Speakers

• • 
    • Ethan Zohn
    • 2x Cancer Survivor- and winner of Survivor Africa- New York

    • Ethan Zohn is the 2002 winner of the reality television show Survivor. With his 1 million dollar prize money, Ethan co-founded Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit organization that trains professional soccer players to teach African children, a tailor-made SKILLZ curriculum, about HIV/AIDS prevention. Since it’s founding GRS has caught the attention of (and now partners with) Nike, the Gates Foundation, FIFA Futbol for Hope, (RED), Elton John Foundation, Daimler Chrysler and DeBeers, and ‘graduated’ over 340,000 youths. By the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the organization’s goal is to graduate one million African youths from the program.

      Ethan is a two time cancer survivor of Hodgkins Lymphoma-CD20 positive. He has undergone two stem cell transplants and is currently in remission.

• • 
    • Jonny Imerman
    • Cancer Survivor and Founder of Immerman Angels- Chicago

    • Jonny Imerman is a young adult cancer survivor who strives to make sure no one fights cancer without the support of someone who has already triumphed over the disease.  After being diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 26, Jonny decided to found Imerman Angels, a non-profit organization, which carefully matches a person touched by cancer (a cancer fighter or survivor) with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer (a Mentor Angel). Imerman Angels now has more than 4,000 cancer survivors and more than 1,500 caregivers in its network, and has been featured by dozens of news organizations including TheWall Street Journal, Harpo Radio’s “Oprah and Friends” with Dr. Oz, CNN, TED Talks, The Huffington Post, Men’s Health, National Public Radio (NPR), NBC5 Chicago, CBS2 Chicago, ABC7 Chicago, SiriusXM Radio’s Doctor Radio, ESPN Radio Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit Free Press, LIVESTRONG Quarterly,CancerToday, CURE Magazine,  and Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.  Jonny received a 2012 CNN Hero Award; 2012 Salute of Gratitude from The City Council of Chicago; 2012 Lincoln Park Young Professionals ‘Chicago Best of The Best’ Award; 2012 Susan G. Komen “Pink Tie Guy” Award; 2011 Twilight Foundation Detroit’s Civic Leadership Award; 2011 Chicago Social Magazine’s ‘Who is Chicago’ Award; 2010 Jefferson Award for Public Service; 2010 University of Michigan Humanitarian Service Award; 2009 Ulman Cancer Fund For Young Adults ‘Hope Award’; and2007Daily Candy ‘Sweetest Thing’ Award.  Jonny has been invited to speak at cancer centers such as MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber, City of Hope, Northwestern, Rush, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  Jonny grew up in Bloomfield Hills, MI and lives in Chicago.

• • 
    • Khitam Masoud
    • 2x Cancer Survivor and Team IA Recruitment Chair

    • Khitam Masoud is a survivor of Vulvar and Melanoma cancer. Ever since her first experience with cancer at the age of 26 she felt the need to give back. When she is not studying to become a PA with a focus on oncology, she volunteers at Immerman Angels where she serves as the Team IA Recruitment Chair. Khitam is committed to sharing her story and advocating for early detection.  

      To learn more about Khitam check out her recent article in I Am an Everygirl.

• • 
    • Jenna Benn
    • Cancer Survivor and Founder of Twist Out Cancer- Chicago
    • Jenna Benn is a 31-year-old civil rights advocate, world traveler and tiny twister who dreams big. In December 2010, Jenna was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called Grey Zone Lymphoma that affects fewer than 300 people in the United States. Instead of surrendering to cancer, she was determined to find meaning in her suffering. In the course of her fight, Jenna figured out creative ways to leverage social media to process her experience and in turn create a community of tiny twisters that became invested in her fight. In the course of a year, Jenna battled cancer and started a nonprofit called Twist Out Cancer - a Support Community … With A Twist that changes the way a survivor shares and the way a community gives. When Jenna isnt twisting, you can find her working full-time at the Anti-Defamation League where she oversees young leadership programming, media and PR and international affairs advocacy. 
       
• • 
    • Anthony Ponce
    • Emcee- Chicago, Illinois

    • Anthony Ponce joined NBC5 News as a general assignment reporter in June of 2007. Before coming to NBC5, Anthony worked as a reporter in Indiana at WISH-TV in Indianapolis and before that, WANE-TV in Fort Wayne. During his time in those cities, Anthony would drive past the Chicago skyline on visits to his parents’ North Side home and dream about working in his hometown.

      Anthony grew up in the Chicago area. He attended Indiana University in Bloomington and majored in English and Spanish. At IU he was a three-time member of a bike team in the university’s annual Little 500 bicycle race made famous by the movie "Breaking Away." In 2003, he received a master's degree in journalism from theMedill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

      At Medill, Anthony started out on the newspaper track. But one day, the faculty had all the students switch roles: the newspaper students put together a broadcast, and vice versa. Anthony had so much fun that day that he changed his mind (and most of his curriculum) to pursue a career in broadcasting

• • 
    • Palter Ego
    • Musical Guests- Los Angeles

    • Palter Ego is the brain child of vocalist Jesse Palter and keyboardist Sam Barsh, who combine forces to create their own blend of upbeat pop, jazz and soul.

      Both established musicians, producers and dynamic performers in their own right, (Palter is a 5x Detroit Music Award Winner for her jazz work; Barsh has toured and written with the likes of Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Avishai Cohen and The Brand New Heavies), Palter Ego is creating a niche for themselves by blending catchy hooks, dynamic beats, and captivating lyrics.

      They have performed throughout the US both with a full band and as a duo, done a month-long stint in Macau, China, and headlined the 2011 Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel.

      Their music has been featured on a variety of television shows, including Keeping Up The Kardashians, Around the World for Free, and The Real World, and commercials for Com Edison and the Webby Awards.

• • 
    • Mar Caribe
    • Musical Guests-Chicago, Illinois

    •  Mar Caribe began as a duo in 2006 by two friends who loved the Ventures, Dick Dale, and Leo Kottke. Led by pedal steel player and banjoist, Tom McGettrick, the group has since grown to a seven-piece lineup, flushed out by stand-up bass, drums, acoustic guitar and a three-piece horn section. In April 2012, Mar Caribe released its debut full-length, The Law, a 26-minute catalog of original songs. Beyond its Tuesday night residency at the Hideout, Mar Caribe has also played at Millennium Park, Lincoln Hall, and the Garfield Park Conservatory, while also serving as a backing band for The Mekons’ Sally Timms and performing live on Chicago Public Radio’s 848 and Radio M. Mar Caribe also caught the ear of ad men, who placed the band’s song, “Deux Petits Bateux” in a nationwide 2012 Honda Civic commerical.

       “Mar Caribe’s influences originate from myriad time zones and geographies, stretching from the deserts of the southwestern United States to the coasts of Argentina. Channeling everyone from Calexico to the Dirty Three to South American street musicians, the instrumental septet straddles the line between dusty spaghetti Westerns and jauntier maritime numbers. Think Ennio Morricone with a fondness for tango.”

      —CHICAGO TRIBUNE

• • 
    • Seema Calip
    • Artist- Ann Arbor, Michigan

    • Seema Calip is an oil painter who resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband Rolando. Her artwork reflects a preference for wildly colorful depictions of portraits, flowers and landscapes. In addition to art, Seema is a Psychiatry Medical Resident at the University of Michigan.

      http://unit49.com/

• • 
    • Lacie Stiewing and Mike Quinn
    • Artists- Anchorage, Alaska

    • The concepts and visual imagery in my work is driven from my experiences growing up in Reno and Las Vegas in relation to my current experiences while living in Fairbanks.  I look to push the iconic forms of “Wild Alaska” into contemporary, urban pop culture using humor and kitsch while exploring formal elements of art.

       www.laciestiewing.com.

• • 
    • Carrie DeBacker
    • Survivor and Artist- St. Louis, Misourri

    • Prognosis: New Work by Carrie DeBacker.

      DeBacker's work explores the idea of the body as a contested and transformative site, with internal and external forces vying for ownership over its processes. These influences shape our self-perceptions, which manifest themselves in performative actions. Experiences of physical vulnerability may call these perceptions into question, necessitating a re-structuring of beliefs. A recent Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor, DeBacker uses aspects of her personal experience as an ambiguous "text" to be illustrated. This work seeks to situate her journey through diagnosis and treatment within a greater physical, psychological, and social context.

• • 
    • Doug Jones
    • Artist- Jackson, Michigan

    • My recent work aims to give glimpses of time. I embellish form. The colors are bold and subdued.

      I initially painted acrylics on cardboard to create. I enjoy the way acrylic paint and various surfaces permit texture. The paint dries quickly, and some brands of paint retain texture better than others. Surfaces (e.g. cardboard) work the same way.

      I paint about human connection on canvas and various surfaces.  I also paint by commision.

      Directly below is a link to a time lapse film of a wonder woman piece (8′ x 7 1/2 ‘), shot and produced by Jenna Van Dusen.

      Wonder Woman

      Website

• • 
    • Liesl Diesl
    • Artist- Chicago, Illinois

    • I am a mother of two. I am a lover of one. I climb. I run. In all things I soar.I love people. I strive to understand them. I believe that a partnership with my clients is more powerful than a business arrangement.“The artist is the great simplifier.” -Van Gogh.

      I love weddings, they are beautifully chaotic. One of my favorite things to do at weddings is to observe my surroundings and capture an image that takes all that chaos and describes it in one definitive moment.  I have been photographing weddings professionally for 9 years.  I combine my degree in psychology and my studies in art to serve clients from East Coast to West Coast.Award winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist AssociationMember if the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers

      http://liesldieselphoto.com/

• • 
    • Pia Hamilton
    • Artist- Chicago, Illinois

    • Pia has been dancing since the age of 3. As a kid, Pia played the character "Min" on the popular children's television show, "Barney and Friends". Pia continued to dance throughout high school and college, receiving numerous awards and trophies, including scholarships to study in New York and Los Angeles. She has studied with the renowned Paula Morgan, with whom she assisted internationally in Italy, Canada, as well as in the U.S.

      Other national credits include dance industrials for Reebok, Smirnoff, American Airlines, and Mark Kay Cosmetics. Pia danced as an apprentice for River North Chicago Dance Company for a year and a half, and then went on the become a dancer in The All Night Strut musical at Marriott, Lincolnshire. In 2008, she performed with the touring company of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Buffalo and Cleveland.

      Through these endeavors, she is a proud member of the Actor's Equity Association and the American Guild for Variety Artists. She is now currently dancing with Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, a modern and contemporary dance company. She has been blessed to work with amazing artists and directors such as Kevin Iega Jeff, Gary Abbott, Paula Morgan, Frank Chaves, Laura Wade, and Sharon and Brandye Burriss. Along with her professional experience, Pia has been teaching, assisting, and choreographing dance since college. She has taught all levels of dance to students and adults of all ages.

      With her extensive knowledge and love for dance, she brings dedication, passion, and professionalism to her classes. Pia also has a B.S. degree in Sports Medicine from Pepperdine University. Her knowledge of the kinesiology and anatomy of the body has aided in providing her students with a healthy approach to the exercise and health benefits of dance. Pia is excited to own and operate Intrigue Dance and Performing Arts Center. It has been her dream to create a nurturing, supportive, and educational atmosphere for adults and kids, and she loves sharing her passion for dance with others. She thanks her family, friends, and especially her husband for all of their love and support!

      www.intriguedance.com

• • 
    • Alyssa Judlo
    • Artist- Chicago, Illinois

    • “What makes me happy about art,” says artist Alyssa Judlo, “is that I love the energy of creating.”

