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Ep 04: Announcing our 2018 Speakers – TEDxSantaBarbara BTS Podcast

In Behind the Scenes by Mark Sylvester

Episode 4 – Our 2018 Speaker Lineup In this episode, Executive Producer Mark Sylvester and host takes you through the 11 speakers we’ve selected for this year’s event. You’ll want to listen to him explain who’s going to be here, what they’re talking about, including some interesting information you won’t hear until the show itself. Be sure to listen to …

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There’s nothing funny when a warrior cries | William Travis Rodriguez

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Decreasing stigma saves lives. Mental health needs to be a key part of supporting our troops in the military. William Rodriguez, MSW, was inspired to dedicate his life to helping Veterans and all of those affected by trauma after serving in the US Army from 2000-2006. During this time, he participated in 3 combat deployments in the Middle East as a reconnaissance squad leader with both the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom /Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following his separation from the military, William began studying psychology & graduated with a Master’s Degree in Military Social Work from USC in 2012.

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Whales Without Walls | Charles Vinick

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Whales should no longer have to perform for their supper and for our entertainment. Captive whales have raised millions of dollars for their owners and entertained millions of people – don’t we owe them something? It is time to retire these magnificent animals to natural seaside sanctuaries. A member of the Whale Sanctuary Project Board of Directors since mid-2016, Charles is no stranger to ambitious, visionary, ocean-related projects.

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Can One Straw Change The World? | Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Single-use plastics like cups, bags, bottles and straws contribute to the eight million tons of non-biodegradable plastic that we send to the ocean each year, where it works its way up the food chain and onto our plates. Recent studies have found microplastics in fish, sea salt, and drinking water, and some chemicals in these plastics have been linked to obesity, infertility and even cancer. Is better recycling or using compostable plastics the solution? Not exactly. Learn the simple steps you can take to break your single-use plastic habit and change the world. Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is the Executive Director of 5 Gyres Institute, the ocean conservation non-profit that first discovered plastic microbeads in 2012 and campaigned for a successful federal ban in 2015.

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The Face of Human Trafficking | Megan Rheinschild

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Sex Trafficking of underage girls is happening right in our own backyards, small towns and big cities across America. These kids are our kids, profoundly vulnerable to the lure of traffickers because of childhood abuse and trauma. Ms. Rheinschild graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her degree in Sociology and Spanish from University of California of Santa Barbara.

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The World Needs a New Definition of Activism | Lea Ann Mallett

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Is our current idea of activism inspiring people to do nothing? Lea Ann Mallett’s trajectory as a lifelong activist, from direct action civil disobedience protestor to charity executive director, led her to wonder just that. Lea Ann shares her new definition of activism which will shift the way you see your world, and open your eyes to the power you have to change it. Lea Ann Mallett is a lifelong activist, writer, photographer and a passionate storyteller. The trajectory of Lea Ann’s story has arced through her work as a direct-action wilderness activist for almost two decades as a non-profit executive director. She has engaged media around the world, from the CBC to the BBC, on issues from ancient forest preservation to the protection of monarch butterflies.

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Ending Preventable Blindness: reinventing cataract surgery | Jeffrey Levenson

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world. Most of that blindness is concentrated among the world’s poorest people who are unable to afford curative surgery. This talk tells the story of how innovative doctors have creatively deconstructed and reinvented cataract surgery making it faster, much less expensive, and finally accessible to the world’s poor and blind. Jeffrey H Levenson MD is the Chief Medical Officer of SEE International (www.SEEIntl.org), a Santa Barbara nonprofit dedicated to the elimination of preventable blindness in the world.

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Making Stem Cells from Skin | Leah Foltz

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Have you ever wondered how stem cells work? Let’s explore the past two decades of scientific breakthroughs and what researchers are doing now. Learn about how making stem cells from skin is allowing us to study degenerative diseases in a whole new way.

