Mark Raines
A personal and passionate talk by teacher Mark Raines about the value and learning opportunities for students through teacher sincerity and vulnerability in the classroom, within appropriate boundaries. This teacher shares how in the midst of his own health crisis, he discovered the benefits and lifelong lessons of allowing students into his personal story thereby creating lifelong lessons for all.
Pamela Payne Foster
Dr. Pamela Payne Foster uses the backdrop of Selma Alabama with its rich civil rights history of Bloody Sunday in 1965 and the personal stories her father growing up in Selma in the late 1940s and early 1950s and the analogy of bridges and rivers to expand the traditional model of health care in the US. The new model or “new bridge” includes social determinants of health or societal factors in health, population health, health disparities and health inequities and social health justice as the “new” civil rights issue in order to save more lives.
Jim Brown
Why is chronic poverty tolerated in America? Is our economic system flawed? Through personal stories and insights, University of Alabama professor J. Palmer (Jim) Brown explores the problem of poverty and advocates a solution in worker ownership and cooperation.
Terrence Lonam
In this video, Terrence Lonam takes audiences through what the world high school academic debate looks like today, the potential debate holds for students in any career or future, and the structural barriers that face the debate community today.
Alan Blum
Contrary to popular belief, the war on smoking has not been won. Much of the progress against smoking came in the 1970s to 1990s with unfunded grassroots activism. The very forces that should have been in the vanguard of efforts to end the smoking pandemic – medical and public health associations, pharmaceutical companies, universities, the mass media, and sports, cultural, and political leaders–have not matched their rhetoric with actions. Even today they remain reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them. Both the tobacco industry and the tobacco control industry do now have one credo in common: The most addictive thing about tobacco is money.
Linda Parsons
“We’re OK – neighborhood gone.” Through that text message, Linda Parsons learned that the lives of her neighbors in the Forest Lake neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, AL were forever changed by a tornado. What she later learned discovered is that rebuilding a neighborhood destroyed by a storm is harder than she could have imagined. Linda shares the story of how the people of Forest Lake created a successful campaign to give their neighbors hope for the future and a reason to return home and rebuild. Their message? We Are Coming Back!
Chris Hill
Chef Chris hill might not agree with you on the definition of success. In his view, the road to success too often leads to regret and the question “is this it?” Hill shares his journey of heartbreak and loss as an adolescent to where he is today as an ex-marketing consultant turned chef, restaurant owner and writer. Hill offers hope to all despite what obstacles might be standing in the way, and he believes that fulfillment is available for everyone.
Josh Sahib
Starting a ‘side-hustle’ is more than simply following a passion, it’s a Plan B and can help insulate you from overarching workforce shifts. Over the coming decades, there will be increasing automation through computers and robotics leading to less long-term job security. In this talk, Josh Sahib not only touches on his personal journey, but also encourages people to grow by doing something beyond their standard day job.
