Lonnie B Hodge

Activist, Blogger, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Global soul, Journalist, Promoter, Social entrepreneur, World traveler, Writer/Editor

Poet, educator, story teller, author, social media consultant and a receipient of many awards (that and a couple of bucks buys you a cup of coffee) and fellowhips in writing and speaking including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature. King of Nothing. He has written: Fishing For The Moon (poetry), An Evening with William Butler Yeats (play) and many others. He also writes for several international journals and magazines. He was one of the first 200 members of Task Force Delta, one of the earliest online think tanks that provided the structure for groups social media groups such as Xing. He serves on the board of directors for a number of China and US based literacy and relief charities. In past incarnations he has been a professional archer, Army Officer (EOD trained), Professional Actor, Stand-Up Comic, Tae Kwon Do Master, TEDxCanton Curator. Speaker on Humor and Wellness/psychoneuroimmunology. Most recently quoted in/on NPR, Forbes, Guardian, Media....

Community, Culture, Human Rights, Internet Freedom, Blogging, Poetry, Creativity, Laughter & Wellness, Social Media, CSR, Investigative Journalism, SEO/Social Media, Asian Studies, Silk Road, TEDx, PR

In China taxi drivers are addressed as "Sifu" or master...I have collected tales and garnered wisdom from around the world from masters making their living driving cab after careers as Olympic Athletes, Hydroelectric Engineers, Investment Bankers, Soldiers...All of them have helped me to self actualize in one way or another...

China, China and Greater Asia, Culture & Society, education, New Media, New Media Communications, Poetry, Storytelling and Creative Process, PR

I ran an event in China called Wed Wednesday. One a month on a Wednesday (imagine that) 50-140 Guangzhou locals, both Chinese and Expatriate, would gather to hear a world class speaker on a topic related to Internet technology. I hosted: Rebecca McKinnon, former director of CNN Beijing/Tokyo, Normandy Madden, AdAge China Editor, Scott Tong of APR, and a host of world-class scholars, thinkers and humanitarians. When the core group wanted to move to a franchise model and charge for attendance i began to look toward an adventure that would entertain, inform and bridge cultures without regard for profit. TEDXGuangzhou was the answer and later TEDxCanton. We hosted 16 amazing speakers, used simultaneous, Sign and Whispering translators and filled the GZ Science Center with attendees. Now I am in the process of a TEDx event meant for the Silk Road, planned for June 2011, celebrating where I now live--in the most diverse and historically important melting pot on the planet

Martial Arts, Close-up Magic, Being able to sleep after copious amounts of coffee