Theme: Breaking Barriers

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

University Theatre
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, Florida, 33431
United States

DJ Crunchtime & No Bodies Crew

No Bodies Crew Members: • Zaryn “Z-rock” Sidhu • Dionte “DemOh” Rose • Eugeniu “Eagle“ Pereu • Daniel “Felix” Garcia

Avish Parashar

Avish Parashar is an energetic and humorous speaker who uses his 20+ years of experience performing, teaching and studying improv comedy to show organizations and individuals how to improvise, adapt, and innovate in an ever changing world.

Barb Schmidt

Barb Schmidt is an international speaker, spiritual mentor, philanthropist, businesswoman, and author of The Practice: Simple Tools for Managing Stress, Finding Inner Peace, and Uncovering Happiness. With mentors such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Marianne Williamson, and Deepak Chopra, among many others, Schmidt has devoted more than 30 years to her spiritual studies and teaching. She founded the non-profit Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life to support programs, speakers, and teachers that are dedicated to helping individuals cultivate peace and compassion in their lives, individually and collectively.

Billy Thompson

Billy Thompson is known as a great basketball player and motivator. He won a high school championship and was the No.1 player in America. Billy won back to back championships in college and the NBA as listed in The Guinness Book of World Records. The Miami Heat selected him 1st in the expansion draft. He finished his professional career winning championships abroad. He is the Pastor of Jesus People Proclaim International Church in Boca Raton and Chaplain for the Miami Heat. As a philanthropist, servant and leader he received a Key to the City.

Brandon Goldberg

Brandon Goldberg, now eight years old, started playing piano by ear when he was three and a half. He really loves to play jazz, compose his own music and listen to his favorite artists including Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and Billy Joel. Brandon has performed with the South Florida Youth Symphony and for Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Carvalho. He also won first place in his age category in both the 2014 (solo performance) and 2013 (original composition and duet) Miami Music Teacher’s Foundation Scholarship and Honors Recital. He was also the youngest recipient of the 2013 Miami Music Club Scholarship.

Charles Siemon

Charles L. Siemon is a land use planning and planning law consultant with more than 30 years of experience providing professional services to public and private sector clients in more than 30 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from offices in Chicago, Illinois and most recently in Boca Raton, Florida. He has been a lead consultant for a number of nationally recognized planning and planning law initiatives. He is the author of numerous articles in planning and legal periodicals, co-author of three books on planning and planning law matters and a contributing author to a number of planning and planning law treatises. Mr. Siemon has served as an adjunct professor in planning and law at several institutions of higher learning including Northwestern University College of Law and School of Urban and Regional Planning at FAU, where he most recently served as the John M. DeGrove Distinguished Scholar in Growth Management and Development.

Dan Abbate

Dan Abbate is an entrepreneur and philosopher who’s business methodology in summary is “let a Robot do it”. Dan enjoys regularly consulting other humans to guide them down career paths that will remain competitive and/or complementary with coming technological advancement that will greatly disrupt current and creation of jobs worldwide in the coming decade. Dan spends his free time thinking of how to use machines to make things run more efficiently; and riding on his golf cart with his 3.5 year old son Winston and lovely wife Kelly.

Devon Bandison

Devon Bandison was born and raised in NYC and shares the same energetic heartbeat, big personality and commitment to excellence as his hometown. Devon earned his Master of Public Administration and holds a B.A. in Psychology. He has over 17 years of experience creating and delivering nationally recognized community programs serving the most distressed populations of New York City. Adversity has served as his greatest teacher, molding him into the modern leader and loving father he is today.

Jason McCobb

Jason McCobb is an expert in Sustainable Agriculture specializing in Urban Gardening dedicated to starting a local food system. Jason gained most of his experience in Sonoma, California from Bob Cannard, long time farmer for Alice Waters and her critically acclaimed restaurant Chez Panisse.

Jonathan Harrison

Jonathan D. Harrison, MBA, ODCC is the Manager of Organizational Development at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. He is also an author, speaker, blogger, and podcaster with over 30 years of experience with video games. His unique approach to teaching business, leadership, and life lessons with video game analogy and metaphor has appeared on FastCompany, Lifehacker, The Good Men Project, The Computer Games Journal, and more. He enjoys communicating and translating ideas to help others live a more effective life. Jonathan is a Florida native where he resides with his wife and son.

Laura Berman Fortgang

Laura Berman Fortgang is the author of Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction and a pioneer in the personal coaching field. Her five books in total are published in thirteen languages, have graced bestseller lists and one, The Little Book on Meaning, was up for a Books for a Better Life Award alongside the Dalai Lama and Pema Chodron.

Max Torres

As a senior in Electrical Engineering at Florida Atlantic University Max is currently conducting research in new and innovative methods of generating and utilizing renewable energy. Once Max graduates, he plans on continuing his education to obtain a Master's in Renewables and Power Engineering while simultaneously starting up his own Renewable Energy research company.

Océane Boulais

Océane was selected to be the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineer’s Extreme Engineer of the Year after participating in a 24-hour competition, which challenged hundreds of engineering students in the realms of technical skill, innovative thinking, and leadership capability. A complete theater and visual art geek at heart, Océane passionately values the importance of integrating engineering, creativity, and imagination. An active advocate for the younger generations involvement in STEAM, Océane is a student leader. She is involved in several organizations on FAU’s campus, which provide platforms of opportunity for elementary, middle, and high school students to get stoked about STEAM.

Rebekah Corlew

Research Coordinator and Public Engagement Lead Scientist Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience Dr. Rebekah Corlew builds bridges between the scientific community and the general public. She is committed to helping her fellow scientists find their gift for outreach and helping the public develop an interest in science and a curiosity about the world around them. Her outreach work led to the creation of BrainMapper.org, which allows amateur neuroscientists of all ages to visualize data they collect that reveals how their brains are organized.

Rita Barreto Craig

Rita Craig is an inspirational “people” person with 40 years of career achievements—HR executive, consultant, author, leadership coach—and she attributes much of her success to being raised in a bustling household with 10 siblings.

Teri Catlin

Born in Flint, MI, Teri Catlin was given up for adoption at birth, never knowing her biological parents and endured physical abuse at the hands of her adoptive family. Throughout the years of abuse she began playing instruments. At 7, began playing the violin. At 12, played in the Flint Youth Symphony Orchestra, and then studied with the Wisconsin Symphony School of America, winning a Silver Medal in the Worldwide Orchestra Competition in Ottawa, Canada. A runaway at 14, she played piano and sang in hotels and restaurants for tips. And as the story goes, fell in with the bad crowd and got involved with petty crimes and drugs. She cleaned up her life and chose to stop the addictions, learned to meditate, and about the power of crystals.

Terry Brock

Terry Brock is a columnist for Business Journals (43 papers across America), a blogger, and a marketing coach. He has worked with clients like AT&T as Editor in Chief for their award-winning industry blog and with Skype as their Chief Enterprise Blogger.