TEDxKalamazoo

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Emily Jacobs

  Board-certified doctor of nursing, motherhood consultant

  Dr. Emily Jacobs is a board-certified doctor of nursing, author, global speaker, and leadership coach who empowers high-achieving women to break free from burnout and lead with purpose. As the founder of Empowered Moms, a community of over 1,100 women, she’s coached hundreds of ambitious women and delivered more than 200 talks and multiple media features on resilience, boundaries, and modern leadership. After personally experiencing burnout from trying to “do it all,” Dr. Jacobs discovered that true strength comes from saying yes to less…a lesson that now fuels her mission to help others reclaim their energy and vitality.

• Jana Curtis

  Educator, Consultant

  Jana Curtis is an educator and consultant with over two decades of experience supporting children, families, and educators. A late-realized neurodivergent adult, she brings both lived experience and professional depth to her work, helping people shift from behavior management toward attunement, dignity, and connection. As the founder of Weaving Legacy, Jana blends neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, and storytelling to reframe behavior as communication and regulation as a relational practice. She has trained thousands of educators and organizations nationwide and is guided by one core ethic. Attunement is allowing space and grace for someone else to call themselves home. Her work invites a reimagining of systems so they better reflect our shared humanity, especially for those who have long been misunderstood.

• Laird Walker

  Therapist

  I am an African American, by way of Jamaica, from the Southside of Chicago, transplanted to Kalamazoo, Michigan. I am a 13-year educator, therapist, social worker, restorative justice practitioner, and retired basketball player. I founded LifeHoops, a BIPOC focused basketball healing framework that centers the stories, history, joy, and identities of BIPOC adolescent boys. We started as an after-school club in Chicago Public Schools in 2016, then re-launched in partnership with STARA Collaborative, a grassroots BIPOC and liberation-focused fiscal sponsorship organization in 2024. We are currently implementing our model in the Kalmazoo County Juvenile Home School.

• Rebekah Kik

  Deputy City Manager at City of Kalamazoo

  Rebekah Kik graduated from Andrews University (2003) with a Masters of Architecture and the University of Notre Dame with a Post Graduate degree in Architecture & Urban Design (2007). Both schools offered a traditional architectural education with a concentration in urban design. She began her professional career pursuing architecture where she worked in premier firms both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Rebekah traveled the country creating designs for small homes, historical façade renovation, and infill in existing neighborhoods. Currently, she works for the City of Kalamazoo pursuing new levels of engaging the community and economic models for the sustainability of a great mid-sized city.

• Russ Kavalhuna

  President, Western Michigan University

  Western Michigan University President Russ Kavalhuna is a former airline captain, aviation executive, and federal prosecutor who has led at the intersection of complex systems, public service, and education. Before returning to WMU, he served seven years as president of Henry Ford College, where he built partnerships that expanded real-world learning and workforce pathways. A Presidential Leadership Scholar and co-chair of Michigan’s statewide higher education workgroup, he brings a results-driven, human-centered lens to how colleges form the leaders our communities need.

• Susan Rosas

  CEO, YWCA Kalamazoo

  Susan Rosas is the CEO for YWCA Kalamazoo, where the mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. She is a social worker by training and has served in nonprofits across the globe for more than 20 years.