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).

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Bowen McCauley Dance

Lucy Bowen McCauley is the artistic director, choreographer and creative energy behind Bowen McCauley Dance. Her enduring love for dance moved her to form the company in 1996. Since founding BMD, she has created over 80 works ranging from lyrical ballets to highly physical contemporary pieces set to rock music. Her repertoire offers an unconventional array of genres; her choreography demonstrates a fluent outpouring of dance blending balletic lines, quirky gestures and modern dance’s earthiness that uniquely explores the interplay between music, dance and drama. Washingtonian Magazine named her among those “who have helped transform Washington into one of the nation’s liveliest centers in performing arts.”

Gin Dance

Gin Dance Company is a Metropolitan DC/Northern VA based non-profit performing arts modern dance organization. GDC was founded in 2011 by Shu-Chen Cuff & Gary Cuff out of a strong desire to create refreshing and vitalizing works and bring excellence of arts to the audience. Since the Company’s inception in 2011, GDC’s works have been recognized and Artistic Director, Shu-Chen Cuff, has been named a finalist at the Dance Metro DC Awards in the categories of both Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Individual Performer.

Motion X Dance DC

Motion X Dance DC offers a platform for choreographers to set work on a diverse group of artists in a collaborative setting. They strive to produce accessible performances in an effort to grow their audience beyond dance lovers or artistic people alike. In addition, they recognize their responsibility to the surrounding communities and actively seek innovative ways to give back.

A.M. Barrett

A.M. Barrett, MD, is a cognitive neurologist, specialized in neurorehabilitation and brain injury medicine, and Director of Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation. She is also the Chief, Neurorehabilitation Program Innovation, Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation, and Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her clinical and research focus is on brain-behavior relationships in neurological and neuropsychological recovery.

Aimee Kennedy

Aimee Kennedy is Battelle’s Vice President of Education, STEM Learning, and Philanthropy reporting to President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth. She also serves as the President of Battelle Education. Aimee directs Battelle’s efforts to foster innovative educational environments that prepare students for tomorrow’s career and college environment. These inclusive schools offer students access to rigorous academics and real world context, while focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Metro Early College and the Metro Institute of Technology are two examples of excellent schools formed under Battelle’s STEM strategy. For even wider impact, Battelle also manages STEM networks including the Ohio STEM Learning Network, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, and the national STEMx network. Aimee was formerly the Principal/Chief Administrative Officer at Metro Early College High School.

Allessandra Bradley-Burns

Allessandra Bradley-Burns has over 25 years of experience in leading and partnering with the public and private sector to support organizational growth, sustainability, social change and innovation. She has founded, fostered, incubated and grown local and national organizations through her leadership, management and strategic acumen. She provided leadership for the growth and expansion of Platform’s Learning Team from seed funding to a $12M rollout in 16 states within two years. At NTL, she led the product development division including ideation, creative services, manufacturing and product-to-market teams in five locations, utilizing two languages, and comprised of four cultures to launch eight new products and capturing three new market sectors.

Andrew Tufano

An unwavering addiction to interstate highways is the signature of performing songwriter Andrew Tufano. Currently, the acoustic artist is based in Nashville, Tennessee and spends more than 10 months out of the year independently touring across the U.S. Tufano has opened for artists such as The Maine, Phillip Phillips, The Griswolds, Creed Bratton (of NBC’s The Office), Taboo (of The Black Eyed Peas), The Icarus Account, and Keaton Simons. In 2015, Tufano traveled cross country to 55 cities to play over 125 shows in support of his third record, Fireworks in Autumn, a pop-blend of folk and soul influences. The album’s single, “Fall,” won grand prize in the 32nd Mid Atlantic Song Contest. Since then, Tufano has written, recorded, and released 100 songs in 100 days with Amplify Entertainment Group, given two TEDx talks, and singlehandedly eaten over 500 ounces of peanut butter.

Aron Teo Lee

Aron “Teo”Lee is a husband, father, artist, teacher, serial entrepreneur and dreamer. It has taken 6 companies, 6 failures, 6 dreams differed to find the idea that mattered. As the founder of DEILAB, Aron has amassed thousands of hours and traveled throughout the country teaching students about design, engineering and innovation while curating professional development sessions for organizations focused on collaboration and social innovation. Aron graduated from Hampton University in Virginia with a degree in Psychology. He went on to a career in corporate sales, business development while pursuing the entrepreneurial ambitions that led to the founding of DEILAB. However, Aron’s first love was music. He began playing bass in elementary school, has recorded nationally, works as a studio musician and performs regularly today.

