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Conversations with Influencers
and Disruptors

Live conversations every
Wednesday (mostly) at 4 pm Pacific

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Upcoming Conversations

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Register for this ConversationMar 3, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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John Seigel Boettner

Riding on the Shoulders of Giants. Cycling Without Age - the worldwide movement.

Category: The Pandemic,

We will talk with John Seigel Boettner, the Santa Barbara representative of Cycling Without Age. A worldwide movement providing joy and vitality to older adults through the magic of a bicycle ride. Memories are awakened by the wind, community renewed by a wave, and citizenship remembered when a silver-haired giant gives you a wink and a nod at the crosswalk.
John Seigel Boettner took his training wheels off in 1958 and promptly crashed the family bike into the geraniums on Chino Street. Since then, the magic of two wheels has helped him carry his Eddie Mathews glove to Pee Wee League games at MacKenzie Park . . . deliver the Santa Barbara News-Press . . . honeymoon with his wife . . . pedal his newborn sons home from Cottage Hospital . . . and cycle with hundreds of Santa Barbara young people all over the world. Starting the Santa Barbara chapter of Cycling Without Age seemed the perfect next ride.
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Register for this ConversationMar 10, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Carole Robin, Ph.D.

Staying Connected in our new Virtual Worlds: Tools to develop more fulfilling relationships.

Category: The Pandemic,

Carole has worked with thousands of MBAs and hundreds of high-profile execs and their teams for 40+ years to increase their EQ and interpersonal effectiveness by helping them understand the difference between contact and connection. She'll unpack how to deepen relationships during COVID.
Carole Robin is a former Stanford GSB professor with a bunch of fancy titles who taught the legendary Interpersonal Dynamics course (aka Touchy Feely) and subsequently co-founded Leaders in Tech, bringing all she taught to Tech startup CEOs. She is the co-author of Penguin Random House's new Connect which contains the lessons of "Touchy Feely" that thousands of students for decades consistently describe as life-changing because it didn't only make them better leaders -- it made them (and continues to make them) better sons, daughters, spouses, parents, siblings, friends and colleagues.
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Register for this ConversationMar 24, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Jenna Arnold

Social Entrepreneur

We’re doing the wrong *work* if we’re looking for concrete answers.

Category: Social Justice,

Our relationships, the systems of which we operate, our attempts to understand new sets of information can sometimes (who are we kidding, all of the time!) become polarized. We have forced each other and ourselves into a binary state of understanding and doing when in reality, living in the middle, embracing the uncertainty, plowing forward to a complete—yet impossible to achieve—understanding should be our focus in the next chapter of our work.
Jenna Arnold believes complacency is the cancer of humanity & is constantly looking for new ways to educate and engage untapped communities into problem-solving machines. Through her work as an author of the recent best selling book, Raising Our Hands, a frequent guest on MSNBC & FOX, one of Oprah’s Super Soul 100 “using their voices to elevate humanity” and one of the 2017 Women’s March organizers, Jenna takes her ability to simplify highly complex subjects to make them approachable by audiences eager to be involved in making the world better. When she isn’t watching a documentary about some far off place she’s chasing her two children who are anti-sleep and schlepping between her homes in NYC and Pennsylvania.
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Register for this ConversationMar 31, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Bishop Lamont

Artist, MC

Living your Joy. Standing out within an industry that keeps artists boxed into predictable molds.

Category: Social Justice,

With the emergence of social media, streaming platforms, and new technologies, the journey of an independent artist establishing a global reach and taking control of their destiny can be a challenging yet significantly rewarding one if done correctly. We’ll also talk to Bishop about his activism and philosophy about giving back to the community.
As the former protégé of the legendary producer Dr. Dre, Bishop Lamont has seen immeasurable heights of rap success. Working alongside Dre on a wide range of albums, video games, and movie soundtracks along with countless collaborative projects. After years of being held back, Lamont left the label to seek his goals independently. Since then, Bishop has exponentially grown his fanbase over the years, continuing to contribute the quality and passion he feels the genre of Hip Hop always deserved.
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Register for this ConversationMar 31, 2021 05:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Lynda Weinman, Patrick Hall

Artists

Kindred Spirits - A collaboration between traditional ceramics and 3D printed clay.

