Can you imagine for a moment you are living in a community in the United States where everyone is getting enough healthy food, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, living with less stress and leading a healthy and productive life? Can you see them working with their families, friends and businesses in order to sustain a better way of life for all? Is this a fairytale and a mythical land? Wouldn’t we all want this as a goal for our families, friends and the communities we live in?

Esther Dyson is always in search of more meaningful problems to solve. She is a well-known angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, cosmonaut and investor in numerous tech enterprises. But her latest venture, the Health Initiative Coordinating Council (HICCup.co), is a nonprofit she founded herself. She has taken on the health and wellness challenge in the hope that implementing well-known approaches to health at “critical density” – rather than elusive miracle cures – will result in an effective demonstration of their value. And that, she hopes, will inspire other communities “to steal our ideas and spread them.”

Dyson, one of the most influential women in the tech industry, has turned her attention to improving “health, not health care,” and during her TEDxNavesink 2015: Accelerator talk will discuss HICCup’s five-year, five-community initiative called “The Way to Wellville,” in which communities will work with support from her and her team led by CEO Rick Brush to improve the overall population’s health, and to make at least some of the projects into investment-worthy propositions.

The five communities were picked from 42 US communities of under 100,000 people who applied to HICCup last spring. HICCup will help them to accelerate their own plans for producing health; you could consider it a multi-location on-site accelerator. Like an accelerator, it does not invest, but it does help its members with access to experts, investors, partners and the like. And it helps the community develop programs and leadership that would attract outside capital.

Treating illness and poor health after the fact is expensive, which is why in the United States we spend about 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare and the repair of our health. Lowering rates of the most common chronic diseases—like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke—can save money and prevent suffering. But doing that requires policy change, behavior change and often financial “change” by parents and children, food producers and retailers, mayors and school principals, doctors and nurses, insurance and healthcare executives, employers and charities. Change at any level is daunting, especially when it involves so many people and systems and so many competing interests.

The bottom line is that Dyson hopes to solve this big problem by starting small. And she is doing something new simply by focusing on a set of mostly old approaches - nutrition, exercise, more attentive preventive care – but at critical density in five small communities where critical density can most easily be achieved. The primary “techy” aspect of the project is fanatic attention to data collection and analysis, and to measuring outcomes. Overall, Dyson says, HICCup is playing the role of an accelerator for local initiatives, “not of a nice white lady from New York telling people how to live.”

When it’s all over Dyson hopes that, “the state of American health—and not just the healthcare system—will show visible change that inspires people, as well as useful scientific data” that can be broadly shared.

The question is whether such a diverse group of at least five coalitions can be sustained. Can an effort that aims to include for-profit health insurers and giant food corporations, along with five community organizations and public health advocates and social impact investors and healthcare providers, find sufficient common ground in their mutual desire to foster health?

Says Dyson: They do not all need a desire to foster health. The food companies want to make money. Community organizations have a variety of goals, including increased employment. Health insurers want to make money and should be able to if they increase health and lower costs, rather than – as happens currently – be forced to give most of their improvements back in the form of lowered premiums. Politicians want re-election, while government and healthcare workers mostly want to do a good job that makes sense – and would love to deliver better service at lower cost and see their jobs expand. Social-impact investors want to make money, but by investing in projects that have a positive impact over time.

So . . . they all have diverse interests, and our mission is to create business models that incentivize each of them to produce health even though that may not be the primary goal of most of them. With Dyson’s and HICCup’s help and guidance, that’s the concept five American communities will be testing over the next five years.

Her talk on the topic of accelerating the production of health and the way to Wellville will be at TEDxNavesink 2015: Accelerators on April 11 at Monmouth University. Esther will start the ball rolling-downhill with an overview of acceleration in the tech world. Then she’ll leave tech behind and talk about a different form of acceleration—how “The Way to Wellville Challenge” is helping five small communities accelerate their own journeys to health, not by inventing new wheels but by reassembling the spokes of a very old wheel, healthy living, and making it turn.

If you want to learn more about Dyson’s vision to transform and accelerate the production of health-as opposed to the business of health repair and learn how you can get your community on the way to Wellville then buy a ticket for TEDxNavesink today!

John Ridgeway is a Digital Strategist and Social Media Junkie currently working with Naviscent a digital agency based in Silicon Valley, California consulting with global brands conducting customer centric research, design and engineering digital platforms that improve a the customer experience, social engagement and the bottom-line for Fortune 500 companies. John, his wife Donna and their family have resided in the wonderful small community of Fair Haven, New Jersey for over 25 years on the ever changing Navesink River and have enjoyed every minute.