Bob Dixson

Mayor Bob Dixson is a native Kansan and he has been a resident of Greensburg since 1985. Dixson took office as Mayor of Greensburg in May 2008 and he is leading the way in the process of rebuilding Greensburg following the May 4, 2007 EF5 tornado that destroyed 95% of the community. Sustainable building, renewable energy and “green” technologies are the cornerstones of the recovery of Greensburg. Community involvement and public/private partnerships have been essential in the recovery efforts. Mayor Dixson has presented to groups around the world on post-disaster recovery and sustainability.

Bruce Hull

Dr. Hull is a professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment in Blacksburg. He writes and teaches about leadership for sustainable development and how to influence change in the cross sector space where government, business, and civil society intersect. He advises organizations, communities, and professionals responding to challenges and opportunities in the Anthropocene. He has authored and edited numerous publications, including two books, Infinite Nature and Restoring Nature.

Chris Savage

Chris Savage is the founder and CEO of True Honey Teas, a local natural beverage startup with a line of naturally honey infused single serve tea cups. Chris started True Honey Teas in his parents basement, just playing with different K-Cup tea recipes. Eventually, he launched a Kickstarter campaign for a honey tea recipe which surpassed it goal in May 2013. Chris started and runs True Honey Teas at the intersection of Maker and Lean Start-up movements - focusing on diy engineering solutions, constant tinkering, and gaining key customer feedback for growth.

Cory Laws

Cory Laws is the founder and CEO of Details Home Services, a general contracting company, operating in Northern Virginia. His company was founded in 2004, after Cory exited a two decade IT career at the age of 50. Details Home Services, whose specialties include interior remodeling and additions, is the culmination of Cory’s lifelong interest in both art and science.

Emmanuel Bernadin

Emmanuel Bernadin served his country from July 2007- July 2013 as an enlisted member of the United States Navy. His tours of duty included embedded deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Emmanuel is currently employed at Lockheed Martin as a Software Engineer where he supports the F-35 Lightning II program and is continuously afforded opportunities to speak on veterans issues and represent the veteran community. Some of Emmanuel’s most honorable mentions and awards include being featured in “When War Comes Home” a documentary film portraying some of the challenges veterans face after returning home from war. He has been awarded 2 Army Commendation Medals and a Meritorious Unit Service Medal . Emmanuel’s favorite words to live by are “Because Emmanuel Lives I Expect Victory Everyday!”

Jennifer Seydel

Jennifer Seydel was a School Designer for Expeditionary Learning, a non-profit education reform organization that partners with existing schools and opens new schools with the goal of preparing children and youth for success in an ever changing world. She also served as an Associate Professor of Education at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts and as the Director of the S.A.G.E. Project, a college-community collaboration founded to address the needs of highest risk high school students in Springfield, Massachusetts, Jennifer designed the S.A.G.E. M.Ed. program, a graduate degree in Education and Counseling. The students who graduated from this program have gone on to become leaders and change agents in many urban school districts in New England.

Jenny Seydel

Jenny Seydel was a School Designer for Expeditionary Learning, a non-profit education reform organization that partners with existing schools and opens new schools with the goal of preparing children and youth for success in an ever changing world. She also served as an Associate Professor of Education at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts and as the Director of the S.A.G.E. Project, a college-community collaboration founded to address the needs of highest risk high school students in Springfield, Massachusetts, Jennifer designed the S.A.G.E. M.Ed. program, a graduate degree in Education and Counseling. The students who graduated from this program have gone on to become leaders and change agents in many urban school districts in New England.

Jesus de la Garza

Dr. de la Garza is the Editor-in-Chief for ASCE’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management; he is also the immediate past Chair of the Commission on Research at Virginia Tech. Dr. de la Garza has served as Director of the Civil Infrastructure Systems program at the National Science Foundation. Together with Wayne Crew, Director of the Construction Industry Institute, and while a Program Director at NSF, he led the effort that culminated in the report: Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Systems: A Framework for Meeting 21st Century Imperatives. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2009. Dr. de la Garza served two consecutive terms as member of the National Research Council’s Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment and he is currently member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Defense Materials, Manufacturing, and Infrastructure, which discusses topics to help the Department of Defense address a range of systems-based complex issues.

