Speakers
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Aaron Dignan
Founding Partner & CEO of Undercurrent, Author of Game Frame
A founding partner of the digital strategy firm Undercurrent and based in New York, he advises global brands and complex organizations like GE, PepsiCo, Ford, and Estée Lauder on their future in an increasingly technophilic world. Most recently, he has recognized the immeasurable value of games as engines of motivation … Read more A founding partner of the digital strategy firm Undercurrent and based in New York, he advises global brands and complex organizations like GE, PepsiCo, Ford, and Estée Lauder on their future in an increasingly technophilic world. Most recently, he has recognized the immeasurable value of games as engines of motivation capable of influencing behavior. Dignan now believes that a new breed of behavioral games has the power to transform our most basic activities at work, school, and home. Dignan is the author of Game Frame: Using Games as a Strategy for Success.Aaron’s first book, Game Frame: Using Games as a Strategy for Success, was released on March 8th, 2011.
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Adam Braun
Founder & Executive Director of Pencils of Promise
Adam founded Pencils of Promise in October 2008 with a mere $25 in hopes of building one school in Laos. The movement that grew out of the PoP approach of nonprofit idealism and for–profit business accountability soon encouraged Adam to leave his job at Bain & Company and work exclusively on realizing the PoP dream … Read more Adam founded Pencils of Promise in October 2008 with a mere $25 in hopes of building one school in Laos. The movement that grew out of the PoP approach of nonprofit idealism and for–profit business accountability soon encouraged Adam to leave his job at Bain & Company and work exclusively on realizing the PoP dream. Today, that dream has manifested into more than 40 schools in Laos, Nicaragua and Guatemala. In creating a dedicated community of over 250,000 members, PoP has become a leader in social media engagement, sustainable development, youth empowerment and digital innovation.
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Adora Svitak
Educator and Curator of TEDxRedmond
Adora Svitak is the world’s youngest teacher and the published author of three books. At 12, she delivered the speech “What Adults Can Learn from Kids” at the TED conference. The talk received over one million views and has been translated into more than 40 languages … Read more Adora Svitak is the world’s youngest teacher and the published author of three books. At 12, she delivered the speech “What Adults Can Learn from Kids” at the TED conference. The talk received over one million views and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Now 14, she has launched a free digital learning channel to teach a variety of classes. Through using education technology, she has taught more than 500 schools and classrooms worldwide. She joined the ranks of President Bill Clinton and Sesame Workshop last year when she received one of public education’s highest honors, the NEA Foundation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education. Adora is a staunch advocate for innovation in education.
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Baratunde Thurston
Director of Digital for The Onion. Co-Founder Jack & Jill Politics
Baratunde Thurston is a politically–active, technology–loving comedian from the future. He co–founded the black political blog, Jack and Jill Politics and serves as Director of Digital for The Onion. He has written for Vanity Fair and the UK Independent, hosted Popular Science’s Future Of on Discovery Science and … Read more Baratunde Thurston is a politically–active, technology–loving comedian from the future. He co–founded the black political blog, Jack and Jill Politics and serves as Director of Digital for The Onion. He has written for Vanity Fair and the UK Independent, hosted Popular Science’s Future Of on Discovery Science and appears on cable news regularly to say smart things in funny ways. Then–candidate Barack Obama called him “someone I need to know.” Baratunde travels the world speaking and advising and performs standup regularly in NYC. He resides in Brooklyn, lives on Twitter and has over 30 years experience being black. His first book, How To Be Black is a New York Times bestseller.
