Gail Lovelace Menasco

1. This year’s theme is “US Humans” What do you immediately think of when you ponder US Humans?
US Humans… we can do anything at our fingertips, we have unlimited long term memory and have infinite amount of space in our brain to learn anything and to be the person we want to be. We have so much power to create change in the world and in our own lives. That encourages me every day to live with intention and challenges me to contemplate and take action on how I can personally invoke change.

2.Who has had the most significant influence on you in your adult life and why?
A plethora of people have been significant influencers in my life, such as my husband with his kindness and patience, my mom who has such a happy heart, but someone who has always pushed me to dream big and encourage me to think outside the box is my Uncle Syd. I see in him that anything is possible and where there is a will, there truly is a way and I admire how he makes things happen.

3.What is it about your work that keeps you going?
The work I do in the digital marketing world always challenges me. I enjoy looking at data and trying to figure out how dive deeper into the story.

4.What is your passion outside your idea worth spreading?
I absolutely love Black Water diving. Every night there is the largest vertical migration of biomass on this planet and you can see amazing creatures at night at even 50 feet are astounding! I also love sharks. I have a shark bucket list that never ends and I love traveling to new places to see specific types of sharks such as Tiger Sharks, Great Whites, Sand Tigers, and Whale Sharks.

5.Where’s the one place you’ve visited that you’ll never forget and why?
Tiger Beach hands down. Tiger Beach is off of Grand Bahama and I spent a week there on a boat with all strangers (who soon became friends). I spent every morning, afternoon, and night in the water with a multitude of lemon and tiger sharks without a cage. It felt exhilarating spending so much time in the water with them and seeing the tiger sharks come right up to me, then barely brush past me. I will never forget the incredible sunrises as I sipped my coffee in the morning, looking out at the shark-filled ocean in front of me… I knew the possibilities in life are endless and at that moment, I was exactly where I needed to be. It’s a dream to see them again and I can’t wait for that day.

6.Describe an unforgettable moment that shaped who you are.
When I was 21, I was learning how to skydive… and I was terrible at it. When I did my fist AFF (Accelerated Freefall) jump I couldn’t’ find the handle to pull my parachute and my instructor had to pull for me. On my 13^th jump I crash landed on the runway. My next jump, I hit the only tree on the entire dropzone (I call that accuracy), however I still got back on the plane the same day I hit the tree and ended the day on a good note with a solid landing and continued to do 400+ skydives after that day. I learned that I am not naturally good at something, and I have to put in immense work and intention into everything that I do. Those series of jumps taught me that I may not know where I am going to land or what I may hit in life, but I need to try to step into the unknown. I know I will ‘fail’ many times, but the adventure is in trying.

7.List three words that describe you.
Curious, passionate, and excited

8.Are there any books that contributed to who you are? Is so, which one(s)?
Malcom Gladwell’s: The Tipping Point – I enjoyed reading about the different types of people and putting myself in those different shoes. I channel that book in many instances. I especially loved the chapters on The Maven and The Connector archetypes and often reference the Tipping Point when thinking of marketing ideas.

10. Why do you want to speak at TEDxBend?
I have been a TED head for 11 years and I have always wanted to impact an audience and give an idea that could result in actionable change in the world. This is one of the ways in which I can contribute to the Greater Good and am excited to do so!