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The UNL Youth Summit took place on July 21 & 22, and in the words of the students, “it was solidly awesome.” Over 200 youth gathered together for two days of life-changing experiences. They listened to cutting-edge peer leaders, participated in skill building activities and were inspired to change the world. It was a truly transformative event.

We want to thank you for making this Inaugural Youth Summit possible and for taking an active role in this movement to positively transform the lives of young men and women.

We will begin planning immediately for 2018’s Summit. If you want information on how you can be invovled in the next youth summit, please send an email to Lolita Obie at lobie@ushersnewlook.org.

On behalf of all of the student attendees, Thank You for your support!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Disruptive Innovation Summit TeamUshers New Look

“Thursday and Friday were 2 one of a kind days that will stay with me forever. I got the privilege to go to the Disruptive Innovation Summit and had the honor of meeting so many amazing and inspiring people. It would take me a good hour to type them all out. Not only did I meet these amazing people, I learned! I learned everyone has a story. I learned tough times are a part of life. I learned that I don’t have ‘weaknesses’ but strength and opportunity. And most importantly, I learned life is what we make it. So, thank you Usher’s New Look for allowing me to be a part of something I will never forget, and I hope to be back for many years to come!” -Jayel Priester, Student, Age 16

“I had a great time at the Disruptive Innovation Summit with these amazing people. I learned, I grew and I can’t wait to make something shake.” -Artis, Student, Age 18

“Still feeling all the feelings from the Usher’s New Look Disruptive Innovation Summit. Met incredible change agents who will have a lasting impact on myself and our students.” -Dana Rachlin, Founder, NYC Together Organization

“The Summit was everything and more! Great speakers, plans and energy. It was LIT!” -Vanessa, Student, Age 18

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MOST LIKELY TO GET THE CROWD TURNTLISA ‘HOLLYWOOD’ ROZIER

UNL alum and triple threat, Lisa, led ‘Expressions’ a New Look tradition where

students can step out of their shells to express their talents.

MOST LIKELY TO MAKE US COME UP WITH ANOTHER NEW WORD

SHAWN BLANCHARD

Motivational speaker and author, Shawn Blanchard, gave a powerful Spark Talk about innovating pain into joy. He’s someone who

inspires, while being an innovator, so does that make him an inspirator?

MOST LIKELY TO MAKE US FEEL WOKE

DARRELL PATTERSON

Darrell Patterson, CEO of Heat Extreme Inc., got our hears and minds woke with a dance

fitness experience like no other.

MOST INTERACTIVEMOXIE – FUTURE THINKING

Moxie wins most interactive for their incorporation of smart phones into their

presentation on future trends. They scored major points by letting students be on their

phones while learning.

SPARK TANK WINNERJUSTINA PARKER

Finding out she was adopted earlier this year sparked Justina to come up her innovative

idea for the GE Spark Tank competition; an organization that helps connect adopted people

with their families via Ancestry DNA.

MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCEATMASPHERE BUCKHEAD SPONSORED BY MOXIE

Three words. Tripping On Air! Probably the coolest thing we’ve ever experienced. Pavel

had the studios in a trance with the Wim Hof breathing method, then took the students to

new heights when the formed tribes and united with strangers for a full-blown dance party.

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MOST HYPEAYO & TEO

Backflips, splits, mid-air twists with a dab on the side. Words won’t do this performance

justice. You’ll have to see this one for yourself.

GIRLS’ CHOICE AWARDTORION

New heartthrob Torion was a hit amongst the ladies, which is why we gave him the Girl’s

Choice award. His voice gives us goosebumps and his performance had all the girls

screaming. Look out for this hot new artist!

MOST DYNAMIC DUOHEAVEN’S DESTINY

The sassy 13-year-old duo, Heaven’s Destiny, won our Casting Call with Atlanta Teen

Magazine and a chance to perform at the Summit. They had the crowd lit with their

original song and dance performance.