      Energy is something that the 28 year-old creative powerhouse has never been short on. Whether making art, designing jewelry or interior spaces, Judlo is constantly exploring new, imaginative ways to foster her artistic talents.

      After high school Judlo attended the University of Arizona, where she intended to double major in psychology and art. But a car accident with a drunk driver severely injured her arm and derailed her plans, taking her to Indiana University to be close to one of the nation’s leading hand specialists. It also made her realize just how much that hand — and its ability to create the technical, movement-heavy images for which she’s now known— meant to her.

      In between classes, Judlo would stretch out on the living room floor of her tiny apartment and spend hours experimenting with mediums such as charcoal, drawing influence from the likes of figurative realists Robert Longo, Caravaggio and Antonio Lopez.

      During a summer break Judlo took classes at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s prestigious summer program.“I fell in love with it,” she says of the experience. And the school fell in love with Judlo, too, giving her a grant to stay and complete her undergraduate degree — an opportunity which she immediately accepted. While there, Judlo explored various artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, fashion, architecture and jewelry design. She even explored accessory design, creating a line of hand made purses that were displayed at famed Chicago department store Marshall Fields. But fashion didn’t satisfy her in the same way as traditional drawing. Yet upon graduation from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Judlo was still apprehensive about what medium she wanted to make her own.

      So she explored the possibility of a career in interior design, which would have led her down the same road as her grandmother, famed Chicago interior designer Cyrna Field. The day after she graduated from art school she began an internship with interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates.

      “What I loved was making the architectural drawings and floor plans,” she says of her time in the interiors world, which also included obtaining an associate’s degree from Chicago’s Harrington College of Design. Soon Judlo began designing jewelry, followed by a sales job in an interiors showroom.

      Today Judlo is busy drawing the technical figures that incorporate movement, emotion and an edgy, avant-garde sensibility that mirrors her own personality. She keeps things old-school, avoiding modern day technology in favor of the traditional, skill-based methods she has loved for so long.

      “I’m an artist,” she says. “ That’s who I am and I embrace that.

      Website

• • 
    • Rochelle Zohn
    • Artist- Boston, Massachusetts

    • Rochelle Zohn is the mother of Ethan Zohn. During Ethan's treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma, Rochelle created artwork that was reflective of his journey. 

• • 
    • Casey Ann Wasniewski
    • Artist-Chicago, Illinois

    • Sometimes we think we know something,but we only know it in the most abstract way, which means, we know it more than anything, it is everything, it is life, experience, it is living and being. It is Verb, It is EXISTING. " Times are tough for Dreamers" and there can be no communication between the hands and the brain unless the heart is mediator.

      Sometimes we think we know something, but we only know it in the most abstract way, which means we may not know it at all.I am interested in making objects that can be seen to have an immediate association with our bodies and nature, but deep down inside them, they are everything. I would like to elicit contradictory feelings of repulsion, familiarity, and attraction. My work ceaselessly establishes connections between the body; the "Hand" and nature. The sculptures are an accumulation of the unknown, a world far beneath the peripheral view we have become accustom to. They can be seen as a conglomeration of the dirtiness hiding within everyday life and the abstract beauty lurking far beneath the ocean’s surface, forest’s bottom, or the outer layers of the human skin. The materials I use are simple wool yarns embroidered together, knot after knot, an accumulation of knots on top of a thick piece of felt. My hand and needle punctures, pulls, folds, and shapes the felt intuitively by the knotting process. The "Busy"- Hand is a "Happy"-"Hand" which -Feeds into the "Romantic" concept of Cultural Heritage.The yarn is knotted layer upon layer, transmogrifying the fat, luscious, fleshy industrial felt, into something much more mystifying of an obscure nature. By combining these elements into clump masses, the work takes on a decidedly dirty and fleshy quality. A transformation from a clean rational understanding to one that is visceral is central to the understanding of my work.

      http://caseyannwasniewski.com/

• • 
    • Taryn Gluskin
    • Artist- Chicago, Illinois

    • KnitWhit by taryn whitney caters to the bohemian chic girl with a bit of a modern flair. Look trendy in KnitWhit's cozy infinity scarves or add that pop of color to any room with her monogrammed pillows or striped designs! Makes the perfect housewarming, birthday or wedding gift... or treat yourself! For this event, all of KnitWhit's patterns and designs will focus on Twist Out Cancer- 100% of the proceeds will go back to TOC and, in purchasing a scarf, you can help with outreach by promoting this great cause as you wear a trendy KnitWhit item in TOC's signature colors!

