Please join us from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m on Friday, February 6 in the Black Box Theater at Main Street Landing, 60 Lake St., Burlington, Vermont.

The theme of the TEDx Ed talks will be “Growing Up.” The event will feature more than ten speakers presenting on issues ranging from emotional intelligence, to multicultural support, to the effects of play on the minds of young children from day one.

Attendees will be provided with free coffee and lunch and will also be treated to “brain break” performances.

60 Lake Street
Burlington, Vermont, 05401
United States

Cadoux Dzingou

My name is Cadoux. I was born in The Congo in central Africa. I grew up with a single mother who struggled all her life to pay for my school and educate me. The reason that I came to the United States is because I wanted a better future and when I came here I felt in love with music. Music to me is a goal that I want to achieve; a mission that I have to accomplish. However, the reason I am in love with art is because of my life experiences. I lived in a different area I have seen a lot of things in my life so I want to give that as a message to the world, our motherland and to people that never lived with these experiences. Indeed, I would like to be a musician to share what I have as a message, and to educate. Beside that, I have a goal of bringing change to this world.

David Young

David has been a teacher and administrator in Vermont for 25 years. A graduate of Burlington High School and Norwich University (where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees), David was an officer in the U.S. Army on active duty from 1985 to 1989 and served in the Vermont Army National Guard following his years on active duty. Before coming to South Burlington as the Assistant Superintendent and now the Superintendent beginning in 2005, he was principal of Georgia Elementary School and assistant principal of Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax. Additionally, David is married to his wife Linda , dad to young adult children Austin, Anna, and Connor. David has always been a strong advocate for the early childhood education and is known for his ideas and advocacy for improved pre-birth education.

David C Rettew

David Rettew is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He is the Training Director of the UVM Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and the Director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Clinic at the UVM Medical Center. He completed his adult and child psychiatry training at Harvard Medical School within the Massachusetts General and McLean Hospital program. Dr. Rettew joined the UVM faculty in 2002 where he divides his time between clinical, teaching and research activities. His main research interest is the role of temperament and personality factors in childhood psychiatric disorders. Dr. Rettew has over 100 published journal articles, chapters, and scientific abstracts on a variety of child mental health topics, including a recent book entitled Child Temperament: New Thinking About the Boundary Between Traits and Illness. He also writes a blog for Psychology Today called the “ABCs of Child Psychiatry.”

Gail Rafferty

Gail Rafferty, LICSW, is the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Coordinator at Howard Center in Burlington. She has been at the forefront of developing Vermont’s Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Services for the past 20 years as a clinician, program administrator, consultant and trainer. Her passion is for strengthening the bonds of affection between parents and their young children. Most recently her work has focused on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, an evidence-based treatment program for families with young children with attachment and behavioral concerns. Gail is also a mother, step-mother, and step-grandmother.

George Mnyonge

My name is George Mnyonge (MG Man). I was born on June 8th, 1990 in Tanzania, Africa. I came to the USA in July of 2007, and eventually settled in Winooski, VT. I started singing when I was 15 or 16 years old. My goal is to be an artist and to teach music to kids. I like to sing in my language (Swahili) and in English.

Judy Dow

Judy Dow is well-known locally and nationally as an artist, writer, and educator. She has taught at the Vermont Governor’s Institute for the Arts for the past seven years and was the 2004 recipient of the Governor’s Heritage Award for Outstanding Educator. Judy’s basketry has been displayed in museums across the US and Canada. As an independent education consultant and specialist, she has conducted classes and workshops for students in kindergarten through college. Using an interdisciplinary format she integrates art with science, history, writing, and mathematics. - See more at: http://www.letsgrowkids.org/tedx-burlington#sthash.XKvP0bMY.dpuf

Kristin Humbargar

Kristin Humbargar is a Life, Learning and Leadership coach at KLH Coaching Studio, President of the Vermont Council of Gifted Education, and the Founder and Director of Living Room: Center of Positivity. Always curious, Kristin has spent the last decade exploring the topic of learning through investigating her own, that of her children and of the clients she works with. She has studied topics including precocious children, giftedness, self directed learning, traditional and alternative educational systems, home and un-schooling, authentic learning and intellectual wellbeing. Her pas-sions lie in helping people retain and/or connect with their innate curiosities while pursuing pleasurable meaning and purpose.

Lisa M. Guerrero

Lisa has been a professional in the field of early care and education for over twenty years and has come to be known for her energy, passion, and dedication to supporting children and families. Her roles have included being an early childhood educator of children ages 0 through 8 in traditional, private, and early intervention programs; an administrator of a center-based early childhood program; and an owner and operator of a home-based infant and toddler center. Currently, Lisa presents professional development trainings and seminars on promoting quality outdoor experiences for children, supporting the development of sensitive and inclusive learning environments, and advocating for play. When she is not working, you will find Lisa pursuing a PhD in Leadership, Policy and Change, exercising, dancing, loving up her family and dogs, volunteering in the community, or walking through the beautiful Vermont countryside.

Mark Redmond

Mark Redmond is Executive Director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services in Burlington, VT, where he has served since 2003. Mark has worked with homeless and at-risk youth since 1981. He is the author of The Goodness Within: Reaching out to Troubled Teens with Love and Compassion (Paulist Press). He has had articles published in the New York Times, Forbes, Huffington Post and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from Villanova University and a masters in public administration from New York University. Mark’s “Moth” talk, This Church, ran on National Public Radio in December of 2014. Mark and his wife Marybeth live with their 12-year-old son in Essex, VT.

Said Bulle

My name is Said Bulle. I am from Somalia in Africa. I was born January 1st, 1989 and I came to America in September, 2004. I went to Burlington High School and graduated in 2008. I started singing and writing songs in 1999. I always had the dream of singing in the studio and making music that makes people jump up and down. I will do it one day because that is my goal, as well as to become a famous world artist, a man whose voice people love to listen to.

Tracey Girdich

Tracey Girdich is an interventionist in the Early Childhood Program of the Child, Youth and Family Services division of Howard Center. She has over 25 years of experience working with young children. She is also an actor, producer, director and storyteller. She received a BA in theatre arts from SUNY Plattsburgh, attended Circle in the Square in NYC and studied with the Practical Aesthetic Workshop program presented by Atlantic Theatre Company as well as with artists Tom Carder, Mark Nash and Carole Zucker. She has performed in local venues and regionally at the Sanford Meisner theatre in NYC and internationally at the Edinburg International Fringe Festival. She is a founding member of the not- for- profit Green Candle Theatre Company.

Zahra Mohamed

Zahra Mohamed was born in Kenya and raised in America. She is an active person, loves helping people and most of all playing sports. Zahra is a senior in High School and involved in the Diversity Rocks youth group.