Amanda Little - The App That Could Save The World

/

Amanda Little (née Griscom) is the author of Power Trip: The Story of America's Love Affair With Energy (HarperCollins), and has published widely on the environment, energy and technology for more than a decade. 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER | AMAZON

Amanda Little (née Griscom) is the author of Power Trip: The Story of America's Love Affair With Energy (HarperCollins), and has published widely on the environment, energy and technology for more than a decade. She wrote a syndicated weekly column about green politics on Grist.org and Salon.com, and a monthly column on green innovations for Outside magazine, where she was a contributing editor.

Debra Hopkins - Healthy Kids

/

Debra Hopkins has been a national curriculum consultant and ESL product manager for major educational publishers, but is most proud of her years as a very enthusiastic classroom teacher. Debra has extensive experience as a teacher trainer, with a passionate focus on accelerating language and vocabulary development, engaging students with interactive strategies, and enhancing health literacy.

FULL BIO | TWITTER 

Debra Hopkins has been a national curriculum consultant and ESL product manager for major educational publishers, but is most proud of her years as a very enthusiastic classroom teacher. Debra has extensive experience as a teacher trainer, with a passionate focus on accelerating language and vocabulary development, engaging students with interactive strategies, and enhancing health literacy.

Tom Dillehay - Building Local Capabilities in Anthropology

/

Tom D. Dillehay is internationally recognized for ground-breaking and highly interdisciplinary scientific research. His research focuses mainly on human migration and the resulting transformative processes that lead to political, economic, social and technological changes among populations.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE

Tom D. Dillehay is internationally recognized for ground-breaking and highly interdisciplinary scientific research. He is the Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Religion and Culture at Vanderbilt University. Many of research projects are in South America where he focuses mainly on human migration and the resulting transformative processes that lead to political, economic, social and technological changes among populations.

Douglas Vakoch - Earth Speaks

/

What Would You Say to an Extraterrestrial?

Douglas Vakoch is the Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute, as well as the only social scientist employed by a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) organization. Dr. Vakoch leads the SETI Institute's project to compose interstellar messages of the kind that may some day be sent in reply to a signal from extraterrestrials.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE  

Douglas Vakoch is the Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute, as well as the only social scientist employed by a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) organization. Dr. Vakoch researches ways that different civilizations might create messages that could be transmitted across interstellar space, allowing communication between humans and extraterrestrials even without face-to-face contact.

Odessa Settles and her 6 brothers

/

Seven Brothers and One Sister: The Settles Family Tradition

We are Seven Brothers and One Sister, a family of siblings preserving and passing down the music tradition and heritage of our father – Walter Settles - a former member of the Fairfield Four. The music tradition which has survived over 400 years was born out of the institution of slavery where there was despair and shattered dreams and continues to speak loudly of hope and wholeness in modern times. 

FULL BIO |  WEBSITE 

Jeffrey Conn, Ph.D. - Treating brain disease & disorder

/

Dr. Conn is the Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology, and founding Director of the Program in Translational Neuropharmacology and the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery. Conn received the Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and pursued postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER

Meredith Perry - How to be a technology innovator without an engineering degree or Aspergers

/

Meredith Perry is the Founder and CEO of uBeam, a company that hopes to bring space age wireless charging technology to your cell phone and other wireless devices. Meredith graduated from the University of Pennsylvania this past May after studying rocks, of all things. 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER

Mai Iskander - Transcending Through Story

/

Mai Iskander's directorial debut, Garbage Dreams was nominated for the 2010 Best Documentary by the Director’s Guild of America, and has won 26 international awards including the Al Gore Reel Current Award and IDA Humanitas Award. 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE 

Mai Iskander's directorial debut, Garbage Dreams was nominated for the 2010 Best Documentary by the Director's Guild of America, and has won 26 international awards including the Al Gore Reel Current Award and IDA Humanitas Award. Filmed over the course of four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys growing up in Egypt's largest garbage village.

