2022 Speakers
Dana Murray
Musician, Educator, and Executive Director
North Omaha Music & Arts Academy
Dana Murray is a passionate musician and educator who has devoted most of his life to music. He’s played for such greats as Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Witherspoon, Roy Hargrove, Aloe Blacc and Norah Jones. Dana’s passion for music led him into teaching where he's held various educator roles with the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Public Schools and Bellevue Public Schools as well as founding the competitive indoor percussion ensemble: Dojo Percussion. He's toured the world as a musician and serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA).
Beyond performing, Murray is also an accomplished songwriter, producer and collaborator, and was honored to work with legendary label Blue Note. He grew up in South Omaha, and attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship. He's eager to apply his unique music background and teaching experiences to help shape the next generation of talent through his North Omaha Music and Arts Academy (NOMA) organization.
Focus area: Art and music education. The need to understand how art and music education increases the chances of success for young people at school, at home and in life.
Website: Dana Murray Music
Organization: North Omaha Music & Arts
Connect with Dana on social media:
Lee Emma Running
Musician, Educator, and Executive Director
North Omaha Music & Arts Academy
Recognized for her arresting sculptures, Lee Emma Running’s work directly engages our relationship with the natural world. Her sculptures made of roadkill animal bones, kiln-cast glass, and precious metals were the center of a solo exhibition, Verge at PACE in Council Bluffs IA in 2021-22. Her window installations using native plants are permanent fixtures at the Bernheim, Arboretum and Research Forest in Bernheim, Kentucky and the Edgar Fine Arts Center at Upper Iowa University. In 2022, she is currently completing a permanent installation at the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Her work has been featured in recent exhibitions at the Morris Graves Museum, Eureka CA, Western Carolina Museum of Fine Art, Cullowhee NC, and The Front, New Orleans, LA. She has been an artist in residence at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture, Ucross, Santa Fe Art Institute, Jentel, and the Penland School of Crafts. She is a 2022-23 Artist in Residence with Opera Omaha. Her work is represented by Olson-Larsen Galleries.
Focus area:
Sculpture. Art as a tool for building empathy and exploring the interdependence of wild animals and humans.
Website: Lee Emma Running
Dr. Patrick Friman
Clinical Professor & VP of Behavioral Health at Boys Town
Dr. Patrick Friman received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. He is the current Vice President of Behavioral Health at Boys Town and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. He has published more than 200 scientific articles and chapters and three books, focusing on Behavioral Pediatrics and Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Friman’s work in behavioral pediatrics has concentrated on the gap between primary medical care for children on one side, and referral-based clinical child psychological and psychiatric care, on the other.
Focus area: Behavioral health. There is need for all of us to exhibit compassion and understanding during times of misunderstanding and conflict, where we are faced with circumstances beyond our control.
Dr. Friman's organization: Boys Town Nebraska
Dr. David Galant
Music Director of the Kanesville Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Music at Creighton University
Dr. David Michael Galant is Music Director of the Kanesville Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Music at Creighton University where he conducts the University Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Galant graduated from the Glenn Korff School of Music, earning a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting. Maestro Galant has previously conducted at the Dohnányi Conducting Academy in Hungary, the International Institute for Conductors in Bulgaria, the Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Festival in the Czech Republic, the Miami Music Festival in Florida, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia, the International Conductors Workshop and Competition in Georgia, and was a finalist in the Serbian Lányi Conducting Competition. Dr. Galant is known to be an energetic and passionate conductor on the podium and enjoys guest conducting internationally having worked with Charleston Symphony, Vidin State Philharmonic Orchestra, Dohnányi Orchestra, Klassische Philharmonie, Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, and Holland Symphony.
Focus area: Music/conducting. The critical role of the conductor using body language and gestures of the baton. These non-verbal cues transmit mood and emotion, that eventually reach the audience via the skill of the musicians. Those musicians in turn translate the notes on the manuscript into a sound that transports the audience.
David's website: David Michael Galant
Connect with David on social media:
Ralph Kellogg
Vice President of People Training at Lutheran Family Services
Ralph Kellogg is the Vice President for People Training at Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska. Ralph has an extensive background in human resources, training, employee relations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ralph has been published in Forbes.com and presented as a keynote speaker for McLean & Company.
Focus area: Anxiety/mental health. Investigating the need for organizational health to include provisions for recognizing and providing a safe space at work for employees.
Connect with Ralph on social media:
Dr. Justin Romano
Psychiatry Fellow at Creighton University School of Medicine
Dr. Justin Romano is a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at Creighton University. After obtaining his medical degree from the University of Washington, his career focus shifted to helping children with their mental health problems by providing therapy and medication management. His growing podcast Millennial Mental Health Channel is a platform to educate the people of all ages on mental health disorders and reduce the stigma around getting help for mental health. Podcast episodes have ranged from social issues such as cell phone addiction to general education on traditional psychiatric disorders such as depression and personality disorders. His aspirations include increasing access to mental health care in rural areas, advocating for mental health equity in state and federal legislatures, and rethinking traditional medical models to improve care and outcomes. Personal interests include gravel cycling, backcountry downhill skiing, local microbrews, and writing songs for guitar and voice. Although he went to elementary school with his wife, they did not meet and start dating until they attended college together at the University of Wyoming. Justin and his wife have an energetic cattle dog named Freckles, and they are planning on starting a family in the near future.
Focus area:
Medicine/psychiatry. Exploring the issues of social media and increasing usage of social media platforms by youth and young adults.
David's website: David Michael Galant
Connect with Justin on social media:
Justin Kemerling
Independent Graphic Designer
Justin Kemerling is an independent graphic designer, activist, and collaborator living in Omaha, Nebraska focused on making it beautiful, moving people to action, and getting good things done. Over the last 12 years, he has worked primarily with community organizations and political campaigns in need of branding, graphic design, and web design. His self-initiated projects and collaborations explore ways to move forward important causes and ideas with design, art, and other forms of creative expression.
Focus area:
Explicit and implicit messaging in graphics and graphic design.
Justin's website: Justin Kemerling
Connect with Justin on social media:
Ruth Murray
Registered Nurse and Consultant
Ruth Murray is a a nurse and developmental movement therapist. Because three of her children’s development wasn’t typical, she began a quest for explanations and solutions to resolve baffling symptoms that didn’t fit traditional diagnoses. She found astonishing answers that explained and provided life-changing help, not only for her family but for people who struggled with a wide variety of learning, neurological and mental health issues. She is the creator of the Developmental Pyramid, which illustrates to professionals and others, why there are so many who struggle to accomplish life tasks, and points to solutions that can help us all.
Focus area: Exploring the use of alternative methods of medical support that do not include tablets, therapy or surgery.
Ruth's organization website: Movement Solutions
Connect with Ruth on social media:
Dr. Michael Ackerbauer
Business Transformation Leader at IBM
Dr. Michael Ackerbauer is a Business Transformation Leader for IBM, where he partners with organizational leaders to humanize their digital transformation. A seasoned innovator and intrapreneur, Dr. Ackerbauer makes complex concepts easy to understand and simple to apply. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Imagination and a doctorate in Creative Leadership.
Focus area: Team Development. Building perfect teams can happen, but it needs skills of leaders who listen and engage with the team.
Dr. Ackerbauer's organization website: AckLabs
Connect with Dr. Ackerbauer on social media:
