Keynote Speakers
Heather Snyder Quinn
Keynote Speaker: Heather Snyder Quinn is an Assistant Professor of Design at DePaul University, Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, School of Design. Quinn is a design futurist, creative director, and thought leader with 25 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, communities, and institutions across the globe. As a female leader in tech, she seeks to elevate lesser-known voices and diversify the field and the products and experiences we create as designers. She specializes in interdisciplinary collaboration and imagining the innovative potential and ethical implications of emerging technologies—including AI and the metaverse. Recent engagements and recognition include NASA, The World Economic Forum, MIT Press, Yale Law School, The Washington Post, and Hyperallergic.
Quinn has earned numerous accoloades and recogition for her work including 2022 Wicklander Fellow in Ethics, a Society of Typographic Arts (STA 100) Design Award on three occasions for her augmented reality app, and a 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award from DePaul University, Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, among other awards and grants. https://heathersnyderquinn.com/
Ethan Emmanuel Balcos
Speaker: Ethan Emmanuel Balcos (he/him), a Filipino-American originally from Minneapolis, is a Body-Mind Centering® Somatic Movement Educator, Master Somatic Movement Educator, and Registered Somatic Dance Educator. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance. “E.E.” has been a Professor of Dance at the University of North Carolina Charlotte since 2005. He has been performing dance, choreographing, and practicing contact improvisation for over 40 years.
Balcos has presented and performed at numerous venues including several Body-Mind Centering® Conferences nationally; the Bill Evan’s Annual Somatic Dance Conference & Performance Festival; the Dance and Somatic Practices Conference in Coventry, UK; the Body IQ Festival in Berlin, Germany and with the dance company, Movement Migration at Danspace Project in New York City, DAP Festival in Pietrasanta, Italy, and the DZUL International Dance Festival in Campeche, Mexico. E.E. is also an avid gardener and landscaper.