SILENCE any story that tells you this is the end | Julia Garcia | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
Inspired by the incredible women she met and worked together with at Perryville Women’s Prison, nationally renowned speaker and performance poet, Julia Garcia, wrote this original piece in order to release the feelings of unworthiness and captivity that so many of us struggle with. Every breath she took and word she spoke is dedicated to unheard voices and courageous woman everywhere who continue to rise above their circumstances and own their innate power to rewrite their stories. “As we hold on to the hope that breathes life inside of us all, we have to remember that we ALL fall, but still, we must SILENCE any story that tells us that this is the end…” Whether it's through her powerful speaking style, edgy performance poetry. revealing memoir, small n' mighty tech startup, or her doctoral research, Julia Garcia, is a young biracial woman who is changing the game and leading our generation in some pretty powerful and urgent conversations.
Hickory dickory rox | Roxanne R | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
Roxanne was a carefree individual, driven by bringing joy to others, always willing to crack a joke. She was a lover of travel and saw a world filled with opportunity and adventure. Abruptly all of that changed. As a result of her actions one fateful night, she would lose much more than just a few of years of her life to Perryville State Prison. She lost much of her core identity as well. Faced with nothing but the contemplation of time, she began to write. A good friend of hers encouraged her to write her story in line with a fairy tale or nursery rhyme. This is when she wrote, “Hickory Dickory Rox.” Two years later, TEDx came to Perryville. She took this opportunity to bring her poem to life. With the help of her friend Raeann, an Arizona native who loves her children, they were able to paint a picture of what Roxanne was feeling prior to her incarceration. For many people, prison can seem like a hopeless place. Roxanne saw it as an opportunity for growth and change. It was because of this mindset that she was able to rediscover her passions and focus on her future.
Plugged in | Sheena Knox | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
Being one of the many faces of our country’s forgotten communities, Sheena gives you a glimpse inside these landscapes. Her weaving of stories gives you insight to her misfortunes but leaves you with seeds of hope and a call to action for our inner cities. “My heart was found and left within the inner city but my passion lays within the building blocks that allow these lost communities to thrive and succeed." From Sheena: "I was born and grew up in a disadvantaged environment; I’ve witnessed, and many times been a victim of the very dark things of this environment. Within the darkness there has always been a silver lining called 'light.' This light grew brighter and intensified when I became a mother of four beautiful children. These inspirations motivated me to build up these communities I was a part of. There are families just like mine in these communities. They want the same as each family unit wants: stability, confidence, security and opportunity. We all want the opportunity to leave a positive and lasting legacy for our generations to come." Sheena is not merely interested or concerned with community building; this is her passion. She calls this her life’s purpose and she will continue to be the fierce advocate for community building.
Beauty from ashes | Lora McKinney | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
It took the death of her son to make Lora McKinney realize that she needed to change her attitude. She lives each and every day as a precious gift from God. She tries to make a positive impact on those around her by being a leader, mentor, friend and advisor. This presentation takes a look at what it takes to succeed while serving time. Lora is a resident of the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.
Making life count | Jessica Reid | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Jessica was 17 when the dynamics of her life took a turn for the worse. It took being responsible for the training of a puppy to help her grow and expand her views outside the fences of the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Making life count is sometimes the hardest thing to do. With the business of everyday life, we forget the most important things and miss out on what really matters. Serving time can leave you without much to look forward to. But, there is hope as shared in this presentation.
From hopeless to hopeful | Sarah Cullen | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
With Jesus Christ as her Savior, Sarah Cullen has decided to use her incarceration to better herself. She strives to lead with love in all that she does and to dedicate herself to changing the culture of the Women’s Correctional Center and surrounding communities. The journey from the bottom, where hopelessness is overwhelming, to rising again to a hopeful future is the focus of this presentation. It includes the power of faith, love and friendships, which can carry you through until you reclaim your identity.
This is us | Niccole Wetherell | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Niccole is a resident of the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Often, within the correction system, women who are serving life sentences are forgotten. This is a story of women “lifers” and a proposed change in the system so those who deserve recognition and understanding of their situation receive it. Niccole was 18 when she received a life sentence. She had to become an adult within the correction system. It took her a while to realize that she can make a change and advocate from the inside. She shares her heart and trials and tribulations with other women to help them through their struggle.
The battle within | Sharla Hennecke | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Born in Canada of the Lac Seul Tribe, Sharla chooses to see beauty all around her, especially sunsets and the Northern Lights. She’s been blessed with a son Rylee, her parents and David, each of whom has always supported her. There is a battle between “two wolves” inside us all. One is evil. One is good. Recognizing the difference and selecting the good wolf is an idea for us all to consider. If this story can help just one person, then she feels her journey has all been worth it.
Today I feel like I'm evolving | Joey Cook | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
The song “Today I Feel Like I’m Evolving” is a cover, originally written and performed by a band called River City Extension, and is featured on their 2010 record “The Unmistakable Man”. A record that has impacted Joey time and time again over the years. Joey Cook initially rose to fame on Season 14 of American Idol in 2015. Since then she has toured and recorded with the internationally known jazz ensemble, “Postmodern Jukebox”, as well as released her first studio album “Welcome To The Variety Show”. Her much anticipated new record is due to be released in 2018.
Dance to be free | Lucy Wallace | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Lucy bought Alchemy of Movement (AOM) in 2010, a dance studio in Boulder, CO, after receiving her master’s degree in Psychology. Her psychology background led to the birth of Dance To Be Free due to the therapeutic and cathartic quality of her teaching style.In March of 2015, Lucy founded Dance To Be Free along with her Board of Directors. Dance To Be Free’s mission is to share the healing power of dance with women in prison nationwide. The cathartic choreography and passionate music leads to physical, spiritual and emotional healing without the burden of talk therapy. Changing the lives of incarcerated women through the healing power of collective dance, DTBF uses cathartic choreography and emotional music as the healing vehicles for addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.
Rewriting the social contract | Scott Frakes | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Scott Frakes is Director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. In this talk, he shares the story of a journey from rule enforcer to opportunity creator, embracing the notion that by agreeing to use incarceration society has an obligation to help those people help themselves. And to do this we must provide prison environments that give people hope. Scott is Director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections. His idea for change is "Rewriting the Social Contract." He will share the story of a journey from rule enforcer to opportunity creator, embracing the notion that by agreeing to use incarceration society has an obligation to help those people help themselves. And to do this we must provide prison environments that give people hope.
Movement | Jewel Rodgers | TEDxNebraskaCorrectionalCenterforWomen 2018
Jewel Rodgers is a civic activist in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a North Omaha native, Jewel begs the notion that circumstances are ambiguous. As a scholar, speaker, designer, and urban strategist, she discovers and implements ways to use collective economics as means to discover how we can determine our own version of what we call, reality. There are moments of constant epiphany that occur within your mind every time you learn something. One can describe this, as an act of changing location or position. These lessons learned are a culmination of events that have lead to your present state and are products of your movement. But - have you decided if you are moving forward?
I'll be alright | Shannon R | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
From Shannon: "It’s titled ‘I’ll be Alright.’ I wrote this song with a vibe that comes from positive energy. I made this song to be more inspirational on purpose. So I can lead by example. The first piece I performed gives a hard knock life description while the next one introduces strength as the key to survival. Telling everyone that I will move forward, despite my past; I survived. “I’ll get through this trial, and I will rise.” This is the message I wanted to send to all of the women in my position. TEDx allowed me to share this message." Updating Bio This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Why don't you just do you | Kiki P | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
In an effort to share with the public what life is like on the inside, KiKi performs a piece titled, “Why don’t you just do you,” detailing the negative impact judging others has on an individual. She shows what the human heart is capable of when inspired by feelings of love, forgiveness and transformation. Watch as she showcases a unique perspective of life on the “yard.”
