Theme: Reimagining Citizenship in the 21st Century

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDxFortTownshend is took place on March 11, 2012 and addressed the topic of "Reimagining Citizenship in the 21st Century"

Johnson Geo Centre
St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador
Canada

Anna Smith

Anna Smith grew up in St. John's, where she finished an Honours degree in English Language and Literature in 2010. She has been involved with Oxfam Canada since 2006, and currently sits on their Board of Directors as the Youth Representative. A conference planner and facilitator, Anna has dedicated her energy to youth leadership since getting involved with the RADHOC Youth Leadership Conference in 2007. After four years with the organization - and two years co-chairing the Conference - Anna moved to Toronto in 2011, where she now leads the Youth Engagement Program at Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada. In this work, Anna strives to foster active and intelligent youth participation in communities across Canada, and spends her days exploring more innovative ways of connecting Canadian youth to a global community through knowledge, skill, and leadership development.

Zita Cobb

Zita Cobb grew up on Fogo Island and went on to a career as a senior finance professional in the high technology industry. She was the chief financial officer of JDS Fitel, and senior vice president of strategy for fiber optics manufacturer JDS Uniphase. In 2001, Cobb left the industry to pursue her personal goals and to dedicate her energies to philanthropic work. She founded the Shorefast Foundation, moved home to Fogo Island (while maintaining a residence in Ottawa) and is now actively involved in projects to contribute to a resilient and vibrant future for Fogo Island and Change Islands.

Morgan Murray

Descendent from lumber barons and homesteaders, Morgan Murray grew up on a mixed livestock farm in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just down the road from four-time World Figure Skating Champion Kurt Browning. He has graduated as valedictorian from his tiny high school, with honours in Canadian Studies from the University of Calgary, and most recently as a Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies at Memorial University with a Masters in Humanities with a thesis titled Screw Everything: Make it Better- more or less a guide to finding hope in a hopeless time -which he is looking to publish as a book in 2012. Meanwhile, he has lived in Alberta, the Czech Republic, Montreal, northern Quebec, and now St. John's, where he works as a writer, designer, researcher, morganizer and host of Words in Edgewise - a monthly arts and academic variety show, founding editor of Magpie magazine, and with Memorial University to help develop its new Engagement Framework.

Dan Meades

Dan is originally from St John's, Newfoundland where he studied English and Business at Memorial University before starting his career in community development and poverty reduction. Dan's work has led him throughout Canada, Europe, the United States and West Africa; all the while his focus has been on community change and civic empowerment. Dan is driven by the thought that our world can be a better place for everyone in it and prides himself on working to give a voice to populations that are not always heard. Dan is a recovering musician, still spending his spare time playing the guitar and, just recently, learning to play the ukulele. He is constantly searching for the perfect apple pie and interesting copies of his favorite books. Currently Dan is the Director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, a non-profit that seeks to address the root causes of poverty in Calgary.

Seamus Heffernan

Seamus Heffernan believes in the power of story: how they're told, what they mean and how they connect us. It's why he has dedicated his professional life to the importance of words and ideas. In addition to his previous career as a high school history teacher, he has written features for a wide range of publications and websites, including The Telegram, The Salisbury Review, total:spec, the Ottawa Citizen, and more. During his five years in London, England, he was a writer and researcher at the Institute of Economic Affairs, the thinktank Civitas, the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Insurance Institute. Most recently, before joining the digital marketing agency m5 Interactive, he was the senior policy analyst at Memorial University's Harris Center. "What is so appealing about photography is its immediacy," he explains. "It has the power to evoke an almost instantaneous emotional response. These photos resonate with me and other people who've been kind enough to say the same. That's why I wanted to speak at TEDx, to talk about urban citizenry and the people I've met and photographed. I want to talk about where that resonance is coming from and what these photos say about our town."

Andrew Mercer

"The Internet is the ultimate place to learn music." This revelation came to Andrew Mercer during his early days as a rural music educator. It brought together three areas of interest that helped shape Andrew's career - music, learning and technology. The tech excitement of the 1990s provided Andrew with the opportunity to participate in numerous innovations as a public school music teacher and an entrepreneur, including the development technology that allowed musicians to collaborate via the Internet. Collaborations with organizations, such as Intel, Yamaha, and CARAS, have permitted Andrew to explore and challenge how we learn via technology. Much of Andrew's work in music, learning and technology has been featured in media sources such as Canadian Music Educator, Popular Science, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Nippon TV. Andrew has also had the opportunity to share his work at national and international events including the ISME Conference, MTNA National Conference, NAMM, and MENC. In recent years Andrew has joined the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI). This government organization has made many advances in online education, including the world's first online high school music course. As part of CDLI, Andrew continues to work with young rural musicians throughout NL who have no access to a music teacher and continues his efforts to make the Internet into the world's most inspiring music room.

Josh Smee

Josh Smee is a member of the Men's Committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre (NLSACPC). This is a group of men who have come together to support the centre's struggle against sexual violence, identify sexual violence as a men's issue, and build relationships with men in the community. In his professional life, Josh is a Project Associate at the Community Sector Council NL, where he works to build the capacity and bring together the voices of community organizations around the province. He is also the administrator of the Suzuki Talent Education Program (STEP), a non-profit music education program in St. John's. As a volunteer, Josh serves on the board of Happy City St. John's, a non-profit organization that informs, encourages, and facilitates public dialogue around civic issues in the city of St. John's. He divides much of his free time between singing (in a couple of local choirs), hiking on the East Coast Trail, and convincing himself that he has nothing more pressing to do than sit in the sun and read just one more page.

TA Loeffler

Dr. TA Loeffler brings 25 years of expertise leading people through significant life-changing experiences to every facet of her work. Her work and adventures have taken her to 38 different countries and all seven continents. TA is attempting to complete "The Seven Summits," the highest peak on all seven continents and only has Mount Everest left to complete. As a Professor of Outdoor Recreation at Memorial University of Newfoundland, TA has developed a reputation for excellence in experiential education because her students are more likely to be outside chasing icebergs than sitting in a classroom. TA inspires hope, possibility, and vision in those whose lives she touches. Over the past six years, TA has shared her message of "Big Dreams, Big Goals" with over 28,000 youth in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. TA believes that we all long for a balanced, engaged, and creative life that challenges us to be the best we can possibly be. She models this belief in her life on a daily basis and combines her broad range of skills to inspire all to create the life they truly want.

Simon Lono

Simon Lono has been fortunate to do what he loves most of the time. His diverse interests in politics, technology and debating have gradually blended into a perspective and a cause: that critical thought is the foundation of citizenship in the information age and that critical thought is a teachable, learnable skill. Reading the late Eugene Forsey's "How Canadians Govern Themselves" in high school sparked a keen interest in government, politics and policy. This interest shaped a career as a policy and political advisor to Premiers and Ministers, Opposition Leaders and Critics over two decades. Simon has been a debate coach, competitor and organizer for 30 years. Having competed and coached internationally and participated in debate exhibitions around the world (including Ireland, Ukraine, Russia and Qatar), Simon returned home and coached local high school teams, including many provincial delegations to national debate events. He piloted a Junior High debate program and established the Newfoundland & Labrador Speech and Debate Union as a resource and support network for young debaters and youth parliamentarians. In 2003, he was awarded the Willis McLeese Prize for outstanding service to student debating in Canada.

Janna Rosales

Janna Rosales works at the intersection of the sciences and humanities. A Research Associate in the Faculty of Engineering and an instructor with the Department of Religious Studies at Memorial University, Janna is interested in the social and ethical implications of emerging technology and the role that higher education plays in producing 21st Century global citizens. She also delves into the ways that creativity, leadership development, dialogue, and contemplation contribute to catalytic learning experiences. When she's not thinking and writing about the promise and perils of revolutionary technology, Janna has been known to teach chocolate-tasting workshops, sing in three local choirs, hike the East Coast Trail and periodically launch herself off short ledges in pursuit of the perfect jump-shot photo.

Mary Gordon

Mary Gordon, C.M., B.A., is a Canadian educator/social entrepreneur and is the founder and president of both Roots of Empathy and Seeds of Empathy, non-profit evidence-based programs dedicated to promoting emotional literacy and empathy among children. Gordon grew up in Newfoundland, but later moved to Toronto, Ontario. In 1996, she founded Roots of Empathy, a classroom-based program for children in elementary school, and in 2005 she founded Seeds of Empathy, a related program for younger children in early childhood settings. Gordon is the recipient of several prestigious awards recognizing her contribution to innovation in education and international social entrepreneurship, including The Fraser Mustard Award and a Distinguished Canadian Educator Award. In 2002, she was selected as the first female Canadian Fellow in the Ashoka Foundation, an international organization that supports social entrepreneurs. She is currently a member of the Ashoka Foundation's board of directors. In 2006, she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. In July 2009, she was given the Public Education Advocacy Award by the Canadian Teachers' Federation.