Tom Krieglstein
Tom Krieglstein is an award winning speaker and writer on increasing student engagement and fostering student retention. He has worked with over 550 schools worldwide through his award winning leadership program, Dance Floor Theory. Tom has gone from successful internet entrepreneur of a $1.5 million dollar company at 21 years old to five time “Campus Speaker of the Year.” As the founder of Swift Kick, Tom has dedicated his life to training campus leaders on how to create a culture of engagement where every student feels welcomed, connected and engaged. He also co-authored six student affairs books, including his Amazon.com award winning book “First Year Student to First Year Success.” On a personal note, he once stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, was featured on the Tofurkey box, and was on the Oprah show, but then cut from the Oprah show.
Thaddeus Bullard
A former football player for the University of Florida and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Thaddeus Bullard has become a fixture on WWE’s programming, including RAW and Smackdown, as WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil. Since his debut with WWE in 2012, O’Neil has made an impact both in and out of the ring as a business and family man, motivational speaker, youth counselor and coach. Bullard can often be found speaking to children in schools, visiting the elderly in assisted living facilities, and participating in a variety of charitable events in his community. In addition, he participates in WWE’s numerous community-giving platforms, including its Be a STAR anti-bullying campaign and initiatives to support literacy, the U.S. military, Special Olympics, and Susan G. Komen.
Mihir Mathur
I am a sophomore pursuing Computer Science at UCLA. I am passionate about creating technology products and designing experiences. The potential that technology has to make positive impacts and connect people is what motivates me. I am actively involved in many school organizations. I co-founded UCLA Creative Labs, a digital design collaboration that connects the best developers and the designers at UCLA. I am also on the board of UCLA Association of Computing Machinery and LA Hacks. Apart from learning and following technology and design, I am passionate about film-making, visual effects and motion graphics. I won the first place at the FuturizeX student challenge 2017.
Angela Chung
Angela Chung is a fourth year undergraduate student at UCLA, majoring in Business Economics. She is an incoming core assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCooper’s Los Angeles office, and plans on working with entertainment and technology clients. She will be studying abroad in Paris this summer. Her interest in environmental health led to her idea of plastic tiles that capture particulate matter with microstructures modeled after those found on leaves. Her idea won third place in the 2016 UCLA FuturizeX Student Challenge.”
Darlene Mininni
Darlene Mininni is chief learning officer at UCLA Extension and a health psychologist. She holds a PhD in clinical psychology and an MPH in public health. Darlene is author of The Emotional Toolkit: 7 Strategies to Nail Your Bad Feelings (St Martin’s Press), a book inspired by the curriculum of her UCLA undergraduate course LifeSkills. Her work focuses on designing and teaching research-based strategies that support resilience and success. With an interest in media’s power to transform, Darlene founded and was artistic director of UCLA’s Kaleidoscope Theatre, a performance troupe using storytelling to enhance wellbeing. She also hosted The Emotional Toolkit Series on XM radio and The Dr. Darlene Mininni Show for Clear Channel in Los Angeles. Darlene has spoken for audiences ranging from The Juilliard School to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and her work has been featured on media outlets such as: CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, PBS, and NPR as well as Prevention, SELF and Huffington Post.
Dana Carpenter
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2006
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2002
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999
Dana Carpenter is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. His research focuses on the effects of mechanical forces, exercise, diseases, and implanted devices on the human skeleton. Dr. Carpenter enrolled as an undergraduate in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech because, like many mechanical engineers, he loved cars. After learning about the field of biomechanical engineering, he gave up the automotive chassis in exchange for the skeleton. After completing his undergraduate work, he went on to obtain his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. His graduate thesis work focused on the ways in which mechanical forces can guide bones to grow into different shapes. He then worked for five years as a full-time researcher in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco. It was at UCSF that Dr. Carpenter had the opportunity to measure the effects of life aboard the International Space Station on the human body. Now at CU Denver, he helps direct research in the Smart Materials and Biomechanics (SMAB) Laboratory and teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on subjects including biomechanics, computer programming, and finite element analysis. He lives in Denver, Colorado, where he enjoys skiing and spending time outdoors with his wife and two daughters.
Wendelin Slusser
Dr. Wendy Slusser is Associate Vice Provost at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), for Chancellor Block’s Healthy Campus Initiative that was envisioned and is supported by Jane and Terry Semel; Dr. Slusser is also HS Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and Co-Founder and Academic Director of the UCLA Fit for Healthy Weight program. Dr. Slusser graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University, received her Medical Degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and her Masters Degree in Science from the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University. She completed her internship and residency in Pediatrics at Babies Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She joined the UCLA faculty in 1996 and since then has been a leader in community, school, clinic, and family based programs related to health promotion, infant and child nutrition and physical fitness.
Justin McWilliams
Dr. McWilliams obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology at Truman State University in Missouri, where he graduated valedictorian and Summa Cum Laude. He then attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he received multiple letters of distinction and was selected for the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society. After completing a transitional internship at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, Dr. McWilliams returned to UCLA for radiology residency. There he served as Chief Resident, and also received awards for Outstanding Radiology Resident and Outstanding Graduating Senior Resident. He then remained at UCLA for interventional radiology fellowship, at which time he also served as Chief Fellow. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. McWilliams accepted a faculty position in the interventional radiology department at UCLA. There he splits his time between angio/interventional procedures and cross-sectional interventional procedures, with a focus on HHT, interventional oncology, vascular disease, dialysis work, and liver interventions.
Olivia Osborne
Dr. Olivia Osborne is an interdisciplinary research scientist and artist with a forte in educational entertainment. She is a bold adventurer with a passion to spread virtue and knowledge across the globe. From guest lectures to undertaking terrestrial conservation work in the jungles of Honduras, her love for nature has made Olivia the dedicated environmental toxicologist that she is and an admirable advocate for environmental issues. Currently a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA at the multidisciplinary University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN), she is working on the hazard assessment of nanoparticles in the environment for which her research has received widespread media attention. She obtained her BSc, Hons, Exon and PhD from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom; specializing in developmental biology and ecotoxicology. Aside from her science credentials, she is an acknowledged bio-artist known for her experimental techniques. In early 2015, she was named as one of the top 100 emerging USA artists for the Los Angeles category. Her most recent honorable mention was feature artist for the Cybernetics and Human Knowing journal in late 2016.
Sheva Rajaee
SHEVA RAJAEE, MFT, is a psychotherapist licensed in the State of California, and is currently working at the OCD Center of Los Angeles. Sheva specializes in the treatment of OCD and other related anxiety disorders. She attended the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) for her undergraduate degree, and went on to receive her Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California (USC). Sheva was trained in behavioral therapy at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and also worked at the UCLA Social Stigma and Social Interaction laboratory. Sheva currently practices psychotherapy in the Orange County and LA areas.
Nicolas Rongione (S)
In 2014, Nicolas and his team from the University of Miami flew with NASA to test the use of nanoparticles in composite materials as part of the NASA Reduced Gravity Flight Opportunities Program. In his time interning and working across three different NASA centers, including Kennedy, Goddard, and Marshall Space Flight Centers, Nicolas has had the opportunity to survey the state of the art in aerospace engineering and is excited to discuss the connection between the vast distances of space and the tiniest fabricated objects known to man.
Nicolas Rongione (S) Nicolas Augustus Rongione is currently a PhD student at UCLA in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow working on novel thermoelectric materials. He is also a member of the AIAA Aerospace Power Systems, as well as a volunteer at the California Nano Systems Institute.
More Speakers will be Announced