Creativity to Solve Global Challenges

Jane Chen is a globally recognized entrepreneur, inventor, and speaker. She is co-founder & CEO of Embrace Global, which developed a groundbreaking, low-cost infant incubator that has saved over 350,000 babies. Embrace has been featured by the New York Times, CNN, Newsweek, the Guardian, and ABC’s 20/20. Chen is a TED speaker and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She was selected for Forbes' Impact 30, the Economist Innovation Award, and the Fast Company Innovation Award, and was recognized as Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Chen also served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Humane Technology.

Amy Herman is a lawyer, art historian, and author of Visual Intelligence, Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem-Solving, and smART: Use Your Eyes to Boost Your Brain. The Art of Perception is an interactive program that engages participants in analyzing works of art as a vehicle to enhance their observation, perception, and communication skills. Looking at works of art will challenge participants’ assumptions and refresh critical inquiry skills by incorporating multiple perspectives into their thinking. The Art of Perception, has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others.

Martha Schwartz is a landscape architect, urbanist, and climate activist. Her work and teaching focuses on the urban public realm landscape and its importance in making cities “climate ready”. For more than 40 years, Martha Schwartz Partners has completed projects around the globe, from site-specific art installations to public spaces, parks, master-planning and reclamation. Schwartz is also a tenured Professor in Practice at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and recently founded MAYDAY. Earth, a non-profit focused on communications and education about Nature Based and Geoengineering Solutions.

Tyler Riewer is Creative Director at charity: water, a $100M nonprofit organization that uses data and storytelling to connect donors to their impact and dream up new ways to think about sustainability in the water sector. As of today, charity: water has funded 91,414 projects to bring clean and safe water to 14,762,215 people. Riewer leads a team of designers and storytellers, and travels the globe capturing stories about local partners. He studied Advertising and Journalism at Nebraska and started his career at marketing agencies Archrival and Grady Britton.

Dr. Ali S. Khan is Dean and Tenured Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, and a Retired Assistant Surgeon General. He served at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 23 years before retiring as the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. At the CDC, Dr. Khan led and responded to numerous high-profile public health emergencies, including Ebola, the Asian Tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina. In 2016 Dr. Khan published “The Next Pandemic: On the Front Lines Against Humankind’s Gravest Dangers” with William Patrick.

Candice Millard’s talk will touch on her four New York Times bestselling books. In her most recent book, “River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile” focused on English explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, Millard tells a story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers. This book also profiles Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the formerly enslaved local guide who played a pivotal role in the expedition. Millard’s essays have appeared in the Guardian, National Geographic and TIME.