MOST DISRUPTIVE PERFORMANCEERIC STANLEY

Eric Stanley is disrupting classical music by playing rap, trap and other radio hits on his violin. This unlikely combination was one of our favorite performances and had the crowd

saying “No way!”

BEST VIBESCASHÆ

The Summit wouldn’t have been what it was without the music. Miami Producer/

DJ Duo, CASHÆ knew exactly what songs to play throughout the full two days. At the

Disruptivators’ Ball, they had the crowd dancing until the lights came on.

MOST MOVING EXPERIENCEVIKING FREEDOM WRITERS

SPONSORED BY SOUTHWEST

A few months ago, we met this group of students when they stood up and performed for us on the spot at their high school, Miami

Norland. Their powerful spoken word on their experiences being black youth in today’s society brought us to tears, and we told them we’d make

it a priority to get them to the Summit. Fast forward, and they did it again. Goosebumps!

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THE DISRUPTIVATOR AWARDSWILLIAM KAMKWAMBA &

THE DREW CHARTER HIGH SCHOOLINVENTEAM

When everyone said he was crazy, William persisted and taught himself how to build

windmills to power irrigation and electricity in his village of Malawi. He helped save the town

from drought and became a local hero. The Drew Charter High School InvenTeam invented an app that can detect if a child or pet is left in a hot car. Two different sides of the world, and

two very different stories, but both disrupted an issue with the power of innovation.

POINTS OF LIGHT AWARDSUSHER RAYMOND, UNL NEW YORK

ACADEMY STUDENTS & NYC TOGETHER STUDENTS

Points of Light provided two awards during the Disruptivators’ Ball. Usher received the

President’s Volunteer Service Award signed by Barack Obama for his work with New Look, and a group of students from UNL NY and NYC Together were honored with a Daily

Points of Light Award for their mural project, created with the Brooklyn NYPD, to bring

together cops and the community.

BEST SURPRISEMAYOR KASIM REED

While on stage to present Usher’s Points of Light Award, he surprised UNL with a $20,000

investment! Our greatest surprise of the entire Summit.

FLYEST FITSTONY BETTON

Metallic gold shoes, star trek sunglasses. The future called. They want their swag back.

FLYEST SHOESJAMES ‘DEWEY DA DON’ HARRIS

Anyone who knows Dewey knows his show game is always on point, but for this event he

went all out.

POWER OF ART AWARDBMIKE ODUMS

Acclaimed visual artist from New Orleans, BMike Odums, was brought to us as a

suggestion by Usher himself, so we knew his work was going to be lit. He designed a special mural piece for the Summit in which students could write a message of how they were going

to change the world. So many voices. So much power.

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THE PLUG AWARDJORDYN SMITH

From creating the theme of the event, to finding the Summit speakers, performers and one-of-a-kind experiences, Jordyn, UNL’s Director of

Digital & Creative Marketing, brought the show to life like a true #Disruptivator.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY AWARDKAMERA COBB

Kamera from the UNL Staff Team, a hospitality grad from Georgia State, held it down

when it came to flights, hotel reservations, transportation and shuttles! Without her, we

wouldn’t be here… Literally!

BEST DESIGN TEAMWM EVENTS & GEORGE PETTIGREW

The event was an out of this world experience from the moment you stepped foot in the venue. WM Events’ decor led by William

Fogler and Rachel Smith was unforgettable with installations like giant DISRUPTIVATOR

letters and a string board to connect your passion to a greater purpose. George Pettigrew killed it with the graphics. From the on-screen visuals to the program workbook, the look and

feel was as if we stepped into another world.

BEST GROUP IDEASUMMER SPARK TANK WINNER,

STOW AWAY APP

For our Exploding the Issue exercise, sponsored by Friends of Sue Hrib, students formed teams

to develop and pitch app ideas to solve the issues they care about most. This group won for their disruptive idea, the Stow Away App, which stands for feeling “Some Type Of Way”, an app that addresses mental illness and helps

people deal with their feelings.

