Thurl Bailey and Ginger Lewman will be joining us as a keynote speakers at the 2016 UCET Conference at the University of Utah! Travis Allen will also be joining us as a spotlight speaker. Each of these speakers brings unique experiences and points of view to the conference. Plan ahead to ensure you don't miss their keynote addresses and spotlight sessions:
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Thursday, March 17th: Thurl Bailey will help us kick off the Tech Madness with his keynote, "Our Winning Defied All Logic". Following his keynote, Thurl will join us for a tech shootout in our Tech Madness playground.
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Thursday, March 17th: Travis Allen will present a spotlight presentation in the main ballroom about the iSchool Initiative.
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Friday, March 18th: Ginger Lewman will kick off day two with her "STEAM Maker" keynote. She will spend all day Friday with us conducting hands-on spotlight sessions and workshops in our Tech Madness playground.
Read below to learn more about each of our speakers:
Thurl Bailey attended North Carolina State University and was a key player in the 'Wolfpacks' miracle run to the 1983 NCAA Championship. That same year, Thurl led NC State in both scoring and rebounds. The Utah Jazz drafted Thurl in 1983 as the 7th pick of the draft. Jazz management reported that he was selected for the quality of his character, as well as the quality of his game. This was the beginning of 16 years of his playing professional basketball, 12 of those years were with the NBA.
At 6'11", Thurl Bailey is often first noticed as a basketball player, but he is a man of as much depth as height. His strong sense of service has led to countless hours of volunteer work and to numerous awards for leadership and contributions to the community. Included in his awards are: the NBA's prestigious Kennedy Community Award, the Utah Association for Gifted Children's Community Service Award, Sigma Gamma Chi fraternity's Exemplary Manhood Award, the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America's American Champion Award and the Italian League's 1998 All Star Games Most Valuable Player. He has directed basketball camps for youth since 1984 where he teaches young people lessons about life and basketball. Many of his students have special needs including coming from disadvantaged backgrounds or having serious illnesses, and they attend the camps on scholarship.
In addition to professional speaking, Thurl is a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah, an actor, and an award winning singer/song writer. His first album, Faith In Your Heart, is a compilation of uplifting songs that won several top awards. His 'I'm Not The Same' CD has great reviews and is a fusion of original style R&B and nu soul.
Thurl Bailey is a devoted family man and the father of six children. He and his wife Sindi live in Highland, Utah with the three youngest children.
Ginger is an education consultant and keynote speaker with a non-profit education service center. She specializes in Project/Problem Based Learning, technology integration, and gifted & high ability learners. She is passionate about helping educators rethink what teaching and learning can be in today’s world. To Ginger, there is nothing better than watching the face of a teacher, or a group of educators, or an entire school, as they watch their kids get excited about learning and doing things they never thought was possible. She knows exactly what that feels like from the perspective of the learner, the teacher, and the school leader. Ginger says, "It’s the most awesome thing in the world. Because in that moment, everything is possible. It is my passion to help teachers inspire their students to do more and be more than they could ever imagine."
Ginger is a keynote speaker and education consultant with ESSDACK, a non-profit educational service center in Hutchinson, Kansas. Ginger specializes in Project Based Learning, technology integration, creativity, and Gifted & High-Ability Learners. She is formerly the Director of Turning Point Learning Center’s f2f Program where, for half a decade, she worked to create the LifePractice PBL Model. At TPLC, she helped to create a rich learning environment utilizing Project Based Learning and 1:1 laptops with a democratic approach to learning. Online networks have been the key to making it all work!
Graduating from Emporia State University in 1994 with a BSE in Social Science, Ginger promptly began teaching the day school at a residential boys’ home for The Farm, Inc. where she quickly discovered differentiated instruction and how to engage students well beyond her formal pre-service teacher training. Ginger taught all core subjects to 11 troubled boys at a time, ages 11-18, at the home’s two dining room tables, using previously-discarded 20-year-old text books. It was a challenge.
Eventually uncovering a lifelong passion, in 2004, Ginger earned her Master’s degree in Psychology and Special Education with an emphasis in Gifted Education. She began working as the Gifted Services Coordinator at Emporia Middle School and also serving as North Central Accreditation Steering Committee Chair.
Ginger served on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Association for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative for 7 years as a Region 7 Representative, State and Federal Legislative Liaison, a Conference Chair, and the Kansas Education Liaison. Ginger has been a member of the National Association for Gifted Children, working at both the state and federal levels, advocating for the needs of gifted children in Kansas and beyond.
Currently, Ginger serves on the Board of Directors for Advocates for High-Ability Learners (AHA Learners), is a member of the Kansas Council for the Social Studies, and is currently a Google Certified Teacher.
Travis Allen is a young visionary promoting digital learning in the classroom. Before graduating from high school, Travis created a viral YouTube video on revolutionizing America’s education through the use of mobile technology. Today, he is a senior at Kennesaw State University where he operates his growing organization, iSchool Initiative. With the support of his team, Travis has presented in over 40 states and 8 countries, allowing him to reach an audience of over 200,000 people! He has been featured on CNN, Huffington Post, and Forbes. In 2011, he was the winner of Google Young Minds competition; in 2012, he was invited to the White House for Education Datapalooza; and in 2015 he won the GA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Travis is quickly becoming one of the most influential leaders of the emerging digital learning movement. (From http://www.isitravis.com/)
