Jon La Grace

Brainstormer, Business adviser, Change Agent, Consultant, Event planner, Finance professional, Global soul, Idea generator, Project manager, Public servant

I'm a concept strategist by trade. A creative DO-er, out-of-the-box thinker, cutting-edge advisor and leader with unique event and community organizing skills --- I've been known to even give my coffee the jitters. For decades I worked as a consultant and strategy specialist in banking and asset management, business development, marketing and product development (wholesale) for some of Wall Street's top asset management firms and was named one of the Top Sales Producers in "managed accounts" in the US. I successfully transitioned my career in 2006 to Concept Advisory and Strategy Consulting and have advised a variety of clients across different industries --- Financial Services, Entertainment, Multi-Media, Photography, Advertising, Public Relations, Consumer Goods --- each with great success. I seek out collaborative solutions for the future. Creatively, I had the incredible honor of curating a pop-culture collection and handling Global Business Development for the private Bill Gates multi-media company, Corbis, now Getty Images. During my tenure working at Corbis, I provided strategic leadership of their hallmark digital media collection, Outline. I received several awards including the 50th Anniversary Communication Arts Award of Excellence. In my community, I had the privilege of serving as an Adjunct Professor of Business at Lake Tahoe Community College teaching Marketing, Communication, and Economics. Additionally, I have served for over 25 years in a variety of positions for the California Association of Student Councils, a not-for-profit leadership development organization with a 65-year history of accomplishment.

Pop Culture, Film, Photography, Economics, Biology, LGBT, Micro-Finance, Art, Community, Travel, Ideas, Science, Nature, Spirituality, Music, Positive Change, Peace, Connectivity, Anarchy, & Creation.

Changing communities can be achieved through teaching youth about recognizing elements of competition and developing useful tools about collaboration and consensus amongst peers, families and the larger community.

Collaboration and Teamwork, Curation, Project Management, Photography, Facilitating, Film, Global Business Development & Strategy, Group and Team Process, Investment and Finance, Investment Banking specialzaing in raising private equity capita, Popular Culture

I'm a visionary DO-er. I make stuff happen and I get stuff done. I like ideas and making them into reality . . . whether on Wall Street, Black Rock City or Hollywood --- it's in my nature to create. I make films, plan events and manage large projects that most people shy away from. In 2010, I created PlayaSkool, a global impact organization, learning and experiential platform that focuses on art, technology, and education. Sounding strangely similar to TED, I was approached by some TED Heads/Burners to see if PlayaSkool would like to host the very first TEDx at Burning Man and I immediately said, "YES." The rest is history . . . for 7 years we produced TEDxBlackRockCity . . . worked together with some of the best TED and TEDx pepole on the planet in trying to create a program in one of the most complex environments in the world . . . and really got a glimpse of TEDx and TED through my involvement in TEDSummit, TEDActive and the many programs and meetings I've facilitated and been involved in.

Creating cultural mosaics.