Suparna Damany (Suparna Damany MSPT, CHT, CEAS)
Title of talk: The Health Account: Injury Prevention for the Modern Age
Suparna Damany was educated in India and the United States. She is a licensed physical therapist, certified hand therapist and certified ergonomic assessment specialist. She specializes in the mitigation and prevention of chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions, and treats sufferers from all over the world at her clinic: The Damany Center for Chronic Pain and Holistic Well-being, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Suparna has created her own brand of treatment called the Damany Integrative Dynamic Approach for chronic pain syndromes. She is the author of the book, “It’s Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” for computer professionals. Suparna has also developed an IOS app called Stretch o’ clock for injury prevention. Suparna consults globally with several companies regarding injury mitigation and prevention as well as ergonomics and safety. Her online program is available to assist people around the world achieve a pain free life. Suparna is currently working on her new book, “Chronic Pain: Connecting the Dots” and a Clinician’s guide and practice manual for healthcare professionals. She continues to speak internationally on topics relating to chronic pain, computer injuries, ergonomics and hurt prevention.Laura Briggs
Title of talk: The Future is Freelancing
Laura Briggs is a former inner city teacher who left education to pursue a career in freelance writing. Since 2012, she’s worked with more than 300 clients including companies like Microsoft and TrueCar providing online marketing and writing support. Today, she teaches other freelancers how to launch and grow sustainable and flexible careers from home. Her first book will be published in July 2019 by Entrepreneur Press.

Jen Groover
Title of Talk: Why Transformation Trumps Motivation for True Change
Jen Groover has been tagged by SUCCESS MAGAZINE as a “One-Woman Brand,” a “Creativity and Innovation Guru” and a leading “Serial Entrepreneur” by Entrepreneur Magazine and ranked number eight by SAP in the Top 51 Influencers of Human Potential. Jen Groover’s name has become synonymous with innovation, entrepreneurship and transformation. She is a UN delegate to the first ever Global Accelerator for the Global Entrepreneurs Council. She also made history at the NYSE, as a member of the first all-female group to ring the opening bell, made Forbes’ list of “50 Founders You Need to Follow on Twitter” and was nominated “TV Personality of The Year Award” in 2015 by Savor the Success. As a successful serial entrepreneur, performance coach and retired National Level Fitness Competitor, Jen Groover has been an highly sought after speaker and trainer for more than 20 years. Her success skyrocketed with the creation of the multi-million dollar brand, the Butler Bag, the world’s first compartmentalized handbag, which led to the creation of subsequent lifestyle brands, Leader Girlz, and “Empowered by Jen Groover” with her PBS special, complimented with a variety of books and consumer products and dozens of companies she acts as an investor and advisors to. Her newest venture, JumpStart Connect, accelerates the growth of small businesses. Jen has been a top business and lifestyle contributor and content creator for major television networks such as ABC, CBS, CNBC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business News, and the The CW. Jen also contributes editorial pieces to several prominent business magazines and online resources including The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Positively Positive. Her products, brand and work have been featured in hundreds of media outlets including O! The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, People, US Weekly, SUCCESS and Forbes. She is launching her second book this fall, “The MORE Method: The Simple Formula to Get More of Everything Good You Desire in Life.”

Geoffrey Klein
Title of talk: Story Matters – Tell one that matters to your audience
Geoffrey Klein is a speaker, educator and marketer. He serves as President & CEO of nine dots, a content development and marketing agency that helps businesses tell their stories through visual content. Geoffrey also hosts the nine dots podcast, connect the dots, where he continues to explore the power of story. Geoffrey’s diverse professional experience includes working in the film industry, owning pubs in Manchester England, where he lived for 10 years and currently working as an adjunct professor at Temple University’s School Of Media And Communication.

Neil Deshmukh
Title of talk: The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence: Is technology running us?
Neil Deshmukh is dedicated to using technology as a superpower, as a means to help people all over the world. By creating solutions to worldwide problems (even in the comfort of his bedroom), technology allows him to help people around the world. He has founded two businesses and worked on in-depth research based on the idea of Artificial Intelligence, the science and art of teaching computers to do things that we once thought only we could do. He has created VocalEyes, an app which allows visually impaired users to navigate the world using technology to identify objects, text, people and environments. It has thousands of users, and is in the App Store. PlantumAI allows farmers to diagnose their plants, and treat them before their crops are destroyed by disease. It is currently being used in areas of India to reduce over-pesticide usage. He has also worked on many research projects utilizing the power of AI to help doctors diagnose and analyze patients more efficiently. Neil understands the potential AI has to revolutionize the world; however, he is also on a mission to teach people the truth about the technology, informing about the dangers of AI when the revolution starts to grow faster than the regulations, putting us all at risk.

Dr. Amanda Morris
Title of talk: “I am a Settler-Colonizer”
Dr. Morris, an Associate Professor at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and scholar of contemporary Indigenous rhetorics, tells the story of indigenous invisibility and presence in an American culture that intentionally erases indigenous peoples. As a professor, speaker and writer, Amanda has dedicated her professional life to helping others see the truth of indigenous presence, to dismantling the myths and misinformation about indigenous peoples in the American cultural landscape, and to lifting some of this emotional labor off of her indigenous colleagues who are persistently asked to prove their existence. Dr. Morris asks you to consider your place in this story, and challenges you to learn a new narrative.

For more information about TEDxLehighRiver, please visit TEDxLehighRiver.com.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.) About TED TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California almost 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Follow TED on Twitter or Facebook. For more information about TED’s upcoming conference, visit TED.com.

About PBS39
PBS39 is a community-owned public media station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pa., serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. PBS39 Reporter Corps journalists are embedded in the ten counties that make up the Greater Lehigh Valley, including Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe in Pennsylvania, plus Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. The Reporter Corps creates community-focused content for PBS39 News Tonight and for the PBS39 digital platform. For more information, visit PBS39.org.