I have a theory... | Ian Rosenberger | TEDxYouth@Shadyside

Ian believes we all have potentials we must tap into. In his TED talk, Ian begs us to explore more about the world around us as well as ourselves.

Ian founded both Team Tassy & Thread in 2010 in the wake of the Haiti earthquake. Team Tassy unlocks the inherent power in every person to end global poverty. Thread takes trash from poor neighborhoods & turns it into jobs & useful stuff people love. They work together under the same core philosophy: the biggest problem we face as a species is multidimensional poverty; ending it is entirely possible in our lifetime; & to do it, we need to invest in the poor to create as many dignified, sustainable jobs as possible. To date, Team Tassy has engaged almost 50 Haitians, preparing them and their families for employment. Thread has shipped nearly 200,000 lbs of recycled plastic out of Haiti to eventually be processed into fabric & turned into finished goods and jobs for Team Tassy families.

Ian’s passion is built upon 10 years of experience studying economic redevelopment in Western and South-Central Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean. Prior to his professional career, Ian attended Penn State University, where he was elected as the university’s Undergraduate Student Government President in 2003. He is a member of both the Lion’s Paw and Parmi Nous Senior Honor Societies and is an Eagle Scout. In 2005, Ian placed 3rd on CBS: Survivor Palau and has since spoken to tens of thousands of people all over the country about his experiences on the show and in the developing world. Ian was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx