Moxietalk With Kirt Jacobs

Trained at The Australian Ballet School & having enjoyed a thrilling & fulfilling career with The Australian Ballet as a Principal Artist, Robert took his passion & discipline he developed as a dancer & set his sights on diversifying his knowledge, skills & abilities. With education and experience, he continually expanded his ability to move his own body on stage & through this, moving an audience through a wide range of emotions. Beyond his dancing career, he strives to continue to move people towards a satisfying encounter with dance. Robert is motivated by the form that a dancer gains from training in the traditions of classical ballet, where respect & discipline can facilitate breathtaking strength & freedom. He is also inspired by the innovation that forms the function of any artist, that being to bravely & boldly express oneself through art for the greater good of a community. As Artistic Director, Robert continues to contribute to the Global Arts Community, enriching

GE Appliances, a Haier company, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, where Marcia Brey leads the Lean strategy for the business focusing on delivering winning products and services for customers & consumers while minimizing waste throughout ALL functions. Known as the Lean Enterprise, Marcia is responsible for implementing transformational, cross-functional processes, growing the capability of employees and improving management systems at GE Appliances. Marcia earned her Master’s degrees from both the University of Louisville in Mechanical Engineering & the University of Arizona in Quality & Reliability Engineering. Marcia began her 26-year career at Appliances on GE’s Edison Engineering Program & has worked across multiple product lines in Design Engineering, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Distribution, Quality & Manufacturing. She most recently was the plant manager for the Bottom-Freezer Refrigeration factory where she managed a $100M budget and led a team of 1,000 employees m

Alex attends Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and has served as Lieutenant Governor of the Kentucky Youth Assembly and more recently elected to serve as the KYA President of the Senate. Additionally, he was selected to represent Kentucky at the Conference On National Affairs. Since the age of 11, Alex has been leading a bipartisan effort in the Kentucky legislature to end the use of corporal punishment in schools. Alex has also written opinion pieces for The Courier-Journal. He enjoys running cross country & participating in Saint Xavier High School’s service club & student council. The Saint Xavier faculty awarded Alex the Ryken Underclassman Award for outstanding industry, school spirit, cooperation, and loyalty.

Josh runs IDEAS xLab – an artist-led nonprofit based in Louisville, KY. He is an artist with a background in entrepreneurship, art & business administration, & editorial production – & explores the world through photography (& a lot of running), documenting his journey through joshmiller.ventures. In addition to his outdoor explorations, Josh celebrates the brilliance and strength of marginalized people including LGBTQ+ & Black communities through photography & collaborative storytelling. Josh was selected for Louisville Business First’s Forty under 40 and is a distance runner, a TEDx speaker, an advisor for the Derby Diversity & Business Summit, & founding Board Member of Civitas: Regional LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Louisville, KY. From 2016 – July 2019, he served as the Co-Chair of the Louisville Health Advisory Board’s Communications Committee. In 2019, IDEAS xLab was named Nonprofit of the Year by the Derby Diversity & Business Summit.

Lee Pennington is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Iowa. He holds two Honorary Doctor degrees – A Doctor of Literature from World University & Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from The Academy of Southern Arts & Letters. He taught for nearly 40 years, the last 32 as Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky’s Jefferson Community College until he retired in 1999. Lee is the author of 22 books including I Knew a Woman (1977) Thigmotropism (1993) & Appalachian Newground (2016)–each nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His latest book is Daughters of Leda (2017)—selected as a finalist for “Best Book of Poetry published in 2017” by the American Book Fest. His Songs of Bloody Harlan was reprinted and re-released in 2019. He has had over 1300 poems published in more than 300 magazines in America & abroad. He has had 9 plays produced, wrote the script for The Moonshine War (MGM, 1970, starring Alan Alda, Richard Widmark, etc.), & has published thousa

Shelly is a community leader & an internationally recognized authority on American quilts. Check out www.shellyzegart.com for more information. She collects, curates exhibitions, writes, lectures, and appraises fine quilts. Shelly has curated many exhibits in the U.S. & abroad, and lectures on all aspects of quilt history and aesthetics. She is the President of the not-for-profit Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc., the 1st of the state quilt documentation projects. Shelly is a co-founder of the Quilt Alliance & Executive Producer and Host of “Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics” a nine-part documentary featured on more than 250 member PBS stations and whyquiltsmatter.org & now streaming on Kentucky Educational Television. Her private collection of quilts was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2013 Shelly was the catalyst for the placement of the International Honor Quilt (see Judy Chicago Through the Flower site) at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, & chairs t

Ramez Naam is the co-chair of Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He is a computer scientist who spent 13 years at Microsoft leading teams that worked on email, web browsing, internet search, machine learning, internet-scale systems, and artificial intelligence. The products he built have touched the lives of more than a billion people. Ramez is an inventor with more than 20 patents, many of them co-authored with Bill Gates. He is also a startup investor, focused on disruptive energy startups, and is a board member of E8 Angels. He leads an angel investing syndicate on AngelList, where you can co-invest alongside him. He is on the advisory board of Shell’s New Energies division and has advised numerous Fortune 100 energy, utility, and transportation companies. He and his work have been written about in The New York Times, The Economist, Slate, Business Week, Scientific American, The Atlantic and more. Ramez is also the multi-award-winning author of five books, including “The Nexus Trilogy” scien