Category: Creativity,

During the past year’s shutdown, Patrick and Lynda got busy. They collaborated on a series of pieces that combined traditional ceramics techniques and 3D clay printing. The result is that they both pushed their work in new, unforeseen directions and landed a prestigious exhibition at Sullivan Goss gallery Santa Barbara. The discussion will be around their passion for clay, their creative process apart and together, and the non-profit community ceramics center they opened in 2020, called Clay Studio in Goleta.

Patrick Hall began working in clay at age 14, fell in love with the process, and soon got an after-school job at a pottery studio where he perfected his technical skills as a production potter for the next five years. Hall earned a B.A. in Studio Art / Ceramics in1982, and then his MFA at UCSB in 1984. In 1986 he established Design Associates in Santa Barbara, a design/build firm specializing in architecture, interiors, furniture design, custom millwork, and building contracting. After 28 years of running a successful design-build practice, upon retiring he returned to his first love of clay. In 2013  he established a non-profit community ceramics center called Clay Studio in Goleta California, where he serves as Executive Director. Hall’s distinctive ceramic works are widely collected and are sold nationally and abroad. Clay Studio moved to a 28,000 square foot facility in 2020, where Patrick and the team offer studio space, classes, and workshops.

Lynda Weinman was an early pioneer in computer graphics, teaching in the field as a college professor at Art Center College of Design and elsewhere, authoring numerous how-to books, and as an entrepreneur. She and her husband co-founded lynda.com, one of the first online educational resources that taught digital tools and skills. After selling the company to LinkedIn in 2015, Weinman chose to pursue a ceramics practice, which led her to collaborate with Patrick Hall on a community ceramics space in Goleta, called Clay Studio.  At the start of the pandemic in 2020, she discovered 3D clay printing. With the shutdown, she was able to give her full focus to this new passion and has been creating non-stop for the last year. She uses 2D tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator, and 3D tools such as Rhino 3D and Grasshopper, and sleeps, breathes, and dreams in geometric and parametric forms. She has a blog at www.claybottress.com and a YouTube channel that chronicles her journey as an artist and a maker.

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Register for this ConversationApr 7, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Dyhia Belhabib, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, Fisheries, Ecotrust, Canada

Understanding the global importance of small-scale fisheries. How their resilience and performance are affected by illegal fisheries, climate change, and lack of adequate data.

Category: Social Justice, Sustainability,

Dyhia works at the intersection of sustainability and ocean criminality. She created the most comprehensive and largest database of ocean criminality in the world, Spyglass.fish. She’s a TEDx speaker on Diversity and Inclusion in science and climate justice. We will also get her views on the new Netflix film. Seaspiracy - its release this month is perfect timing for our conversation.

Dyhia joined Ecotrust Canada in September 2016 as the Programme Manager for Fisheries. Before joining Ecotrust Canada, Dyhia was the lead researcher and engagement focal point for the Sea Around Us Africa at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her work focuses on fisheries equity, food security, values associated with fishing, and social finance. Through her experience on issues such as illegal fishing, unfair fisheries agreements, lack of appropriate fisheries data, climate change and governance, conflicts, and natural disasters, Dyhia serves as an advisor for the Sea Around Us, and on the board of the Research Centre of the Ministry of Fisheries of Algeria, and FishTracker. Dyhia’s work added a great deal of transparency and insight through thorough research on fisheries of the developing world.

Dyhia holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in Resource Management and Environmental Studies, a Master’s in Science from the University of Quebec in Rimouski, and an engineering degree from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Algiers (Algeria).

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Register for this ConversationApr 14, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Michael Chiacos

Community Environmental Council

The Path to Carbon Zero - How to Solve the Climate Crisis.

