Lisa is a: Learner. Leader. Change-Implementer. Type A. Square Peg. ISTJ. MBA. PMP. Boxer. Volunteer Boxing Coach/Class Leader. Lover of all things lime green. Tackler of the “we’ve never done this before before” initiatives. Underdog Champion. Stickler for quality. Work in Progress… and she would not have it any other way.

Why are you volunteering as Chair for TEDxManitoba 2012?

“Lis, how would you like to be a part of bringing the first TEDx event to Winnipeg, Manitoba?”

It was the spring of 2010 when I was first approached for this opportunity and I jumped at the chance. I jumped in deep as Marketing and Communications Lead, Social Media Coordinator, Steering Committee member, and member of the Speakers Committee for TEDxManitoba 2011.

TEDxManitoba 2011 was an incredible amount of work to pull off, but also, incredibly rewarding to be part of. We made a difference to our audience, to our speakers, to our sponsors, and we helped spread some incredible ideas that otherwise would have gone unknown. We showcased Manitoba. We helped make a difference. People were affected for a long time afterwards – the event changed people.

I couldn’t help but want to be a part of that again. So when the past Chair asked me to take on the Chair role, I stepped into those big shoes and began building the team to bring 2012 to life.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement.

Rachelle is a Winnipeg-based IT professional employed at Investors Group. She works closely with quality assurance analysts, software developers and vendors to deliver software applications that meet the needs of IG’s Consultants. This means she gets to be strategic in figuring out how to get the best out of teams in order to deliver a quality product. In short, it means that Rachelle spends her days coming up with innovative ways for teams to collaborate.

This is Rachelle’s second year involved with TEDxManitoba, adding that “while it can be very intense work it’s well worth it when you see the end result.”

What’s your role on the organizing committee?

Sponsorship Committee Lead

Why are you volunteering for TEDxManitoba 2012?

I’m volunteering because I believe in TED’s concept of mixing ideas and people to achieve meaningful outcomes. I want to make certain the event is as successful as possible by applying my leadership and management skills.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

Derek Sivers’s How to start a movement.

Michelle is a heathcare information technology consultant with an undergrad from the University of Winnipeg in Business Computing and an MBA from the University of Manitoba. An avid gardener and photographer, Michelle loves nothing more than to be digging in the mud on the small acreage she shares with her charming husband and lovely black lab, Taffy, then taking creative photos of the fruits of her labour. Michelle is thrilled to be a part of TEDxManitoba 2012.

What’s your role on the organizing committee?

Chair, Guest Selection Committee

Why are you volunteering for TEDxManitoba 2012?

My friend and colleague, Lisa MacKenzie asked me to become involved in TEDxManitoba 2012. At that point I had never heard of TED or TEDx, but after doing some research and watching some TED videos, I was very excited to become a part of this incredible event.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

Ken Robinson on Changing Education Paradigms.

(Changing Education Paradigms, as adapted by RSA Animate, is featured as one of TED’s “Best of the Web” talks. Sir Ken Robinson is a TED speaker and he has delivered two additional talks on education that are definitely worth spreading.)

Specializing in “interactive brand and strategy,” David develops innovative approaches for integrating online with offline marketing. David regularly collaborates with a diverse group of talented individuals and firms to deliver outstanding strategic and creative work.

His involvement with a broad range of projects in recent years has included the City of Winnipeg’s ground-breaking initiative SpeakUpWinnipeg and the OurWinnipeg Plan, the rebranding of Resource Conservation Manitoba as Green Action Centre, branding and marketing/communications strategy for Peg City Car Co-op and strategic planning for the Winnipeg Arts Council.

In addition to being a member of the steering committee for TEDxManitoba, David is currently co-organizing ActifEpica, an outdoor winter festival in South-Western Manitoba.

What’s your role on the organizing committee?

Marketing, Media and Communications Lead

Why are you volunteering for TEDxManitoba 2012?

It is through ideas that we make sense of the world, our relationships with each other and our capacity to act. Shared ideas define what our society considers normative, what we believe to be valuable and what will be tolerated, encouraged and celebrated.

TED has been a tremendous force in the spreading of ideas, in the creation of new ideas and in the encouragement of considering our ideas a little bit more carefully.

Last year, I had the good fortune of being selected to attend TEDxManitoba, and leapt at the chance to apply my skills to this amazing event. Helping out with TEDxManitoba 2012 a small way that I can contribute to a better society.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

Christopher “moot” Poole: The case for anonymity online

Brent Toderash bills himself as a “freelance thinker” and currently does freelance work on branding and web development projects. An eclectic big-picture thinker, he enjoys review­ing busi­ness mod­els and strate­gies with an eye to long-term effects.

After studying theology, he became an entrepreneur and blogger. As an entrepreneur, he helped build an IT consulting firm and an innovative Internet service provider whose first major rural project was written up as a successful case study for Industry Canada.  As a blogger, he built two successful blogs over the past dozen years. The first on technology and early open source and Linux news, followed by one on theological change. Both became well-known and influential in their areas at the time and established his bona fides as a knowledgeable participant in emerging Internet-fueled change.

More recently while on the lookout for ways to help spread positive change, he decided to inflict his skillset upon TEDxManitoba.

What’s your role on the organizing committee?

Technical Lead

Why are you volunteering for TEDxManitoba 2012?

I’ve been a fan of TED for several years, so when I heard about last year’s event, I made sure to get my name in to attend, and was fortunate to be selected. As soon as the event wrapped up, I was determined to volunteer with this year’s event in some way.

The core idea behind TED — of spreading ideas and looking at things in fresh new ways — strikes close to home for me, so I’m really excited to get behind it.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

John Hunter on the World Peace Game.