      Taryn has been knitting since high school and therefore is fondly referred to as the 80 year-old grandma in a twenty-something's body. When she's not up to her knees in yarn, she can be found working as an assistant director at the Center for Jewish Genetics, drinking too much coffee with friends and enjoying the Chicago White Sox.

• • 
    • Lindsay Passen
    • Artist/Event Chair- Chicago, Illinois

    • My name is Lindsey Passen and I am a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a degree in Fine Arts.  Throughout my time at SAIC, I focused solely on fashion illustration.  Everything about it excites me.  Although people kept warning me that fashion illustration is a dying art, my goal is to prove them wrong.  In a world filled with digital media, I feel the need for a resurgence of handmade art.  I want to make fashion illustration exciting and relevant again through the personal touches of a handmade drawing.

      To me, my art is personal. And I believe fashion illustration can be seen as an expression of personality and not solely used for the purpose of advertising clothing.  I love the challenge of bringing each piece to life with my line quality, detail work, and organic movement.  I have a distinctive approach to capturing the female figure.  The skill, elegance and pleasure I put into my work comes across with every line.

      http://www.behance.net/Lindseypassen

       http://gownillustrious.com/

• • 
    • Paul Decker
    • Artist & Surgeon- Chicago, Illinois
    • I have always been drawn to and inspired by the geometry, textures and patterns of then world around us.  The creation of pieces, painted and sculpted, that strive to represent and reinterpret these simple beauties is what drives my art.  I am not a professional artist, but I find peace, rest and great satisfaction in creating bright engaging pieces.  I am very excited to participate in this creative and important event.  
       
• • 
    • Vikram Krishnamurthy
    • Artist & Surgeon-Chicago, Illinois

    • I have been fascinated by the human form, expression in movement, and beauty since a young age. I have been creating pieces of artwork for as long as I can remember consisting mainly of penciled sketches, charcoals, and pastels.  My professional pursuits have limited my artistic dalliances for many years and thus I am excited for this opportunity to support such an amazing cause and novel event.

       
• • 
    • Bobbii Jo Hickman
    • Artist- Grays Lake, Illinois

    • Bobbi Jo Hickman has embraced that fact that creating art is a fundamental necessity to her overall happiness.  Her love of art and crafting began when, as a child, she took art courses at the local park district.  This passion grew when she entered high school and began taking classes in drawing, painting and sculpture design and in college where she learned about technique and composition.  Today, Bobbi continues her passion for art and takes pleasure in sharing her journey with others through her blog, Rock Girl Custom Designs.  As it has helped her throughout her life, she wants to inspire others to find their own joy in creating.

       

      Bobbi fuels her creative drive by expressing her art in many forms by working with different mediums and harnessing the best materials to create one of kind multi-dimensional designs.  Bobbi uses her ingenuity to create original canvas art through the use of paper, acrylic paint, and canvas. 

      Bobbi lives in Grayslake, IL with her husband, Brett, her musically gifted son, Cory James (22) and two fur babies, Pedro and Athena.

      http://rockgirlcustomdesigns.blogspot.com/

• • 
    • Margaret Gordon
    • Artist and Survivor-San Diego, California

    •  Thirty years ago, during the year she spent on chemotherapy at the age of twenty-nine while battling stage two breast cancer, painting was the one thing that transported Margaret Gordon to a place of peace, away from the discomfort and panic of illness. A self-taught artist from the Chicago area, her painting is naive or intuitive. 

