2016 Speakers

Obert Skye

Author
The magic of revision

Writing is a process. Revision is the magic in the process. It’s what breathes energy into an otherwise lifeless body of words. When you write knowing that you can undo or change everything if you desire, that’s precisely what invites an unlimited level of creativity.


Roger Plothow

Journalist
Journalism as antidote

The ubiquity of information is a multi-edged sword that is more likely to kill or maim than it is to keep the peace. Journalism is in peril, and consequently, so is an informed citizenry. It’s time for people to demand better of their news media, and it starts with you.


Robert Podgorney

Director, Snake River Geothermal Consortium
We’re sitting on the sun

The bulk of efforts allocated to research in alternative energy looks to a source that only shines part of the day, while we are sitting on a huge opportunity that never sets. Geothermal energy technologies can get a boost from an unlikely source. It’s time you hear about it.


Ann Washburn

Body Language Expert
Body Language: The key to your subconscious

How we hold our body both demonstrates and determines who we are and our level of success. What are you telling people about yourself? Or worse, what are you telling your self about yourself?


Marjanna Hulet

Founder, Pocatello Community Charter School
Curriculum conviction: Why passion matters most in education

The debate about our education system has centered around curriculum, so it would make sense that curriculum is the most significant factor in school success, except it’s not. What if the critical factor in education were not the curriculum, but what we believe about it? It is.


Mashaal Hijazi

KISU FM Radio Host and Student at Idaho State University
The modern maze of cultural identification

Defining one’s cultural identity in a generation of instant gratification, illogical racism, and influence from the media filled with ethnocentrism isn’t particularly easy. How do we define who we are when we live in a world which wants to take clues from our physical characteristics, accents, and dress and create an identity for us before we ever get a chance to? When do I get to be my own version of me?


Garth Smelser

Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Unplug & reconnect: Propelling our children toward a nature-rich future

Before we expect our children to care for the world which sustains us, we must first inspire them to connect with and love it. When children