Joe Wheeler

Joseph Wheeler is a Professor of Architecture at Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design. He pursues professional research in construction innovation, sustainability and energy efficient architecture. In teaching, he believes that there is a distinct advantage to the exposure of students to the direct making of Architecture and therefore is involved with his students in many interdisciplinary full-scale research projects. As Co-Director of School of Architecture + Design’s Center for Design Research, he has led multiple award winning interdisciplinary projects including Virginia Tech’s entries into the 2005, 2009 and 2010 DOE’s Solar Decathlon Competitions. The latter of which, the VT LumenHAUS, won first place overall in the international competition held in Madrid, Spain and subsequently earned a national design honor award from the AIA.

John Mather

Dr. John C. Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist and is the Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. His research centers on infrared astronomy and cosmology. As an NRC postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (New York City), he led the proposal efforts for the Cosmic Background Explorer (74-76), and came to GSFC to be the Study Scientist (76-88), Project Scientist (88-98), and the Principal Investigator for the Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) on COBE. With the COBE team, he showed that the cosmic microwave background radiation has a blackbody spectrum within 50 parts per million, confirming the expanding universe model (aka the Big Bang Theory) to extraordinary accuracy, and initiating the study of cosmology as a precision science.

Jonathan Kalin

Jonathan Kalin is Founder of Party With Consent, a movement to prevent sexual violence on campus through culture change and education. He is frequently asked to speak on the theories behind PWC across the United States and Canada. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and TIME magazine, to name a few. A 2014 graduate, Kalin was a Philosophy major, captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and president of Male Athletes Against Violence at Colby College in Waterville, ME. In his spare time, he coaches high school boys’ basketball at Camp Manitou in Maine and The Wheeler School in Rhode Island.

Karen J. Nolan

Karen J. Nolan, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist in the Human Performance and Engineering at Kessler Foundation, Associate Professor of PM&R at Rutgers NJMS, Clinical Research Scientist at Children’s Specialized Hospital, and Affiliated Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Dr. Nolan has extensive experience leading the design and implementation of biomechanical research and strong expertise in balance, gait, movement analysis, neuromuscular physiology, rehabilitation robotics, and peripheral motor control. Dr. Nolan is recognized as a leader in the field of biomechanics and motor rehabilitation and has been invited to give presentations on these topics at national and international conferences.

Katie Beck

Katie Beck is a social innovation leader, startup coach, and organizational design geek, committed to designing communities where people can thrive. Most recently, Katie was Chief Operating Officer of 4.0 Schools, a national education entrepreneurship incubator, supporting innovators to launch new products, programs, services and school models to transform education in the United States. Katie was named a Forbes 30 under 30 leader and is a frequent speaker and facilitator on design and entrepreneurship, including with XPrize, SXSWedu and Venture For America. Previously, Katie led entrepreneurship and diversity programs at Teach For America, and started her career as a 5th and 6th grade English teacher in New Orleans.

Marley Rave

Marley Rave currently serves as the National Director, Major Giving for Autism Speaks. Before she came to Autism Speaks she worked for a decade for the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger and Meals On Wheels Association of America in various development and communication roles. She earned her Masters in Public Administration with a focus in Nonprofit Management from American University and served as the commencement speaker on graduation day (captured in a You Tube video that her father has sent to at least 1 billion people). She earned her Bachelors from Ohio University where she met the love of her life, Jeff Rave, which is why she has such a cool name now (she used to be Marley Sweeney – Irish, but, let’s be honest, not as cool). Marley and Jeff live in the heart of Washington DC with their dog Loosa and enjoy city living, traveling everywhere/anywhere and Steelers football.

Mike Dieterich

Mike Dieterich is a LEED Accredited Professional, environmental scientist, award winning producer, and bestselling author. He has worked in the sustainability industry and explored the environment throughout United States, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Algeria and Kenya, over the past decade. Having written policies and programs to support education, as well as historic sustainability efforts in Washington DC, he is known as a Sustainability Champion. He has worked with local-small businesses to state agencies, federal groups, international companies and non-profit organizations, the range of sustainability projects for organizations fills the spectrum. Mike has been a featured sustainability expert on various Fox & NBC stations, as well as a featured speaker at numerous conferences and most recently at the UNESCO Sustainability conference, in front of the US Congress, Carnegie Melon, and the 2015 Green Festival.

