TEDxRockford started with an idea to tell the stories of the positive momentum building in the Rockford Region. Our 15 person committee has volunteered their time and talents to make this idea a reality. Inspired by the Civic Collaboration model created by Ed Morrison, the goal of TEDxRockford is to tell stories around the model’s four main themes: 21st Century Brainpower, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Quality Connected Places, and Branding with New Narratives.
With this model in mind, we set out to find the perfect mix of speakers who could tell the stories of the great things happening in our community. We are excited to share these stories with our community and with the world beyond. And, if we thought selecting the speakers was tough…we then had to select just 100 people for the audience. According to TED’s rules we are limited to having 100 bodies in the room at our very first event. This includes the committee, speakers, and the production team; which leaves us with approximately 60 seats to fill.
The selection process was done through an online survey, and we asked our applicants to discuss what inspires them, what types of community activities they are involved in, and how they will share the stories that they hear at TEDXRockford within their communities and peer groups.
The audience selected includes individuals that range in age from 22 to 72 years old, with a variety of expertise from artist to activist, researcher to government, and for-profit and non-profit organization leaders. They represent a diverse cross section of our community, and have vast networks to share the TEDxRockford stories with.
Although we are limited to just 100 attendees at our event, all of the speakers will be videotaped. The videos will be available at TEDxRockford.com, as well as on our TEDxRockford Facebook page. The videos will also be submitted to TED.com for potential use on its site.
The TEDxRockford committee looks forward to hosting an amazing event that our community can be proud of, and to keep the momentum going forward.
Organizing team
-
Jacob Burke
Speakers/Program Committee -
Dan Cataldi
Logistics Committee -
Bridget French
Marketing Committee -
Jan Jann
Attendee Committee -
Matthew Simpson
Attendee Committee -
Megan Pease
Speakers/Program Committee -
Donnette Nailor
Logistics Committee -
Laurie Preece
Marketing Committee -
Jan Jones
Marketing Committee -
Jordan Chance
Logistics Committee -
Aaron Brooks
Committee Member -
Janyce Fadden
Sponsorship Committee