We host a series of brief lectures by York, PA's makers and doers, who talk about their craft. Our speakers come from varied backgrounds, but they all work systematically and intentionally to create visceral experiences.
PechaKucha Night York utilizes the 20x20 PechaKucha presentation format: 20 slides that automatically advance every 20 seconds. Learn more at PechaKucha.org.
Featured Speakers AT April 20, 2017 PK NIght Event
Our fifth event was our best-attended event to date. Thank you to those who were there! We had 10 presentations on a wide variety of crafts.
Aaron J. Anderson
Crafting Resilient Human Souls
Education is the act of crafting resilient human souls. The challenge of educating urban students within the context of poverty, trauma, abuse, and other socio-economic factors that contribute to students’ lives can be overwhelming and seemingly impossible for urban educators and school administrators. Research from the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) studies demonstrates, however, that urban students are at significantly higher risks for negative health factors as adults because they lack resiliency fostered in safe, loving environments. With proper support from school leaders, teachers in urban schools can create a loving environment that can serve to break the cycle of poverty, trauma, and abuse. Love can heal urban education.
Aaron began serving as the Head of School at Logos Academy and the CEO of Logos Enterprises in 2014. Originally from Aurora, Illinois, Aaron is an ordained minister in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America). He holds a Bachelor of Religion degree from Liberty University and a Master of Arts in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary. In 2009, Aaron founded City Church, an urban congregation in York City, PA. He currently serves on the York City Redevelopment Authority, the board for LifePath, and the Fortress Initiative, and formerly served on the boards of Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania, York County YMCA, York County Children Youth & Family, and Logos Academy. Aaron was a recipient of Central Penn Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” in 2015 and awarded York’s Unity Award from Mayor C. Kim Bracey in 2016. He will be completing his M.Ed in Urban Educational Leadership in the Summer of 2017. Aaron and his wife Gail have been married since 1997 and have six children: Ellis, Emily, Luke, Amelia, David and Wesley.
Andrew Barnes
Playing with Knives, Fire, and Food
A fantastical and whimsical journey of discovery through art, alchemy, bad jokes, and food.
A local boy, Andrew Barnes is an award-winning chef, founder, and co-owner of The Busy and Fizzy Bees in York’s historic Central Market House. In addition to being a self-taught chef and jerk, he is also a photographer, tinkerer, mechanic, graphic designer, wordsmith, and prankster.
Sam Brenner
Tinkering With Robots
Sam Brenner explains the evolution of his robots and how he has learned from trial and error.
Sam Brenner is a seventh grader at York Academy Regional Charter School who enjoys building robots and working with electronics. For the past three years, Sam has taught himself to program in c++, build obstacle avoidance, light following, voice recognition, and remote-controlled robots. He has provided Arduino, robotic, and Wobbly-Bot workshops for Boy Scouts, St. Joseph’s elementary school, York Suburban summer program, and York Academy afterschool groups, and presented a SkillSwap session at CoWork155. Sam is also an entrepreneur. He created the Wobbly-Bot, a small, affordable kit that teaches children to build their own vibrabot. A portion of his proceeds benefit the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ; he has donated several hundred dollars and adopted five turtles to date. Sam collaborated with York College of Pennsylvania’s Center for Community Engagement to create Tech Tinker, a monthly meetup for engineering students and professors to help and mentor young technology enthusiasts in our community. Sam has an iD Tech certificate from Princeton University and won an award for creativity at YCP Hacks, York College’s first student-run hackathon.
Stacey Burroughs
The Crisis of Addiction: Love, Hope, and How to Save a Life
The headlines tell the story of the ravaging opioid crisis. At the nexus of the crisis is human life, and the death grip of addiction and co-occurring conditions. To change the fatal course requires an overhaul of our view of the emergency, and the lives it's consumed. Death is but one form of consumption. Guilt and shame, fear, isolation, and incarceration consume the living dead. This presentation weaves lived experience and professional perspectives to invoke change in hearts, minds, language, and action.
