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 TEDXNAVESINK  KEY  ORGANIZERS  

TEDxNavesink:  The  Next  Wave  Friday,  September  20,  8  a.m.  -­‐  5  p.m.  

Community  College  Performing  Arts  Center,  Lincroft,  NJ      

Brian  Smiga,  Lead  Organizer  &  Co-­‐host  Brian  Smiga  grew  up  in  Rumson  in  a  house  that  flooded,  so  now  he  lives  on  a  cliff  where  he  can  admire  the  ocean  at  140  feet  up  with  his  7-­‐year-­‐old  son  and  musician  wife  Mimi  Cross.  After  graduating  from  Rumson-­‐Fair-­‐Haven  High  School,  Smiga  earned  a  BA  in  religion  and  theater  at  Swarthmore  and  Masters  in  Irish  Lit  at  Trinity  College  Dublin.  Since  then,  he’s  taught  at  Peddie,  Trevor  Day  and  Booz  &  Coearned  SAG  and  Actors  Equity  cards,  started  and  sold  four  software  companies  in  CA  and  NYC,  and  he’s  currently  the  co-­‐founder  and  operating  partner  at  Alpha  Venture  Partners.  Salad  gardening,  surfski  kayaking,  cycling,  photography,  world  history,  and  the  future  occupy  Smiga’s  free  time.  

   

Jennifer  Crews,  Co-­‐host  Jennifer  Crews  is  a  business  leader  and  philosopher.  She  has  led  multimillion-­‐dollar  projects  and  businesses  within  large  companies,  such  as  Lucent  Technologies  and  Dun  &  Bradstreet;  she  now  uses  those  experiences  to  help  entrepreneurial  CEOs  to  grow  their  businesses  quickly  and  profitably.  Crews  holds  an  MBA  from  The  Wharton  School  and  a  BA  from  Lafayette  College.  She  is  a  mentor  for  TechLaunch,  a  technology  accelerator  program  in  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  and  she  serves  as  a  board  member  for  Second  Life  Bikes,  a  not-­‐for-­‐profit  community  bike  shop  and  youth  earn-­‐a-­‐bike  program  in  Asbury  Park,  New  Jersey.  Crews  lives  five  blocks  from  the  beach  with  her  husband,  son,  daughter  and  dog.  She  enjoys  hiking  and  playing  the  drums  and  ukulele.  

   

Vidar  Brekke,  Social  Media,  Web  &  Ticket  Sales  Vidar  Brekke  grew  up  in  the  fjords  of  Norway.  After  a  brief  opposites-­‐attract  love  stint  with  Manhattan,  he  fell  deeper  in  love  with  the  Jersey  shore  and  made  himself  a  home  in  Atlantic  Highlands,  with  his  Jersey-­‐native  wife.  As  an  incurable  entrepreneur  he’s  been  active  in  the  NY  and  NJ  start-­‐up  scene  for  the  last  10  years.  His  latest  venture,  Meddle.it,  is  a  nascent  micro-­‐blogging  platform  designed  to  give  subject  matter  experts  a  quick  way  to  share  their  know-­‐how  by  commenting  on  current  events  and  other  public  content  relevant  to  their  expertise.  

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 Dorothea  Drew,  Event  Planning  Dorota  Drew  was  born  and  raised  in  Germany  where  she  met  her  husband  Jon,  who  was  stationed  there  with  the  US  Air  Force.  She  studied  Business  and  Economics  at  Frankfurt’s  Goethe  Universitaet  and  has  worked  for  Barclays  Capital  and  Goldman  Sachs  in  New  York  before  she  had  her  two  children.  Since  2007  she  has  been  the  co-­‐founder  and  Managing  Director  of  the  German  School  of  Monmouth  County  in  Holmdel,  a  non-­‐profit  that  teaches  German  to  all  ages.      Andrew  Struse,  Video  Production  Navesink  resident  Andrew  Struse  is  a  TV  executive  with  over  15  years  experience  building  global  media  brands  as  a  creative  director.  He  currently  runs  the  promotions  and  creative  department  at  Veria  Living,  a  health  and  wellness  network  based  in  New  York.    Andrew  was  a  key  creative  team  leader  of  Current  TV,  the  innovative  news  and  information  network  co-­‐founded  by  Al  Gore,  and  he  has  won  numerous  awards  for  outstanding  creative  work  launching  Nickelodeon  internationally.

 Jennifer  Smiga,  Media  Relations  Jennifer  Smiga  is  the  founder  of  inBLOOM  Communications  and  Board  Member  of  EarthShare  NJ,  which  offers  NJ’s  employers  one-­‐stop  access  to  the  nation’s  leading  environmental  organizations  through  charitable  giving  and  volunteerism.  With  clients  across  the  Jersey  Shore  and  NYC,  inBLOOM  blends  media  and  community  relations  with  social  media  marketing  and  event  production.  Smiga  has  held  key  positions  at  organizations  including  the  Center  for  Reproductive  Rights,  Miami  Art  Museum,  New  York  Restoration  Project  and  Clean  Ocean  Action.  At  these  leading  institutions,  Smiga  cultivated  and  managed  corporate  and  individual  donor  relations,  wrote  copy  for  marketing  and  press  materials,  and  coordinated  special  events  from  multi-­‐million  dollar  galas  to  grassroots  marketing  campaigns.  Smiga  lives  in  Long  Branch,  NJ  with  her  husband,  son  and  four  shelter  rescue  pets.