TEDX TRALEE 2022 SPEAKERS
- THE GOOD ROOM -
Embrace your passion to create happiness
FRANCISKA ACS
Franciska Acs is a Marketing Manager at the IT company, DocuSign and recently graduated from the London School of Design and Marketing with her Masters degree in Marketing. As a passionate hobby baker, she founded Consider it Cakes in 2021 - a nationwide initiative with over 600 hobby bakers who make free birthday cakes for asylum seekers, homeless, and refugees to make them feel special and valued on their birthday.
She believes that people often underestimate the power of small acts of kindness. Her initiative shows how much happiness something as small as a personal birthday cake can bring to the community. The home-made birthday cakes make the recipients feel special and loved which can mean the world to someone who feels lonely and isolated.
In her TEDx Tralee speech, Franciska wants to encourage the audience to think about how they can use their own passion to make the world a happier place in their own way. Consider it Cakes is an inspiring story of volunteers of all age groups coming together to bake for strangers like the homeless, people in Direct Provision and refugees from Ukraine in order to put a smile on their faces.
Franciska’s story brings out the beauty of small actions with a big impact.
Living with PKU and the Empowering Role of Advocacy
BERNADETTE GILROY
Bernadette Gilroy is Chairperson of the PKU Association of Ireland, a Lecturer at Munster Technological University Kerry, and a Researcher at Dublin City University. She lives with Phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare metabolic condition that affects a person’s ability to metabolise protein and if left untreated can lead to devastating neurological complications. She has been involved in the PKU Association of Ireland’s campaigns with the main objectives of empowering the PKU community by raising awareness, improving health services, and accessing innovative treatments. She is a graduate of the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI) Patient Education Programme, a member of the University College Dublin Public and Patient Involvement Ignite Executive Committee, the IPPOSI Board, the EUPATI National Platform and an Irish Delegate for the European Society of PKU and Allied Disorders.
Looking at the Elephant
TRICIA HEALY
Tricia Healy is an artist and dreamer, a singer and a writer and she works as a psychotherapist specialising in serious and terminal illness, dying, and death. Life as she knew it fell apart when she was in her early 30s. She was diagnosed with a serious illness, had emergency surgery and her marriage ended. She well and truly entered into the dark night of the soul and with the support of an amazing psychotherapist Nora C, she learned to heal her past, recover her lost parts and connect with her intuition. She began to feel with a powerful pull, a whispering from within, to work with the dying, which she initially dismissed as ludicrous. When she finally accepted the new path, she trained in psychotherapy and volunteered as an artist with palliative patients. 15 years later, it is an area she is still incredibly passionate about and is now the subject of her Masters thesis which she is currently completing.
She is a passionate advocate of communication about dying and death, of opening up the whole taboo subject and sharing what she has learned through her work. She believes it can gave a profoundly healing and empowering impact, on both the dying and the very much living, creating meaning and purpose at all stages of life. She is delighted for the opportunity to talk at TedX Tralee.
Why You Will Never Find Your Purpose
RA JAMES
Ra James is the founder of futureElders, a 60-day online workshop focused on healing the future through remembering the original wisdom of global-cultural elders.
For organizations, he also has created a revolutionary 31-day business leadership workshop called (re)Biz that reprograms the organizational subconscious into right-relationship, regeneration and revolutionary impact. He asks us to remember that wisdom is far more powerful than knowledge and is the true catalyst for transformational & innovative global change.
Ra is also the founder of Pueo Regeneration, one of the world’s first regenerative consulting firms, that advises businesses worldwide on how to activate their purpose, create adaptive leadership strategies based on biomimicry and implement kin-centric worldview shifts into their organizational operations and culture. He speaks globally on this topic.
The needs of the few
MARTIN MAHON
Martin Mahon is an Actor & Playwright. Martin has been involved within the arts from a young age. Martin was introduced to acting through the ‘Free Radicals Youth Theatre’ in Tralee. From Joining Aidan O Carroll from the ‘Lost Society’ to John Connors ‘Acting Academy’ Martin has developed his acting skills and his creative writing technique.
Martin was invited and took part as a panelist on the Claire Byrne show discussing racism towards Traveller and also was an interviewee alongside Hughie Maughan on an RTE show called ‘Our Land’ which highlighted the issues in which the Black Lives Matter movement was experiencing. Martin has written and performed Monologues from his ‘One Man Show’s’ throughout Ireland for various arts projects. More notably his written piece ‘Prisoner’ for ‘Travellers Together Preventing suicide’ event in 2021. Martin is avid human rights activist and a prominent member of the Traveller community he is also a member of the board of directors for Kerry Travellers in which he holds the position of Vice Chairperson. Additionally, Martin has written a play about LGBTQ+ rights within the Traveller community, for which he was nominated and received an award through the National Traveller pride awards in 2014. Martin believes in a fair and equal society in which Travellers and non-Travellers can come together and create friendships and equal platform for human rights for all communities.
