Comics, cosplay, and conventions have become defining icons of today’s popular culture.

Join TEDxFSCJ for Unmasked, an adventure event exploring the themes, identities, and fandoms that define nerd culture.

Hosted by The Short Box podcast’s Badr Milligan and Cesar Cordero, we will look behind the mask in discussing how this culture functions at once as lifestyle and marketplace; how comic books and TV intersect; how comic culture empowers minority storytelling; and how comic-cons and e-sports have reinvented community and belonging.

Speakers include:

Li Hoang, e-sports photographer
Zack Kaplan, comic book writer & Jacksonville native working in Los Angeles
Max Michaels, co-producer of Ancient City Con and Jekyll Comic Con
Ann Marie Scarpinito, cosplayer
Ryan Paul Thompson, founder of GAAM (Games Art And Music)

Arrive early so you can tour our interactive pre-event exhibits. Hosted by FSCJ Guild of Geeks, our pre-event experience will feature a behind-the-scenes look at GAAM Founder Ryan Thompson’s livestreams, interviews with The Short Box podcasters, and a digital media journey through cosplay spaces and places.

Check-in begins at 6:30 p.m.; our event will start promptly at 7 p.m.

Seats that go unclaimed by 6:50 p.m. may be released to individuals on our waiting list.

Speakers

Li Hoang (@HelloItsLi)

Li Hoang is an internationally published model, senior director of esports for GAAM (Games, Art and Music) and a photographer renowned for her portraits. Currently residing in Jacksonville, Florida, Li is a self-taught visual artist specializing in capturing natural moments in time.

Zack Kaplan

In three short years, Zack Kaplan has emerged as a breakout voice in comics as the creator of three sci-fi series. These series, ECLIPSE and PORT OF EARTH from Image Comics and Top Cow and the LOST CITY OF EXPLORERS from Aftershock Comics, are currently in TV development with Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment, Amazon Studios and Universal TV. Zack received his master’s degree in film and TV writing from the prestigious USC film school and taught screenwriting at the International Academy of Film and TV in the Philippines.

Max Michaels

Max Michaels, co-producer of Ancient City Con and Jekyll Comic Con and Jacksonville native, began his journey in 1992 when he first published MOVEMENT magazine. What began as an independent magazine focusing on the music and arts scene has grown into an international publication. Over the years, Michaels has expanded his portfolio beyond magazine publishing into gallery exhibitions of his rock and multimedia photography, club & nightlife promotions, music and talent management and film production.

Ann Marie Scarpinito

Ann Marie (Ms. Valentine) has poured her heart and soul into cosplay for almost 20 years with characters including Jill Valentine, Nathan Drake and Cortana. The recipient of numerous awards such as “Most Cutting Edge,” “Best Individual,” “Best Craftsmanship,” and “Best Journeyman,” Ann Marie has made a name for herself creating panels for various fandoms, providing leadership to guide the course of cosplay contests at events such as GAAM and CEOtaku and supporting her favorite esports players and streamers.

Ryan Paul Thompson (@GAAMRyan)

Ryan Paul Thompson, GAAM Founder and video game lover, has worked with a team of wonderful people and with companies such as Nintendo, Sony Santa Monica, Volition, Iron Galaxy, Capcom, Microsoft, Naughty Dog and many others. Together they have created multiple events to promote gaming, the arts and “Do Good” culture with the GAAM Show, GAAM Gladiators (an esports event), Retro GAAM Nights, art and cosplay exhibits, The Nerd Market, GAAM Live (a livestream show about gaming culture) and more. He also enjoys working out, drinking, and loves his yorkie, Tobago.

Hosts

Cesar Cordero

Cesar Cordero is a published broadcast journalist, podcaster, comedian, musician, graphic artist and has proudly served in the military for over 9 years. Since 2012, he has co-hosted the award-winning "The Short box" podcast. Along the way, he has managed to interview some of the most fascinating people in Jacksonville. In 2018, Cesar channeled his love of broadcasting in forming “Jax Podcasters Unite!," the official podcaster hub of the First Coast. Cesar knows it's the Bold City that made him and responsibly uses the power of laughter to uplift and engage the community.