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The pharmaceutical industry in America: it’s that special kind of topic whose very introduction into a conversation has bystanders ready to draw an opinion from their holster like a cowboy with a six-shooter. In other words, it’s a topic of discussion you’re discouraged from bringing up in social situations.

But at TEDxNavesink: Accelerators, Mitchell Delmar intends to change that. In his talk, titled “Sanctioned Addiction,” Mitchell will detail what he describes as “the explosion of narcotics addiction, primarily fueled by legally prescribed painkillers and massive, federally sanctioned production increases.”

With such provocative subject matter, one might wonder what his agenda is. But if you’re looking for an ulterior motive, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. “My only objective is to inform others about the true extent and origins of the narcotic addiction epidemic and hopefully impart some understanding of the addicted.” It’s a noble aim from which Mitchell refuses to deviate.

Unfortunately, the perspective he intends to share can only be gained through the experience of seeing addiction up close. “My personal observation stems from family involvement and suffering,” he says, “so I am familiar with the face of addiction.” It’s a harsh reality that Mitchell hopes inspires others to view the narcotic epidemic in a new light.

“I intend to challenge people’s perceptions of the addict population, describe the aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies and discuss the various medical and governmental entities complicit in this epidemic.” But even more than that, says Mitchell, “I hope to offer a way forward.”

“Sanctioned Addiction” will change the way you view the pharmaceutical industry in America. Whether you subscribe or object to the status quo of prescription drug usage in America today, Mitchell Delmar will make sure attendees experience a perspective that, far too often, goes untold.

When finally asked what he hopes audience members take away from his talk, Mitchell is blunt: “Alarm and indignation.”

To experience Mitchell Delmar’s talk on April 11, click here and purchase your ticket to TEDxNavesink today. Seats are filling up fast, so don’t wait!

Tom received his B.S. in Marketing from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, graduating with magna cum laude distinction. Upon graduation, he began a career in Healthcare Marketing, where he remains today. Considering himself a perpetual student of life, Tom enjoys reading books on personal development, engaging in political discussion, and spending time with family and friends.

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What does every piece of successful art have in common? Its ability to excite, inspire, and energize. The same can be said for Monmouth Arts, a blossoming nonprofit organization that promotes the integration of art and community right here in Monmouth County.

Monmouth Arts just recently moved to 107 Monmouth Street, right next to Count Basie Theatre. The new space is a perfect fit for the community-oriented organization.

The new office is a mix of bright colors and cubicle spaces, with paintings hanging on one wall. This tiny gallery, called Artspace 105, features work of new artists in the community, one of many new programs that points to the continued success of the organization.

The fun and inviting location of Monmouth Arts parallels its objective in the local community: to make art more accessible to the public.

Tammy Laverty, who has been the marketing and communications manager for Monmouth Arts for the last three years, is thrilled about the impact of their new location. “Our new location is fantastic,” she said. “It’s easier to find us and we have more visitors.”

Tammy handles the organization’s branding and digital communication needs, and she is the first marketing and communication manager for Monmouth Arts.

“I’m a very community-minded person,” Tammy said. “Monmouth County is a very exciting place to be and Monmouth Arts supports arts groups all around the county.”

But you might be surprised at how this organization funded their move to the new location. Tammy notes that the move to 107 Monmouth Street was entirely crowd-funded from an Indiegogo campaign, which is a fundraising site where people can donate and watch as the funds for their organization grow. A rather noteworthy feat for a nonprofit, it highlights the sense of community that has been cultivated in Monmouth County as a result of many of the organization’s programs.

“We’re stronger together,” Tammy said. “If you’re enjoying an arts event in Monmouth County, you are probably enjoying an event sponsored by us.”

Monmouth Arts focuses on the goal of strengthening, engaging, connecting, and advocating the arts in Monmouth County. Although it might appear to be a rather daunting task, the organization has plenty in the works for the upcoming year.

Right now, Monmouth Arts is gearing up for the Teen Arts Festival, which will take place on March 18 and 19.

“It brings 2500 students to Brookdale to celebrate the arts,” Tammy said.

But it doesn’t stop there. Monmouth Arts is also in the midst of promoting The MoCo Arts Corridor, which is aimed at making Monmouth County a cultural location for the arts. MoCo Arts, which operates under the slogan “Let’s go MoCo,” is aimed at “leveraging the economic power that the arts creates for the good of the entire community,” according to their website moconj.org.

