Theme: Metamorphosis

TEDxWidenerUniversity is a nonprofit organization licensed by TED, hosted by Widener University, and managed by Widener student, faculty, and staff volunteers. Understanding that one’s power to affect change in the world is limited to one’s sphere of influence, we want to use the TEDx platform to share ideas worth spreading and spark conversations and deep discussions that will improve our community and our world. We present five thought-provoking and diverse speakers who will share powerful, positive messages in 2023.

TEDxWidenerUniversity
One University Place
Alumni Auditorium
Chester, Pennsylvania, 19013
United States

Amy Franzini

Associate Professor of Communications and Marketing

Dr. Amy Franzini studies the representations of children, childhood, parents, and parenting in popular media. She has presented her research regularly at the Popular Culture/American Culture Association national conferences and Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture/American Culture Association conferences. Dr. Franzini’s work has been published in several journals, and she has chapters included in Common Sense: Intelligence as Presented on Popular Television and Fleeting Images: Portrayals of Children in Popular Culture. Her forthcoming book, Secret Identities and Double Lives on Tween TV, explores how the trope of secret identities on live-action sitcoms targeted to tweens provides a space for characters to explore identity and relationship issues, which in turn enables tween audiences to consider those same subjects. Dr. Franzini incorporates her research into her teaching in courses such as Media & Children, Visual Literacy, and Communication Theory.

Anthony Pompilii

Communication studies student at Widener University and athletic coach

Anthony Pompilii is a communication studies major in his senior year. He also serves as the social media manager for Widener Admissions, the president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Widener, and a student worker for University Relations. He is a member of the Widener Film Society, and he works for Widener athletic communications as a freelance photographer. He serves as the head coach of men’s tennis and the head coach for the 9th-grade boys’ basketball team at Sun Valley High School. In addition, he works as the head live streamer for St. John’s Chrysostom Church. His passions include fitness, theology, philosophy, education, and sports.

Brent Satterly

Professor of Social Work and Human Sexuality Education

Dr. Brent Satterly is a professor of social work at Widener's Center for Social Work Education. He teaches family therapy, human sexuality studies, pedagogy, trauma, and anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) courses in the BSW, MSW, and PhD programs. He has 30 years of clinical and educational experience as a Pennsylvania-licensed clinical social worker, and his expertise includes human sexuality and social work pedagogies, clinical work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations, family therapy, and the use of pop culture in teaching social justice. He is well-published, including his recent 2020 co-authored textbook Sexuality Concepts for Social Workers (2nd ed.). Dr. Satterly’s ability to connect with students and passionately inspire transformations on an individual and societal level is the hallmark of his work at Widener.

Gigi Tewari

Law Professor and Author

Gigi Tewari teaches contract and business law at Widener University Delaware Law School through an interdisciplinary lens—she holds a master of fine arts from Columbia University, a law degree from Fordham Law School, and a bachelor of arts from Cornell University. Tewari’s short stories and poetry have been published in literary magazines such as Granta, Epiphany Magazine, New England Review, The Southern Review, and she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her writing captures identity conflicts that many marginalized communities face, along with a myriad of life issues such as professionalism, gender equality, and domestic violence. Gigi Tewari lives in New York, and she is a Margins Fellow with the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

Lise Deguire

Psychologist and author of Flashback Girl

Dr. Lise Deguire is a psychologist, author, and burn survivor. After being severely burned as a four-year-old, she spent years in the hospital, undergoing reconstruction surgeries. Dr. Deguire is the author of her multiple award-winning book Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience from a Burn Survivor. Dr. Deguire graduated from Tufts University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Widener University. Dr. Deguire has appeared on NPR, NBC, ABC, and FOX. She has presented for The World Burn Congress, The Security and Exchange Commission, The American Burn Association, and the New Jersey Psychological Association.