Barry Alexander & Cosmo Buono - The Classical Musician

/

With competitions for Piano, Voice, Strings and Flute, an annual music festival, and their own foundation, Barry Alexander and Cosmo Buono are showing classical musicians worldwide how to use technology and media to gain more control over their careers, while expanding performance opportunities in the process.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER

With competitions for Piano, Voice, Strings and Flute, an annual music festival, and their own foundation, Barry Alexander and Cosmo Buono are showing classical musicians worldwide how to use technology and media to gain more control over their careers, while expanding performance opportunities in the process.

Stephen Paletta - The Next Great Philanthropist

/
paletta.png

Even before being chosen as “the biggest giver” and resounding winner of Oprah’s Big Give, ABC network’s competition reality series that focused on the philanthropic efforts of its contestants, Stephen Paletta had long decided to dedicate his life to helping others. “A few years ago,” he says, “Bob Buford challenged me to decide if my life was to be about significance or success.”

FULL BIO | WEBSITE 

Even before being chosen as "the biggest giver" and resounding winner of Oprah's Big Give, ABC network's competition reality series that focused on the philanthropic efforts of its contestants, Stephen Paletta had long decided to dedicate his life to helping others.

Tom Weiler - Neutrinos, Einstein, Time and Paradox

/

Starting in the early 80s, Dr Tom Weiler was among the pioneers in applying modern particle theory to astrophysics and cosmology. He has over a hundred refereed, published papers, on topics ranging from neutrino astrophysics to dark matter to faster-than-light particle travel.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE 

Tom Weiler was born in St. Louis, grew up(wards) in the Black Hills of South Dakota, matured a bit more in Lincoln, Nebraska, and graduated from HS in Milwaukee, WI. He has a B.S. degree in physics from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. from U. Wisconsin in high-energy particle theory.

Southern Word

/

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER 

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word (formerly Youth Speaks Nashville) offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities.

Bob Garfield - The Human Element

/

Bob Garfield has never worked in advertising or marketing a day in his life. He has no relevant education, experience or data. He owns exactly one dark suit. He is also the most prominent commentator and analyst of advertising and marketing who has ever lived.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER

Bob Garfield has never worked in advertising or marketing a day in his life. He has no relevant education, experience or data. He owns exactly one dark suit. He is also the most prominent commentator and analyst of advertising and marketing who has ever lived.

Craig Havighurst - A life’s journey in listening

/

Craig Havighurst is an author, broadcaster and filmmaker who sees music as a vast, complex ecosystem. With a background in public policy and Capitol Hill journalism, he was drawn to Nashville in the mid 90s by its rich history and growing roots/Americana music scene. 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE  | TWITTER | AMAZON

Dave Stewart - How To Break All The Rules and Rule

/

A multi-media entrepreneur, Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today. Beyond his creative work as a musician, Stewart is a renowned producer, author, director, photographer, filmmaker, and philanthropist.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER | AMAZON

A multi-media entrepreneur, Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today. Beyond his creative...

David Onoprishvili - Georgia as a Dynamic Mid-Point on the Silk Road between East and West

/

David Onoprishvili, currently is invited Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He teaches courses on transition economies of Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries.

FULL BIO | WEBSITE 

David Onoprishvili, currently is invited Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He teaches courses on transition economies of Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/faculty/visiting.html In Georgia, David Onoprishvili Chairs Economic Council of the leading opposition political party "Free Democrats" of Georgia. www.fd.ge He graduated from Columbia University, New York, with degree of M.I.A.

Kevin Rhoads & Rachel Kice - Creative Process

/

We work ourselves wretched for one old wood coffin, if life doesn't get you, love will finish you off" sings K.S. Rhoads on his stunning debut album Dead Language, which American Songwriter Magazine declares, " is an exhibition in style, grace, and limitless possibilities." 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER | AMAZON

 

rk.png

Rachel Kice shares the creative process through the act of painting in real-time at cultural events. The act of completing an original work of art inspired by the events of life; liberates both artist and audience from concept. 

FULL BIO | WEBSITE | TWITTER

We work ourselves wretched for one old wood coffin, if life doesn't get you, love will finish you off" sings K.S. Rhoads on his stunning debut album Dead Language, which American Songwriter Magazine declares, " is an exhibition in style, grace, and limitless possibilities." His music has been called "...