“Right now we are promoting membership,” Tammy said. “We want people to join us.” If you are looking to become a member of Monmouth Arts, you can find more information at monmoutharts.org.

Tammy, an avid enjoyer of TED Talks, expressed enthusiasm about TEDxNavesink and its role in the local community. “It’s very exciting,” she said. “It brings a lot of great energy and creative minds together.”

TedxNavesink: Accelerators is Saturday, April 11. Buy your tickets before it’s too late and participate in a creative event right here in Monmouth County.

Rachel Dean is a sophomore at Monmouth University where she works as a Residential Advisor. She is pursuing her degree in Communication and PR/Journalism. She is originally from Danbury, CT.

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Ready to go on a trip? A wild and strange trip without ever leaving your seat? If you’re ready to go, TEDxNavesink 2015 speakers Drs. Chris Welty and Lora Aroyo are ready to take you.

Well, it’s not actually that black and white, as Chris and Lora will explain during their talk, “To be AND not to be: quantum intelligence.” Lucky TEDxNavesink participants will get a scoop from these two speakers on April 11. Their talk will be the first of its kind, introducing a new idea that could change the field of computer science forever, as well as the way the public interacts with its technology. (Which is why you should get your tickets now!).

Chris and Lora work in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and share a passion for making connections between things that may seem unrelated. The two began to make connections between how members of the general public view things in contrast with how an expert in a field may view things. So they proposed a new Theory of Truth for the industry.

“Before our theory, everyone in the research community took it for granted that ‘true and false’ were sufficient for understanding the world, and for machines that interact with people,” they said. “We passionately believe that fundamental changes are needed for developing technology for helping us adequately in our daily lives.”

Like I said, it’s not that black and white.

This means that the pair is trying to persuade the Artificial Intelligence community that it’s important for these machines that interact with us in our daily lives to know what is right, what is wrong, and the difference between the two. Until recently, Artificial Intelligence, the technology that drives the next generation of “cognitive digital assistants” like Google Now and Siri, has been based on the idea that statements and beliefs are either true or false. But Lora and Chris know the world isn’t as cut and dry, and that this true and false set of alternatives is too simplistic.

“As AI moves out of the lab and into our pockets, some seemingly obvious realizations, like “true and false is just too simplistic,” are significant game changers,” the two said.

But Chris and Lora want people to think beyond this.

“Thinking about how work in quantum physics can help actually change the game is both a game changer and an accelerator,” said Chris and Lora, speaking to the theme of TEDxNavesink.

Chris is a senior research scientist at Google, and was part of the leadership team for IBM Watson’s Jeopardy! Challenge. He has been a leading researcher in machine intelligence for over 25 years, and one of the founders of the Semantic Web movement and most recently, Cognitive Computing. Chris is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Endowed Professor of Cognitive Computing at the VU University in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Lora is an associate professor of computer science at VU University in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she heads the web and media group. She is also the chief technology officer of New York’s Tagasauris, Inc., where she makes media content more accessible and discoverable using crowdsourcing. She is an internationally known expert in multimedia interaction, and led the European NoTube project, developing new “second screen” applications for discovering and sharing TV experiences online within social circles. Lora worked for the Watson team in 2012 after the famous Jeopardy! showdown.

Watson, an artificially intelligent computer system developed by IBM specifically designed to answer questions on the quiz show Jeopardy!, competing against former winners on the show in 2011. Watson won. After the appearance on Jeopardy!, Watson was being adapted to be relevant to other fields, including medicine. Lora convinced the team working on this feat that it was important for Watson to know about the shades of grey between right and wrong.

Their combined experience in the world of computer science, including personalization and human-computer interaction, natural language processing and AI, allow Chris and Lora to create connections and derive disruptive new approaches that can make a difference. “Whether it’s finding the best TV show to watch with your friends, or diagnosing a strange set of medical symptoms,” the pair passionately communicate their ideas about how AI and human interaction can meld in our daily lives.

Chris and Lora are already hard at work spreading their ideas, regularly giving talks, writing papers in peer-reviewed publications, and remaining active on social media. But they don’t stop at the obvious channels when communicating their ideas. They branch out into other domains, such as medicine and cultural heritage, to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach and show theoretical results in developing systems and unique solutions to existing problems. So a TEDx talk is right up their alley, and they’re using the TEDxNavesink platform to introduce their game-changing idea to the public.

“It will be the first time anyone has heard of the idea of quantum intelligence for cognitive systems, and we think it will be as important to AI as quantum mechanics first was to physics,” they said.

