This spring, Adelphi University presented the third annual TEDxAdelphiUniversity series, centered on the theme “Be the Change."
This spring, Adelphi University presented the third annual TEDxAdelphiUniversity series, centered on the theme “Be the Change.”
Some of the major topics focused on healthy eating and community, including healthcare in the community, how news is portrayed and reflected, healthier alternatives to common toxins, the use of aeroponic Tower Gardens, drug abuse prevention, and more. The event featured talks by notable speakers, including:
Benjamin Dynkin, J.D., has spent his career working to help defend the United States and its businesses from cyber threats. He is the co-founder and co-executive director of the American Cybersecurity Institute and the co-founder of Atlas Cybersecurity.
Tracy Stopler is a registered dietitian and the nutrition director at NUTRITION E.T.C. She has been an adjunct nutrition professor at Adelphi University for 20 years and has published extensively on the topic of nutrition and exercise. She is also the campaign coordinator for Enough Abuse Campaign on Long Island and has published an award-winning novel, The Ropes That Bind: Based on a True Story of Child Sexual Abuse.
Janine L. Bradley was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. She is a graduate of Jamaica High School, where she faced the struggles of attending night school so she could graduate on time. She is now the coordinator/principal of the Uniondale Alternative High School Program.
Hannah Fons, an Adelphi senior, currently serves as senior editor at a small trade publishing company and is also a professional strength and conditioning coach at Five Points Academy in New York City. Fons is a graduate student in the M.S.W. program at Adelphi University’s Manhattan Center, focusing on the care and concerns of LGBTQ youth in general and transgender/gender-divergent youth in particular.
Anthony Guerne began his career in medicine in 1990 as an emergency medical technician and in 1994 he became a paramedic and began working in New York City. He is currently the Simulation Center technologist for the Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health and works for volunteer fire departments on Long Island as a first responder.
Howard Robertson retired from the New York City Department of Correction after serving more than 22 years as a warden on Rikers Island. He is now focused on keeping our youth out of gangs and away from drugs, reducing violence, and motivating them to become successful in life.
Oscar Bruce Jr., a Long Island native who graduated from Baruch College with a degree in public affairs and a minor in African American and Latino studies, currently serves as a community organizer and workshop facilitator for the Pulse Center for Patient Safety Education & Advocacy—ASK for Your Life Campaign and has interned at Hunger Free America. His passion for writing has motivated him to become a spoken-word artist, and his goal is to empower people to advocate for themselves to achieve better healthcare outcomes.
Karen Clements-Roach is an award-winning journalist and founder of the news organization Communities of Color News. The outlet has become a go-to source for community news for people of color that has the courage to print what others will only say behind closed doors. “What made us different as a news organization was we were celebratory and not sensational,” said Clements-Roach. “This was something people of color didn’t regularly see—themselves represented positively and consistently in the news.”
Beth Fiteni is executive director of Green Inside and Out, a nonprofit whose mission it is to educate on matters of toxins and environmental health. She has a master’s degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School and has worked in multiple environmental positions, including at Renewable Energy Long Island, the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College and Beyond Pesticides. She lectures regularly on nontoxic and energy-efficient green living and has been trained by former Vice President Al Gore.
Kaylenne Brown, an Adelphi junior, is a nationally recognized authority on health education and dance fitness and is also a plant-based chef. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in nutrition at Adelphi and delivers the Health Is Wealth Project curriculum to several schools, talking about the power of aeroponics and seedlings.
For more information on TEDxAdelphiUniversity—including links to all 10 of this year’s talks—visit tedxadelphiuniversity.com.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
For further information, please contact:
Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director
p – 516.237.8634
e – twilson@adelphi.edu