Speakers & Performers

Tigi Vinson: “Fostering Love”

Tigi Vinson is a Texas native and co-founder of a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the foster care system. She and her husband have been foster parents for almost five years and have had nine children in their home throughout that time. Tigi is pursuing a degree in Social Psychology and Social Justice in an effort to better impact the legal systems in place. Tigi lives with her husband, their two dogs, and at least one son (depending on the day).

Paul Glover: “Everyone Needs a Fool in Their Life”

Paul Glover is the No B.S. Leadership Development Coach; a "recovering trial lawyer"; an ex-felon, the author of WorkQuake™: Making the Seismic Shift to a Knowledge Economy; a member of the Forbes Coaching Council; a Forbes contributor; a speaker on Leadership & the Future of Work; an unabashed Starbucks addict; and a Chicago Bears fanatic.

Movers Unlimited: “Dancing Without Limits”

Movers Unlimited is the touring dance company of Tarrant County College NE Campus. Movers Unlimited focuses on community services, community outreach, and dance education in local schools to make contributions to the community’s artistic enrichment. Organizations that Movers Unlimited has reached out to include Humane Society of North Texas, Tarrant Area Food Bank, God’s Love We Deliver, Broadway Cares, SAGE (Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders), and many more. This incredible touring dance company is accomplished and effective at reaching out to organizations across the nation. They are sure to inspire and entertain you.

Eduardo Chávez: “The New F Word – Fentanyl”

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eduardo A. Chávez leads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, overseeing all DEA operations in North Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Tyler, as well as the entire state of Oklahoma, with offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and McAlester. SAC Chávez began his career over 21 years ago, where he spent several years doing extensive undercover work infiltrating Mexican drug trafficking organizations and leading complex conspiracy cases targeting some of the most prolific methamphetamine and heroin traffickers in the Southwest. Previously, SAC Chávez has held assignments in the Central Valley of California, México City, New Mexico, and DEA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. SAC Chávez grew up along the Southwest border in New Mexico and holds a Bachelor of Science in International Politics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Mark Reed: “Can We be Optimistic About the Future?”

Mark Reed studied philosophy at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Austin. He lived and taught in Europe, pursued a career in museum design, then returned to his first love, teaching philosophy. He has taught at Tarrant County College for 20 years. His special interests are metaphysics, the philosophy of physics, and the philosophy of time. He loves traveling and learning languages. He has a wonderful wife Sara, also a teacher, and he has four children. He firmly believes that children were sent here to teach us patience and make us more spiritual.

Raymond Benge: “What Color is the Sun?”

Raymond Benge is Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Tarrant County College, and holder of the Chancellor’s Award for Exemplary Teaching. His interest in astronomy and physics began as a boy growing up in Houston during the Apollo missions to the Moon. In addition to teaching physics and astronomy and researching variable stars, he routinely hosts public star watches for the community and gives public presentations about astronomy, physics, and space exploration. He has also extensively published essays on multiple science topics for various reference works and encyclopedias.

Keidrain Brewster: “Big Reform”

Keidrain Brewster is a returned citizen who spent 13 years in the Texas prison system. Since his release, he has built his own trucking company and is the author of two books. From the Rec Yard to the Streets, outlines lessons from his time in prison and how he applied them upon release. From the Streets to the Suites, tells the story of his journey of starting his own business and reaching success. He also tours prisons with his inspiring message of reform and transformation.

Victor Allen: “Command Presence: Learning How to See Gray”

Sergeant Major Victor Allen, USA, Retired, is a native of Orlando, FL. He knew as early as seven years old that he would become a servant leader in the military or law enforcement. After 28 years of honorable service, his commitment to helping others led to numerous awards and commendations by former U.S. Presidents; the Secretary of Defense; U.S. Army Chief of Staff; U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff; Director of the Army Staff; Deputy Chief of Staff Army G1; Sergeant Major of the Army; Tuskegee Airmen-Claude R. Platte-DFW Chapter; Military Order of World Wars-Dallas Chapter; and other Federal and State elected officials. Sergeant Major Allen was awarded the 2011 Veterans Brain Trust Award by the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference for forming a Military Community Relations Program that provided motivational speaking and mentoring for over 16,000 at-risk kids for eight years.

He holds a Master of Social Work in Advanced Community Practice and a minor in African American Studies from The University of Texas at Arlington. Currently, he serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Tarrant County College, NE Campus, in the Mental Health and Human Services Department. Sergeant Major Allen is a Certified Agile Coach and a SAFe SCRUM Master, coaching teams and executive leaders on managing, planning, and executing the agile framework. His definition of servant leadership is “when it is not about you at all.”

Beatlegras: “Beatles Music with a Bluegrass Flare”

The band Beatlegras was formed in 2003 by three Dallas studio musicians. Dave Walser asked George Anderson and Milo Deering if they’d be interested in doing some experimenting in the studio with some Beatles songs as a kind of ‘thinking outside the box’ fun thing and see what happened. Dave’s musical background was in bluegrass guitar, The Beatles, and James Taylor style music while George was a very accomplished bass musician in jazz, classical, and R & B. Milo’s forte was….well, everything. He plays guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, dobro, and anything else with strings.

After finishing their first album, they decided to see how playing live would go and played to audiences from Seattle to Ireland from 2004 to 2011. Then they took a break that ended up lasting 11 years. They reunited in 2022 simply because it was just too much fun not to do! It’s a truly fun show with total respect for the genius of The Beatles without imitating them note for note. As The Beatles said on the Sgt. Pepper Album, “We hope you will enjoy the show.”

Lisa Uhlir: “The Dawes Act and the Residential Boarding Schools: Assimilation or Annihilation?”

Dr. Lisa Uhlir has a wide variety of interests which led her to degrees varying from Russian Studies to Philosophy and International Economics. She graduated from George Washington University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Texas at Arlington. In a personal search of her Ojibwa history, her research and publications on Indigenous topics have focused primarily on Native American Boarding Schools and the history of Black Indians.

Raymond Turner: “Fireflies and Hurricanes: (Finding Your Calling Without Losing Your Wings)”

Raymond Turner is the Recording Studio Producer at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX.  Sparklefly Studio is the recording and creative space where he works daily with patients on songwriting, music production, recording projects, and learning instruments. Most notably, Raymond would describe the HeartSongs legacy projects as the pinnacle of his service to families at Cook Children’s. Prior to relocating to Forth Worth from Houston, Raymond worked as a professional drummer, music director, arranger, and recording engineer.  His vision is to bring together all facets of the creativity and innovation in his arsenal to “give musical wings” to the tremendous gifts hidden inside the rockstar patients at the hospital.  “Pain has a way of slowly silencing our voices; my calling is to amplify our God-given voices, because the world is a quieter place without them.”

Updated March 01, 2023