But what can TEDxNavesink do for Lora and Chris? Well for starters, preparation for their talk has forced them to think about how to concisely communicate these advanced, complex ideas.

“The audience, format, and style of TEDx is forcing us to simplify and crystalize the message so that it is clear to a larger and broader audience,” the two said.

Our lives are increasingly becoming saturated with technology, and that technology is changing and adapting each day. AI plays a crucial role in the way we go about our day-to-day lives, helping manage and search for information.

“We hope the audiences will see that there is an obstacle to making these AI systems of more use to us,” Chris and Lora said. “Borrowing ideas from psychology and quantum mechanics can remove this obstacle and deliver assistants that can understand, and therefore help us better.”

Make sure you get your seat to hear this groundbreaking, first of its kind talk. TEDxNavesink 2015 tickets are on sale now, and they’re going fast. Don’t miss out, get yours today! Click here.

Stephanie Eichmeyer is a content production and marketing specialist for the TEDxNavesink team. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in communication from Monmouth University. Stephanie has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and has worked in journalism and PR for many years. 

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Leading thinkers including a Pulitzer Prize winner, physicists, computer scientists, researchers, and artists will explore how today’s accelerators and change agents are shaping our future at the TEDxNavesink conference: “Accelerators” at Monmouth University.  TEDxNavesink brings the mission of TED Talks to Monmouth County for an all-day live event for the third annual year.

Read the full story at the Atlantic Highlands Herald.

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“World’s Strongest Woman” and “World Champion” are just a couple of the titles Dr. Karyn Marshall has earned over the years as a competitive weightlifter. But back when she started lifting, women’s competitive weightlifting was unheard of. Weightlifting competitions existed for men only and women were prohibited from competing against men.

This did not stop Karyn from pursuing her passion and she lifted in men’s weightlifting competitions, even though she was unable to earn any titles.  A “pioneer” of women’s weightlifting, Dr. Karyn Marshall’s dedication to the sport helped other women compete in Olympic weightlifting during a time when the sport for women was rare.

In 1985, Karyn became the first woman to lift 300 pounds over her head. Imagine trying to lift a football lineman over your head—this was about the same amount of weight Karyn lifted. Karyn has lifted competitively since she started weightlifting in the late 1970s.

Today, Karyn runs her own chiropractic practice and is a motivational speaker.

Karyn will be speaking at TEDxNavesink 2015: Accelerators. Her talk, “Shattering Records and Glass Ceilings,” will explore her role in turning women’s weightlifting into an Olympic event. She will also discuss how the advancement in women’s sports has stalled and how women’s progress in athletics can be accelerated once again.

Throughout her life, Karyn has always been interested in sports and being healthy. But it wasn’t until after college while she was working as a Wall Street data analyst that she became interested in weightlifting. Encouraged by friends to start lifting, she was hesitant, but decided to give it a try. She ended up loving it. When she began weightlifting, there were no formally recognized competitions for women.

This didn’t stop Karyn from lifting in her first competition, the Empire State Games (ESG). She was the winner of her weight class, but was not recognized as the winner since the ESGs did not allow women and men to compete against each other. Karyn didn’t let this discourage her. She was happy with her results and continued training for future competitions.

For a few years, Karyn competed against men. It wasn’t until 1980, when the first women’s nationals were sanctioned, that she was able to formally compete against other women. From that point on, Karyn gained many athletic achievements. She has set over 60 world and American records. In addition to these records, she has earned many other accomplishments, like winning five gold medals in five world championships and being cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first women in the world to lift 300 pounds over her head.

Currently, Karyn works at her practice, Champion Chiropractic in Shrewsbury, where she specializes in treating athletes. She has gained a level of understanding for her patients, which can only come from years of being a competitive athlete. When she’s not working at her practice, Karyn is a weightlifting coach and CrossFit Trainer. In 2011, at the age of 55, she placed sixth worldwide in the CrossFit Games’ masters division.

Shortly after the CrossFit Games, Karyn was diagnosed with breast cancer. But this didn’t stop her from doing what she loves. Throughout her illness, Karyn continued to be active and workout. Thankfully, Karyn is now a three-year survivor of breast cancer.

Karyn focuses on being a chiropractor, weightlifting coach, and CrossFit trainer, but she is also a motivational speaker. She speaks across the country on topics from relaxation to childhood obesity.