Through-out lockdown Martin was involved in creating Mental health awareness & support videos with content that touched on suicide and depression within the Traveller community these videos reached the community nationally. It raised awareness and created a network for people to reach out if they felt alone or isolated.
Adult Autism Journey
SHARON MCCARTHY
Sharon is a professional who has worked in the autism field in a number of capacities for over twenty years. She lectures in University College Dublin, coordinates and delivers autism-centric courses in her local community colleges and delivers autism-specific training workshops to different disability and training services across the country. She has spoken at different events nationally and internationally and is founding director of Autism Journeys Training and Consultancy service where she supports autistic individuals and their families from both an advocacy and educational standpoint.
Sharon is passionate about progression in the field of disability and autism and strives to ensure educational professionals and support staff are equipped to respectfully meet the needs of neurodivergent individuals. Sharon holds a number of disability specific qualifications and continues to upskill to ensure she provides best support. She is also both a qualified advocate and childcare professional.
Sharon is the presenter of Autism Journeys Radio Show and Podcasts, a show centred on gaining the perspectives and telling the stories of figures in the autism community. It is currently listened to in 27 countries around the world. She is also the author of the strengths focused visuals programme Supporting Autonomy: Visual strategies to set the autistic child up for success.
Most importantly, Sharon is parent to multiply-identified neurodivergent children for more than 25 years and recently, as a female (in her mid-forties!) she was identified as both autistic and an ADHDer and is finally empowered to be her authentic neurodivergent self.
The GO! Rules How to run your own race
WILLIAM MICKLEM
William is a Coach, Author, Inventor, and Presenter. He created the acclaimed strategy for improving performance for adults, Going Over The EDGE,
and for young people The GO! Rules. He has presented at numerous conferences internationally and is known for an innovative communication style
including the use of poetry.
An equestrian sports coach and coach educator for 50 years, including 10 years as Bord na gCapall National Coach, he recently celebrated his 41st year
as a Fellow of the British Horse Society. His book, the Complete Horse Riding Manual, is the world's top-selling equestrian manual, and his multi-award
winning Micklem bridle, the top-selling ergonomic bridle. However, his primary focus is now on performance improvement for all activities.
He was born in Cornwall, UK, and has lived in Co. Wicklow for over 40 years, where he breeds a small number of horses. These include Mandiba, who
was WBFSH horse of the year in 2010, and High Kingdom, Silver medalist at the London Olympics in 2012. He also found Karen and David O'Connor's
three great USA Olympic medalists Biko, Custom Made & Giltedge.
He is a founding and current director of Festina Lente in Co. Wicklow, that currently employs a team of 60 working weekly with over 400 students with
intellectual and physical challenges. He was presented with lifetime achievement awards by Eventing Ireland in 2014, and the Saddle Research Trust in 2018.
His wife, Sarah, and their three children, have all represented Ireland internationally in a variety of sports.
GLOBE Community Initiatives
DR. TONY MURPHY
Tony Murphy is director of The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program Implementation Office (GIO). Tony is proud of his association with the GLOBE Program, he first served the GLOBE Program in Washington DC
in 1995. He notes that "Being involved at the ground level and working with scientists to create materials that would be used by teachers and students nationwide and globally was an incredible opportunity." GLOBE is funded by NASA, with additional support from NSF, NOAA, and. Dept of State.
Tony says that, "For more than 25 years, I've had the fortunate opportunity to witness the tremendous growth of The GLOBE Program and its impact on both the education and science communities.” "I am honored to advance the important work of GLOBE as the GIO director with a wonderful team and collaborate with its impressive network of international partners. With new initiatives, like the Dept of State’s funded Zika Education and Prevention Project, we can expand the reach of The Program and unite even more teachers, students, citizen scientists, and scientists from around the world with common studies of Earth system science."
Conquer the World with Hypnosis
JANA OSTA
Throughout her 10 years working in corporate, Jana started seeking a deeper meaning to life and immersed herself in a journey of self-development and healing. Her first Yoga Teacher Training in India ignited her transformation and opened her eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
She became mesmerized by the power of the mind, which lead her to seek a diploma from the Accredited School of Hypnotherapy HMI (Hypnosis Motivation Institute). She is also a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, with an expansive depth of understanding in yogic studies, meditation, and spirituality. Her passion to learn more about the body and holistic wellness, lead her to also become an IIN (Integrative Institute of Nutrition) certified holistic health & wellness coach.
