TEDxAsheville proudly announces the election of Brett McCall and Gina Drew as Executive Co-Directors of TedxAsheville 2011. Brian M. Turner was also nominated and agreed to serve as tertiary Executive Director to Brett and Gina, prior to taking over as Executive Director of TEDxAsheville 2012. As we welcome these three new executives from their prior positions, TEDxAsheville also wishes to offer our deepest appreciation and recognition to Jennifer Saylor, 2009 and 2010 Executive Direcor and co-founder of TEDxAsheville. Her dedication to creating and fostering the conference from its inception is foundational to the fantastic event it has become. It was Jennifer’s vision that started this ball rolling. We all owe her a huge thanks for bringing the energy and ideas of TEDx to Asheville.

Gina Drew brings a wealth of organizational, publicity and marketing expertise to the position of Executive Director. She is a professional civil trial paralegal who provides design and marketing services for lawyers, and is the former administrator of the Buncombe County Bar Association. She is the creative force behind Legal Trends Network and is passionate about such issues as criminal reform, therapeutic and social justice, and new ideas for peaceful conflict resolution. In 2009, Gina served as Director of Marketing for TEDxAsheville’s Inaugural Event, a position she holds for the 2010 conference, as well. Also in 2010, she participated in Twestival Global 2010 Asheville, which raised money for education in poverty stricken areas in conjunction with 200 cities worldwide.

Current conference Technical Director, Brett McCall, was the Stage Manager/Production Assistant at TEDxAsheville 2009. He is the Social Media Contributor for HATCH Asheville and the Field Activities Director & Global Village King at Lake Eden Arts Festival. In addition to being intrinsically involved in Asheville volunteer and business communities, Brett is the Building Performance Manager for BuildSmart, an alliance of qualified green building specialists serving builders, architects, developers, and homeowners. He is also the Sales & Marketing Manager for Delkote, Incorporated, which is a member of the BuildSmart Alliance. Brett is passionate about building bridges of communication throughout the professional, volunteer and social community of Western North Carolina and the virtual world of the Internet. We welcome his technical and communications expertise.

Before moving back to Asheville in 2004, Brian Turner built a successful career at MTV Networks as the youngest ever Line Producer of the iconic Video Music Awards, as well as working on many other popular name-brand television shows and events. He worked with the family’s business, Mills Manufacturing, a military parachute manufacturer in Woodfin, NC, for 6 years, and has now launched a business consultancy, The Business Design Group, that focuses on strategic planning for business. Brian is also involved in several area non-profits including United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, where he serves as a member of the Board of Directors and as the Chair of the Community Fund Committee.

WHAT IS TED?

TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design) began as a small annual conference in California sponsored by people who believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately the world. Since 1984 the TED Conference has developed into a clearinghouse spreading “ideas worth spreading” from the world’s most inspired thinkers. For more information about TED, and to view videos of past TED Presentations, visit http://ted.com.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxAsheville, where “x” = an independently organized TED event. At TEDxAsheville, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized. Asheville has been approved to host a second annual TEDx n August of this year.

This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED. It is not being organized by the TED conferences — this is an independently organized TEDx event.