TEDxPortsmouth is proud to announce our speaker lineup for September 7th’s event at the Music Hall in Portsmouth. These fifteen individuals span a wide variety of industries and areas of expertise, and each of them has a distinct vision of how to approach our theme: That was Then.

  • Merrill Black​ is a seacoast writer ​whose essays have appeared in publications including ​The New York Ti​mes and the local anthology ​Becoming Portsm​outh. She is currently working on a memoir about mental illness.
  • Emily Calhoun​ is a naturalist, owl expert and programming instructor with Seacoast Science Center.
  • Kate Doyle​ is a visual artist whose recent collaboration with NASA brings attention to the devastation of climate change on our planet.
  • John Gargasz​ is a serial entrepreneur who consistently asks the question “Why not?” He currently serves as managing director of Nanocomp Technologies Inc., a NH-based advanced materials company.
  • Jon Giegengack is​ founder of Hub Entertainment Research where he works with the likes of Netflix, AMC, AT&T, Hulu, Sony Pictures to understand how our ubiquitous connectivity changes the way we find and consume entertainment.
  • Ed Goyette​ is the owner of BeanTowne Coffee House and founder of “Yours for the Asking,” a program that put action behind curiosity.
  • Angela Hanscom ​is a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook—an award-winning developmental and nature-based program that has gained international popularity.
  • Bill Kubicek ​is the founder of Next Step, a nonprofit organization that provides community and life skills for teens and young adults living with HIV, cancer and rare genetic disorders.
  • Cyrus McCandless​ is a neurobiologist who studies brain activity with a focus on motivation, goal-directed behavior and decision-making.
  • Jessica C. McWade​ is the president of McWade Group, specializing in leadership, team and strategy development. She has led major divisions for three Fortune 200 firms, served as a U.S. Navy Commander and president of the World Affairs Council of Boston​.
  • Chuck Ott​ has been a classroom teacher, guidance counselor, school psychologist and superintendent. Through it all his focus has been on dropout prevention and high school reform.
  • Sharyn Potter ​is a professor of sociology at UNH and co-founder and executive director of research at the Prevention Innovations Research Center, which seeks to end sexual and relationship violence and stalking.
  • Stasia Savasuk ​is a body-positivity advocate who teaches about Inside-Out Congruency–who we are on the outside can–and should–be a reflect who are are on the inside, a concept that has changed the lives of thousands of girls and women.
  • Keith Tharp​ is co-founder of Sustainable Seacoast, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the Seacoast’s environmental impact by eliminating single-use plastics from the restaurant industry.
  • Craig W. Welch ​is the executive director for the Portsmouth Housing Authority where he oversees 600 affordable housing units.