Jana loves supporting people to step into their true potential and live their life’s purpose. She combines energy and mindset work to uplift people’s lives and helps them release limiting blocks that are in the way of their success.
She changed careers, launched her own business, bungee jumped the highest bridge in the world, hiked the highest mountain in Africa and plans to keep seeking new heights – who’s in for the ride?
The Power of Paradox
THALER PEKAR
Thaler Pekar is a pioneer in narrative and communication and a global keynote speaker. The BBC and the Smithsonian Institution hail Thaler as one of the world's leading experts on institutional storytelling and applied narrative. For 17 years, she and her team at Thaler Pekar & Partners have advised leaders around the world and across sectors to align, inspire, and engage audiences.
Thaler Pekar & Partners' work ranges from producing hundreds of award-winning oral histories and videos to institutionalizing their trademarked communication processes at several Fortune 500 companies. Thaler had the great honor and pleasure of gathering 178 oral histories for Chuck Feeney's The Atlantic Philanthropies, visiting Ireland multiple times.
Thaler is a visiting professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University Executive Masters program. Her influential work on the ethics of working with story, participatory narrative, and story elicitation is featured in six books.
Thaler is a longtime resident of Hoboken, NJ and a more recent resident of Unadilla, NY. She serves on the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission and is a board member of the Hoboken Historical Museum. Thaler always crosses the street to walk on the sunny side.
Net-Zero marketing - The most powerful response to help the planet
IULIA POTOR
Iulia is Marketing Manager at sustainable building systems company Partel in Galway, dedicated to driving progress towards a net-zero future between products, brands, and society.
She started to practice her passion for marketing in Romania, her native country, more than ten years ago, supporting business growth across the Construction, Retail, FMCG and Pharma sectors.
Involved in many different advertising and communication campaigns ranging in scale and complexity, the results demonstrated to her that every target is achievable when you are all in, consistent, and collaborative effort is at the core.
In a fast-moving world, where advertising and consumerism have a significant impact on climate change, Iulia believes that marketers can empower sustainable behavior change for a carbon-neutral future. Net-zero marketing is part of the solution that could help both the private sector and governments.
Life Lessons - Dealing with Death
CIARAN PRIOR
Ciaran works as a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) with An Garda Síochána, where he has served on the front line of policing for the past 32 years.
A lifetime dealing with death, trauma and tragedy has given him a deep insight into the fragility of this life that we live and a first-hand knowledge of how suddenly and violently it can be taken away. This career journey has given him a profound perspective and grounding on the trials and tribulations of life.
Long before the term “Life Coach” was invented, Ciaran was using his personality to connect with people to help and listen. Encouragement of young people via many years of Transition Year and Leaving Certificate school talks and coaching underage GAA teams led to speaking invitations in the workplace about wellbeing, life skills and dealing with adversity. Blending his natural ability to connect with people on an individual and group level with his unique backstory as a CSI, Ciaran engages, entertains and fascinates with his presentations.
This proven ability to connect will see him change career course in late 2022, having secured a position which capitalises on his public speaking strengths and will see him delivering presentations and seminars on leadership, resilience and study skills across the educational and corporate sectors.
Married to Jacqui with 3 adult sons - Paul and twins Shane & Richard, Ciaran is an avid reader and enjoys escaping to the coast for some relaxation, sea swimming and savouring the outdoor life
Couch to Deep Sea
CLAIRE WALSH
Claire is a freediver, all year round sea swimmer and Blue Mind advocate.
Born and raised in landlocked Kildare, she moved out to live by the coast in her mid twenties and hasn’t looked back. With a background in theatre, a Masters degree in movement and not so much a love of singing as a need to sing, Claire’s work is an eclectic portfolio ranging from puppetry to gospel singing.
In 2015 Claire set out on a series of solo travels that would introduce her to the underwater world of freediving; the sport of holding your breath underwater. A hobby she thought would fall away upon her return to Ireland she soon learned it taught her just as much about life on land as it did underwater.
When she's not holding her breath underwater, Claire is reading, teaching and talking about breath and what it can do for our body, mind and voice on land. Theatre, puppets, music and singing coupled with a grá for the sea have served as perfect playgrounds to explore the possibilities and potential of breath in its many creative forms.
OCTOBER 6TH 2022 SCHEDULE
14 Speakers - 12 Hours
