Thrivals
seems to be a festival within a festival and fills an entire day of the
Idea Festival with an impressive list of speakers, finishing with a
performance by rising alternative pop musician Janelle Monae who tells
an epic story through her performance art and has been called “a
different kind of diva” by Vogue Magazine and “a true visionary… one of
the most important signings of my career” by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The
Thrivals festival starts at 7 am on Wednesday, September 29 with a
seminar by Nat Irvin, II who is the W.M. Strickler Executive in
Residence and a professor of management at the University of Louisville
College of Business. It will focus on his research which has set many
new ways of looking at African Americans in business and emerging
archetypes he has profiled.
Next
on the line up is singer/dancer/actress Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek)
who was awarded her Star in Hollywood in addition to being honored in
an exhibit at the Smithsonian air and space museum. She has also done
contract work for NASA, recruiting the first female and minority
astronauts for their space shuttle progra and is still a member of the
Board of Governors of the National Space Society, as well as a member
of the Advisory Board of the International Space Camp.
Other
speakers include John Kobara, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer
for the California Community Foundation (CCF); David Robinson, founder
of a family owned 280 acre coffee farm and a 600 family coffee
cooperative in Tanzania; Marquis Brown, Co-Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of the National Center for Global Engagement (NCGE) and former
Chief of Staff to the mayor of Baltimore; Anthony Jewett Co-Founder and
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Center for
Global Engagement (NCGE); Lakshmi Singh, midday newscaster for NPR; and
Howard Bloom who is a Public Relations executive that helped build the
careers of popular music’s biggest stars, including Michael Jackson,
Prince, John Cougar Mellencamp, Queen, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Simon
& Garfunkel, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run D.M.C., and
many media CEOs.
Just
reading the accomplishment of this impressive line up inspires me to
look in the mirror and say, “I need to step up my game.” Ending the day
with Monae’s powerhouse performance is certain to “blow the roof off”
and leave people feeling energized and inspired for weeks to come. I
can’t wait.
