Theme: The Big Bang

Have you ever wondered what the mind of someone else is like? Have you ever questioned something and wondered what others thought of it? Here at TEDxDelStateU, we invite you to experience what it's like being in someone else's shoes once you take your own off! We have a collection of student speakers and professionals, who would like to invite you to what it's like in their world! So join us to hear a diverse range of innovative ideas from the innovators themselves !

Delaware State University
1200 North Dupont Highway
1200 North Dupont Highway
Dover, Delaware, 19901
United States

Alicia Butler Pierre

Founder & CEO

Alicia Butler Pierre is the founder and CEO of Equilibria, Inc., a 15-year-old operations management firm. She specializes in increasing bandwidth for fast-growing organizations via business infrastructure. Alicia has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University, an MBA from Tulane University, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Combined, her content has over three-quarters of a million views across various online platforms. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure: Curing Back Office Blues podcast. She’s also the author of the 2x Amazon bestseller, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. Committed to doing the right things the right way, Alicia's mantra is "to leave it better than you found it."

Birgitte Tan

Grief Transformation Consultant/Author/Veterinarian Oncologist

Dr. Birgitte Tan is certified Grief Transformation consultant, author, and veterinarian oncologist. Her passion is in helping people THRIVE through tough times and Win with more ease and fun. She learned to do this from her own experience as well as her training. Growing up, Dr. Tan was told she was "a stiff clumsy, ugly duckling who should never dance" and "too stupid to become a veterinarian" after failing her exams. She defied the odds and became a successful board-certified veterinarian specialist. In 2011, when a multitude of grievous events destroyed the life she knew, Birgitte started her journey into grief recovery and life transformation. Upon successfully recovering from her grief and create an even better life, Dr. Tan then pursued additional training in grief transformation to be able to help people transform their tears into treasures. Birgitte looks forward to helping you effortlessly transform your tragedies and failures to triumphs and thriving joyful living.

Jo-Musulyn Banks

Student

Jo-Musulyn was born in Liberia, West Africa, and raised in Staten Island, New York. In 2018, she moved to Delaware, and she is a senior at Delaware State University, majoring in Mass Communications with a concentration in Convergence Journalism. Jo-Musulyn is an aspiring journalist, in the future she wants to have a platform where she can give others a platform to share their story, letting their voice be heard. Some of Jo-Musulyn’s hobbies are writing, reading and fashion.

Jonathan Lopes

Career Exploration & Development

Jonathan Lopes, MA. I serve as a First-Year Seminar Instructor/Advisor at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA. I possess an AA, BA & MA degree with an education and social science focus. I enjoy supporting students and guiding them as they development their potential into action. My piece of advice to students: Always ask questions!

Lynn Festa

Owner, Health Professional Coaching, LLC

Lynn Festa has been an Occupational Therapist since 1989, a certified hand therapist since 1995, and has worked as a clinician and business owner in a variety of settings for over 32 years. In 2012, she found herself disillusioned with her career in healthcare. This prompted her journey to become a coach to other servant leaders and helping professionals who are also seeking more fulfillment from their careers and in their everyday lives. Lynn now combines her work as an Occupational Therapist with providing training and guidance in promoting wellness, fostering resilience skills, and limiting burnout. She attained a certificate in positive psychology, a certificate in “the science of happiness at work” and is a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator through The Daring Way ™. Lynn loves customizing her work to meet the unique needs of her clients using these tools. She has presented on similar topics at international, national and state conferences, webinars, keynotes and group workshops.

Sid Mohasseb

Author/Serial Entrepreneur/Professor/Venture Investor/Entrepreneur Philosopher

Sid believes in our individual ability to shape our destiny. There are always infinite opportunities ahead of us, regardless of our origins and limitations. Our transformational mindset and ability to embrace uncertainty and leave our addictions to sameness behind are key to realizing our next best version - to evolve. To be impactful, Sid believes that we have to realize that we are the sculptor, the artist who is always working on and perfecting our masterpiece – the sculpture of self. He considers entrepreneurship a talent that we all possess. A talent that is stimulated as we acknowledge our capabilities and pursue our love of wisdom – our Personal Entrepreneurial Philosophy (PEP).