Category: Sustainability,

Michael will explain to us why climate change is the existential challenge of our time and the solution is straightforward. Generate 100% clean and renewable electricity, electrify transportation, buildings, and other sectors, and drawdown excess carbon in our working and natural lands.
Michael Chiacos joined the Community Environmental Council in 2007 and directs the energy, transportation, and climate programs. CEC is working to advance rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis - including ambitious zero-carbon goals, the drawdown of excess carbon, and protection against the impact of climate change. Michael has led dozens of CEC’s programs, from forming the regional electric vehicle readiness group to working on state policy issues at the Public Utilities Commission.
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Register for this ConversationMay 5, 2021 04:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Allegra Roth

Allegra Roth, Food and Climate Program Manager

Feeding Our Soils, Feeding Ourselves: Making Land Stewardship a Viable Livelihood.

Category: Sustainability,

This conversation in our continuing series on Sustainability will delve into nature-based climate solutions as well as carbon farming. Allegra will help us understand the complexities and nuances of both, as they’re very big ideas with distinct goals and benefits for our future.
Allegra Roth has a background in environmental and water policy and a passion for food system work. Before joining CEC, she worked for the California State Assembly, both as a District Representative in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and as a Legislative Aide in the State Capitol. Working for state legislators allowed Allegra to develop specialized skills in policy analysis and development, group facilitation, and multi-stakeholder outreach. Allegra graduated from the University of California at Davis with a B.S. in Community and Regional Development. She enjoys working as a Food and Climate Program Manager at CEC, addressing barriers to a sustainable food system and identifying regenerative solutions.

Salons

Regular events for smaller groups to explore single topics of community interest
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Adventures

Regular field trips for smaller groups to explore our community
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Main event

Our Annual All-Day Event with Live Speakers and Performers at The New Vic

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Coming Soon

Be sure you don’t miss these conversations coming later this year.
* indicates new guest added to the show.

Jan Campbell 12/9
Finding a Vaccine for Violence

* OP Almarez 12/16
Cleaning up after COVID

Bittersweet Gratitude
Virtual Concert and Conversations
Jackson Gillies
Kenny Loggins
Hana Loggins
Zach Gil
Glenn Philips
John Irving and the Renaissance Dancers

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People Are Talking

“It was an honor to contribute, once again, to the profoundly vital discussions the TEDxSantaBarbara team hosts, initiates and propagates with unparalleled integrity and consistency."
Dr. Harry Grammer, Making Waves speaker
"Really nicely done to be using your platform to spotlight something like this. Very proud of you guys."
Evan Asher, TEDxSantaBarbara performer
“Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your Conversations. Each of these presentations helps to make connections across disciplines, as a result, we’re all inspired to learn more.”
Dr. Yonette Thomas, Making Waves speaker
“This series has been terrific! I have caught a few of them and the conversations have been insightful. Keep up the great work.”
Julie Sorenson, Attendee
“Thanks so much for hosting such an important presentation by Dr. Wizdom Powell.”
Cheri C. Wilson, Education and Training Manager, Johns Hopkins Medicine
This program is one of the best I have ever seen in my life. This was amazing and there are not enough words to say Thank You and your Team."
Attendee, BJ King

This year, as we continue producing a series of weekly virtual talks, we focus on ideas that are influencing us, locally and globally. These short conversations are not news-focused. Instead, we are highlighting discussions of hope and optimism while showcasing actionable solutions.

The topics we explore are focused on the Pandemic, Sustainability, Creativity and Social Justice. We look at them individually and, at times, see how one has influenced the other. We look through various lenses and hear from different voices as we explore these inquiries. One of our guests introduced us to the word Syndemics, which is the collision of different epidemics. This syndemic and the chaos, complexity, and intricate complications it has brought to all of our lives is what Making Waves is all about. All while finding the silver thread of hope from our guests.

We navigate through opinions to help us all understand these challenging times by focusing on positive disruption. We’ve heard that normal will never be normal again. This year we’re Making Waves.

We want to thank the Community Environmental Council and the UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management for their help in curating our Sustainability track.

Making Waves is Hosted by TEDxSantaBarbara's Executive Producer Mark Sylvester and Produced by Tracy Wyle

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