20 presenters offer food for thought at today's TEDx Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN

Beginning at age 6, Jenilee Taylor dealt with the emotional challenges associated with losing her grandmother, Jane Grabenhorst, who had undergone brain surgery.

Since April, though, the Cuyahoga Falls woman has taken on a much happier related challenge: trying to encapsulate and distill the lessons her grandmother instilled in her into a 12-minute presentation.

“She taught me to be open and willing to make friends; she made friends with everyone she met and encouraged me to do the same thing,” Taylor explained about the recurring theme that coursed through the brief presentation she gave, titled “Emotional Glitter: The Power of Connections.”

Taylor, who owns a training and development company, was among the 20 local, out-of-state and international presenters who expounded on a variety of thought-provoking themes during Saturday’s TEDx Youngstown event in the DeYor Performing Arts Center’s Ford Family Recital Hall, downtown.

The speakers engaged in deep, 10- to 15-minute discussions on topics that delved into saving forests, handling substance and drug abuse, enduring and overcoming humiliation, taking reasonable risks, surviving the loss of a loved one and appreciating the virtues of 3-D printing.

Read more about the event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.