Meet Jacob Espinoza:
TEDxSalem VII Host

When it comes to orga­niz­ing a TEDx event, find­ing the right host is just as impor­tant as select­ing the speak­ers. 

A guide for the audi­ence as well as an ambas­sador for the event, the host is respon­si­ble for intro­duc­ing each of the speak­ers and giv­ing the audi­ence the per­fect tease of what is about to come, but at the same time, nev­er telling the audi­ence how to feel. They are also in charge of time-keep­ing, trou­bleshoot­ing, announce­ments, con­nec­tions and audi­ence engage­ment.

It’s a big job, and when con­sid­er­ing who to ask for January’s TEDxSalem event, co-cura­tors Bri­an Hart and Car­lee Wright had a cer­tain some­one in mind.

Meet Jacob Espinoza. 

Jacob has a pres­ence: sin­cere, warm and wel­com­ing. A lead­er­ship devel­op­ment con­sul­tant, Jacob facil­i­tates train­ing and coach­ing con­ver­sa­tions, plus hosts a pod­cast. His grand focus is help­ing man­agers become lead­ers who moti­vate and inspire. Oth­er than his time spent get­ting his Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in advertising/journalism at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ore­gon, he has called Salem home for 36 years.

Sit down for a cup of cof­fee with the Salem native, and you will find your­self rapt in con­ver­sa­tion with an engaged, insight­ful, atten­tive lis­ten­er. He’s com­pas­sion­ate and moti­vat­ed, which is why it should come as no sur­prise that he has a goal of becom­ing the city’s most sup­port­ive per­son. (He’s cur­rent­ly host­ing the Insta­gram account Salem­Takeover and is the Sep­tem­ber spon­sor at Basil & Board, where you can try the Ore­gon Home­boy piz­za named after a song Jacob wrote. BONUS — 10% of the pur­chase from that piz­za goes to help Fam­i­ly Build­ing Blocks.)

Here’s what we found out about host-to-be Jacob in our last chat:

What was your first TED expe­ri­ence?
My first live TED expe­ri­ence was the first TEDx­Port­land. I loved see­ing all of the pas­sion and new ideas com­ing out of Ore­gon.

Do you have a favorite TED Talk? How has it impact­ed your life or per­spec­tive?
Simon Sinek’s Start With Why was extreme­ly impact­ful on me as a leader. It changed how I approach get­ting buy-in from those I work with. I also think it rep­re­sents the pow­er of TEDx events. They pro­vide a plat­form that gives ideas a chance to catch fire.

What does this year’s theme “Vision” mean to you?
This world needs opti­mism. To me, this year’s theme is all about look­ing into the future and remind­ing our­selves that the nec­es­sary labor will be worth it. 

What is one of your favorite child­hood mem­o­ries?
Watch­ing my dad raise two kids on his own. I did­n’t appre­ci­ate what a chal­lenge that was until I got old­er. It’s amaz­ing look­ing back at all of the sac­ri­fices he made. I’m very for­tu­nate to have some­one like him set an exam­ple for me as I’m now also the father of two boys. 

What song best describes your life?
Aesop Rock’s ”Lot­ta Years” sums up this stage of my life pret­ty well. 

What is the scari­est thing you have ever done for fun?
Noth­ing I’d admit to.

Tell us more about your com­mu­ni­ty activ­i­ties.
I enjoy coach­ing youth sports, lis­ten­ing to local artists, host a pod­cast focused on help­ing boss­es become bet­ter lead­ers and give out a lot of free high fives.

Watch for Jacob on stage as host of TEDxSalem VII on Jan­u­ary 4, 2020, and when you see him in the hall­way, have your high-five ready!

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TEDxSalem VII

Orga­nized by The Mox­ie Ini­tia­tive, TEDxSalem VII is an all-day event fea­tur­ing talks, per­for­mances, refresh­ments, lunch and a swag bag. It takes place 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sat­ur­day, Jan. 4, 2020, at the Salem Con­ven­tion Cen­ter. Tick­ets will go on sale in Sep­tem­ber. Fol­low us on Face­book for the most up-to-date news from our com­mu­ni­ty, and check our web­site reg­u­lar­ly for new infor­ma­tion. You can also reach us at info@tedxsalem.com.