2016 Presenters, Performers and Provocateurs

Kevin Tracey, MD

Bioelectric Medicine Trailblazer

Dr. Kevin Tracey is President and CEO of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research; Professor of Neurosurgery and Molecular Medicine at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine; and Executive Vice President, Research, at Northwell Health. Dr. Tracey’s research in the field of inflammation led to the discovery and molecular mapping of neural circuits that control immune responses, which was used as a method for treating rheumatoid arthritis in a successful clinical trial. Dr. Tracey holds more than 60 U.S. patents, and he co-founded three biotechnology companies as well as a nonprofit organization supporting more than one million caregivers to help them understand and combat sepsis, a leading cause of death worldwide.

Watch Dr. Tracey’s Talk.

Marie Budev, DO

Pulmonologist

Dr. Marie Budev is the Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lung Transplant and Heart-Lung Transplant Program, one of the largest transplant programs in the country. She specializes in the treatment of the most challenging cases–those who have reached the end-stage of lung disease and congenital heart diseases and are refractory to further medical and surgical therapies. Her cutting-edge work also focuses on reducing chronic rejection and refining possible surgical interventions as a means to reduce early and later transplant complications. Dr. Budev has authored and co-authored more than 75 abstracts, original articles, and book chapters focusing on lung transplantation, and she is a member of numerous professional and scientific societies. She currently serves as President of the Transplant Steering Committee for the American College of Chest Physicians.

Watch Dr. Budev’s Talk.

Victoria Sweet, MD

Professor of Medicine & Author

Dr. Victoria Sweet is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a prize-winning historian with a PhD in history and social medicine. She practiced medicine for more than 20 years at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco where she began writing. In her most recent book, God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine, she lays out her evidence—in stories of her patients and her hospital—for some radically new ideas about medicine and health care in this country.

She was a Guggenheim Fellow and is currently working on her next book, Slow Medicine: Finding the Way to Healing in an Age of Technology.

Watch Dr. Sweet’s Talk.

Joe Pine

Experience Economy Pioneer

Author and believer in experience, Joe Pine is a leading proponent of the concept that goods and services are not enough; what companies must offer today are experiences. His book with co-author Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy, serves as a practical guide for organizations seeking to transform their organizations by applying this thinking. His work teaches us to see through the eyes of the customer and to understand that when you orchestrate an experience, the memory itself becomes the product.

Joe co-founded Strategic Horizons, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design new ways of adding value to their economic offerings. He has taught at distinguished universities and is frequently quoted as the definitive expert on the experience economy.

Watch Joe’s Talk.

Keone & Mari Madrid

Dancers & Choreographers

Renowned dancers and married couple, Keone and Mari show us what it truly means to be alive through music and dance. Dancers and choreographers since their teen years, Keone and Mari are globally sought after to teach dance classes and have choreographed and performed pieces for numerous projects. They were most recently featured in Justin Bieber’s hit Love Yourself video, telling the story of a couple at war through dance and movement. Keone and Mari feel blessed to share their talent and passion for dance with different people all around the world.

Ben Sollee

Cellist & Composer

Known for a 360-degree approach to his art, Kentucky native Ben Sollee educates as much as he entertains through his innovative style as a cellist, conveying genre-bending songwriting through electrifying performances and non-traditional album presentation. His most recent music, Steeples Pt. 2 is the second of three parts in an album release of the same name. Ben has complemented the songs of his newest albums with The Vanishing Point virtual reality app, a film score, a technology infused production of Harold and the Purple Crayon, and an interactive sculptural installation called Livestream. Through the innovative facets of his artistic portfolio he teaches his audience that the modern artist has no boundaries.

Brad Montague

Writer & Director

Brad Montague is a writer, director, and father who believes if kids and grown-ups work together, we can change the world. He created Kid President—the popular web series featured on Soulpancake’s YouTube channel—which he developed after being inspired by the young world changers at an annual summer program he and his wife founded. Through his work, he strives to joyfully rebel against the way things are and attempt to create the world as it should be.

Brad is currently undergoing a 50-state ‘Listening Tour’ to hear what children care about.

Watch Brad’s Talk.

Jeffrey Bland, PhD

Nutritional Medicine Expert

An internationally recognized leader in the nutritional medicine field and known to many as the “father of functional medicine,” Dr. Jeffrey Bland is the founder of the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute and co-founder of the Institute for Functional Medicine. He is a fellow of both the American College of Nutrition where he is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and the Association for Clinical Biochemistry.

Dr. Bland authored five books on nutritional medicine for health care professionals and six books on nutrition and health for the general public, and is the principal author of over 120 peer-reviewed research papers on nutritional biochemistry and medicine.

Yoko K. Sen

Sound Alchemist

Yoko K. Sen is an ambient electronic musician and the founder of Sen Sound, a social enterprise with a vision to transform the sound environment in hospitals.

Yoko spent several years recovering from an illness, and spent many hours in hospitals–which led her to start the initiative to create more restorative sound environments in health care. She is a Citizen Artist Fellow at The John. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a fellow at Halcyon Incubator and Humble Impact’s BOOST program, and an artist/designer-in-residence at Sibley Innovation Hub as well as Stanford Medicine X.