FURTHEST TRAVELERSMARIEL DURAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

& DANIELLE STUTTERD, KIDS4KIDS

The Summit was a global affair! We met Mariel on our Powered by Service trip to Dominican

Republic and Danielle, when we trained students together in Hong Kong. They both

came all the way to Atlanta for this great event!

BEST VOLUNTEER STAFFVANECIA THOMPSON, AT&T, FRIENDSOF SUE HRIB & SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Without our volunteer staff, nothing would have been the same. Led by Vanecia Thompson,

AT&T, Friends of Sue Hrib and Southwest Airlines were by our side for anything we

needed over the 2-days. Their dedication and smiles were everything we needed to make the

event a success.

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MOST INSPIRING STORIESPAIN INTO PASSION

Moderated by psychiatrist, Dr. Adam Meadows, this panel featured Disruptivators of Life,

including Kate Atwood, who started her own nonprofit for grieving kids after her mom died,

BMike Odums, who designs murals to bring beauty to spaces ruined by Hurricane Katrina

in his home of New Orleans and Starshell, who created a Birthday Girl clothing line and

movement after losing her sister to suicide. Many students could relate to these speakers,

which made for one of our mostinspiring panels.

GRASSROOTS MOVES AWARDSSOCIAL DISRUPTIVATORS

This panel led by Roy Neill, who manages External Affairs for the Georgia Lt. Governor, featured grassroots innovators doing amazing

things at the local and state level to create change. Disruptivators included Terence Lester, founder of Love Beyond Walls, an organization

taking over Atlanta to address and eliminate poverty, Mary-Pat Hector, the outspoken youth politician and activist who ran for city-council

at only age 19, Erin Beachman, Education Director for the Southeast Anti-Defamation

League who works on campaigns such as, No Place for Hate, and Dana Rachlin, Founder of

NYC Together, an org that brings together cops and kids in the Brooklyn community.

MOST REVOLUTIONARYSOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS

Last, but certainly not least, the panel that shook the room! Moderated by Lawyer,

TV and Radio Personality, Mo Ivory, this conversation featured individuals doing great

work in Social Justice and Criminal Justice Reform including, Sean Pica, who founded

Hudson Link after being in prison for 16 years, an org that provides higher education, life

skills and re-entry support to prisoners; Jason Flom, a record executive at Lava Records who sits on the boards of several criminal justice

movements including Innocence Project and the Drug Policy Alliance; Ciara Taylor, a Political Educator for organizations like

Dream Defenders and The Popular Education Group; and none other than Usher Raymond IV, who uses his platform as an artist to shed light on these issues by connecting music and innovation, like his ‘Chains’ single experience on Tidal. This dialogue had everyone talking and even some students in tears who could relate first hand to having family members

incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.

BRAND KING AND QUEENJAMES ANDREWS & FADIA KADER

James has worked in social media and brand strategy for brands like Sony, Columbia

Records, and Ecko to name a few. Fadia runs Music Partnerships for Instagram, helping

some of the biggest artists find creative ways to utilize your favorite platform. Together,

they taught us how to discover our why, our why me and figure out how to launch our own

disruptive brand like a superstar.

MOST FORWARD-THINKINGDISRUPTIVATORS OF TECHNOLOGY

Moderated by Russell Stokes, CEO of GE Power & SVP of GE, this panel brought together the most forward-thinking Disruptivators; Jewel Burks who just sold her company PartPic to Amazon, Chris Gray, the famous Shark Tank contestant who launched Scholly, an app to help students find scholarships and William

Kamkwamba, our Disruptivator Award Recipient, who saved his village in Malawi

when he taught himself to build wind powered energy at age 14!

MOST LIKELY TO MAKE US LOLDISRUPTIVATORS OF THE INTERNET

The first panel to kick off the Summit had us rolling. Instagram personality Jay Versace, the awesome handshake teacher Mr. Barry White

Jr., and Vanessa Wilson, a former lawyer turned online craft cult leader. This odd combo made

for a fun and insightful panel!

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