Three speakers out of 18 who competed for an opportunity to present at the 2018 TEDxTraverseCity have been chosen to make their presentations as the winners of the event's Pitch Night.

Potential speakers were tasked with giving a three-minute presentation in front of a live audience at Pitch Night on February 28 at Milliken Auditorium with the goal of earning a six-minute slot at TEDxTraverseCity on May 16. The theme of this year's event is "Awake and Aware." A combination of audience votes and a judging panel's votes helped select the finalists who would speak at the actual event. The winners and brief summaries of their backgrounds are as follows:

Mohamed Hammoud - How I reclaimed my name: Your name defines you and how the world sees you. 
It starts with a spark, ignites a desire to learn, and a passion to lead. This is how Mohamed Hammoud wakes up every day, with the passion to inspire others, to enable them to discover their passion to do what they love and evolve into a better version of themselves. As a Learning and Development specialist, Mohamed focuses on cultivating engaging learning environments to help people continuously grow and find their potential. As a leadership consultant, Mohamed leads from the heart to catalyze positive change. His mission is to serve others in their self-discovery and to help individuals develop their emotional quotient and align their goals with the organization. Through a clear purpose, a well-defined mission and a value-based culture, Mohamed brings teams together so that they can achieve optimal collective results.

Kristy McDonald - Consciously communicating will make us feel better about our lives and our world.
Kristy McDonald has been a business and communication professor for over 16 years, whose passion is helping people reach their full potential in innovation, communication and happiness. She is currently a full-time professor at Northwestern Michigan College. She started Zenvelope, a mindful consulting company in 2017. Her areas of expertise are conscious communication, creative and mindful customer service, positive psychology, and mindfulness and meditation. Kristy is a certified yoga and meditation instructor along with her many educational degrees in business and communication. She has been practicing meditation and yoga for over ten years and traveled to Thailand on sabbatical for three months in 2015 to learn new mindfulness and meditation techniques. While there she focused on the science behind training the mind with these techniques. She believes infusing mindfulness into education, business and relationships is the key to an awake and fulfilling life.

Joe Sanok - Fostering “Aha” moments through Slowing Down
Joe Sanok teaches healthcare private practice owners how to slow down and find the real purpose of their businesses by bringing big ideas to life. Through podcasting and consulting Joe explores how to increase influence and impact on the world through being curious. As a business leader, Joe continues to seek ways to make the world more interesting. 

Tickets for the 2018 TEDxTraverseCity go on sale on April 18 at 10am online here. The event will take place May 16 at Milliken Auditorium, with a simulcast shown at the State Theatre.