The theme for this year’s conference is SHATTERPROOF. Through a time of fragmentation and dissonance, individuals and communities have showcased an incredible ability to withstand adversity. Resilience is found in all of us despite the size of the challenge. We use our voices to empower each other. We use ideas to drive us forward. We refuse to crack under pressure. We are shatterproof. As we set the stage with this spirit, our goal is for attendees to discover what being shatterproof means to them.
If this theme resonates with you, please purchase a ticket to attend our 2022 conference.
Speakers
Thomas Laub
Thomas Laub is an Tony Award-winning entertainment producer represented on Broadway this season by David Byrne’s AMERICAN UTOPIA and Jeremy O. Harris’s SLAVE PLAY. He graduated from UMich in 2019 with a BFA in Musical Theater. Thomas is the co-founder of live event revenue agency, Standing Room Theatrical, and manages over $25M in annual ticket revenue from shows across North America. Beyond the stage, Thomas serves as the Production Planning Lead for Apple TV+ and is an avid visitor of planetariums.
Adam Simon
Adam Simon is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. He earned his BS degree from the University of Maryland, MSc. degree form Stony Brook University, PhD from the University of Maryland, and was a postdoctoral fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University. His scholarly work focuses on energy and mineral resources. Adam has co-authored two textbooks Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment, and Earth Materials: Components of a Diverse Planet, and has published sixty papers.
Eli Rallo
Eli Rallo is a social media content creator on Instagram (@eli.rallo) and Tiktok (thejarr). Not only does she host a podcast called The Miss Congeniality, but she is also a freelance writer. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020 with a degree in theatre art from the SMTD and minors in playwriting, creative writing, and political science. She pursued her passion for journalism and earned her masters degree at the Columbia University Journalism School in 2021. Outside of her busy schedule, she loves to run, eat wedge salads and talk about her IUD.
Dr. Fangfei Miao
Dr. Fangfei Miao is an Assistant Professor of Dance in the School of Music at U-M. She is also an accomplished international dance scholar, choreographer, and dancer. Her current research on dance and Asian studies has led to her book project that focuses on historical “errors” in cross-cultural dance transmissions in Reform Era China (1978-present). She has toured internationally and staged her experimental choreography in New York City, Los Angeles, Auckland, and Beijing. Miao previously received her PhD in Culture and Performance (2019) from UCLA, MFA in Choreography (2011) and BA in Dance History and Theory (2008) from the Beijing Dance Academy, China’s premier dance conservatory.
Becca Wong
Becca Wong is a senior at the University of Michigan studying sociology, social work, and quantitative methods in social sciences. She focuses on gender-based violence and is researching the intersection of social identity, perceptions of justice, and decision-making after sexual assault experiences. When she spoke out against a Christian organization that removed her for reporting a sexual assault, she became a part of a federal investigation against the organization’s race and sex based discrimination and has since helped pioneer the #MeTooYoungLife movement to bring attention to Young Life’s fallible behaviors and policies. In her talk, she draws upon both her research and lived experience to discuss the unexpected consequences of trauma beyond the binary of the despair-shutdown stereotype.
Dr. Gene Rontal
Dr. Gene Rontal is an author and an Otorhinolaryngologist. After spending 3 years in college, 4 years in medical school, and 5 years in residency, he became a head and neck surgeon and began a teaching position in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Michigan. However, after doing a rotation in a prison system during his residency, he became fascinated in the stories he saw within medicine and eventually went on to write a murder mystery series loosely based on his experiences. He believes everyone has creativity in them and wants to share how exploring the creative side of himself has improved his practice as a physician. He hopes to encourage others to harness their own creativity which he believes can improve anyone's professional as well as personal life.
Razi Jafri
Razi Jafri is a second year MFA student at STAMPS concentrating on social documentary filmmaking. After ten years as an engineer, he left to pursue something more meaningful to him. His award winning film “Hamtramck USA” explores life and democracy in America's first Muslim majority city. He is currently working on a cross disciplinary project that has taken him all the way to South Korea where he’s working with Yemeni refugees seeking asylum. Razi works to portray global issues that take on a local significance through his social documentary filmmaking.
Sam Grewe
When Sam Grewe was 13 years old, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. He spent the next two years in the hospital undergoing treatment, including the amputation of his leg. Just two years later, Sam had won his first World Championship title as a High-Jumper on the U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team. Now, in his 7th year on the team, Sam has won 3 World Championship titles, set a new World Record, and won a Gold Medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Outside of athletics, Sam is a medical student at the University of Michigan, motivated by his own personal experiences as a cancer patient.
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