Theme: The Positive Spark

#TEDxUofOzarks will be an event full of outstanding professionals from Arkansas and other states who are going to share how they discovered, developed, and used their passion for generating a positive impact.

Rogers Conference Center, University of the Ozarks
415 N College Ave
Clarksville, Arkansas, 72830
United States

Christina Madsen

Associate Vice President of Communications, Public Relations, and Marketing for the University of Central Arkansas

Christina Muñoz Madsen is the Associate Vice President of Communications, Public Relations, and Marketing for the University of Central Arkansas. She oversees UCA’s Division of University Relations and Creative Services. Christina made the switch from television news to higher education in March 2014. Prior to joining UCA, Christina spent 11 years at KATV Channel 7 where she was the evening anchor alongside Scott Inman for nine years. Christina came to Little Rock from Duluth, Minnesota, where she was a reporter for KDLH, the CBS affiliate. Prior to that she worked behind the scenes at WCCO in Minneapolis. Christina received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Spanish from the University of Minnesota. She started out as a musical theater major and performed professionally in Minneapolis theaters for four years while pursuing her degree.

Claretha Hughes

Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources, and Communication Disorders at the University of Arkansas

Dr. Claretha Hughes is an associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders at the University of Arkansas and former Director of the College of Education and Health Professions' Honors Program. She received her PhD from Virginia Tech, and her research focuses on value creation through the use of human resource development and technology development. She is interested in the impact of values (a) on teaching and learning processes and motivation; (b) on organizational culture, change strategies, and leadership; and (c) on technology in the workplace environment and employee behavior. In 2012 Dr. Hughes received the R. Wayne Pace Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Human Resource Development for her book Valuing People and Technology in the Workplace and has been nominated for the American Academy of Management 2013 George R. Terry Book Award.

Eliza Borné

Editor of the Oxford American magazine

Eliza Borné is the editor of the Oxford American, a national magazine dedicated to featuring the best in Southern writing and art, while documenting the complexity and vitality of the region. Best known for its annual Southern Music issue, the OA has won four National Magazine Awards and other high honors since it began publication in 1992. The OA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and the magazine’s offices are located in Little Rock’s South Main neighborhood. Eliza was born and raised in Little Rock and received a B.A. in English from Wellesley College. She has also served as associate editor, managing editor, and interim editor of the OA. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference, is on the Arts & Culture Commission of the City of Little Rock, and is on the talent committee of the Arkansas Literary Festival.

Erik Dickerson

Campus Pastor at the Journey Church in Clarksville, Arkansas

Erik Dickerson married his high school sweetheart Tessa and they live in Clarksville Arkansas with their two boys. Erik graduated with honors from Arkansas Tech University in 2003 with a business degree and worked in management at Tyson Foods and Beacon Tire Wholesale where he was the wholesale manager for 5 years. In 2011, Erik left the business world to join the The Journey Church as the Campus Pastor of their first satellite campus, where he now serves on the executive staff as the Senior Campus Pastor. Erik has also served on the boards for the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce, The Peach Festival, and multiple others, and also volunteers his time, coaching boys club basketball and baseball. In 2013, The Journey Church was awarded the Community Pride award, recognizing their outstanding service in the community. And, in 2014, Erik was recognized by the Clarksville Arkansas Chamber of Commerce as the Chamber Member of the Year.

Kaye Person

Music Teacher at Tuckerman High School

Person was born in Clarksville AR. She graduated in 1972 from Clarksville High School at the age of 16. In 1977, she received a bachelor degree in Applied Voice/Music Education from the College of the Ozarks/ University of the Ozarks at Clarksville. In 1984, she completed her master’s degree in elementary education. In 1974, Kaye became the first person of color to win the Miss College of the Ozarks pageant which was a prerequisite of the Miss Arkansas. At the Miss Arkansas Pageant, she won the Coleman Dairy Award Overall Talent Award. Person became the first person of color to become a runner up. She won second runner up. In August of 1977, she began career as the teacher-director of Taylor Street Child Development in Clarksville. Person has taught in the school districts of Wynne Public Schools, Wynne Arkansas and Jackson County Schools of Tuckerman respectively.

Kevin De Liban

Equal Justice Legal Aid Attorney at Legal Aid of Arkansas

Kevin De Liban is a lawyer with Legal Aid of Arkansas and manages the Economic Justice practice group, which deals with legal issues involving health, employment, disability rights, and education. He also regularly represents individuals facing domestic violence. With Legal Aid, he has led a successful litigation campaign in federal and state courts to ensure that Arkansas's Medicaid program does not cut vital home-care benefits for Arkansans with profound physical disabilities like cerebral palsy, paraplegia, and multiple sclerosis. Before becoming an attorney, Kevin worked with homeless individuals with mental illness in Washington state and in San Francisco city government to enforce good government and campaign finance laws.

Kirsten Blowers

Owner, Head Buyer, and Creative Director of RiffRaff Fayetteville, RiffRaffDallas, and shopriffraff.com

In February of 2009, while she was still a senior in college, Blowers opened Riffraff with only $100. She began selling her refurbished and hand-painted furniture, but soon expanded to include clothing and small gifts when she realized those were the items that would turn over more quickly. Many critics thought opening a small business amidst a recession was a terrible idea. It was no walk in the park, but with hard work and unbeatable customer service, she turned her dream into a reality. One relocation, four renovations and over eight years later, Kirsten Blowers employs over 30 young women all under the age of 28! Together, they work hard while still keeping an upbeat and fun atmosphere in the workplace.

Lucas Delezene

Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University of Arkansas

Rachel Green

Yoga Instructor at Shine Yoga Events & Studio

A born native of Clarksville, Rachel has lived at the edge of the Ozarks National Forest for most of her life. After graduating Arkansas Tech University in 1996 with a BFA in Creative Writing, Rachel married a blue haired imp and started a family with him. After a year of that chaos, Rachel migrated to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to earn a MFA in Theatre Costume Design in 2001. She continued her journey north to DeKalb and tested her sewing mettle at Northern Illinois University’s School of Theatre and Dance as the Assistant Costume Shop Manager and Cutter / Draper. After too much snow and not enough mimosa trees, Rachel returned to Clarksville, Arkansas, spent 14 months in her parents’ basement, and literally built a home with her husband in the Harmony community. She first began yoga in 2013 to relax from a crazy life with four children. She then bought Shine Yoga Studio in February 2016 and continues to give yoga to those who need it.

Rosario Nolasco-Schultheiss

Assistant Professor, World Languages at University of Arkansas Fort Smith

Rosario Nolasco-Schultheiss was born in 1961 in Mexico City (once Tenochtitlán) where she completed primary and secondary school at a private Catholic institution (Colegio del Valle de México). In this city, she also completed studies in Music, Theatre and Dance at the INBA (National Fine Arts Institute of Mexico) where she also worked as assistant to the Director of the INBA’s Law Department. This school/work combination provided her with a substantial educational experience onstage and off-stage, to include the administration of the arts in the capital of her country. In the United States, Dr. Nolasco-Schultheiss completed a dual degree B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies, an M.A. in Spanish, and a PhD. in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Her dissertation focused on her two major areas of expertise: Latina Literature and Arab American Women’s Literature.

Wambugu Gachungi

Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa

Current Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa.