TEDxJamaicaPlain
2015 Speakers
Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose has been a Youth Worker, Organizer and Entrepreneur in Boston for the past 37 years. He is currently Senior Vice President and Dean of City Year, an organization he helped build into an international model for youth community service organizations. He co-founded Boston’s nationally recognized violence and gang prevention program and has been a leader in the community peace movement for nearly two generations. Charlie has deep roots in the Jamaica Plain community, having lived in the neighborhood for 35 years and co-founded the beloved Bella Luna restaurant and Milky Way Lounge as a community economic development project 23 years ago.
Chrismaldi Vasquez
Chrismaldi Vasquez has deep roots and strong connections throughout Jamaica Plain and Greater Boston, leading social change and innovation within the community. Chrismaldi began her nationally recognized grassroots efforts at Hyde Square Task Force as a passionate Youth Organizer, where she initiated various campaigns, including one that defeated a plan for a K-Mart in Jackson Square, another to end sexual harassment on Boston's streets and in its public schools. She also led a successful effort for a new civics curriculum in the Boston Public Schools. She has served as Director of Community Impact for United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and Director of Capacity and Assessment for Boston Rising. Today, Chrismaldi is Interim Director at Family Independence Initiative-Boston, whose mission is to support and accelerate low-income families’ own efforts to improve their social and economic mobility.
Chrismaldi will discuss how society is most often overlooking real solutions to breaking the cycle of poverty. Find her on Twitter: @Chrismaldi
Tony Williams
Tony Williams is a dance pioneer and retired international ballet star. Williams' dance philosophy uses the arts to unite diverse communities in Boston, having had direct experience on how transformative the arts can be on young lives. As a young man, he gained access to Boston Ballet's dance program and progressed to become their first African-American principal dancer. From there he danced with the Joffrey Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and danced all over the world. When Williams retired, he returned to Jamaica Plain, where it all began, and opened a dance school which celebrated classical dance and emerging dance forms. Not long after, he produced the beloved Urban Nutcracker which annually enjoys a successful run downtown. Widely respected as a progressive dance educator, Williams has won the Dance Teacher Magazine Award and Wheelock Family Theater's Wheel Award. In 2014, he founded the Tony Williams Ballet and expanded his dance school to Concord, Mass.
Dancers from Tony Williams Dance Center will perform at various points during TEDxJamaicaPlain. Find him on Twitter: @TWDanceCenter
Ken Tangvik
A native and long-time resident of Boston, Ken Tangvik has been an urban educator and activist for over three decades. He is the co-founder of the Hyde Square Task Force, a Jamaica Plain-based youth community development non-profit, where he is the Director of Organizing and Community Engagement. A specialist in multi-cultural fiction, he has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and is a Professor of English at Roxbury Community College. Ken is the author of a collection of urban short fiction entitled Don’t Mess with Tanya: Stories Emerging from Boston’s Barrios. Many of the provocative stories in this book are based on experiences Ken has had in working with teens at Hyde Square Task Force and with young adults at Roxbury Community College.
Ken will discuss thirty years of development of the Hyde-Jackson Square neighborhood in Jamaica Plain and the bold vision for its future as the culturally and economically vibrant Latin Quarter of Boston, using a place-based strategy that focuses on arts, culture, and youth development.
Remi Picó
Remi Picó, also known as Remigio Picone in the academic field, is a scientist and conceptual artist. Remi is currently a Research Fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Harvard Medical School, and has degrees in computer science, molecular cell biology, and nanotechnology. Remi's scientific works have been published in international science journals. He began his artistic career working with the London artist Josh Baum on water sculptures, by manipulating the interaction between various materials and water. These works have been featured in international art journals and shown in galleries in the UK. Remi now lives in Jamaica Plain, and his current artistic work explores the use of semiotics and temporality in painting, and more recently, video and performance art. www.remipico.com
Remi will talk about how his artistic process revealed a parallel dimension of seeing which challenges and enriches our perception of the space in which we live. Find him on Twitter: @remi_pico
Susan Naimark
Susan Naimark has lived in Jamaica Plain since 1977, when she arrived as an idealistic young community activist. At the time, she didn't have a clue how little she knew about race and privilege, or living respectfully in a diverse community. Since then, she has raised two sons who went through the Boston Public Schools, learned up close how race and privilege impact life trajectories, organized cross-racially in a variety of settings, served eight years on the Boston School Committee, and written The Education of a White Parent: Wrestling with Race and Opportunity in the Boston Public Schools. Through these experiences, Susan has come to believe that that she and other white people have a unique responsibility to address the deep legacy of racism in the United States to create just and equitable communities.
Susan will be talking about learning, failing, and picking herself up again to gain a deeper understanding of racism and white privilege, and how addressing these tough issues can make all of us better people. Find her on Twitter: @naimark1
Andrée Zaleska
Andrée Collier Zaleska has lived in Jamaica Plain for 18 years. She built JP Green House, a zero-carbon homestead and educational nonprofit (see JPGH.org). She co-founded JP New Economy Transition and 350MA Boston. Andrée writes, fights, debates, educates, resists and organizes on the issue of climate change. She's an urban gardener and the mother of two sons.
In 2013, tired of talking, Andrée started getting tattoos of endangered animals on her arms, and telling or writing their stories wherever she could. This talk comes out of that larger project, which is called "Beings With Lives," and is collaborative work with visual artist Jane Marsching and tattoo artist Josh Wallis.
Climate Change has brought on the Sixth Great Extinction in the history of the Earth. We are living through it right now, with extinction rates hundreds of time higher than normal, as as many at 75% of the Earth's creatures threatened by runaway climate change. At TEDxJP, Andrée plans to talk about what the Sixth Great Extinction means for us and the creatures we share the planet with. How did we get here, and how can we get through--or out? How can we bear witness, resist and grieve, even as we endure the inevitable losses to come?
Avinoam Lerner
Avinoam Lerner (Avi) is a Clinical Hypnotherapist specializing in cancer recovery and the author of The New Cancer Paradigm. He lives in Boston Massachusetts with his beautiful wife Ruth and two daughters. His passion for helping others heal is shadowed only by his love for chocolate. In his Watertown office, Avi tailors individual healing programs to help those facing cancer engage with and mobilize their inner resources for recovery and improved quality of life. As a respected professional, Avi has been a guest speaker at the Dana Farber Blum Patients and Family Center as well as a leader of healing seminars at the Dana Farber Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies.
Avi will talk about using the power of the subconscious mind to maximize the effectiveness of medical treatment for cancer.
Edith Murnane joined Mayor Thomas Menino's administration in 2010 to establish the Office of Food Initiatives. Under her stewardship, various food programs were launched including the Restaurant Roadmap, the Food Truck Initiative, Boston’s Micro Urban Farming Initiative, and the City’s Urban Agriculture Re-zoning work. Additionally, Edith helped develop and grow the city's Boston Bounty Bucks program, a dollar for dollar match to SNAP dollars used at Boston's network of farmers markets, launched a series of healthy food courses at Boston Public School’s Parent University, helped shift school food towards healthier foods, and many other projects.
Edith has worked at a variety of restaurants and catering establishments, including Centre Street Cafe in Jamaica Plain and Milk Street Cafe in downtown Boston. She was the chef/ owner of The Cantata in Jamaica Plain, was a frequent vendor at a number of local farmers' markets and sat on the Board of the newly opened Boston Public Market. Since leaving the Mayor’s Office, Edith has been consulting on a number of statewide initiatives, including developing infrastructure for the grass-fed beef industry and developing a locally sourced, locally produced tomato-based product line that would create another revenue stream and market segment for local farmers. Edith advocates for greater community engagement around healthy food.
Edith plans to talk about how breaking bread breaks down barriers around food & diversity, to nurture trust and build a resilient and healthy community. Find her on Twitter: @edithmurnane
Edith Murnane
Cornell Coley
Former dancer and arts administrator, Cornell Coley has pulled out his drumming roots, Afro-Latin heritage and a few other skills to shape a new way to serve the community and earn a living. He first set out to be an entertainment lawyer, but couldn't stand the fine print. One year in Ghana and eleven years in CA shaped him into a creative person, but his most recent focus on Afro-Latin drumming brought all of his diverse interests together for success. Now he is drumming with his brain.
Cornell will talk about how he is using Afro-Latin drumming to open doors in education and health. Find him on Twitter: @afrolatindrums
Chuck Collins
At the local JP level, Chuck Collins is a neighbor, father, community gardener and organizer. He is co-founder of the Jamaica Plain Forum and the JP New Economy Transition. But he is also a national expert on wealth inequality, tax policy, and energy policy. He's a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, a leader of the Patriotic Millionaires, and author of numerous books on inequality, including Wealth and Our Commonwealth, co-authored by Bill Gates Sr.
Chuck will talk about the movement of open-hearted wealthy people who are stepping forward to address the twin challenges of extreme wealth inequality and ecological destruction.
Find him on Twitter: @chuck99to1
"Throughout the decades and the shifting fortunes of the business Rick Berlin has continued to make music with intelligence and integrity, building an international reputation around his knotty, singular piano playing, straight-from-the-heart singing and a style of character-based songwriting that’s drawn favorable comparisons to the likes of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen— although Rick rocks more than both." - Ted Drozkowski in The Boston Phoenix
Shamus Moynihan is a local promoter and organizer. He has had jobs of every description, many more than most of us can imagine in a lifetime. These experiences give him a unique and worldly perspective on any challenge. There isn't a corner of Jamaica Plain or the city of Boston that he hasn't visited or been an integral part of.
Shamus and Rick are the co-producers of The Jamaica Plain Music Festival and will talk about how to create something from nothing in your neighborhood — in their case, a vibrant music festival!
Shamus Moynihan
Rick Berlin
FInd him on Twitter: @shamusjp
FInd him on Twitter: @rickberlinner
Deborah Frieze is an author, entrepreneur and activist. Her award-winning book (co-authored with Meg Wheatley), Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now, profiles pioneering leaders who walked out of organizations failing to contribute to the common good—and walked on to build resilient communities. She is a founding partner of the Boston Impact Initiative, an impact investing fund that seeks to create systemic shifts in opportunity for urban communities. She is also founder of the Old Oak Dojo, an urban learning center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where neighbors gather to rediscover how to create healthy and resilient communities.
Deborah plans to present a radical theory of change: that it’s not possible to change big systems — we have to walk out of unsolvable problems and walk on to create new systems that serve community. Find her on Twitter: @dfrieze
Deborah Frieze
J.P. Honk
The Jamaica Plain Honk band is a mad collection of rabid, anarchic and cosmic performers. In fact we are a leaderless movement in the tradition of the Arab Spring, but hopefully with better results. The JP Honk Band marches about, sowing chaos wherever possible, and welcomes new members of all skill levels and all instruments.
JP Honk will be performing to kick off TEDxJamaicaPlain.
Kate Layte
After 10 years in the book business, Kate Layte left her job at a major publishing house to open an independent bookstore in Jamaica Plain last fall. So far, Papercuts J.P. has been featured in Boston Globe Magazine's Best of the New 2015 issue, Improper Bostonian magazine as Best Book Nook 2015, and has received glowing praise from the community on Facebook, Yelp, and in real life.
Kate plans to speak about why books are vital and why we should make sure that physical bookstores survive. Find her on Twitter as @KateJP and @papercutsjp
William Morales is Executive Director of the historic Boston YMCA Achievers and the Egleston Square Youth Teen Center, the first Latino to hold this position. William’s career with the Y started 19 years ago at the Egelston Square Youth Teen Center, which opened in response to a community/family tragedy when his only brother fired on two Boston police officers while William sat in prison. He graduated from Springfield College with a B.S. in criminal justice and is currently working towards his M.S. in management from Cambridge College, an amazing accomplishment from a young man who could not read or write at the age of twenty. William feels that his greatest accomplishment in life is being the dad he never had to his five children.
William plans to speak about engaging “tweens” in our communities. Find him on Twitter: @WillAMorales
William Morales
Ben Uyeda
The first half of Ben’s career spanned both the professional and academic sides of architecture. Ben has taught courses on sustainable design at Cornell and Northeastern University and is a founder at the award-winning architecture firm, ZeroEnergy Design. Lately Ben has focused on developing new business models for distributing affordable design to the masses. This work was recognized by I.D. Magazine in its annual I.D. 40 issue as one of the 40 projects/people that is transforming the world of design.
Ben plans to speak about "Publishing instead of patenting: Why I give away my best design ideas instead of turning them into products." Find him on Twitter: @benuyeda
LOVE LOVE
LOVE LOVE is a Boston-based 9 piece alt-Americana rock band featuring JP’s own singer-songwriters Chris Toppin (Fuzzy) & Jefferson Davis Riordan—“both have serious writing chops” (Boston Herald). LOVE LOVE’s “songs have a captivating folk storytelling style,” writes Twangville.com; “not your father’s indie-rock,” says The Noise. LOVE LOVE’s newest video of their latest song has been nominated by Jamaica Plain News for JP Neighborhood Anthem.
Love Love will be performing on the TEDxJamaicaPlain stage and during our afternoon break. Find them on Twitter: @LOVELOVEband
Casey Carey-Brown
Casey Carey-Brown is an LGBTQ parent blogger, editor, and writer living in Jamaica Plain. Casey is enthusiastic about new ideas and loves everything. She uses her poetry degree to write Taylor Swift lyric haiku and appreciates a good book, a latte, and a freshly painted crosswalk. You can find Casey at lifewithRoozle.com and on Twitter and Instagram @lifewithRoozle.
Casey will be talking about how making space for creativity in your life trains your brain to think creatively in all situations Find her on Twitter: @lifewithRoozle
Fernando DeOliveira grew up in Brazil and moved to the United States in 2000. After working as an art dealer and painter for several years, Fernando decided to dedicate his full attention to painting. His paintings have recently inspired a new body of work consisting of sculpture, as well as video media. In Boston, he attended the Continuing Education Program at SMFA and has participated in solo and group shows nationally and internationally. Color, texture, and concept in his work are the main connections between the viewer and the artist. Although the works are abstract, tangible feelings are provoked, which despite appearances are based on a rational structure, and bring the viewer inside his creative world.
Find out more about Fernando at http://fernandodeoliveira.com/
and on Twitter: @DeOliveiraArt
Fernando DeOliveira
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