OP NEWS
14 January 14 - 27, 2022
Explore Big Sky
News from our publisher, Outlaw Partners
TEDxBigSky: Meet the speakers Pt. 4
Introducing the 2022 TEDxBigSky speaker lineup BY MIRA BRODY
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST
BIG SKY – Solidarity. Responsibility. Fortitude. We’ve heard a lot of iterations of what resilience means to each of this year’s TEDxBigSky speakers. This issue, meet Todd Dittmann, who spent 25 years in energy finance; Lisa Senters-McDermott, CEO and founder of Jet Senters Aviation; Ryan Busse, author of the critically acclaimed memoir, “Gunfight”; and Bruce Anfinson, Montana born and raised singer/songwriter who will close out night two with some inspiring tunes. This year TEDxBigSky is paired with another great Big Sky Ideas Festival featuring a roundtable discussion on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. as well as live performances by musicians Monique Benabou and Bruce Anfinson on Friday, Jan. 28 at The Independent at 6 p.m. Be sure to purchase your tickets to all events at tedxbigsky.com. As we wrap up our speaker introduction series, we’d like to remind you to find your own sense of resilience in life—whether it’s working together to save the planet, start your own company, write some good music or change the culture of our community for the better. Join us at TEDxBigSky this month to start your resilient journey.
Todd Dittmann Todd Dittmann believes that the practice of solidarity is waning in our culture. “That is unfortunate because if you don’t practice solidarity it actually comes at the cost of personal fulfillment and it comes at a cost to social justice,” Dittmann said. The cost he will address during his TEDxBigSky talk is that of inaction on climate change, specifically the need to practice solidarity in order to fully transition our energy sources from fossil fuels to Lisa Senters-McDermott “Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting,” the late Betty White wrote in her 2011 book, “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t).” “If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints.” It’s a quote Lisa Senters-McDermott, private aviation expert and CEO and founder of Jet Senters Aviation, referenced when recounting her path to success. SentersMcDermott will be speaking about resilience as an entrepreneur and how the journey of of climbing to the top has changed over the years with the introduction of technology. Perhaps the greatest contributor to her success, she says, is her belief in trusting her instincts in the face of disbelievers and naysayers.
renewable sources and halt the detrimental effects of climate change and ensure the longevity of humanity. In order to achieve this, he believes, we need solidarity in our country as a whole population, as well as among its leaders. Dittmann spent more than 25 years in energy finance with investing and board experience in both public and private companies. He joined Angelo Gordon in 2013 to lead the firm’s energy strategy and today is a managing director and member of the firm’s executive committee. He believes there can be a happy ending to the fight against climate change, but that relies on the concept of solidarity. “When I think of resilience I think of fortitude,” Dittmann said. “And if I’m right about waning solidarity then we live in a culture that’s increasingly selffocused and it takes fortitude not to be so. It takes fortitude not to be selffocused and I think that’s a challenge.” For her, this success does not come without failure. In fact, according to smallbiztrends.com, entrepreneurs fail an average of four times before succeeding. “Resilience is essential,” said Senters-McDermott. “You have to follow your gut, trust your instincts and allow yourself to dream.” She hopes her TEDxBigSky talk is funny, inspiring and enlightening and reaches younger listeners, encouraging them to follow their wildest dreams—all while teaching their parents not to quash those dreams. “Everyone’s brain functions differently so everyone is unique and capable of achieving different things,” said Senters-McDermott. “That’s the beautiful thing about being an entrepreneur, you can see things different then I can. I’m bringing something to life that no one ever thought of before.” To Senters-McDermott, resilience means not giving up. She illustrates an image of the old Bozo the Clown punching bag toys—when you punch Bozo, he pops back up. Although humorous, that’s the image she likes to encourage others to feel—the tenacity to get back up, no matter how hard the punch.
