Theme: Rattle

We are excited to our sixth, TEDxStCloud event. Our speakers bring great passion and energy to the ideas they will share with us. We hope you will be rattled — in a good way — and perhaps discover a new perspective on something you thought you already knew. Or find yourself drawn to an entirely new topic that you are now eager to explore further. We invite you to welcome our speakers and performers with an open heart and mind, with curiosity and purpose. May their ideas rattle your thinking in the very best ways.

The Paramount Theater
913 West St. Germain St.
St. Cloud, Minnesota, 56301
United States

Ettien Koffi

Linguistics Professor

Ettien Koffi is a professor of linguistics at Saint Cloud State University and author of five books. His research encompasses acoustic phonetics of English, sociophonetics of Central Minnesota English, general acoustic phonetics of Anyi (West African language), and acoustic phonetic feature extraction for application in Automatic Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text, Voice Biometrics, and Intelligent Systems. He is working with Mark Petzold to develop a Text-to-Speech synthesis to help revitalize Betine, an endangered language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.

Grace Leapaldt

College Student

Grace is a junior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, studying Communications and Chinese studies. She plans to work in communications for a company doing business with China. Her dream would be to work for the embassy in China. A Saint Cloud native, Grace attended the Guang Ming Academy Chinese Immersion Program and is fluent in writing, reading, and speaking Chinese. She traveled to China during high school, staying with host families and attending schools. Grace is excited to return to her community and share her story.

Heather Weems

Commissioner · National Collegiate Hockey Conference

Born and raised an “Iowa Child,” Heather learned compassion and wisdom from her English teacher Mom, work ethic and doggedness from her agrarian Dad, and toughness, resiliency, and humor from her brothers. Heather majored in psychology at the University of Iowa and competed as a Hawkeye rower. As a resident hall assistant, she developed an affection for the campus environment, leading to a master’s in higher education administration. Heather has 23 years in intercollegiate athletics administration, most recently as director of athletics at SCSU. She is now commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Kari-Shane Zimmerman Davis

Theology Professor

Nicknamed KSDZ by her students, Kari-Shane is an associate professor of theology at CSB/SJU. East-coast by background and temperament, KSDZ never fails to ask probing questions and does not accept soul-less answers. She asks all her students to engage their moral compass and stand up for what is true and just. Kari-Shane earned her doctorate in theological ethics from Marquette University, master’s from Duke University Divinity School, and bachelor’s from the College of the Holy Cross. Her work examines the influence of hookup culture on college students’ views and formation of intimate relationships.

Mark Petzold

Computer Science Professor

Mark Petzold is a professor of computer science at Saint Cloud State University, teaching in the computer science and cybersecurity programs. He also is part of the leadership team for Huskies Invent. In addition, Mark is co-principle investigator for the ACCESS STEM scholarship program, a 5 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation intended to increase enrollment in STEM programs. His current research efforts include student retention in STEM courses as well as computer applications for language research and preservation.

Matéo Mackbee

Restaurant Owner and Youth Development Leader

Matéo owns Krewe Restaurant, Flour & Flower Bakery, and The Land by Model Citizen. He describes his cooking philosophy as creating technically driven, elevated comfort food using great ingredients with minimal manipulation. He and his partner, Erin Lucas, leverage their restaurant, bakery, and farm to provide opportunities for urban youth to learn about growing food and food and hospitality careers all while promoting diversity and racial justice in central Minnesota. Matéo has trained with multiple award-winning chefs across many cuisines in Minnesota. His childhood summers included several weeks in his mother’s hometown of New Orleans experiencing Creole and New Orleans style food while learning to love its local foods, culture, music, and sense of community.

Santo Cruz

Senior Vice President and General Counsel for CentraCare.

Santo Cruz grew up in rural Stearns County before embarking on his legal career. He currently serves CentraCare as senior vice president, chief legal officer after previously being associate general counsel and vice president of community and government relations. Prior to joining CentraCare, he was a prosecutor for Hennepin County, assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, attorney for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Terrell X

Beat Box Artist, Educator, Poet

TERRELL X (A.K.A. Carnage The Executioner) has spent a total of 30 years traveling the world making music, speaking, teaching and performing as a one-man band. He is a self- contained instrument and master collaborator. The Minneapolis Star Tribune made the claim that “Carnage’s mouth might be the best drummer in town,” referring to his human beat boxing techniques. In 2019, Terrell started a grassroots movement called Plant Based Poets. His mission is to unite lovers of music, as well as people who encourage freedom for each and every living being who depends on the health of Earth’s roots for survival. Terrell believes it’s his calling to become an everlasting example of how we can all continuously strive to be better versions of ourselves.

The St. Cloud Area Singing Saints

Men's Acapella Chorus

The Singing Saints are a group of men who like to get together to sing. They sing a cappella (without accompaniment). They are affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society, which provides most of their musical arrangements. They note that they are not learned singers, just guys who enjoy singing and ringing chords. They love performing whenever they can. This year they: sang the national anthem at a Rox baseball game, performed at Como Park in St. Paul with 7 other choruses from the Minneapolis Metro area, entertained at a home association block party, sang at four different churches one Sunday morning and at a Swedish Meatball Dinner.