On Thursday, January 31, the TEDxAsburyPark team will host its second Live Audition on the topic of CHAOS, its theme for this year. The January event is a lead-up to the 2019 TEDxAsburyPark main event, which will take place on Saturday, May 18th. This seventh annual TEDx event will showcase local and far-flung speakers who have ideas worth spreading.
“We have an amazing team of volunteers with diverse expertise who put their energy into creating the speaker lineup,” says Christine Burke of Red Bank, a second-year TEDxAsburyPark volunteer and this year’s Speaker Team lead. “The speaker team is charged with reading each and every submission, reviewing and sharing comments, and then with coaching the selected speakers, all the while envisioning how the final product – our main TEDxAsburyPark stage– will look in May.”
Additionally, the team also helps to produce several free warm-up events that give audiences a taste of what’s to come, such as the January Live Audition. The first Live Audition was held in December 2018.
“On a high level, we’re always looking to achieve that perfect balance – a variety of solid, interesting speaker talks within the CHAOS theme, speaker diversity in gender, age and geography, and of course, what TEDx calls ‘ideas worth sharing.’ We want our audience on May 18th to leave inspired, thoughtful, and ready to change the world and themselves.”
With the chaos of leading a team so imperative to the process of creating a successful TEDxAsburyPark event, motivating the speaker team volunteers, staying organized, and looking for ways to leverage technology are key to Christine. “We’ve brought together an exceptional team this year, and I encourage them to do their best work, be committed to their TEDxAsburyPark responsibilities, and especially, to have fun,” says Christine.
By day, Christine is Manager of Global Internal Communications and Sustainability for Australia-based Ansell LLC, a world leader in providing superior safety solutions that protect human well-being and keep millions of workers around the world safe. She interacts with global colleagues daily, and the chaos doesn’t stop when she finishes work. Christine is no stranger to the Jersey Shore, having previously been a volunteer EMT in Fair Haven and also having served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations in Monmouth County, including 180 Turning Lives Around. Christine is a Monmouth University alumna.
This New Year’s Day, Christine jumped into the chilly Atlantic just off the beach at Asbury Park, along with hundreds of other plungers in the Sons of Ireland Polar Bear Plunge. It was her third leap for charity, having also organized the Plunge event for several years. “It’s a fantastic way to kick off a new year,” says Christine, “and a fun way to raise money for worthwhile local charities.”
To Christine, the inclusiveness of TEDxAsburyPark genuinely represents the best people and the best ideas in an event that takes place in one of the best places in the world. She loves seeing TEDxAsburyPark evolve from the initial submissions to a well-orchestrated convergence of ideas around a common theme.
“I live by the idea that we transform ourselves to transform others to transform the world. My goal in volunteering at TEDxAsburyPark is to meet interesting people and help others change the world through their ideas.”
Christine is doing just that. “There’s nothing like the excitement of seeing our speakers take to the stage. It’s something you don’t want to miss.”