Spend some time around the TEDxNavesink organizational team, and you’ll quickly learn the name Brian Smiga. Smiga is not only the Executive & Artistic Director of TEDxNavesink, but was also a driving force behind the organization’s creation in 2013.
As a previous founder of various software companies in Silicon Valley and New York, and as the current operating partner at Alpha Venture Partners, Smiga is no stranger to supporting organizations from the ground up. “I’m someone who starts things from scratch – from nothing,” he says. “I’ve built products and companies – from nothing. I’ve coached or been brought in to assist start-ups many times. So, ‘something from nothing’; those three words are comfortable to me.” TEDxNavesink, now moving steadily towards its third annual ideas conference, is definitely something.
Asked if, years ago, he ever pictured himself organizing his own TEDx conference, Smiga admits it never crossed his mind. “Really,” he recalls, “the impulse to put on TEDxNavesink grew out of wanting to do three things. First, the goal was to get the cool people in Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore to form relationships and get to know each other; second, it was to bring the culture of the world to New Jersey, because this is a great place to live and we need to celebrate it with great minds; and third, it was to produce non-fiction theater that’s as compelling as fictional theater.” It’s this passion and vision that draws people together to form lasting connections.
That notion of lasting connections is clearly demonstrated as Smiga remembers TEDxNavesink’s early beginning. “Basically,” he says, “in the desperation to get [the first event] off the ground, I enrolled my best friends.” This included Vidar Brekke, current TEDxNavesink Chief Information Officer and fellow core organizer. “I knew Vidar from the startup community in New York…and I knew him from the ferry. My interaction with Vidar was random. I just happened to run into him.” Reflecting on the development of that relationship, the formative power of the idea conference is clearly illustrated. “It sort of proves that TEDxNavesink gives you a creative project around which to build a vibrant social community,” he says, “because now I see Vidar all the time. But we just met on the spokes that were leading into Manhattan. It had nothing to do with here. Now we have a project that’s about here.”
It’s no wonder that each year, TEDxNavesink (or “The Navesink” as its parent organization is called) focuses more on becoming a large, year-round community, and not just a once per year conference. “There’s a real appetite and desire for the things we’re doing,” Smiga says. “For example, we’re now producing four idea events in front of four different Two River Theater plays. I think the next step for us is to bring the concept of idea events to many other venues and many other people.” Asked what other big plans The Navesink has in store, Smiga’s excitement is evident. “Stay tuned,” he hints with a smile.
TEDxNavesink: Accelerators will be held on April 11, 2015 at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. Compared to previous events, attendance will double to fill 700 seats. As Executive & Artistic Director, Brian Smiga is thrilled to be coming to this venue. “This couldn’t be done anywhere but Monmouth University,” he says. “We think it’s fantastic to have the resources and the intellectual assets of the university woven into the conference. It’s a total win/win, and Monmouth University jumped in with both feet. We couldn’t have a better partner.”
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Tom received his B.S. in Marketing from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, graduating with magna cum laude distinction. Upon graduation, he began a career in Healthcare Marketing, where he remains today. Considering himself a perpetual student of life, Tom enjoys reading books on personal development, engaging in political discussion, and spending time with family and friends.