Session 1: Art and Advocacy: Creating a Space for the Future
Brianna Harlan: Space Makers, Change Makers The energy we give, the things that we say, and the things that we don’t say are all
affecting the people around us. We're already making space. We're already using your
space. So with that type of power, how can we be more intentional so that we are using
our space to shape the future in ways that we want, in ways that we need, and in ways
that other people need?
Brianna Harlan uses creativity and radical vulnerability for good. She works to engage and support
community at Center For Neighborhoods and uses visual art as a tool to create reflective
and constructive experience. Recently she has been part of the Creative Capital-affiliated
CFL Hadley Creatives, served as the Artist-in-Residence at Ox-Bow School of Art, and
received a Great Meadows Foundation grant and the Kentucky Foundation for Women's
FireStarter Award for art and social change. The first step of her work is always
to break down the barriers of performative culture to reach a place that serves collective
healing.
Aria L. Byrd: The Measure of Intelligence Intelligence is the ability to change, the ability to adjust, to refocus -- the ability
to re-examine where you are right now and where you want to be in the future.
A native of Atlanta, Aria Byrd received her B.S. in biology with a concentration in biotechnology from Albany State
University and her M.S. in biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
State University. Her growing fascination with understanding how the body responds
to both voluntary and involuntary environmental exposures has led her to pursue a
doctoral degree in toxicology at the University of Kentucky. Aria has a passion for
science communication and aspires to play an integral role in influencing national
and global health policy by serving as a liaison for scientists and nonscientists.
Paige Halpin Smith: We All Have a Stake in the Outcome It can be really hard to build consensus, to bring people together, to really listen
to each other. But it has to be intentional, just like caring for the land has to
be intentional. There has to be vulnerability, there has to be trust, and there has
to be mutual respect.
Raised in the rural Midwest, Paige Halpin Smith was actively involved in 4-H and loved
following her grandfather’s local government career. Paige moved to Kentucky to work
on political campaigns after earning a Master’s degree in U.S. History at Loyola-Chicago.
She previously served as the Associate Director of Development for her beloved alma
mater, Monmouth College. She has spent the past three years at the Fayette Alliance, a coalition of citizens dedicated to achieving sustainable growth in Lexington-Fayette
County through land-use advocacy, education, and research.
Session 1 Question and AnswerPanel with emcee Brett Riley
Session 2:Entrepreneurship: Imagining the Future
Robert Bowden III: Chasing the Dream Sponsored by Vid Monster Productions Maybe the chase and the hunt to accomplishing your dream is living it.
Originally from Atlanta, Robert Bowden III is a sophomore at WKU studying entrepreneurship.
In 2015 he founded Spartan 4x4, a Bowling Green company involved in many areas of the automotive aftermarket industry.
It offers a line of off-road lifestyle apparel, its own brand of off-road lighting
and accessories, the online and physical retail and installation of automotive aftermarket
parts, and personal-build consulting.
Sarah Bellos: Dreams to Reality: Creating a Better World Business through Collaboration It’s important that we look outside of ourselves and get away from a narrow view and
one solution for a problem. We need to realize that problems have many solutions.
No matter what you think about your solution, it will change because other people
will collaborate with you and bring their ideas as well.
Sarah Bellos developed Stony Creek Colors to help lead the sustainable transformation of the textile
dye industry and build the most transparent and profitable bio-based chemical company
on earth. A recognized leader in efforts to bring bio-based colorant production to
farmers in the southeastern U.S., she was given the Young Entrepreneur Award by the
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists in 2015 and named an Inc. 100
Female Founders in 2018. A 2004 graduate of the Cornell University Agriculture School,
she has over ten years of leadership experience in the textile, agriculture, and sustainability
industries.
Josiah Nelson: From Intrigue to Enterprise: What it Takes to Take the Plunge As you build more confidence and more excitement about what you’re doing, people will
see and feel that. When you’re sitting in meetings with different investors or companies
or partners, learning how to project that excitement and confidence is huge.
Josiah Nelson is an engineer and entrepreneur specializing in renewable energy and emerging technologies.
He studied at MIT and the Stanford Graduate School of Business before starting Trolysis,
a company developing technologies to create renewable hydrogen from aluminum. He also
serves as an advisor to Silicon Valley Bank and mentors founders from around the world.
Session 2 Question and Answer Panel with emcee Brett Riley
Video Game Design. Presented by Pang and Michael Hartman of Frogdice
Painting Intention: What’s the Big Idea? Help paint a mural that explores concepts
and ideas inspired by IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2018. Presented by Andee Rudloff
Sponsors
The Vid Monster vision is to redefine the consumer's experience, one city at a time,
through effective creative content and promotional solutions, and to capture and share
the special moments that happen within our community. We are avideo production and photography company that focuses on telling stories in new and
innovative ways. From small business and corporate, to weddings and special moments,
to music videos and documentaries, we can create it all.
Incorporated in 1935, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is a 5-Star Accredited
Chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was named the 2009 Chamber of the Year
by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. As the fourth largest chamber in Kentucky,
the Chamber serves as a premier business advocate for its more than 1,200 partners
and is the driving force for economic development in South Central Kentucky. Its primary
goals are to promote growth and success in the business community, reaching its small
business partners and those in large industries alike. With leadership programs, governmental
relations projects, educational initiatives and involvement opportunities, the Chamber
aims to support the community and its neighbors in order to enhance the business climate
and continue to grow the region.
At AT&T, we’re bringing it all together. We deliver advanced mobile services, next-generation
TV, high-speed internet and smart solutions for people and businesses. That’s why
we’re investing to be a global leader in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications
industry.
The WKU Small Business Accelerator and Central Region of the Kentucky Innovation Network
partner together to offer programs and services to WKU students, entrepreneurs, start-up
and early stage companies in 21 counties across KY. With the goal of fostering and
supporting a growth-focused entrepreneurial community, the programs are designed to
create optimal conditions for entrepreneurs and business owners to establish and grow
their businesses and ultimately be successful in a highly competitive economy. Accelerator
and Innovation Network staff look for the needs of individuals and leverage strategic
partnerships to help them move in the right direction. Support provided includes business
development consulting, connections to local, state & federal funding options, access
to rapid prototyping, mentoring, connections to critical resources, training, networking,
shared office space and more. For more information, call 270-901-3490 or visit our
sites: www.wku.edu/accelerator www.wku.edu/bgkyinnovation/
Making Connections to and for Entrepreneurial Students!