Watch Yoko’s Talk.

Olivia Hallisey

Google Science Fair Winner

Olivia Hallisey received the Grand Prize at the 2015 International Google Science Fair for the development of a novel diagnostic Ebola test, the Ebola Assay Card (EAC). She determined early diagnosis was critical to arresting the epidemic’s exponential growth. Existing diagnostic protocols were expensive, complicated, time consuming, and temperature dependent. In comparison, the EAC encases reagents in a thin silk film, “breaking the cold chain” by making them temperature independent, critical in many areas of the world where power is intermittent or nonexistent. The EAC is inexpensive, rapid, and visual–indicating results through a color change, eliminating language barriers, and increasing ease of use.

Watch Olivia’s Talk.

AHI

Songwriter & Singer

Every so often a voice comes along and redefines soul for a generation: songwriter and independent recording artist AHI is that voice.

AHI has taken his passion and his guitar over 50,000 miles–through the vast woodlands of Canada and the tropical hillsides of Trinidad, across the Atlantic to the brick lanes of London and the highlands of Ethiopia–and his passionate live performances have captivated audiences at every turn. With the release of his debut album We Made It Through The Wreckage, AHI blends folk, soul, and rock to deliver a performance worthy of a seasoned vocal powerhouse.

Margaret Heffernan

Leadership Thinker

Former CEO of five businesses, serial entrepreneur and author, Margaret Heffernan explores the all-too-human thought patterns such as conflict avoidance and selective blindness that lead organizations and managers astray. She’s calling for managers to feed workers’ hunger for connection — and for workers to recognize that coffee breaks and hallway chats can actually make them more valuable, and valued, employees. Her past work includes award-winning television and documentary production, interactive multi-media products, Internet business management and public relations campaigns. She currently is an advisor, mentor and writer for the Financial Times and Huffington Post.

Watch Margaret’s Talk.

Sekou Andrews

Poetic Voice

As the world’s leading Poetic Voice, Sekou creates powerful poetic presentations that give voice to the missions of organizations and help them tell their most powerful stories. He is the creator of poetic voice—a new, cutting‑edge speaking category that fuses inspirational speaking with spoken word poetry to make messages more moving and memorable. Bringing the power of art to business through his unique, dynamic blend of strategic storytelling, business insight, spoken word, theater, and comedy, he makes events into experiences, and transforms audiences of informed receivers into enrolled responders. Sekou can be found presenting original pieces and giving keynote speeches around the country.

Frances Hesselbein

Leadership Expert

Frances Hesselbein has provided the world with a simple leadership philosophy: to serve is to live. From her service as the CEO of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., to her recognition by former President Bill Clinton as a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient for her work as “a pioneer for women, volunteerism, diversity and opportunity,” Frances has set the gold standard for contemporary leadership development. She combines passion, discipline and courage in an inclusive environment to help leaders serve, evolve and lead together. Frances is the recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees, the author of three autobiographies and the co-editor of 30 books in 29 languages.

Watch Frances’ Talk.

Louie Schwartzberg

Filmmaker

Skilled in chasing the light and capturing the fantastic, Louie Schwartzberg believes that nature’s beauty is a force of Energy that keeps Life moving forward.

An award-winning cinematographer and visual artist, he breaks barriers, connects with audiences and tells stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and place. His greatest satisfaction is creating works that have a positive effect on the planet. When he is not shooting award-winning nature documentaries, Louie creates and curates Moving Art™ videos which are designed to inspire, educate and evolve our perspective on the world.

Watch Louie’s Talk.

Bettina Warburg

Blockchain Strategist

Bettina Warburg is the Co-Founder of Animal Ventures, a venture studio and consultancy focused on building startups, educating executives, and designing comprehensive strategies to help companies and governments take advantage of some of the most advanced technology companies coming to market.

A thought-leader, researcher, and innovator in the emerging blockchain space, Bettina leads the blockchain practice at Animal Ventures. This revolutionary technology is transforming the way information is stored and transactions occur—having the potential to fundamentally change finance, business, government, and society.

Watch Bettina’s Talk.

Michael Radparvar

Social Entrepreneur

Michael Radparvar is the co-founder of Holstee, a lifestyle brand whose mission is to help people live a life of intention and reflection through art, words, and action. Holstee’s journey began in 2009 with the viral popularity of its company Manifesto—a call to arms around how their founders define success. The Holstee Manifesto was called the next “Just Do It” by The Washington Post, has been translated into 13 languages, and has received an estimated 100 million social media views. After building and listening to their global community, Michael and his team developed the monthly Holstee Subscription to help people put the words of the Manifesto into action.

Watch Michael’s Talk.

Charity Tillemann‑Dick

Soprano

Charity Tillemann‑Dick is a soprano, composer, and top-selling Billboard classical artist.

A recipient of two double lung transplants and cancer survivor, her amazing story and vocal talents have been widely featured around the world. She has collaborated with noted conductors and musicians and has performed for numerous presidents, prime ministers, members of Congress, and world dignitaries. Charity’s memoir, The Encore, will be published in 2017.

Watch Charity’s Performance.