Moxietalk With Kirt Jacobs

Angela Leet is an engineer, community leader, mom, and Metro Council member. Angela grew up in Louisville’s Hikes Pt. area as the adopted daughter of 2 working class parents. Her parents modeled hard-work & determination,  & at a young age, Angela understood the importance of her own hard work & determination to create opportunities. During the late 1970’s, Angela’s father,a United Auto Wkr., was impacted by layoffs, forcing the family to make sacrifices in order to keep their family home. Angela’s father impressed upon her the importance of education as the gateway to success & Angela became determined to be the 1st in her family to graduate college. Working 3 min. wage jobs to pay for her education, Angela saw that dream come to fruition in 1991 when she earned a Bach. of Sci. from the J.B. Spd. School of Engineering at the Univ. of Lou. She went on to earn a Master of Engineering degree in 1992 & in 1997 earned her MBA from the Univ. of Houston. After graduation, Angela left Lou. to pur

Cynthia’s love of storytelling coupled with her mastery of design/fabrication have helped her make an indelible mark on the museum & cultural world. A design professional with over 35 yrs. of experience, Cynthia has supervised the creation of unforgettable, inspired visitor experiences for museums, corporations, non-profits, universities, & visitor centers. Her love of storytelling coupled with her mastery of design /fabrication have helped her make an indelible mark on the museum & cultural world-1 that has given institutions new & exciting ways to engage their visitors. Under Cynthia’s focused direction & guidance, Solid Light & its team of content, multimedia, design, & build experts have consistently produced premier, award-winning exhibit & media experiences that educate, enliven, & inspire. Cynthia oversaw the completion of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on historic “Whiskey Row”-the 1st-ever bourbon attraction on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail within the city of Lo

One of Kentuckiana’s most respected business leaders, and an Adair County native, Mr. Parnell was a member of the first class to graduate from Adair County High School. He then moved to Louisville, KY where he spent more than 20 years working at General Electric Co.’s Appliance Park, which included graduating from GE’s legendary 3-year management training program. Allan attended a variety of colleges at night & also received an honorary Doctorate from Lindsey Wilson College. After leaving GE, Mr. Parnell embarked on a successful business career in the trucking industry. After spending almost 5 years working for other people, Mr. Parnell founded Mister “P” Express in 1987. What started with 3 leased trucks has evolved into a multimillion-dollar business with hundreds of trucks. For 6 of the last 8 years, Business First of Louisville has named Mister “P” Express as one of the Greater Louisville’s fastest-growing, privately held companies. Mr. Parnell serves as the company’s Chairman of the Bd. & has use

Lukas Dwelly is a social entrepreneur who has worked with some of the largest organizations in our community. Currently, a Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual, Lukas concentrates practice on helping businesses grow, financial planning for families and creating opportunities for individuals to make transformational investments in charitable organizations. Prior to joining the Northwestern Mutual team, he was the Principal of AddMor, a nonprofit consulting firm. There he led the fundraising operations for over 30 different nonprofits & community initiatives, raising tens of millions of dollars throughout the region. As a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves, Lukas was recalled to active duty & deployed to Djibouti, Africa from March 2016 to February 2017. He served as the Officer-In-Charge for Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR) multi-platform missions directly supporting the Combined Joint Task Force in East Africa. Beginning his military career in 1995 in the U.S. Marine Corp

Since 1990, she has served as Pres. & CEO of Maryhurst, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the cycle of abuse for kids & families in KY. Having worked with Maryhurst for more than 43 years, Judy is nationally recognized for her work with children who are survivors of abuse & neglect. She has held leadership positions in the field of children’s behavioral health at a variety of national, state, & local organizations. In her work at Maryhurst, she oversees the many facets of the organization including residential treatment, community-based programs, foster care & adoption services, & outpatient & in-home counseling services. Recognizing her nonprofit’s exemplary work, ABC News & Diane Sawyer have twice featured Maryhurst in interviews with Judy as part of the station’s in-depth reporting on the American foster care system. Judy’s leadership has also been recognized with honors such as Presentation Academy’s Tower Award for Service & Advocacy, the Center for Women & Families

Summer was a victim of child abuse & sexual abuse & a victim of human trafficking which led to pain, gang violence, sexual torture, drug addiction, mental health illness including PTSD & she was even buried alive & pistol-whipped. While living with & in constant fear for her life, not to mention unrelenting anxiety, Summer was, in her words, delivered through a relationship with Christ. Now it is her calling to work with women that are in similar situations & lifestyles. So much so, she has now founded a Ministry called Women of the Well Ministries which has a Residential Program to help women change their lives so they can walk in the destiny God created for them. She is also the business owner of a Soap Co. called Esther’s Soap Company. Where women in her Ministry learn a new trade on how to make all natural goat milk soap & all proceeds go back to the ministry. She has a documentary out & is working on a book.

