Jamie Valvano
Writer, Teacher, Torchbearer
Watch Jamie’s TEDx Talk here: What I Learned About Leaving A Legacy
An ordinary woman living an extraordinary life, Jamie Valvano shines a light on the lessons of love, loss, and legacy.
Jamie Valvano, daughter of legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, is a Cary, North Carolina native. She has lived in the area with her family since 1980, and is proud to be a graduate of North Carolina State University. Jamie worked for The V Foundation for Cancer Research in its formative years, and helped to establish the organization that has now awarded over $250 million to cancer research.
In 2005, Jamie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer research saved her life, and allowed her to thrive in spite of medical challenges. Today, Jamie candidly shares the essential elements necessary to experience an extraordinary life and create a lasting legacy.
Her sons, Jake and Grant, are her greatest reasons to never give up. Just don’t ask her to dribble a basketball and run at the same time. Apparently, athletic ability skips a generation.
Liz Bartlett
Librarian & Storyteller
Are Libraries Still Relevant? Click here to watch Liz’s TEDxTalk
We all have a home away from home. For our next speaker, that place of comfort has always been the library.
Liz Bartlett is a second-generation Librarian so libraries are in her blood! Currently, Liz is the Library Manager for the brand-new Cary Regional Library in Downtown Cary.
After moving to North Carolina to attend UNC Chapel Hill and attain her Master of Library Science, Liz began her career as a Children’s Librarian. She then became a manager in Wake County library locations Garner, Wendell and Cary.
An avid reader & committee chair of WCPL’s annual Storytelling Festival, we can’t wait for you to tell your story!
Tina Caul
Entrepreneur | Value Champion
What I Learned About Self Worth From Pricing Real Estate
Raised in Detroit and eventually moving to the South has cultivated Tina Caul’s unique combination of Southern charm and Midwestern tenacity, which attributes her success as a high-touch broker.
Tina and her husband Kevin founded their brokerage, Caul Group Residential brokered by eXp Realty in 2009 (caulgroup.com).
Tina and her team work with individuals, investors, and developers interested in the city’s most valued properties. Known for her extensive market knowledge and her unmatched devotion to clients, Tina’s success is based almost exclusively on past client referrals. As a licensed Broker, she continually invests time, money, marketing and negotiations techniques to grow her business.
Giving Vilomah’s A Voice: How and Why You Should Talk to Bereaved Parents
Sharon Delaney McCloud
Advocate |Storyteller |Mother of 3
As a mother and advocate, Sharon Delaney McCloud shares her experience giving a voice to vilomahs everywhere.
Sharon Delaney McCloud is an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, cancer survivor, Olympic Torch Bearer, agency owner and author who built her career telling other people’s stories. But that path took a sharp turn when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and Sharon’s family embarked on the fight of their lives to save their little girl. Since then, Sharon started sharing her own story about grit, gratitude and grace, even under the most crushing circumstances like the death of a child. And what she has discovered is that human connection can not only breathe life into the deepest grief, but can also uncover joy.
Sue Harnett
Team Player and Founder, ReWriting the Code
Watch Sue’s TEDxTalk here: How Teams Will Transform Women In Tech
A leader on the court and in the community, former Duke basketball student-athlete is an advocate for decreasing the gender gap in STEM.
Sue Harnett is the founder and president of Rewriting the Code (RTC), a nonprofit focused on retaining, supporting and advancing college women-in-tech.
The RTC community numbers over 4,000 women from 400+ universities across the US + Canada and 16 additional countries. Sue is committed to helping college and early career women achieve their potential through the development of authentic, peer-driven communities that foster collaboration and camaraderie. Such trusted networks allow for the sharing of honest conversations that encourage young women to learn from each other’s experiences and gain insight into the academic, recruiting and personal challenges they face as women-in-tech.
Dr. Allison Mathews
Researcher and Entrepreneur
Watch Allison’s TEDxTalk here: How We Can Fight HIV Stigma
Although a current resident of Durham, our next speaker has been invited to speak around the world about her work. And we get to hear her speak on our stage next month!
Dr. Allison Mathews is an innovative researcher focused on how community action can mobilize medical advancements.
A researcher and entrepreneur, Dr. Mathews currently works as the Associate Director of Integrating Special Populations in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Her long list of accomplishments include:
✔Co-founded HIV Cure Research Day ✔Co-founder of Digital LinCS
✔Co-organized inaugural World AIDS Day
Her upbringing and educational experiences developed her strong interest in integrating social justice with arts, research, and technology.
Matthew Schwab
Speaker and Advocate
Watch Matthew’s TEDxTalk here: How I Know Including People With Down Syndrome Is A Good Thing
Matthew Schwab is an advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. His passions include raising awareness about Down syndrome and demonstrating why it’s good for all to employ the differently-abled.
After graduating from Holly Springs High School in June 2017 with an occupational course of study diploma, Matthew completed Project Search, an internship based educational program, through Wake Tech. In addition to staying busy and productive working at numerous places of business, he is also busy with his own public speaking business (matthewschwabspeaks.com).
