2018 Speakers

Meet our TEDxPointUniversity 2018 speakers:

 

Dean Collins, President, Point University

Dean Collins graduated from Point University in 1979. After graduating, he attended Auburn University, where he earned a master’s degree and founded Auburn Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational campus ministry that continues to thrive today. Throughout his life, Collins has worked in many different sectors, including counseling, human resources and consulting.

He continues his work today with DC Consulting, which he founded in 1999. DC Consulting services multiple Fortune 500 companies by providing guidance in the areas of executive leadership, organizational effectiveness and optimization of business relationships. He was appointed president of Point University  in 2009 by the Point’s board of trustees.

Collins has also served Point in other roles prior to becoming president, including adjunct faculty and interim vice president of student development. Dean Collins now resides in Lanett, Alabama, with his wife, Penny. He has four children and four grandchildren. Watch his talk here.

 

Campbell B.  “Cam” Lanier III, Chairman and CEO of ITC Holding Company, LLC

Cam teamed with Kinetic Ventures in 2008. His activities focus on communications, software and financial services. He is a director of LeaseTerm Solutions, HotSchedules, SchooX, ITC Capital Partners and OPTii.  He was formerly a director of Tower Cloud, Cardlytics and LogicBlox-Predictix.  He is also the Chairman of ITC Holding Company, LLC. Earlier in his career, he co-founded Interstate Communications (Telecom*USA), which grew to be the fourth largest long distance service provider when it was acquired by MCI in 1990. Cam was the founding investor and chairman of Powertel (now T-Mobile), which was acquired by Deutsche Telecom in 2000. He was also the founding investor for Mindspring, which later merged with Earthlink, and the founding investor in Firethorn, a mobile payments company that was acquired in the fall of 2007 by Qualcomm. In addition, Cam was the founding investor of ITC^DeltaCom, Knology and InterCall. Watch his talk here.

 

Harriet Langford, President of The Ray, and Trusteee of Ray C. Anderson Foundation

A graduate of the University of West Georgia, Harriet Langford has spent the past 30+ years serving in numerous nonprofit leadership roles in her local community. In addition to her roles in the nonprofit world, Harriet owned a specialty printing business in her hometown of LaGrange, Georgia.

Harriet’s entrepreneurial leadership skills, her servant spirit and her passion for team sports have served her well as a Trustee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a role she assumed in 2011.

In 2015 she was appointed to the board of the Biophilic Institute. She is a past board member of the Georgia Conservancy and Sustainable Atlanta, and she is a past member of the Troup County Strategic Planning Committee. Watch her talk here.

 

Tavaris Taylor, Director of Church and Alumni Relations, Point University

Tavaris Taylor returns to the Point University family this year as director of alumni and church relations. After graduating from Point in 2013, Taylor worked in the local government of Rockdale County and served as a youth pastor in Conyers, Georgia.

His life took a turn when he decided to move to Puebla, Mexico, in 2015 to work for Business as Missions and CMF International Globalscope. During his time there, he completed a masters in international management and marketing from the Universidad de las Americas Puebla, one of the most prestigious universities in Latin America.

His received a full music scholarship to sing with the university choir and opera, traveling throughout Mexico and parts of Latin America. In business he has consulted for companies entering into the Mexican and United States markets. Tavaris is committed to faith and family, and he is engaged to Michelle Garcia Nino, a professional dancer in the field of contemporary dance. Watch his talk here.

 

Simone Cox, Associate Professor of Counseling and Human Services, Point University

Simone Cox is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed professional counselor and a board certified telemental health provider. She has a masters in business administration and a masters in marriage and family therapy.

She is employed as an associate professor of counseling at Point University and own Release Counseling and Consulting, a practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where she treats clients and supervises interns and new therapists. Simone also facilitates workshops and presentations on various counseling topics.

She is passionate about serving others and working with her clients as they discover increased self-awareness, personal growth and acceptance. Simone views counseling as an investment that can yield long-term rewards to influence healing, intimacy and wholeness. Watch her talk here.

 

Jack Dufour, Student, Point University

Jack Dufour is starting his senior year at Point University as a business management major. Upon his graduation in May 2019, Jack plans to become the director of process improvement of his family owned business. Jack’s interest of process improvement evolved when he earned his Lean Six Sigma Green Belt this past May. Watch his talk here.