Theme: Imagine

What better setting than the The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College as a setting for the first annual TEDx Tortola gathering on Saturday, the 10th of June from noon until 5pm. Many have heard of TED, an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since it’s inception as a non-profit in 1984, the organisation has gained a world wide reputation as spreading ‘ideas worth sharing’ in the form of TED Talks: short powerful and inspiring talks which are videoed and made available to millions of people through various media outlets on television and the web. Fast forward to 2017 and TED has branched out to encompass almost any topic ranging from science to literature and music, education, business and even global climate in over 100 languages.

Places are limited. Tickets for TEDx Tortola are available online at www.tedxtortola.com or at the following location: Relish Gourmet Food and Wine (next to Watering hole) aLooking Glass Road Reef Plaza, across the hall from RiteWay (284) 494 7788

Complimentary snacks, soft drinks and cocktails will be provided immediately following the event.

Contact Thandiwe Sihlali on thandi@tedxtortola.com, telehphone 440-3452 or visit www.tedxtortola.com.

HLSCC AUDITORIUM
H. Lavity Stoutt Community College
Paraquita Bay
Tortola, Virgin Islands, British, VG 1120
Virgin Islands, British

Amanada Georges

Performer

Amanda Georges is an aerial artist, dancer, choreographer, teacher and accountant. She earned her BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida and has studied and performed dance in Florida, Bolivia, Costa Rica, California, New York and the BVI. Amanda is owner of Frangipani, a Dance, Aerial and Yoga Studio in the BVI, and is co-artistic director of The CADA Players, choreographing and performing with them since 2011. The title piece she will be performing is called “Emundandi.”

Charisse Bowen

Director of Entrepreneurial Development

Charisse Bowen is the Director of Entrepreneurial Development at Forge International (BVI), a new entrepreneurial training center and co-working community located in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Charisse began her career working in the entertainment industry as a television and commercial producer, where she gained a deep understanding of content creation and distribution. In 2006, her love for creating good content was combined with her love for doing good in the world with the launch of her company, GenGreen. Charisse led the environmentally-focused SAS Company to become the largest distributor of eco-content in North America and was responsible for creating the very first eco-app in the iTunes store, called ‘FindGreen.’ In 2011, Charisse sold the company and decided to take on the new challenge of academia. She was invited to build and lead the Institute for Entrepreneurship at Colorado State University. This new calling became the strategic shift in her life that set her on a

Dalan Vanterpool

Education/Entertainment entrepeneur

Dalan Vanterpool is an education and entertainment entrepreneur from the British Virgin Islands. Private banker by day, musician and podcast host by night. Over the past 15 years, school, work and play allowed him to experience diverse cultures in the United States, South Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Since 2012 Dalan has been leading d Spot Jazz, a movement to advance music, poetry and other performing arts in the Caribbean. As a musician he specializes in saxophone, with training in theology and jazz. He also founded DV Global Entertainment, creating a professional portal for local musicians to interact with high net worth clients. Dalan believes there is a fire burning inside each person, but we find two common challenges. In one case their passion is burning so low that it can’t generate enough heat to change the state of their lives. Or, their passion is burning very high, but lacks the focus needed to make progress in a specific direction. 
Dalan is committed to helping pe

Dana Miller

Engeneer

Dana Miller was born in the British Virgin Islands and began his career in Colorado in 2007, during a time of explosive growth in the solar electric industry. Managing director of aTec, a renewable energy company in the BVI, Dana and his team have designed and managed power generation installations at Neckar Island, Moskito Island, Eustatia Island, Oil Nut Bay, Cooper Island, and Peter Island. In total, Dana has over 4 megawatts of solar electric installation experience in residential, commercial and government projects. He is passionate about the renewable energy industry and is part of the movement to bring renewable energy, prosperity and energy security to the British Virgin Islands. Dana is a licensed BVI electrician and holds a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification as Solar Electric Installation Professional. The NABCEP certification is known as the “gold standard” for Photovoltaic (PV) and Solar Heating Installation and PV Technical Sales

David Foot

Head of HM Virgin Islands prison services

David Foot is a 27-year veteran of the correctional institution system, having started his career as a Prison Officer and now serving as Head of the HM Virgin Islands Prison Service. Along the way, his roles have involved reducing re-offeneders, intelligence and security, and even the security of members of the Royal Family. He has led educational departments and instituted MAPPA (multi-agency public protection arrangements) programs in the UK and in the Virgin Islands, In his tenure, David has worked with every type of offender in every age group and counts as his greatest achievement having made a different in the lives of people in his charge, and as a result, preventing others from becoming victims of serious crimes.

Kent J Wessinger, Phd

Author/Educator, & Advocate

Kent is committed to elevate nations, organizations, and corporations that are jeopardizing their future and forfeiting growth because they are hemorrhaging their millennial workforce and muting their innovative ideas of value. He used the outcomes of his globally acclaimed research that illuminates the transition from escalating crisis to sustainable growth to found the create2elevate foundation. Kent has a PhD. from Prescott College in Sustainability Education with a research emphasis in social justice through economic sustainability and creative practice within regions suffering from migration; a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology from Regent University; and a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from Kennesaw State University. His publications include, The Relationship Between Creative Practice and Socioeconomic Crisis: A path to sustainable growth (Routledge Publishing: London).

Nancy Woodfield Pascoe

Deputy Director of National Parks

Nancy Woodfield Pascoe is the Deputy Director for Science, Research and Environmental Policy at the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands. Nancy is a BVIslander who grew up in the Territory and began working with the Trust in 1998. Her work covers a broad spectrum of activities, from collaborating with international partners such as RSPB and Kew Gardens on special projects in the Virgin Islands in order to conduct scientific research, to managing the Territorial Mooring Buoy Programme, providing recommendations to the Town and Country Planning Department on environmental issues and endangered species related to the land development process, mentoring students involved in environmental projects and managing the Geographic Information System (a digital mapping programme). Nancy is married with two young children and loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm of protecting the Virgin Islands’ environment.

Richard Georges

Poet/ Professor

Richard Georges’ poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Prelude, Smartish Pace, The Puritan, WILDNESS, The Caribbean Writer, The Rusty Toque, Wasafiri, and elsewhere. He is the author of the collection Make Us All Islands (Shearsman, 2017). He lives and works in the British Virgin Islands.

Thor Downing

Architect

Thor Downing is a native BVIslander. Educated in the UK, he has held the position of Principle Architect at Roger Downing and Partner since 2003. Designing for the luxury market in all contexts, Thor has the ability to visualize and utilize the full potential of all sites and works to maintain a team cohesiveness to ensure that each project is concluded successfully and exceeds the client’s expectations. Thor is a prominent and dedicated member of the BVI society, serving as a Board Member of the BVI Building Authority and actively working with the College Drafting and Design Programs.