Dr. Richard Murphy, who has been the research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Ireland, for 17 years, is the recipient of the Alltech Medal of Excellence. Alltech’s highest distinction, it is awarded annually to someone of great character and achievement. Dr. Murphy is being recognized for his pioneering work in the areas of organic trace element assimilation, microbial enzyme technology and the mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in livestock production. This research has provided the basis for a revolution in animal nutrition, including many exciting developments in the industry, such as: the application of organic trace minerals and their potential to positively impact feed quality and decrease feed costs; the optimization of solid-state fermentation systems by utilizing microbial enzyme production, opening opportunities for new supplementation approaches; and a better understanding of the microbial factors that influence gut health, which has been integral to the developm

Amanda Radke is a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, South Dakota, who has dedicated her career to serving as a voice for the nation’s beef producers. A 2009 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a degree in agricultural communications, education, and leadership, Amanda served internships with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service in Washington, D.C. and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Denver, Colorado. Her 2008 summer internship with BEEF magazine led to an ongoing blogger position for the BEEF Daily blog, where she provides timely industry news each week, Monday through Thursday. She’s the 2006 National FFA Extemporaneous Speaking champion and the 2006 National Beef Ambassador. In 2012, she was recognized as a Top 10 Beef Industry Leader by Cattle Business Weekly and was included in Media Industry News’ 2012 “Top 15 People To Watch Under 30” list. When she’s not writing or ranching, Amanda is traveling the country speaking to agricultu

Samantha considers herself a Media Specialist, having worked for such organizations as Fairfax Media, Food Miles Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, and the Glen Innes Examiner.  Based in Sydney Australia, Samantha became the Runner-Up 2019 IFAJ Alltech International Award for Leadership.

Deborah Wilson is senior vice president of TrustBIX Inc., which operates Business InfoXchange (BIX) in Canada and Viewtrak Technologies in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and China. BIX is currently expanding into other countries and beyond beef to other species and commodities. Her role includes business development, data management system development, blockchain use, traceability in supply chains, collaborative partnerships, pilot projects, and marketing and communications. She sits on the national council for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), was an adviser to the verification committee and serves on the marketing and communications committee. She currently sits on the CRSB business strategy committee as well as the project management team for the Canadian Beef Sustainability Pilot project. This allows her to pursue her passion for sustainability and support cattle producers, creating a future for the next generation. Deborah has served on both the national and provincial boards of the Canadia

Mike Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire also includes keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments. He contributed to a majority of the band’s musical compositions.

Linkin’ Bridge is a musical group consisting of Louisville, Kentucky natives Big Rome, Montre Davis, Shon China Lacy, and Elliot Nicholas. Montre and China are cousins that have known each other all their lives.  The group grew up in the hip-hop era, listening to Run–D.M.C., Tupac, and N.W.A. Their goal is to take their message to the masses with controversy and comedy.

Natalie Zea is an American actress known for her performances on television. Natalie began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000–2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as socialite Karen Darling, where she starred from 2007 to 2009. Natalie also has made many guest appearances on television, starred in a number of independent and made-for-television movies, and had recurring roles in The Shield, Hung, and Californication. In 2010, Natalie began starring as Winona Hawkins in the FX critically acclaimed crime drama series, Justified as a regular cast member during the first three seasons and recurring guest star later. In 2013, she also began starring as Claire Matthews in the Fox drama series The Following. Zea also starred as Mickey Holmes-Harris, the lead character, in the canceled-before-airing ABC dramedy series, Members Only, and is currently starring in the TBS

Jennifer Nettles performed the National Anthem at the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4th, 2019. American country music singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this, she fronted the Atlanta-based bands of Soul Miner’s Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She also charted as a duet partner on the country version of rock band Bon Jovi‘s 2006 single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts.

Venezuelan American actor, producer, singer and television personality. He is best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That ’70s Show (1998–2006) and as Carlos Madrigal in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014–16). He was also the host of the MTV series Yo Momma (2006–07), the voice of Manny in the children’s show Handy Manny (2006–13) and has had recurring roles on Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Ranch (both in 2016). He also has a role on NCIS as Nick Torres.

American singer, songwriter, actor, and model, best known as a member of the Backstreet Boys. Kevin was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame along with his cousin and bandmate Brian Littrell on April 10, 2015.

David Alan Grier is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.

American singer, songwriter, and musician from Harlan, Kentucky. Jordan began singing in his church choir and continued through his college education at Lee University where he was a member of the Lee Singers. In 2015 he gained national recognition when he won season nine of the singing competition The Voice. During his time on The Voice, he was the show’s first artist of the season to reach No. 1 in sales of pop songs in the iTunes Store and set new sales marks on Billboard charts.

American actor, screenwriter, producer, and film director. He is best known for co-writing and producing the film Green Book, for which he received two Academy Awards. He has also directed the films In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King, Choker, and Stiletto, and co-wrote the screenplay to Deadfall.