Badr Milligan

Badr Milligan is a project manager by day and a podcast enthusiast by night. Since 2012, Badr has combined his passion for comic-books & pop culture with his natural fascination with technology to co-create and host the award-winning podcast, “The Short Box.” He has claimed the 904 as home since the age of five after immigrating to Jacksonville from Morocco. Badr is an FSCJ alumnus and veteran of the Florida Air National Guard, using both experiences to currently run his own small business, The Short Box Entertainment company. In 2018, he helped form the “Jax Podcasters Unite!” group, a fast-growing collective of podcasters and broadcasters who meet quarterly to discuss the podcast industry and encourage collaborative solutions.

For millennia, people looked to the stars as a source of awe and inspiration. Today, new ventures between private industry and government agencies like NASA have reignited our sense of wonder, prompting many to ask not only when humans will finally reach Mars, but what careers and businesses are experiencing the greatest growth and how ordinary people and science professionals can get involved.

Join TEDxFSCJ as we partner with the Museum of Science & History (MOSH) in hosting a salon focused on how Florida and the First Coast are accelerating the pace of space exploration. The evening’s speakers will include NASA engineer Kathleen O’Brady, Lockheed Martin engineer Chelsea Partridge, Professor of Astronomy Mike Reynolds, Made In Space CEO Andrew Rush, and hostJennifer Ruliffson, a student at the University of North Florida.

At the close of the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to look through telescopes positioned atop the museum roof—courtesy of JAX #popscope, the local affiliate of #Popscope, an urban movement of astronomers who host free, “pop-up” events across North America.

Panelists

KATHLEEN O’BRADY

Kathleen is Lead Certification System Engineer for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in which she oversees the certification of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, a spacecraft for transporting crew to and from the International Space Station. Kathleen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in physics from the University of Central Florida. Kathleen considers herself fortunate to have supported the space shuttle program from 2004 until its retirement in 2011.

CHELSEA PARTRIDGE

Chelsea is an engineer for Lockheed Martin Space Systems at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where she conducts environmental control and life support systems testing on the agency's Orion spacecraft. Chelsea graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Florida where she conceptualized CubeSat applications for bone density research. A lifelong advocate for space exploration and science education, Chelsea advises gifted students at The Weiss School, who are currently building a CubeSat of their own.

DR. MIKE REYNOLDS

Mike is a Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Florida State College at Jacksonville and the Executive Director Emeritus of the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. His 40-year career runs the gamut from high school and university instructor to planetarium and museum director, researcher, and college administrator. Mike is the recipient of several awards, including the 1986 Florida State Teacher of the Year, NASA Teacher-in-Space National Finalist, and the G. Bruce Blair Medal in Astronomy.

TAYLOR RICHARDSON

Taylor is a 14-year-old student at The Bolles School in Jacksonville and an accomplished science advocate. Inspired by Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, she launched a book drive, entitled Taylor’s Take Flight with a Book, and has read to over 300 children and collected over 5,000 books. After attending a private screening of Hidden Figures with First Lady Michelle Obama, Taylor helped sponsor screenings across several U.S. states; in April 2017, she addressed the March for Science rally in Washington, DC; and she is a student space ambassador for The Mars Generation.

ANDREW RUSH

Andrew is President and CEO of Silicon Valley-based Made In Space, Inc., the first manufacturing company in space. Serving first as general legal counsel during MIS's startup phase and then as CEO since 2015, Andrew envisions a robust interplanetary existence for humanity that unites life and work in space. Andrew holds a B.S. in physics from the University of North Florida and a J.D. from Stetson University, and he currently serves on the Physics Advisory Group at UNF.

Host

JENNIFER RULIFFSON

Jenn is a NASA Solar System Ambassador and has hosted several events centered on space and space exploration. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 2010 and began a career in non-profit arts management. Her passion for space exploration proved so persistent that she quit her full-time job in 2016 to study chemistry at the University of North Florida. Jenn hopes to pursue research at NASA and is currently a research assistant in atmospheric chemistry.

TEDxFSCJ Adventure: Unmasked