Hard for me | Shannon R | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
From Shannon: "The song I performed is titled ‘Hard for Me.’ I always wanted to show this piece of music that I wrote to the world because it describes what I went through as a child, and how I felt. It also explains my history, detailing how I made it to the Department of Corrections. Although my history is common, I wanted people to relate in the sense of the individual. This was ME in that situation at one point in my life. Here I am now, for the past no longer exists. Though, I’ve done something with it. I have created a song out of it by using my talent. Even though I made it to this correctional facility today, I am strong and I can make changes to do something different. I can lead a different life to feel better about myself."
Lowering defenses to raise security | Ami Carpenter | TEDxDonovanCorrectional 2018
The instinct to raise defenses against “others” in our communities is often how violence begins and then spreads. Practicing practicing non-defensiveness is at the heart of conflict resolution.“I love to sing and play the piano. I am also inspired by witnessing life’s movements transform into harmonic displays. As the middle child of 10 home-schooled siblings, I came to appreciate the value and suffering of living in community and all that it has to offer. With an immense passion for the academia world and being a student of life, I teach and learn the benefits of trusting in the deep resilience of the human individual and community.” I am a professor of conflict resolution and I research and learn about the benefits of trusting in the deep resilience of the human individual and community.
How does the brain reason with reality? | Arthur Toga | TEDxDonovanCorrectional 2018
Arthur describes the human brain, some of its features and remarkable capabilities, and explains how we have come to know these things by mapping this amazing and fascinating hunk of tissue between our ears. “I am profoundly lucky. I have a wonderful wife and three amazing children. I have a career that has been a string of successes and continues to excite me every day. I have the privilege of working to discover what makes us human and interacting with some of the most intelligent and energetic people in the world. And finding ways of sharing this amazing research with others is a huge passion of mine. What fun!” Arthur is the director of the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging and professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He spends his days working to help understand the brain in health and disease.
Bury it | Rheanna Downey | TEDxDonovanCorrectional 2018
This song is about forgiveness, and how the process of forgiveness has looked for me. Forgiving doesn't mean we forget or pretend and drop our boundaries, but means we can release the bitterness and resentment that eats away at us. Releasing those who have hurt us provides us freedom in the end. “I am a mother of two beautiful boys, a wife to my best friend and a musician by passion and trade. I am a deeply introspective human, a dreamer and visionary. I have the privilege of building bridges with my creativity and my heart is to “bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim freedom for the captives.” Creating and playing music allows me to share my life and my story with others so we can inspire one another to be greater humans.” Rheanna is a songwriter and recording artist pursuing many creative ways to share her gift.
The power of your thoughts | Yasiman Esmaeili | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
"I had unknowingly been creating my own misery and depression for years. It never occurred to me to stop and examine my own thoughts and attitudes because in my reality at the time, circumstances were always to blame for my behavior. Once incarcerated, all I had was time to figure out why I acted and thought the way I did. As it turns out, spending time in prison has been pivotal to my personal growth and self-discovery. It is here that I’ve learned the power that my thoughts carry. It is here that I’ve changed my old ways of thinking. And it is through TEDx that I have been given the opportunity to share this message with others."
Bars never break bonds: motherhood from the inside | Christy S | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
"Bars will never break bonds." That's what Christy has always emphasized to her children, and what her mother always emphasized to her. "My mother was my biggest supporter." She helped look after her grandchildren by providing "stability, normalcy, confidence in their relationship with me." Christy continuously provided for her children through gifts on holidays and birthdays, braces, school clothes and any of their other financial needs. A devoted mother after 24 years of incarceration, she credits her thriving relationships with her children to constant and open communication. Incarcerated since the age of 22, Christy did not let that deter her from being the best mother she could be; from the inside out. Missing some of life’s most important moments were never easy. Instead of letting her situation envelop her, she decided she would stay strong for her children by living a productive life behind bars. This included getting her G.E.D., working a steady job for over 10 years to be able to financially support her three children and being a mentor for women struggling with a similar predicament. Although she was not there in person, she was always there in every way she could be.