(Photo above by Theresa Jelderks)
Ignite TAO events showcase panels of passionate speakers who have burning ideas and the guts to get onstage to share their personal and professional passions all in five minutes.
On August 17, Technology Association of Oregon held its first ever Ignite TAO: Bend event, held at OSU-Cascades. Presentations covered various topics within tech, from sex trafficking prevention to building alternative agriculture. Approximately 70 professionals from across the Bend tech community attended the inaugural Ignite TAO event. Speakers were also from the Greater Bend area with representatives operating across many verticals.
David Haines, internship coordinator for the Bend Chamber of Commerce, explained how presenting at Ignite has sparked new opportunities for him and his team.
“Ignite TAO: Bend was an awesome experience and opportunity to share our new Bend Chamber internship initiative with the Bend tech community. It was my first professional public presentation, so I did not know what to expect out of it. Over the following weeks since then, dozens of people have reached out to learn more or participate in our program because they were at Ignite TAO: Bend or heard about it from someone who was in attendance. I have even been asked to speak at other events now. Ignite TAO: Bend was a huge success for me personally and professionally.”
Zilaida Salgueiro, CEO of Locals Compass, who moved to Bend a year ago to launch her company, attested to presenting at Ignite TAO Bend. “It gave me an opportunity to not only practice my public speaking skills, but also share my interest in neuroscience and how the brain works as it relates to innovation.”
With regards to hosting future Ignite TAO: Bend events, Teri Hockett, TAO’s Bend area manager, will continue overseeing this initiative.
“We definitely hit a sweet spot this summer with a next level lineup of speakers sharing a wide variety of topics that created thought provoking conversations,” said Hockett. “The overwhelming response from the audience was ‘When is the next Ignite TAO in Bend?”’
For those curious to learn more and get involved with TAO in Central Oregon, Teri Hockett can be contacted at techoregon.org.
TAO looks forward to hosting its upcoming Ignite events this fall. More information can be found on the TAO events page.
