About

WHAT IT IS:
Ignite Boise is a 3 hour-ish idea feeding frenzy that brings together artists, geeks, entrepreneurs, academics, government officials, and others to share their ideas in fast-paced, bite-sized presentations. It’s a great opportunity to meet smart, interesting people (if we do say so ourselves) and maybe even learn something.

THE GOAL:
Bringing together embers of big ideas to spark a blaze of creativity in Boise’s business and creative community –leaving attendees more educated and just as importantly, more inspired.

HOW IT WORKS:
Presenters each get five minutes and 20 slides (automatically rotating every 15 seconds) to talk on a topic of their choice. Everyone is invited to participate, though due to the limitations of space and time, only a handful will be selected to present at each event.

COST:
Zero. Zip. Nada. Ignite Boise is brought to you by a group of volunteers and sponsors.

JUST WHO ARE THESE VOLUNTEERS?:

Ron Baker
Ron is co-owner of rizen creative. After more than 16 years in the design and advertising business, Ron founded rizen creative in 2002 with hopes of creating a different kind of creative firm, the kind that puts people first – and the work a very close second. Ron cut his teeth working for the K2 Ski Corporation while attending art school, and eventually, on to the agency world. The philosophies and structure of rizen creative are heavily influenced by his past experiences – both positive and negative – from a variety of creative roles at traditional and interactive agencies.

Chris Blanchard
Chris is professional staff in the Dean’s office of the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs at Boise State University. From Boise State University he earned a B.S. in Social Science with distinguished honors, and an M.A., in applied historical research. He is the founder of the social networking site for scholars, Pronetos, and the Open Access Press, which helps learned societies move traditional print content online. He is a certified Internet Webmaster since 2001, and is a Ph.D. student in the Urban Studies program at Portland State University. He lives on the Boise Bench with his wife, pit bulls, and a bunch of feral cats.

Rochelle Lierz DeLong
Founder and President of Consilio Business Managers, Rochelle has a wide-range of experience using her gifts with both people and systems to improve communication and workflow. Her goal is to effect change at deep levels to create life satisfaction. Rochelle advises experienced owners on calming their lives and evolving their companies; she teaches fresh entrepreneurs how to take the long-term approach with their dreams. She holds a BS in Business with an emphasis in Technology, Sociology, and Family Business from Oregon State University.

Jess Flynn
Jess is a principal and President of Red Sky Public Relations. Prior to becoming an owner in Red Sky Public Relations, Jessica was the first Communications Manager for Idaho’s Tamarack Resort, the first all-season resort to open in the United States in 20 years. Prior to Tamarack she was with a Boise public relations agency and worked with such clients as the Ada County Air Quality Board, Hewlett Packard (Leadership in Human Rights), Bitterroot Resort, Treasure Valley YMCA, Opera Idaho, and the Intermountain Venture Forum. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism and worked as a news producer and executive producer at KEYE Channel 42, Austin, WTAE Channel 4, Pittsburgh, and KIVI Channel 6, Boise. Flynn received an Emmy for her work in news production. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, a multi-award winning member of the Idaho Press Club, and a recipient of the Idaho Business Review’s “Woman of the Year” and “Accomplished Under 40” awards.

Stephen M. Nipper
Stephen M. Nipper is a patent/trademark attorney and partner with the law firm of Dykas, Shaver & Nipper in Boise.  Steve is the author of The Invent Blog®, a technology blog covering news, technology tips, and other information relevant to intellectual property attorneys, independent inventors and small businesses.

Jeff Reynolds
Jeff is co-owner of rizen creative. Jeff held several positions in journalism, television syndication, and high-tech marketing before moving to Boise in 1998 to join a growing ad agency. Since, Jeff has earned an MBA, founded six companies (sold two, closed three), started a family, and helped dozens of underdog companies—from start-ups to multinationals—successfully compete against entrenched competitors.

Wyatt Werner
An Oregon native, Wyatt moved to Boise to earn a BA in philosophy from Northwest Nazarene University. After working in research administration at Emory University’s School of Medicine, Wyatt returned to Boise to help broaden the dissemination of research and build a sustainable business model for open access publishing. Wyatt currently studies Sustainable Business and Innovation Management at Portland State University. He is a founding member of Ignite Boise and Pronetos. He also blogs at Seppuku Kaizen.