Theme: Lightning Strikes

This will be the inaugural TEDx event for Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware. According to USNews.com, Goldey–Beacom College is a private college in Pike Creek Valley, Delaware. Its setting is suburban with the campus size of 24 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar and the college is authorized to award certificates/diplomas, associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees. It has a community with a global perspective, with alumni from 65 nations and 28 states of the United States.

Goldey-Beacom College
4701 Limestone Road
Wilmington, Delaware, 19808
United States

Alecia Amadio

Student

My name is Alecia Amadio. I am a Pennsylvania native working as a Human Resources Coordinator in the Healthcare and Hospitality industry. I study Human Resource Management Full-time in addition to performing in leadership positions within two student organizations at Goldey-Beacom College of Wilmington, DE. Those groups include the student Society of Human Resource Management (S.H.R.M) organization and the David L. Barnes Leadership Council. Personally, about me I enjoy impacting the atmosphere I share with people in positive ways. I have a passion for drinking tea, adventuring, and health/fitness. I'm an Aquarius.

Amanda Shenton

Founder

Amanda Michelle Shenton is a former high school Italian teacher who, after spending 6 years in the educational setting, left her career behind in search of a more balanced lifestyle. Amanda is the founder of Life, Lessons & Lavender, an online coaching business that has helped women around the world, from Australia, to Europe, to various locations within the United States, to heal their anxiety from the inside, out using mindfulness as a tool.

Beverly Stewart

Owner

Beverly Stewart, M.Ed. is the Founder of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc. and Back to Basics Private School, Delaware’s only Department of Education-approved 1-on-1 private school. Through tremendously hard work, perseverance and a true passion for education, Beverly turned what began in 1985 as a fledgling, 1-person tutoring service, into the largest, most comprehensive provider of educational services in the tri-state area.

Carlos Ruiz Ruiz

Filmmaker

Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz was raised in the Puerto Rican theater company Teatro del Sesenta and since that moment he fell in love with the craft of storytelling. After getting a BFA in Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ruiz started working as a director for music videos and commercials. With his short film “Paper Ball”, Carlitos won the jury prize at the San Juan Cinema fest, Best Short Film at the Hamptons Film Festival, Best Short Film for the School of the Art Institute Fellowship and The Weisner Award for Distribution. Consequently, he started making commercials for Direct TV, Mazda, Subway, Verizon, Coca Cola, Coors Light, Pepsi, Blockbuster, among others. His dynamic and unique storytelling positioned him as one of the Top-Rated directors in Puerto Rico, winning the Silver Award at the festival Ojo de Iberoamérica in 2004 as well as two Gran Cúspide (2004 and 2005)

Eli Brame

Eli Brame is a motivational speaker and trainer.

Ellen Douglas

Caregiver

I have had a myriad of interesting jobs. From 16 year of medical sales, research and caregiving, which lead to my hospice work. There, I created a Quality of Life Program and recorded the lives of many of my patients. For 12 years before that, I worked in the science museum industry as a graphic designer, exhibit technician, and traveling exhibit manager. I have also worked in radio as a producer and host. I have always enjoyed meeting people and learning about them. One of my main adventures was a 4000-mile road trip that I took alone to interview strangers about contentment in all the areas of their life. I traveled for 30 days through twelve states and interviewed dozens of people. As a motivational speaker, I enjoy sharing these stories and insights whenever I have the chance.

Karen Randall

Small Business Owner

Karen Friday Randall is a small business owner and entrepreneur. Her strengths lie in her ability to quickly develop rapport while building communities of engaged, like-minded people. She also homeschools her 4 children...and for that, she deserves the highest accolades of all.

Kenneth Johnson

CEO

Kenneth L. Johnson is a Diversity Recruiter and Career Services Professional who supports the efforts of those committed to adding diverse talent to recruitment pipelines. What separates Kenneth is that he works with career seekers, corporations and community-based organizations, giving him knowledge of workforce trends and intimate access to underrepresented talent. President of the Diversity Recruitment Firm, East Coast Executives and Host of The Career Seekers Radio Show on 106.5 WPPM FM in Philadelphia, PA., he has 15+ years’ experience, managing staffing and recruitment projects, As a Career Services Expert he trains and coaches job seekers on a variety of career-centric topics.

Matt Newman

Writer

After experiencing horrible headaches, insomnia, and strange speech issues for four months, Matt Newman realized something was very wrong. When Matt finally went to the hospital, the doctors confirmed the worst; he had grade three astrocytoma. Matt was diagnosed with brain cancer at 39 years old. Luckily, he had someone to help him through every terrible moment. Matt’s father-in-law Larry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three years earlier. The two men found support in each other and their combined family as they worked to find normalcy in an abnormal situation.

Patrick Lowry

CEO

Patrick is the CEO and a Managing Partner of Iconiq, a premier digital asset manager and global, decentralized venture capital group headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to that was a member of the Deutsche Börse Venture Capital team, DB1 Ventures, where he developed a strong passion for blockchain technology and alternative financing methods. He has over a decade of financial industry experience, including as an associate at Graham Partners, a Philadelphia private equity group, and PwC as an auditor of private equity, hedge and mutual funds in the asset management assurance services practice. Patrick was a co-founder and the CFO of Voltaic Coatings, a Delaware-based BioTech company, and holds an MBA degree, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from the University of Delaware.

Samanta Strigaro

Student

My broad-based background encompasses an exceptional work ethic, honesty and commitment to detail, which has resulted in dramatic improvements in the customer experience. My financial acumen and analytical skills have led to the creation of quantitative trend analyses to identify the market drivers and root out the dogs. Growing up in a bi-lingual family in Europe has helped me embrace different cultures and languages, which has also been beneficial to the development of international relationships. In my free time I love to eat (in fact, I'm the face of all food jokes - I really wish it was more glamorous, analyze TED talks, and better understand the psychology of the human mind. I'm eager to learn something new every day, as my dedication to both- personal and professional growth is an integral part of my daily work ethics!