Matthew believes it is just as, if not more important, to serve the community and is also an active volunteer.
Sepi Saidi
Civil Engineer & Feminist
Rethinking Feminism Can Help Advance Women In The Workplace
Born in Iran and finding herself on our TEDxCaryWomen stage in December, Sepi is a graduate of NC State with dual degrees in Civil and Agricultural Engineering. As only one of a handful of females in a male dominated field, Sepi founded SEPI Engineering & Construction in 2001 and has since enjoyed many accolades. SEPI, Inc. (sepiinc.com) is a four-time ENR Top 500 ranked firm and has earned eight consecutive Zweig Group Hot Firm List top rankings.
She is passionate about workplace equality and shares an idea that speaks to re-engineering how we view feminism. Despite her long list of accomplishments, Sepi cites her greatest accomplishment as that of mother and raising her two wonderful children.
Myles Travitz
Performer: My Round
Sounds of Resilience: How Struggle Refines Us, Not Defines Us
Using the power of words through song, Myles Travitz connects seemingly different people by unifying our human struggles, and highlighting resilience throughout life.
Myles Travitz is a musician and songwriter from Cary, North Carolina. What began as a passion for music, listening to his parents’ CD’s and attending music lessons, evolved into an accomplished career path uniquely his own. Myles has released original music and remixes through labels such as Atlantic Records and Ultra Music.
Karen Velasquez
Performer : Tibetan Singing Bowls
Watch Karen’s TEDxTalk here: What Our Ancestors Knew About Stress
Karen Velasquez is an RN and acupuncturist, and a true pioneer. She first began teaching mindfulness in and around our community nearly 25 years ago, and continues to educate and inform daily as Owner of Life Long Wellness Center in Cary. We are in deep gratitude that she will be sharing with us too, with a beautiful performance of the Tibetan singing bowls. Quite possibly the perfect <pause>
in a day of mental marathoning!
Michelle Grainger
Agricultural AGvocate
Watch Michelle’s TEDxTalk here: #FarmerStrong-An Idea Worth Seeding
Michelle L. Grainger is the managing director of the Executive Farm Management program at NC State which contributes to the advancement of business practices of the modern farmer.
A proud alumni of NC State University’s Poole College of Management and the College Humanities and of Social Sciences, Michelle has led The Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS), a global innovation management research center, for the last nineteen years. Michelle enjoys travel, food, friends, her family and can often be found with her champion dock dog, Bedford.
Justin Yopp, PhD
Psychologist & Professor
More Than Grief: How Seven Father’s Reimagined Life After Loss
As a Raleigh native and Clinical Psychologist & Associate Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, Justin Yopp, PhD focuses his research on how to best support grieving families.
Currently, Dr. Yopp co-leads the Widowed Parent Program (widowedparent.org), which offers support groups for parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own and conducts research to support grieving families and offers his expertise to pediatric oncology and adult oncology populations at the N.C. Cancer Hospital as a member of UNC’s Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, Dr. Yopp has served as a psychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and co-authored The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life (Oxford Press).
Tara Youngblood
Physicist, Inventor, Sleep Scientist
Tara Youngblood is Co-Founder of Kryo, Inc and Co-Inventor of the ChiliPad Sleep System (chilitechnology.com), a sleep product cooling your personalized temperature for peek sleep performance.
Constantly seeking new opportunities to improve the quality of life for those most affected by sleep disorders, Tara Youngblood, helps every individual accomplish their dreams – pun intended!
She is a visionary leader, combining her experience in multiple disciplines, including Alternative Medicine, Physics and Sleep Diagnostics. Tara authored a leading white paper, connecting over 70 research papers to the effects of temperature and sleep quality. Her research has led to over a dozen patent filings, and is still furthering studies on cold therapy and its impact on sleep.
Sangeetha Menon
Executive Director, Advocate
The Language of Domestic Abuse In South Asian Communities
Sangeetha Menon is Kiran’s Executive Director, immigrant woman of color who serves the South Asian community in North Carolina through education on the cycle of gender based domestic violence.
During her tenure at Kiran, Sangeetha has conceptualized and led the first ever Kiran Walkathon to raise awareness about Kiran’s mission. She is a strong proponent of the empowerment model, grounded in the belief that victims of domestic violence should have access to information, education, and social and economic support to make informed decisions that best reflect their needs. In her spare time, Sangeetha follows her passion for Indian folk and contemporary dance forms.
Sangeetha Menon
Maggie Kane
Social Entrepreneur
Food For Thought, Choice and Dignity
Maggie is Founder and Executive Director of A Place At The Table, Raleigh’s only pay-what-you-can cafe. After graduating from North Carolina State University, Maggie began working for a nonprofit with people experiencing homelessness. By befriending many people living on the margins, she knew something needed to be done. Maggie has a heart to serve, a desire to always be inclusive, and a passion for loving people. She is ready to see relationships forged between different classes of people, and community being created around the table. She lives in Raleigh, loves to run, and eats a large amount of peanut butter.
