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BTalks speaker series will launch Thursday in Basalt

Staff report

A new speaker series called BTalks will be launched this month in Basalt with the goal of “connecting midvalley residents around inspiring ideas and conversations.”

Each event will feature a series of several short community conversations that are paired with social gatherings. The presentations will focus on a common theme.

BTalks are free and open to the public. Students in high school and college are encouraged to attend. The concept is loosely based on the popular TedTalks speaker series.



“We have a wealth of insight and creativity in our own backyard that is just begging for the opportunity to be shared,” said Scott Gilbert, BTalks spokesman and a former TedTalks series organizer. “The idea behind BTalks is to take people out of our day-to-day dialogues and elevate the conversation to showcase this community’s uniqueness, intellectual curiosity and simply have fun.”

The first BTalk is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Rocky Mountain Institute Innovation Center on Two Rivers Road in Basalt. The theme is, “All Things ‘B’” and will feature speakers with diverse backgrounds. Their topics will somehow relate to ‘B’.




The speakers and topics are:

“Bold Moves: The New Face of Mobility” by Greg Rucks, principal at Rocky Mountain Institute’s Transportation Practices. He is currently managing a multi-year partnership with Austin, Texas, to develop and implement technology and world-class solutions for transforming mobility.

“Better Buildings” by Steev Wilson, founding partner at Forum Phi Architecture.

“Being What You Want When You Grow Up: The Importance of Early Childhood Education” by Adele Matthee, director of Growing Years Preschool.

“The Brink: The Story and Music of a Local High School Band,” with four teens, Ian Catto, Camilio Guevara-Stone, Tanner Korn and Narayan Koss.

A consortium of entities from Aspen Skiing Co. to nonprofits are organizing the BTalks. The events will be staged at rotating locations throughout Basalt and the midvalley.