TEDx ‘breaks through’ in Wyandotte County

This year, TEDxWyandotte seeks to break down barriers in their urban community.

Wyandotte County, Kan., a community known for its diversity and urban challenges, is currently in a state of transition. The county as a whole is working towards neighborhood and school improvements, ultimately hoping to claim a new position in the Kansas City metropolitan.

TEDxWyandotte, set for Sept. 15 at Kansas City Kansas Community College, is responding to the transitions by welcoming local speakers involved in the county’s changes to come share their stories about “Breaking Through.”

Here’s a bit about each of the speakers:

• Vi Tran is a local artist who believes that art can affect social change through “The empathetic power of storytelling.” Born outside of Sai Gon, Vietnam, Tran began his artistic journey as a performer in refugee camps. After resettling with his family in Garden City, Kan., Tran continued to tell his story and ultimately chronicled his family’s escape from refugee camps in a performance memoir called The Butcher’s Son.

• Annette LeZotte is an art historian and serves as director of Kauffman Museum. LeZotte will speak about the Kauffman Museum exhibit “Sorting Out Race: Examining Racial Identity and Stereotypes in Thrift Store Donations.”

• Hong Hong Hui is a first-year doctorate music student at University of Missouri-Kansas City. She grew up in Hong Kong playing piano, violin and pipa, a traditional Chinese string instrument that has inspired her throughout her life. In her presentation “My pipa speaks for me,” Hong Hong will discuss how the instrument brings Chinese and American cultures closer.

• Shannon Oleen’s work is founded on the belief that hard work, the right attitude and passion will prompt you to achieve your dreams. This belief has led her to NFL cheerleading, living on a canoe and working with a myriad of well-known TV personalities, such as Anne Burrell of the Food Network. Oleen hopes to inspire audiences to seize their dreams in her presentation “The millennial divide.”