The talk
A personal exploration of how creative practitioners help communities imagine what comes next. “Cinderwork” names the unglamorous labor of rebuilding from industrial ash.
Speaking & Keynotes
Keynotes & Workshops
Available for corporate events, conferences, and executive workshops on AI, creativity, and the future of human-centered work.
Featured talk
▶TEDx Indianapolis · November 2015
Forging New Narratives in a Post-Industrial Region
Exploring how creative minds rewrite the narratives of former manufacturing towns and empower citizens in community renovation through cinderwork.
Main stage · Watch on YouTube ↗Speaking & Keynotes
Keynotes &
Workshops.
AI, creativity, and the future of human-centered work. Ideas grounded in the classroom, the studio, and the places we call home.
Ty Bush · TEDx Indianapolis · 2015
Featured talk · TEDx Indianapolis
Forging New Narratives
in a Post-Industrial Region
What happens when an industry leaves, but the people remain? A talk on creative practice, community renewal, and the work of building a new story from industrial history.
Watch the TEDx talk ↗The framework
A lens for understanding human-machine collaboration, AI literacy, and the preservation of craft. The tools change; human judgment remains essential.
The practice
These questions carry into my teaching, creative strategy, and workshops: what can we make, who does it serve, and what responsibility comes with the work?
Corporate keynote
Prompts to Partners:
Agentic AI for Corporate Communications
A three-part engagement for NiSource’s internal communications team, bringing together a strategic keynote, a live Microsoft Copilot Studio demonstration, and a practical workshop.
The sessions connected the possibilities of AI agents to everyday communications work, with attention to workflow design, human oversight, and responsible adoption.
Microsoft Copilot Studio
Adobe Creative Cloud
Agentic AI
Corporate Training
Strategic Keynote
From individual prompts to AI agents: what the shift means for corporate communications teams and the people who lead them.
Product Demonstration
A live look at building a custom agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio, connecting the concept to a working tool.
Hands-On Workshop
Team exercises exploring agent design, communications workflows, and practical guardrails for internal use.
3
1
2025
Speaking topics
Core topics.
Adapted to your audience, from a conference keynote to a workshop built around your team’s work.
AI Literacy & Integration
Practical frameworks for adopting AI tools with confidence, critical judgment, and accountability.
Creative Problem Solving
Design thinking applied to real challenges in business, education, and creative production.
The Future of Work
How AI, craft, and human judgment shape the next generation of professionals.
Storytelling & Craft
The role of narrative in business communication, creative production, and stories of place.
Past engagements
From field to stage
to the workshop.
Prompts to Partners: Agentic AI for Corporate Communications
NiSource All-Hands Retreat
Forging New Narratives in a Post-Industrial Region
TEDx Indianapolis
AI-Assisted Creative Production
Purdue University Northwest
Design Thinking & Course Portfolio Set-Up
PNW Faculty Development
Featured slide decks
Explore the talks.
Four decks from the stage and the classroom: leadership power skills and AI training for NiSource communications teams, a humanities talk at the Haan Museum of Indiana Art, and a crew-level lecture on the Chicago film and TV industry.
Leadership & power skills
Power Skills
Emotional Intelligence of a Project Hero
Emotional intelligence, active listening, and conflict resolution for project leaders. Explore how empathy and clear communication help teams build trust and work through change.
Download leadership deck ↓
Corporate AI training
Prompts to Partners
NiSource / NIPSCO communications teams
A keynote, product demonstration, and hands-on workshop on AI in communications offices. Includes Microsoft Copilot Studio exercises for internal communications, public relations, brand work, and crisis response.
Download AI training deck ↓
Humanities talk
From Hoosiers to Hawkins
The Haan Museum of Indiana Art · Sept 2026
Framing Indiana in American film and television. Twenty films and series, from Knute Rockne, All American to The Bear, read as one genre called Indiana: its places, its people, and the raw materials for the next Indiana story.
Download humanities deck ↓
Film industry talk
Trade Talk
Class lecture · COM 32200 TV Production · Fall 2023
Behind the scenes in the Chicago film and TV industry: a crew-level view from soundstages, scenic shops, locations, sports stadiums, and union halls. Four acts, one for each star on the city flag, ending on where entry-level work actually lives.
Download film industry deck ↓