Sexually abused as a young child, Amy was told that she was to blame for what happened to her-which set off something in her mind, & made her believe that whenever something negative happened, it was her fault.” Abuse followed her throughout childhood including a traumatic rape at age 19. Amy often felt “marked,” as though something inherently evil in her allowed abusers to find her. It was years before she gave up her rights to being a victim & began to live a healthy, restored life. Her perspective widened, & she began to notice others who suffered the effects of sexual abuse, exploitation, & human trafficking. Now she devotes much of her energy to finding new approaches to prevent human trafficking & other sex crimes against women & children throughout KY, & ultimately to help victims begin their journey toward health & wholeness. Through this perspective, she founded Free2Hope Inc., a non-profit devoted to prevention programs & public training on human trafficking with

Dell Courtney is a native Louisvillian with an English Major from the University of Louisville. Her hand print & influence has been instrumental for decades in the “Behind-the-Scenes” work as a consultant or volunteer on such notable Louisville festivals as the Ethnic Heritage weekends in the 1970’s under her company’s banner Visionworks, LLC. She has overseen the development and management of such notable festivals as the: St. Patrick’s Parade from 1999–2009, the Halloween Parade from 2003-16, WorldFest in 2005-06, the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial national Signature Event from 2000-03 as well as the iconic Light Up Louisville Winter Wonderland Parade from 2004-12. She was also involved with Holidays Around the World from 2006-16 not to mention multiple 5K Runs & Walks, golf scrambles, community expos & summer festivals. Most recently she has overseen Louisville’s Veterans Day Parade from 2011-16 with two co-chairs to the “Spirit of ’45” commemoration, end of World War II event in 2015 & 16

Twyman Clements is a co-founder, CEO and President of Space Tango Inc. which enables R&D, bioengineering, and manufacturing in microgravity with the mission to create new industries to improve the lives of people on Earth. He is the lead designer of the KySat-2 CubeSat (under the Kentucky Space nonprofit), the TangoLab-1 research facility installed on the International Space Station and the company’s current product lines.

William Kellibrew IV is an international advocate for civil, human, women, children, and victims’ rights. He is a sought-after speaker on violence, trauma, trauma-informed care, and children exposed to violence. At age six, he was sexually abused by his mom’s neighbor, and at age ten, he watched helplessly as his mother and twelve-year-old brother were shot in their living room by his mother’s estranged boyfriend. In 2015, Kellibrew was nominated by U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to receive the U.S. Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus Eva Murillo Unsung Hero Award for exemplifying and embodying the movement for victim rights through outstanding efforts in victim advocacy, allied professional advocacy, public policy and public awareness. He is currently a faculty member for SAMHSA’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, and a consultant for the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center, as well as The William Kellibrew Foundation. In 2011, he wa

Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy is a Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Louisville. He is the founding and current director of the Cyber Security Lab and an author of many books including Artificial Superintelligence: a Futuristic Approach. Dr. Yampolskiy’s main areas of interest are Artificial Intelligence Safety and Cybersecurity.

Growing up in central Illinois, Eric Simanek was surrounded by corn destined for feed or alcohol. He holds degrees in chemistry from the University of Illinois and Harvard University and is the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Christian University (TCU) and Director of the TCU IdeaFactory. When he is not in a classroom or lab, he enjoys sharing his love of science with all ages and sharing whiskey with good friends.

Rudy Rucker is an American author and a mathematician who worked for twenty years as a Silicon Valley computer science professor. Regarded as a contemporary master of science-fiction and founder of the cyberpunk literary movement, he is best known for the novels in The Ware Tetralogy, the first two of which (Software and Wetware) both won Philip K. Dick awards. His thirty published books include both novels and non-fiction books on the fourth dimension, infinity, and the meaning of computation. Rucker edited the science fiction webzine Flurb until its closure in 2014.

