibility to create meaningful change in the lives of those around her. Also pursuing a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies, Sara has spent much of her undergraduate schooling contemplating the inequalities that plague our society, and discovering the role that she can play in challenging the structures of oppression that exist in our world. She hopes to share this mission , encouraging others to  think more critically about how we all play a part in the bigger picture. After graduating in June, Sara hopes to find a job working for a non-profit doing event coordination, and ultimately hopes to run her own non-profit organization someday. 

Susan Fee

Author / Therapist

Susan Fee is a therapist, author, and speaker based in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s a passionate advocate for girls’ health and wellness and addressing relational aggression. Susan developed Circle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. to teach girls ages 8-14 how to develop healthy relationships, regulate emotions, increase self-esteem, and communicate assertively. She’s taught her workshops nationwide for mental health professionals, Girl Scouts, parent groups, schools, and summer camps. Susan believes every person has a story worth telling and she wants to help young girl, especially, tell a powerful one.