Her next talk will be at TEDxNavesink 2015: Accelerators on April 11 at Monmouth University. If you want to hear more about her journey as one of the “pioneers” of women’s weightlifting and learn about her model to progress women’s sports, buy a ticket for TEDxNavesink today!

Audrey Ardine graduated from Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University in May with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is currently working for a trade association in Monmouth County. She resides in Red Bank and has lived there for most of her life.

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever been in the audience of someone with something compelling to say.  (Put your hand down if you’re thinking of your last Springsteen concert.) Ok, yes, Bruce is compelling – but we’re talking your coach, your colleague, your professor, your parent – who says something so enlightening that you literally hear a rusty lever in your over-loaded noggin flip from off to on.

Read full story on Jersey Moms Blog

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More than a century ago, New York City’s Central Park looked much like it does today. Pastoral landscapes, picturesque rusticism, elaborate foliage, winding paths, and carriage underpasses create a space for all to enjoy. This is the way landscape designer Fredrick Law Olmstead intended it to look far into the future. In the 21st century, Central Park still remains as the people’s sanctuary; a place that not only houses artistic declaration, but also exists as an art form in itself.

Cities act as the microcosms of the world’s population and are outwardly defined by their inhabitants. Central Park offers an escape from the perpetually chaotic nature of city activity. But have you ever stopped and realized that art is all around, even in the most crowded places? It may seem surprising to appreciate the city itself as artistically created. Who would know better than the natives themselves?

Camilla Webster, born and raised in the city, has supplemented her own work through the interweaving of her many talents, including her co-authorship of her book The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom and a keen eye for art. Painting from a young age had become one of her undeniable passions. After studying modern history and history of art in Scotland, Camilla pursued not only fieldwork in journalism, but embraced a producer position at CBS News and Forbes.com and was appointed broadcast editor at The Wall Street Journal. Her “long history of watching issues in the field and covering stories” unexpectedly fostered her involvement and interest in international economies and social issues, specifically from her coverage of the war in Iraq; September 11, 2001; and the digital revolution.

Her hectic life began to shed light on larger societal problems most individuals struggle with today. Camilla wanted a way to calm down and attempted to slow the fast pace of the bustling city. Her meditational practice of painting soon sparked her desire to “give something back to New York.” As a co-founder and editor-at-large of New York Natives, a superb social media site dedicated to all things Big Apple, she has captured the best of an “art-in-front-of-you” methodology.

The urban revolution of democratized art, brought to and produced by its people, appears in unfathomable and unexpected forms—the Highline, street art, graffiti, modern architecture, and horticulture—which uniquely reside as aesthetic advances. Camilla has discovered the city to be its own type of art, and through her producing of ARTBEAT, she brings new awareness and presence in not only understanding what it means to be a New Yorker, but also to be human. In studying and seeking motivation by way of certain moments experienced in her own life, Camilla says, “art has the amazing ability to have us decelerate, but it also often represents incredible ideas as well.”

In the spirit of TEDxNavesink, Camilla’s artistic philosophy extends the culture of the five boroughs to the Jersey Shore. During TEDxNavesink 2015 at Monmouth University, Camilla will be featuring her exhibitions capturing New York moments in unanticipated ways. “It is important for us to see at TEDxNavesink that art is for everyone, as it bridges the gap where art used to stand at a distance.”

Have you ever regarded a packed subway car or street corner full of signs as art? Camilla has, and finding art in ordinary objects and places is one way she skillfully breaks the barrier.

By utilizing a dynamic approach to art, Camilla has learned to process information differently and through a refreshed lens. In her inventive and spontaneous approach to all things artistic, Camilla epitomizes the processes of acceleration as well as deceleration, which seem to be creatively cyclical. Deceleration is purely part of the course of action and should not be considered negative. “Let’s use different speeds of energy to have incredible results,” she says.

Much of Camilla’s inspiration has been ignited by her experiences, including a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands where she was able to decelerate from urban life. Camilla then brought her island adventures back to New York and was able to reinterpret art in its natural form. “This is the age of transparency,” she says. As we progress into an innovative digital era, art becomes not only more accessible, but redefined and revolutionized in daily life.

To learn more about Camilla’s work, visit http://camillawebster.com, http://www.camillawebsterart.com, and http://newyorknatives.com.

Do you want to experience her exhibitions in Pollak Theater for yourself? Join us on April 11, 2015 at Monmouth University. Make sure you get your tickets for TEDxNavesink 2015 before they’re gone!