Jennifer Carter is the Assistant Director of the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics at Morehead State University and the Director of SpaceTrek, an all-girls camp dedicated to the empowerment of young women. Formerly, as a science teacher at Rowan County Senior High School, Jennifer built a space science program including courses in space systems engineering and astronomy. She is a NASA Teacher Liaison, a SOFIA Stratospheric Airborne Astronomy Ambassador, and a Pulsar Search Collaboratory university leader. Jennifer has had three students to discover pulsars, the corpse of large collapsed stars in our galaxy. She is active member of the Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative leadership group and the Million Women Mentors steering committee. Jennifer has a bachelors of science in mathematics and physics, a masters of science in Industrial technology, and a masters of arts in teaching high school math, all from Morehead State University. Currently, Jennifer manages student research projects, a me

CNN chief national correspondent, analyst and anchor of Inside Politics John King offers his thoughts and insights on the increasing polarization of the US electorate. King will provide insights from the front-line of the national debate, historical context and thoughts on where we might go from here. He will then be joined by psychologist Phil Kraemer Ph.D. and artist Hannah Drake for a broader conversation offering differing perspectives on this issue and the fact that any possible “solutions” are fraught with many complex and very deep issues that go far beyond simply political differences.

Rowan Claypool is a social entrepreneur who believes that young knowledge economy workers are the future to prosperous communities. He is the founder of two organizations that have had a transformative effect on the city of Louisville and Commonwealth of Kentucky. In 1999, Claypool founded Bulldogs in the Bluegrass. a program that provides summer internships in Louisville, Kentucky for Yale undergraduates. Since it began, Bulldogs in the Bluegrass has brought over 570 Yalies to experience Louisville through a total immersion experience. Of those, many have returned to Louisville for full-time employment after graduation. Claypool also launched Teach Kentucky in 2001 to recruit the brightest and most ambitious young teachers to work in local public education. Since inception, Teach Kentucky has recruited 232 teachers, 141 of whom are still residing in Kentucky with 86% of participants still in the education profession.

Emily Dreyfuss is a Senior Writer at WIRED, one of the top 10 technology news websites in the world. Reaching approximately 30 million people monthly, WIRED focuses on how emerging technologies impact breakthroughs and innovations in business, the economy, politics, security, science, design, and culture. As Senior Writer at WIRED, Dreyfuss covers the intersection of technology and society and is in a unique position to monitor trends, innovations, and factors that influence the future. During the 2016 presidential election, she led WIRED’s National Affairs coverage. Before that, she managed and edited WIRED Opinion and WIRED Security sections.

Anshu Gupta, popularly known as the Clothing Man, is the Founder of an India-based nonprofit Goonj and one of India’s leading social entrepreneurs. Starting as a freelance journalist, he left a corporate job in 1998 and founded Goonj with a mission to address the most basic but ignored need of clothing and the multifaceted role it plays in villages across India. Today Goonj is a pan-India movement working equally widely in cities and villages, dealing with more than 3,000 tons of material annually and addressing a core challenge of our time – the growing gap between the urban prosperity and rural poverty. By taking the menacing growth of urban waste and using it effectively and efficiently as a tool to trigger large-scale development work on diverse issues, Goonj has created a model for a parallel economy which is not cash based but trash based. Anshu is a 2017 Curry-Stone Design Prize Social Change Circle Honoree, an annual prize awarded to innovative projects that use design to address pressing social justi

Deep Cotton is an American funk duo based in Atlanta, whose members are Chuck Lightning and Nate “Rocket” Wonder. Part of the Wondaland Arts Society, they are also sometimes called the “Punk Prophets”. Lightning and Wonder met in 2002 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The pair were roommates and began collaborating when Lightning overheard Wonder playing music and started shouting to his music. Wonder said this became a competition to see who could “out-crazy” the other person, and their musical collaboration is basically a chance to do “whatever the hell we want.” They produce music, including that of Grammy-nominated artist Janelle Monáe, another co-founder of the Wondaland collective. They began to gain notoriety of their own after their song “We’re Far Enough from Heaven Now We Can Freak Out” was featured in a Sonos commercial featuring Monáe. The single was released in October 2012. Wonder is the older brother of Roman GianArthur, another member of the Wondaland Arts Collective.

The president, CEO, and founder of Answers in Genesis-US, and the highly acclaimed Creation Museum, and the world-renowned Ark Encounter, Ken Ham is one of the most in-demand Christian speakers in North America. Born a native Australian in 1951, Ken moved to America in 1987 to engage in speaking tours with another young-Earth creationist organization, the Inst. for Creation Research (ICR).  In 1994, Ham left ICR & founded Creation Science Ministries- changing its name to what is today known as Answers in Genesis or AiG-with the purpose of upholding the authority of the Bible from the very 1st verse. In May 2007, AiG opened Ham’s brainchild, a 75,000-sq-ft high-tech state-of-the-art facility-better known as the Creation Museum & education ctr., on 70 scenic acres in Petersburg, KY. It contains dozens of world-class exhibits-including impressive animatronic dinosaur models, a $1 million allosaur fossil, & planetarium. In its  1st 10 years, wait for it, the museum attracted 3 million guests!  On Feb.