      She began painting as a teenager, setting up her bedroom as an art studio, fantasizing about being a starving artist living in a garret in Paris. Unsuccessful at emulating Renoir, Picasso, or Cezanne, three of her favorite artists at the time, she developed her own childlike style of painting which only much later, as an adult, she was able to appreciate as her own naive rendition of what she wanted life to look like. Her art is not political, but purely emotional. Each painting brings her joy. The piece she donates to Brushes With Cancers expresses her philosophy that we should ignore that critic on our shoulder and "live life as we see it in our dreams". 

      Margaret Gordon lives in San Diego with her husband, Harley and their two Golden Retrievers, Radar and Fuzzy. They are living life as they see it in their dreams...

• • 
    • Rine Boyer
    • Artist- Chicago, Illinois

    • My work focuses on how people view each other. It can be through a variety of lenses such as culture, gesture, or a stage of life. To capture the mixture of appearance and perception, I use two layers. The first layer is the portrait, the appearance of the person. Over the surface of my subjects I add a layer of small iconic shapes. With each series I take a different approach to continue exploring what influences our understanding of each other. Depending on the series, these shapes can reflect the subject’s interests, what they are thinking, or a characteristic that links them to a larger group.  In separating the way a person looks from how I view them I show the distance we have to overcome when interacting and understanding with one another.

      www.rineboyer.com

• • 
    • Maya Koenig
    • Artist- Skokie, Illinois

    •   Maya Koenig is an artist living in Skokie, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BFA in Painting, Art Education and an endorsement in English as a Second Language.   Maya is primarily interested in portraiture, and the narratives perceived by her audience based on the style and medium of the artwork. She works in a variety of media depending on the nature of her portraits, ranging from photorealistic oil paintings to duct tape collages.   Maya has exhibited work in venues including Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, Palazzo Vagnotti in Cortona, Italy, and Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. She has participated in shows juried by world-renowned artist Eric Fischl and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.   Find her work at www.MayaKoenig.com

• • 
    • Jeffery Leving
    • Painter, Author, Attorney- Chicago, Illinois

    • Jeffery Leving is a visual artist and the author of three ground-breaking books; the most recent — How to Be a Good Divorced Dad, which received an endorsement from Francis Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago and praise from President Barack Obama.

      In regards to Jeffery Leving’s visual work, Josh Hoff’s writing for International Art Magazine remarked, “If suffering is indeed permanent, obscure, and dark and shares the nature of infinity, then it can be witnessed in two of Chicago attorney artist Jeffery Leving’s paintings, both of which were inspired by his involvement in the Elian Gonzalez case.”

      Jeffery Leving’s first solo show was at Southern Illinois University in the early 70’s. His work evolved into this unique painting style with mythological content inspired by primitive and surrealistic art. In his paintings, Jeffery Leving combines figures and faces with abstract forms, using visceral mark-making and serene compositional economy. These paintings possess an irresistible energy as a product of Leving’s innovative aesthetic.

      Leving’s most important show was in Chicago in 2008, Zen: The Spiritual in Art, hosted by Murphy Hill Gallery showcasing his exploration into the sublime through the use color as a medium to achieve enlightenment. He smears color and cuts the canvas as a physical act: color and laceration become raw condition.

      Celebrated Actress Queen Latifah recently acquired one of Jeffery Leving’s paintings –a powerful abstract of Native-American theme, epitomizing Leving’s instinctive brilliance as his work fluctuates between representational and abstract modes of expression, thereby capturing the chaotic and disjointed nature of existence.

      In 2012, paintings from Jeffery Leving’s “Floating Spaces” series exhibited at the William Hill Gallery were published in ARTnews Magazine and in Chicago Gallery News promoting the show.

• • 
    • Shayna Denburg
    • Painter& Photographer, New York

    • Shayna Denburg grew up in Montreal, Canada. She started painting in her teens. As a young adult she spent time abroad in Israel and started painting wall murals there. Shayna currently lives in Brooklyn, New York where she teaches yoga and works in graphic design.