Stacey is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Addictions Counselor. She is passionate about eliminating stigma that marks addiction and other diseases of the brain. She shares a vision for safe, inclusive, and equitable care for all persons, with special emphasis on those with substance use and mental health care needs.
Issac Edmondson
Molding Authority Issues into Art: A Street Photographer’s Story
A look into an artist’s personal philosophy on street photography, the arts, and challenging conventional methods of access to the arts through guerrilla tactics.
Isaac Edmondson is a stay-at-home dad and street photographer from York, PA, where he lives with his wife Jessica and their two sons Royal and Windsor.
Phillip freeman
The Vocal Blueprint
This is a super simple yet effective method for getting over stage fright, becoming more confident, mastering your craft, and most importantly, finding your voice.
Phillip Freeman brings over 15,000+ hours of experience as a vocal instructor and performer to his students and group seminars, in genres ranging from opera all the way to metal. Freeman's audition for the Music Program at Lebanon Valley College earned him the Carmean Talent Award which is a scholarship awarded to only six of the approximately 300 individuals who audition for LVC's Music Program. While attending LVC, Freeman studied four consecutive years of voice under Dr. Mark Mecham and Dr. Rebecca Lister and graduated with degrees in Music Business and Digital Communications. He regularly tours the United States with his band Small Town Titans, and continues instructing students on a national scale through online lessons and in-person training. Phillip is also the leader of the folk rockband The Lone Wolf Project, co-producer and on-call session vocalist for Seventh Wave Studio, Full Tilt Recording, and Hybrid Studios, and is a co-writer with multi-platinum recording artist John Moyer, bassist for Disturbed.
Mike Hawthorne
Sequential Art
Taking a story from script to art, step by step.
Mike Hawthorne is a story artist, visual development artist, and cartoonist. His work has been nominated for both an Eisner and Harvey award, the two most prestigious awards in the comics industry. He's worked with clients like FOX Films, Universal Studios, The 76ers, Marvel Comics, DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, as well as many others. He also co-created the character Holden Radcliffe for the ABC series "Agents of SHIELD." Mike is currently the artist on Marvel's popular Deadpool series.
Brad Jennings
From Defeating Moments to Winning Stories
When friends gather in a spirit of merriment, there are those who hold court and revel in the telling of epic tales of achievement and awesomeness. But unforgettable stories aren’t just about heroics. They can also be about restroom misfortune and wardrobe malfunction. With vulnerability, honesty and by poking fun at personal shame, a storyteller can compel an audience to lean in, relate and cheer those epic setbacks.
Brad Jennings enjoyed a 16-year career at the York Daily Record in a variety of journalism roles, from writing and editing to multimedia storytelling. He most recently served as lead editor for story presentation and digital innovation. In November, he won York Story Slam's Grand Slam, earning the title of Best Storyteller in York for 2016. Brad recently moved to northern Virginia with his wife, Susan, two daughters and way too many pets. He is often mistaken for other people.
Jordan Pfautz
Pen & Knife - The Art and Process of Crafting New Recipes
My personal process of recipe ideation, creation, testing, and finalization. It all starts with a taste that inspires.
Jordan Pfautz has spent the last 16 years thinking about how food impacts our lives and how to make it taste better. From Pretzels to BBQ from the South to The Far East, inspired flavors are what inspire him to keep creating and tinkering with food. Jordan is the founder of Roost: Uncommon Kitchen and Baron Von Schwein, and is a co-founder of York City Pretzel Company and on the partner team at Taste Test.
Rita Whitney
The Art of Overcoming Epilepsy
This presentation will tell the story of local artist Rita Whitney as a young adult, as she dealt with a diagnosis of Epilepsy, and later Conversion Disorder, through her art making.
Rita Whitney owns and operates Prime Art Supply, where she collaborates with many organizations including the Cultural Alliance, the Salvation Army, and the City of York. Rita received her Bachelors Degree from York College and has been awarded residencies at the Chautauqua School of Art in New York and the Vermont Studio School. She was also the first appointed Appell Fellow at Marketview Arts. She is a founding board member of the Mt. Gretna School of Art and most recently participates in an Artist Teaching Residency at York Academy Charter School.