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Safety is Dangerous Business | Spike Edwards

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

We have all taken safety to such a degree that we have stopped using our safety and risk muscles. We rely on everyone else around us and rules and regulations to maintain our safety. If we follow the 3 Mission-Critical Elements described in the talk, our families, our workplaces and our communities will all be safer.

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What Civilians Need to Understand About War | Andy Carroll

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Carroll explores actual correspondence, dating from the American Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan, to emphasize the searing impact war has on those who serve and on their loved ones on the home front. Andrew Carroll is the editor of several New York Times bestsellers, including War Letters and Behind the Lines. Andrew also edited, on a pro bono basis, Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, which inspired the Emmy award-winning film of the same name. His play “If All the Sky Were Paper” has been performed nationwide, including at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

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Traver Boehm

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Pain is never a welcome part of the our human experience, but nonetheless an inevitable one. Traver Boehm shares lessons learned during his year-long travels on how to harness the pain we all experience in order to live the best year of your life.

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Tony Perez

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Can you tell the White Hats from the Black Hats – that is, the good hackers from the bad? Did you know that “hacker moms” might replace “soccer moms”? Come take a provocative ride to the future of hacking to learn why “Black Hats Are Rising”.

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Tim Bauer

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

The world is starting to warm up to failure as a teacher (but still only the kind of teachers we are ashamed of). What would happen if we let failure out of the classroom and invited it into the board room and the bedroom? “Tinier Tim” Bauer shares how learning to live worthy of failure helped him transform his life.

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Scott Mann

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Trust is eroding all around us everyday. Conflict and skepticism fill the void. Scott is a regular contributor to CNN, Fox News, Wall Street Journal Radio, and NPR. His unconventional leadership work has been featured on Business Insider and Fox and Friends.

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Joan Rosenberg

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

What often blocks people from feeling capable in life and from having greater success with finances, health or relationships is how they handle unpleasant feelings. Psychologist Joan Rosenberg unveils the innovative strategy and surprising keys for experiencing the challenging emotions that lie at the heart of confidence, emotional strength and resilience.

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Dan Perea

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Through story, spoken word, and musical performance, Dan Perea explores paths to becoming the fully realized version of yourself: your passions evident, your talents honed, and the ability to possess a fulfillment that exists within, regardless of what’s going on “outside”.

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Dan Caldwell

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Dan Caldwell helped build the emerging billion dollar industry of mixed martial arts with his TapouT brand. But secretly, insecurities nearly cost him everything. He shares his firsthand experience to reveal how you can tap into your own true power.

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Chloe Howard

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Bullying is an epidemic. Chloe asks the question, “Can someone truly accept the differences in another, without first accepting the differences in themselves?” When we love and accept ourselves, we are less likely to bully others. What would this mean for the bullied, the bullies, and our world?

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Carrie Hammer

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Fashion designer Carrie Hammer was shocked to discover the techniques the fashion and beauty industries employ to sell products. She fills us in on the real harm that these do to our psyches and proposes some smart solutions.

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Brandy Gillmore

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

What if we all have the ability to heal ourselves and don’t even know it? In this mind-expanding talk, Brandy Gillmore discusses the discoveries she was able to make in her own life, and shares how these incredible breakthroughs appear as though they could be a missing link to total health.

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Antonio Medrano

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Antonio Medrano and his a cappella group Airplay love to blend their voices in song, but his past has also included moments of discord. This talk goes through his journey of realizing that disruptive choices have been necessary to gain the clarity of what produces inner harmony and fulfillment.

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Adam Cobb

In TEDxTalks by Mark Sylvester

Adam Cobb studies movement patterns to create a champion mindset – to maximize each moment to create more time and freedom to do the things that energize you. He shares how living by design, versus default, can add an hour a day to your life and help you reclaim the person you are meant to be. Pointing out that average is an accident, and that excellence isn’t easy, Adam challenges the status quo to show you how to start living 8 Days A Week.