TEDxBryantU 2023: Reboot X Refresh

Rob Massoud 

TED Talk: Looking to do more for your career, then give back

Robert Massoud spent the majority of his working life in major corporations such as Fidelity and CVS Health, where he used his interpersonal skills to advance his career in both operations and project management. He believes that the best manager is someone who empowers their team to succeed rather than directing them every step of the way. Robert now brings those years of experience to the classroom where he provides students — both young and old — with the skills needed to be successful managers and team players.

People who’ve been in the workplace, and even students in college, have a lot of knowledge and experience that would benefit others. Robert believes that it is important to present the many ways people can give back to others just by sharing their experiences, and reacting upon them. 

 

Emily Cisek 

TED Talk: From Transition to Triumph: Navigating the “What’s Next”

After witnessing how difficult it was to wrap up the details of a loved one’s life, Emily Cisek knew there had to be a better way. She soon discovered there wasn’t a single digital platform that could help people simplify how they organize their lives or stay on top of ever-changing data—because of this founded The Postage, a digital estate and legacy platform, in late 2019, with a mission to help families navigate and collaborate on life and legacy planning. Since then, The Postage has helped thousands of families effectively gain control and protect their wealth and wisdom, now and for generations. Emily received her BS degree in Business Administration from Bryant University. Then she grew her professional career in Houston at Bounce Energy (acquired 2013) and Direct Energy as a Digital Marketing & Innovation Manager before spending several years in Austin leading a branch of Integrate Agency.

Emily was named the 2021 Women Who Mean Business Honoree by Houston Business Journal and a finalist for Top Founder Under 40 for the InnovationMap Awards.

Emily hopes to give the audience the tools they need to turn every life transition into a triumph. So each person walks away feeling excited to examine their life’s transitional (and uncomfortable) spaces with confidence, knowing that each liminal space and what’s next is an adventure that will lead them exactly where they should be, with lots of magical discoveries along the way. 




Jack Scott 

TED Talk: Learning to Lead – The Greek Secret to Success

 Jack Scott is a finance and economics major at Bryant. Jack has become a leader during his time at Bryant, exemplified by his positions as President of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Founder and President of Bryant’s Real Estate Investment Club, and involvement in the Finance Association. When Jack is not on campus, he serves as a wrestling coach and mentor for underprivileged middle schoolers in Providence. His teams have produced multiple state champions. His passion for helping others grow and achieve success has been crucial to finding success himself. When he is not coaching or at school, Jack enjoys cooking, traveling, spearfishing, and a good game of monopoly.

Jack wants to encourage the audience to carry Philotimo with them wherever they go. This includes the understanding that you can only control what you can control, and not letting fear dictate your decision-making. He is a believer in the quote, “ What if it turned out better than you ever expected.” 

Louise Barro 

TED Talk: The Art of Becoming a Linguistic Phoenix

Louise Barro is a senior at Bryant University majoring in International Business, Human Resources. She is an international student from Dakar, Senegal who grew up in a multicultural household, where she gained her first exposure to different native languages. She began to nurture a love for linguistics from an early age and hopes to describe herself as a polyglot one day by using different ones in her professional career. She is a strong believer that languages are keys that open the door to individuals who are willing to take in the challenge and learn about new cultures. She herself had to break the language barrier twice and hopes to help the ones the might be hesitant to do so through her talk. She holds experience as a modern language academic peer tutor and currently works as a student assistant manager at the Office of International Students and Scholars, and as a resident assistant for first year students.

Louise hopes that the audience will take away that the benefits of opening oneself to the challenge of learning a new language greatly outweighs the shortcomings that one might face in the process. Once an individual is able to break the language barrier, they open themselves to a new world full of opportunities to grow their emotional and intellectual wealth, and gain access to a new identity. 

Mike DiBenedetto

TED Talk: My Name is Mike and I Cry 

Mike DiBenedetto is a freshman at Bryant University currently enrolled in the 3 + 1 program and Honors Program at Bryant. Mike has many involvements on campus, including five clubs and a job at the Honors College Office. Mike’s position entails working on the budget for the Honors Office. Mike is also involved in Finance Association, Financial Planning Association, Residents Hall Association, Best Buddies, Honors Council, and a Student Ambassador. Mike is the National Communications Coordinator (NCC) for the Residents Hall Association. Mike enjoys helping others, expanding his knowledge, and being his best version. Mike loves to give back to the Bryant Community due to his background and love for community service, and one day aspires to be a motivational speaker. Mike also has a passion for bodybuilding and is looking forward to competing in a competition soon. Mike loves to lift others up and help support his friends and classmates in their endeavors.

Mike’s message for this talk is to bring awareness to men’s mental health and toxic masculinity within our society. He hopes to leave the audience with his personal story through his battle with depression and how we, as a society, can help others who struggle. Mike wants everyone to know they are not alone and have support from many others around them through their mental health challenges.

Jaime Diglio 

TED Talk: From WAR Room to WIN Room: Change Your Room, Change Your Life

Jaime Diglio is the Founder of inFirst Coaching where she trains leaders and sales teams on how to WIN at work and in life. With a master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology combined with 20+ years in leadership roles at Gartner, Microsoft, Slalom, and various high-growth startups, her proven coaching techniques have become a secret weapon for her client’s success. Jaime is passionate about helping people to “think about their thinking” and is laser-focused on helping humans WIN by removing the interference “the head trash” that holds people back from achieving their goals. Most recently she has been supporting high-growth organizations by designing WIN–WIN future of work strategies to drive employee engagement, connection, and retention.

In every moment, we have the ability to shift from a self-defeating mindset to a winning mindset. In this talk, leading performance coach and “Success Expert” Jaime Diglio reveals her shockingly simple secret to getting from where you are to where you want to be. It begins with a choice. 

 

 

Kristen Falso- Capaldi 

TED Talk: This is How We Feel Alive: Reclaiming Your Spark

Kristen Falso-Capaldi is a literary studies and writing professor at Bryant University who loves to inspire others to reach their full creative potential. She began her career at TV stations in Providence, RI, and Boston, where she was a writer/producer for promotion, advertising, and short-form programs, one of which earned her a Boston/New England Emmy nomination. After pursuing her master’s degree and spending nearly two decades as a public school teacher, she transitioned out of the classroom in order to fully focus on her creative endeavors. She is a novelist, represented by Jill Grinberg Literary Management, an independent filmmaker, and a 2021 finalist for the New England Film Star Award as well as a visual artist whose recent commissions can be spotted on utility boxes on the North End of Providence, RI. Kristen believes in the incredible power of lifelong learning and remaining open to new experiences as a means to success. She has built her entire professional life around the idea that you need not wait till you feel “ready” to do something and strives to encourage others to follow their passions.

Kristen hopes that participants will walk away feeling alive with the knowledge that they possess the key to a happy, fulfilled life. This key is called the spark, and they can reignite the spark by reflecting on their childhood dreams and passions. All that’s left after that is to make a leap!

 

Steve Fiore

 TED Talk : How Drinking Olive Oil and Curiosity Changed My Life

Steve’s passion is to help others gain measurable value from data and analytics. This value comes in a variety of different areas including work, teaching, mentoring, and at home. At Teradata, Steve and his co-workers work with customers to tackle their toughest business challenges through the employment of leadership tactics, technology, and consulting. While at Bryant as an adjunct professor, Steve enjoys sharing his passion for data analytics by teaching his students how it can help businesses improve revenue, decrease cost, and improve outcomes. At home, Steve has helped his two children start profitable small businesses through the power of data analytics. He expresses how fortunate he feels to have begun in the industry out of college. After twenty-five years of learning, and working with great customers he is excited to see what the next twenty will look like. Outside of work, Steve enjoys traveling to Aruba, Newport RI, and Bar Harbor, cooking, and hiking with his wife Mary Beth, and three kids, Matthew, Michael, and Emma. 

Steve believes that we all have ambitious goals and being productive is a requirement for achieving our goals. During this talk, the audience will hear Steve’s personal experiences revolving around achieving 100% daily productivity and ideas geared toward achieving these goals.

 

TEDxBryantU 2022: Seeds of Innovation

Christopher Ratcliffe

TED Talk: Design Behind Bars

Chris Ratcliffe is the co-founder of Triple M Productions, a marketing firm founded in 2002. He has extensive experience in the radio industry, including years as a national and local advertising sales manager. Chris also served as the Vice President of MGP Media, a unit of Merv Griffin Productions.
He is currently leading an initiative to teach entrepreneurship skills to inmates at the RI Department of Corrections in an effort to reduce the rate of recidivism. He teaches at Bryant University and the Community College of Rhode Island, as well as teaching sales and marketing for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

Christopher wants the audience to (1) recognize the creative talents that incarcerated men possess and (2) encourage companies to hire formerly incarcerated people, thus helping to reduce recidivism.

Brooke Tomasetti

TED Talk: Money As a Tool For Creating the Life of Your Dreams

Brooke Tomasetti is a Bryant University Alumni who is passionate about the fact that anyone can pursue their wildest dreams by mastering personal finance. Brooke started Money Life Mentor to help other freedom chasers use money as a tool for creating their dream lives by getting organized with their money and making the most of their income every month. Currently, Brooke works as head Personal Finance Consultant and CEO of Money Life Mentor, and is the Director of Financial Education and Community at Carbon Collective. Brooke has been traveling around the world while working remotely for over six years. Her focus is on building a location-independent business and career that I never want to retire from.

Brooke hopes that the audience will walk away knowing that they are 100% responsible for creating the life of their dreams. Everyone has the responsibility and the opportunity to intentionally design their lives, and money is a tool everyone can use to build our dream lives.

Brooke Tomasetti is a 2015 Bryant University Alumni.

Dustin Cabral

TED Talk: The Evolution of Data Visualization

Dustin Cabral is a data analytics consultant at Cleartelligence who specializes in bringing information to life through data visualization. He has broad experience building analytics communities in many industries including retail, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and more. His belief is that data visualization can provide clarity, insight, and value to any industry, role, or profession and it’s his mission to deliver on that promise. That’s why he has also dedicated his time teaching 14,000+ eLearning students how to leverage data visualization tools like Tableau in their work lives.

Dustin hopes that the audience learns how anyone can use data visualization to improve their work, understand their world, and find insights which would otherwise stay hidden.

Dustin Cabral is 2009 Bryant Alum. He is a data analytics consultant at Cleartelligence who specializes in bringing information to life through data visualization.

Emily Grossman

TED Talk: Starting Up Small

Emily Grossman is currently a Bryant University student majoring in Marketing and Leadership and Innovation Management, with a minor in Communications. At the age of 20, she started her own Limited Liability Company, in which her mission is to promote campus inclusivity through fashionable styles at affordable prices. Since starting her own company, she became the first student on her campus to open up her very own Pop-Up Shop at athletic games. When asked how to describe herself in one sentence, she states, “I am a pioneering woman encapsulating strong ambitions with an enthusiastic goal-oriented mindset.” There is no limit to where her small business journey will take her, as she constantly expands her ideas into realities through custom graphics and new products featured within her company. She notes not to neglect your personal brand when building your business persona.

Emily hopes that the audience feels a sense of motivation leaving her talk, in efforts to consider their personal brand and individual innovation when exploring our vast world through new experiences and bumps in the road.

Adam Alpert

TED Talk: The Stoic Entrepreneur: Ancient Wisdom For Your Entrepreneurial Journey

Adam is the co-founder of Pangea.app, a VC-Backed startup based in Rhode Island that connects companies with students from more than 1,500 different schools for remote work. Pangea.app was selected as a Top Startup in MassChallenge RI in 2019 and recently graduated from Y Combinator. They’ve raised $3mm to date. He was named one of the 25u25 in Rhode Island in 2018, and has been featured in Inc., Forbes, Techcrunch, and the Boston Globe. He graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in History.

Adam hopes that his talk empowers the audience with how to deal with life’s challenges and inspires them to push forward with their goals and be capable of dealing with the bumps in the road.

Nicole Craig

TED Talk: Finding Your “First” – From a First-Generation College Student

Nicole Craig is a senior international business major at Bryant University with concentrations in global supply chain management and Spanish. Her identity as a first-generation college student led to the foundation of Rhode Island’s first chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri-Alpha): A National Honor Society for First-Generation College Students on Bryant University’s campus. She aims to spread awareness for this student population and inspire others to find their “first.”

Nicole hopes to leave the audience with a stronger understanding of first-generation college students and encourage individuals to harness the power of being first in an increasingly innovative world

Daniel Vaquerano

TED Talk: Innovative You

Daniel Vaquerano is a Creator, Communicator and a Coach. Seasoned as a people leader for sales and operations in various industries, Daniel finds the most fulfillment in helping empower others to find their potential. Professionally, he strives to inspire and create a massive impact in the teams he works with. Personally, he has worked with with charities and non-profit youth organizations to give back to the communities in Greater Boston. He has two children, Jasmine and Daniel Jr. and is married to his loving wife Melissa. Besides leading sales teams, Daniel is the Co-Founder of EPIC ME Growth which a coaching & personal development platform set to launch in mid 2022. The goal is two help improve the lives of people across the globe who are seeking personal development resources of all types.

Daniel hopes that the audience leaves with the idea that we are greatness waiting to happen. It all starts with who we are but more importantly, who we CHOOSE to be.

Alexandra Meise

TED Talk: The Monster of Management

Alexandra Meise is a senior team and project management student at Bryant University who loves to create. Her years of experience in the arts as a painter, actress, and writer have given her an alternative approach to the business practices taught in school. She firmly believes that the arts are a physical representation of curiosity in the unknown and proof of individual power in everyone. Currently, Alexandra is involved in a wide variety of academic and social clubs, including Bryant Players, Bryant Sales Team, Student Programming Board, and Yoga Club, where she can exercise her ability to create.

Alexandra hopes to empower the audience to fearlessly take on leadership roles and apply her tips to their own teams at work or at home.

What is TEDx?

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx.

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxBryantU, where x=independently organized TED event. At our TEDxBryantU event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

Christopher Ratcliffe

TED Talk: Design Behind Bars

Chris Ratcliffe is the co-founder of Triple M Productions, a marketing firm founded in 2002. He has extensive experience in the radio industry, including years as a national and local advertising sales manager. Chris also served as the Vice President of MGP Media, a unit of Merv Griffin Productions.
He is currently leading an initiative to teach entrepreneurship skills to inmates at the RI Department of Corrections in an effort to reduce the rate of recidivism. He teaches at Bryant University and the Community College of Rhode Island, as well as teaching sales and marketing for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

Christopher wants the audience to (1) recognize the creative talents that incarcerated men possess and (2) encourage companies to hire formerly incarcerated people, thus helping to reduce recidivism.