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Charles Best
Founder & CEO of DonorsChoose.org
Charles Best leads DonorsChoose.org, a website where every public school teacher can be a change-maker, and any citizen can be a philanthropist. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and donors can pick the projects they want to support.Every donor then gets photographs and thank–you letters from the classroom he or she chose to help … Read more Charles Best leads DonorsChoose.org, a website where every public school teacher can be a change-maker, and any citizen can be a philanthropist. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and donors can pick the projects they want to support.Every donor then gets photographs and thank–you letters from the classroom he or she chose to help. Recognition of DonorsChoose.org includes the Nonprofit Innovation Award given by Stanford Business School and Amazon.com, and a Global Technology Laureate from the TECH Museum of Innovation and Microsoft. Oprah Winfrey and The New York Times have profiled DonorsChoose as "the future of philanthropy." Fortune Magazine has twice featured Charles in the "40 under 40" list of "business’s hottest rising stars."
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Eddie Huang
Chef & Owner of Baohaus
Open for just over a year, Eddie’s restaurant, Baohaus, has received critical acclaim and coverage from the New York Times, Time Magazine, The New York Post, New York Magazine, CNN, Cooking Channel, Food Network, and many more. The closest Eddie came to “formal” cooking training was from his mother. Influenced by her style, he developed his own unique recipes and techniques by … Read more Open for just over a year, Eddie’s restaurant, Baohaus, has received critical acclaim and coverage from the New York Times, Time Magazine, The New York Post, New York Magazine, CNN, Cooking Channel, Food Network, and many more. The closest Eddie came to “formal” cooking training was from his mother. Influenced by her style, he developed his own unique recipes and techniques by eating out, taking notes and recreating dishes at home. He believes that everyone has three cooking classes-a-day: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. He is a culinary outsider who became an insider by creating his own opportunities. Before Baohaus, Eddie enjoyed various professions including writer (ESPN.com, Orlando Sentinel, Yahoo, XXL), lawyer and stand-up comedian.
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Kio Stark
Author and Teacher at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program
Kio Stark is the author of the novel Follow Me Down. She also writes about relational technology and teaches at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), a graduate program for geeks, hackers, and artists. Currently, she is writing a handbook for independent learners called “Don’t Go Back to School.”
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Michael Karnjanaprakorn
CEO & Co–founder of Skillshare
In addition to co–founding Skillshare, Michael is a Venture Advisor for Collaborative Fund and a 2012 TED Fellow. Michael also led the product team at Hot Potato, which was acquired by Facebook, and he developed products and services that organized the creative world at Behance. As a philanthropist, Michael was the co–founder of All Day Buffet and The Feast … Read more In addition to co–founding Skillshare, Michael is a Venture Advisor for Collaborative Fund and a 2012 TED Fellow. Michael also led the product team at Hot Potato, which was acquired by Facebook, and he developed products and services that organized the creative world at Behance. As a philanthropist, Michael was the co–founder of All Day Buffet and The Feast. In his spare time, he’s an avid roschambo player, NYC foodie, HBO fanatic, and sometimes Foursquare Mayor of Tacombi.
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Tony Wagner
Co–founder of Change Leadership Group
Tony Wagner recently accepted a position as the first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. Prior to this, he was the founder and co–director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for more than a decade … Read more Tony Wagner recently accepted a position as the first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. Prior to this, he was the founder and co–director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for more than a decade. Tony consults widely to schools, districts, and foundations around the country and internationally. His previous work experience includes twelve years as a high school teacher, K–8 principal, university professor in teacher education, and founding executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility. His work includes numerous articles and five books. Tony’s latest, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change The World, was just published in April by Simon & Schuster.
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Zach Sims
Co–founder of Codecademy
Zach Sims is the Co–founder and CEO of Codecademy, the easiest way to learn to code online. Driven by the belief that programming is one of the most important skills of the twenty–first century, Codecademy has educated more than one million people in over 100 countries. Zach dropped out of Columbia University as a junior … Read more Zach Sims is the Co–founder and CEO of Codecademy, the easiest way to learn to code online. Driven by the belief that programming is one of the most important skills of the twenty–first century, Codecademy has educated more than one million people in over 100 countries. Zach dropped out of Columbia University as a junior. While at Columbia he worked for drop.io (prior to its sale to Facebook), AOL Ventures, and GroupMe (prior to its sale to Skype).