Keynote Speakers
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D.
Renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon and Inspiring Storyteller
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., had a childhood dream of becoming a physician. Growing up in a single parent home with dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper, and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that dream until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged her sons to strive for excellence. Young Ben persevered and today is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for nearly a quarter of a century. He became the inaugural recipient of a professorship dedicated in his name in May, 2008. He is now the Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D. and Dr. Evelyn Spiro, R.N. Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
Some career highlights include the first separation of craniopagus (Siamese) twins joined at the back of the head in 1987, the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa, and the first successful placement of an intrauterine shunt for a hydrocephalic twin. Although he has been involved in many newsworthy operations, he feels that every case is noteworthy – deserving of maximum attention. He is interested in all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery and has a special interest in trigeminal neuralgia (severe facial pain) in adults.
In 2001, Dr. Carson was named by CNN and TIME Magazine as one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists. That same year, he was selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 "Living Legends" on the occasion of its 200th anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2006 Spingarn Medal which is the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP. In February, 2008, Dr. Carson was presented with the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal by President Bush at the White House. Dr. Carson has been recognized as a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, the nation's highest civilian honor. He has literally received hundreds of other awards during his distinguished career.
Today, Dr. Carson and his wife, Candy, dedicate themselves to expanding the reach of the Carson Scholars Fund. Their dream is to name a Carson Scholar in every school within the United States.
In 2009, Carson's life was chronicled in the original TNT movie, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story starring Oscar Winner Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Tom Sparough
The Space Painter
Tom Sparough is a juggler, storyteller, writer, and facilitator. He is known to hundreds of thousands of people as the Space Painter, which comes from a description of juggling that Tom received from a two-year-old child.
He has performed across North America and in Europe for corporations, churches, conferences, schools, parks, festivals and special events. As an educator and entertainer, Tom manages to blend his messages into spellbinding performances that captivate the audience and leaves them asking for more.
As a facilitator and workshop leader this 35-year, veteran juggler has taught hundreds of thousands of people the arts of juggling and balancing. He offers a wide range of hands-on experiences that promote skill development, self-esteem, analogy insight, fellowship, and team building.
With a master's degree in psychology from the University of Cincinnati, Tom weaves important life-skill messages into his presentations. He also holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a former newspaper reporter and editor.
He has been a featured presenter at social service, religious, health care, and education conferences from California to New York.
Mr. Sparough lives in Cincinnati with his wife and two children, and most of the other children in the neighborhood.
Excerpts taken from Tom Sparough's www.SpacePainter.com website.
