Five Wright State faculty and alumni to speak at TEDxDayton

Terry Oroszi, associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and director of the graduate Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Program

Wright State University will be well represented at this year’s TEDxDayton event with five out of the 16 speakers being either faculty members or alumni.

The 2022 TEDxDayton Signature Event and 10-Year Anniversary Celebration will take place at Dayton’s Victoria Theatre on Friday, Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at daytonlive.org/events/tedxdayton.

Speaker topics range across science, education, design, technology, art, history and culture. The day will also include performances by artists, dancers, and musicians from the Dayton area, along with surprise announcements and experiences.

Wright State speakers will feature two faculty members: Terry Oroszi, Ed.D., associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and director of the graduate Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Program in the Boonshoft School of Medicine, and John Dinsmore, Ph.D., professor of marketing in the Raj Soin College of Business.

As a subject matter expert on homeland security, Oroszi will not only speak to her professional expertise but also of the moment that domestic terrorism touched her life in a profoundly personal way. Oroszi will discuss how to recognize at-risk individuals with the potential for violent extremism, offering solutions to steer them down a better path.

Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8KeuxqwXEY to view Oroszi’s talk.

Dinsmore will give a talk on how handling large amounts of money can affect people at a physiological level causing hormonal reactions that make people more aggressive and self-focused.

Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EMunkwubzI to view Dinsmore’s talk.

John Dinsmore, professor of marketing in the Raj Soin College of Business

In addition to his work at Wright State, Dinsmore has provided market research consulting services to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. Department of Defense and National Geographic. He has been featured in publications such as Forbes and CIO.

Three Wright State alumni will also deliver talks at TEDxDayton.

They include Stacey Lawson, who received a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from the Raj Soin College of Business and a master’s degree in counseling-business and industrial management from the College of Health, Education and Humans Services.

As a human resources executive, Lawson spearheaded the first comprehensive strategic diversity initiative for Premier Health, recognized as a leading best practice and a national standard of excellence. She also serves on Wright State’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Speaker Jonathan Platt received a master’s degree in English from the College of Liberal Arts and has served as the executive director of Story Chain for seven years. Story Chain works primarily in jails in Greene and Montgomery County using trained volunteers to produce audio files from incarcerated parents who want to read to their children. Story Chain also works with other populations such as the developmentally disabled, senior citizens, mental health clients and young people.

Layla Akilan earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Science and Mathematics and a master’s degree in human factors engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Professionally, Akilan studies the intersection of humans and technology in the workplace, designing software solutions to support workers and exploring how design practitioners can create meaningful interfaces that reflect the way that users think to make work less complex.

All university employees can purchase TEDxDayton tickets at the student rate. Learn more.