Image courtesy of Camilla Webster:

Sub Rosa, http://www.camillawebsterart.com/#/sub-rosa/

Tedi Pascarella is a content production intern on the TEDxNavesink team and a student at Monmouth University.

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Do you remember your favorite childhood book? Maybe you were cuddled on the lap of a grandparent who read the book aloud—over and over again.

Imagine the impact on the education and lives of children who grow up with no books to curl up with and call their own. What adventures, fantastical worlds, and comforting moments are they missing out on?

Abby Daly has not only imagined this, but she is doing something to change it.

Once Abby starts talking about books and kids in poverty, it’s hard for her to stop. “You don’t even get out of the starting gate if you can’t read,” said Abby. And learning to read is only one part of the equation. Having adequate books, not just in school but also at home, is the other part. “The number of books in a home is a better predictor of a child’s success than their parent’s educational background,” said Abby. “A good education is one of the keys for overcoming the cycle of poverty.”

“We do food drives like they’re nothing, and clothing drives. We should be providing books to kids in poverty just like we provide food and clothing,” she said. To Abby, books are a daily necessity—not a luxury.

Like a modern-day Robin Hood, Abby is making a huge contribution to filling this gap. She is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization, Bridge of Books Foundation, which takes book donations from the book-rich and distributes them to the book-poor. The mission of Bridge of Books is to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout New Jersey in order to support literacy skills and encourage a love of reading.

Abby brought Bridge of Books Foundation to New Jersey with its first donation of used books to children in Red Bank. That was a mere 12 years ago and now Bridge of Books Foundation is in every county in New Jersey where there are children who are not only poverty stricken, but also book-poor. Abby said, “We give out books 365 days a year and accept books 365 days a year.”

Prior to becoming a mother, Abby was an attorney with the State of New Jersey, where she pursued mental health and children’s rights cases. This experience opened her mind and heart to the plight of disadvantaged children, planting a seed of what was to come. As a new mother Abby was feeling restless and in need of a project to keep her intellectually stimulated and also teach her children about the value of charity. She heard about Bridge of Books from a woman who had started the organization in California. As Abby’s son and daughter grew, so did Bridge of Books. Abby said, “My kids have literally grown up delivering books with me.”

Bridge of Books, an all-volunteer organization, has distributed nearly a half-million books and set a goal of distributing 1 million books to low-income children by 2020. Vonage, in Holmdel, has recently offered space for the expanding infrastructure to help this growing organization meet their goal.

And there’s nothing quite like the joyful expression of children who leave school hugging a bag of books they can call their own. Abby tears up when she reads the many letters of appreciation from the lucky kids on the receiving end of her Robin Hood efforts. This excerpt from a note from Stephen is a perfect example of what keeps Abby and her team of volunteers going:

“I will read the books with lots of care and if I acsendently break one

I will fix it espeshialy Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”

To share her passion Abby will deliver a talk titled, “Books: Bridging the Gap” at TEDxNavesink: Accelerators. Abby hopes that her TEDxNavesink talk inspires each person in the audience to go home and gather up books for donation. She wants to wake up the book-rich in our area to the recognition that there are children just a few miles away who have fewer than ten books in their homes.

“TED is all about spreading ideas,” said Abby. “And how many ideas have we lost because kids don’t have equal access to books? Everyone else up on the stage with me wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t had access to books as kids.”

Just like Robin Hood’s band of Merry Men, now is your chance to join in Abby Daly’s social bandit movement. Start clearing off your bookshelves of gently used children’s books and donate them to the Bridge of Books Foundation where you can be assured they will make their way into the hands and hearts of the children who need them most.

Learn more about Abby and her mission by visiting the Bridge of Books Foundation’s website at: www.bridgeofbooksfoundation.org. Oh, and you might want to check out Abby’s favorite children’s books: The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson.

To hear Abby and other powerful speakers, click here to get your tickets to TEDxNavesink: Accelerators on April 11 at Monmouth University. Hurry, they’re going quickly!

Jamie Sussel Turner is a first-time TEDxNavesink volunteer and serving as the content coordinator and blog editor. Jamie is an author, speaker, professional coach and former school principal. She works with business owners and executives who are stressed because work has taken over their lives. She helps them become clear and confident leaders who build dedicated teams so their businesses are more successful and they have more of a life. Jamie recently published her first book: Less Stress Business: A Guide for Hiring, Coaching and Leading Great Employees. She is a certified Social and Emotional Intelligence coach and a Fierce Conversations Certified Facilitator. Jamie is the President-Elect of ICF-NJ (International Coaching Federation of New Jersey).

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