Nancy D. Chiaravalloti

Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, PhD is Director of Neuropsychology and Neuroscience and of TBI Research at Kessler Foundation, Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers University -NJ Medical School, and a licensed psychologist in NJ and NY. She is Project Director of the Northern NJ Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, one of 16 federally-designated model systems of research and care for persons with traumatic brain injury in the US. Dr. Chiaravalloti has obtained over 13 million dollars in grant funding since starting her professional career in 2001, including grants from the NIH, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the New Jersey Commission on Traumatic Brain Injury Research, the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Injury Research, the Carl Nielson Foundation and the National Stroke Association.

Pat Hynes

Teacher, lawyer and community organizer. J.D. from Vanderbilt University; B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia. FCPS elementary teacher, 2002-2011. Former member of the Superintendent’s Business and Community Advisory Committee; founding member of the Vienna Teen Center Foundation; former PTA president, Louise Archer Elementary School; former president of the Malcolm-Windover Heights Civic Association and F.B. Meekins Cooperative Preschool. Former associate, Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett, New York, New York. FCPS graduate and mother of two FCPS graduates. Board service January 2012 to present. Board vice chairman 2012. Current Board chairman as of July 2015.

Paul Brandus

Paul Brandus, the author of the acclaimed Under This Roof: A History of the White House and Presidency (published in September 2015 by Lyons Press), is an award-winning, independent member of the White House press corps. He founded West Wing Reports ® in 2009 (Twitter: @WestWingReport), and provides reports for television and radio outlets around the United States and overseas. He is also a contributing columnist for MarketWatch, and his work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, Real Clear Politics, National Review and The Week. For The Week, he moderates panel discussions in Washington and around the U.S. on topics like cybersecurity, energy and infrastructure.

Peter Douskalis

Peter Douskalis is the Director of Guitar Studies and AP Music Theory studies at the Music Institute of Edward R Murrow High School. He has presented his philosophies of teaching music at conferences and has published an article about multicultural music education curriculum in the journal of the International Society for Music Education 30th World Conference Proceedings. He is a member of the nonprofit humanitarian organization Olympism For Humanity, Alliance as a music representative, program manager, camera man, video editor, translator and interpreter. He is cofounder of the program Accessible Cypriot Education whose goal is to improve rural schools in Cyprus by providing additional academic resources to underprivileged children and under resourced schools. He is also the President of the New York City Chapter of Guitars Not Guns. GNG is a philanthropic nonprofit music program that offers free guitars and guitar lessons to underprivileged and 'at-risk' children.

Pooja Chandrashekar

Pooja is currently a freshman at Harvard University concentrating in biomedical engineering with a secondary in global health and health policy. An advocate and speaker for encouraging girls in STEM and computer science, she is the founder of ProjectCSGIRLS (www.projectcsgirls.com), a national youth-driven nonprofit working to close the tech gender gap by running a national computer science competition for middle school girls and hosting workshops around the country. Pooja currently works as an undergraduate researcher at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering developing organ-on-chip models of the blood-brain barrier, helps design business and product development strategies for Barakat Bundle at the Harvard Innovation Lab, is working as an engineering intern for Walimu in spring 2016, and serves as an Executive Board Member for the South Asian Healthcare Leadership Forum.

Rich Dooley

Rich is currently the Community Energy Coordinator on the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) team in Arlington County’s Office of Sustainability and Environmental Management. His goal is to ensure that all stakeholders’ voices are heard when it comes to shaping Arlington County’s energy future through the implementation of Arlington’s award-winning Community Energy Plan. Rich holds two Masters Degrees in Public Affairs (MPA) and Environmental Science (MSES) from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He previously worked at the NAHB Research Center as a Green Building and Land Use Specialist and at SAIC as an Environmental Management Systems Specialist. Rich lives in Arlington with his wife and two daughters. He appreciates the opportunity to have a job that allows him to bike to the office and work on projects that impact the community in which he lives.

Rick Miller

Rick Miller is an international child and youth development organization that studies family, school and community cultures to better understand the dynamics of success and failure. Rick has spent 48 years in the field of child and youth development as a practitioner, researcher, teacher, public policy expert, and author.

Sara Herald

Sara Herald is the Associate Director for Social Entrepreneurship and adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Through courses and extracurricular programs, she works with students, faculty, and other stakeholders to promote the economic potential and social impact of triple-bottom-line businesses. She joined Smith in July 2013 after several years as a strategy consultant for social enterprises and technology start-ups as Director of the U.S. office for StepOne Ventures in San Francisco, CA. Her work there focused on helping clients synthesize value propositions, explore new business models, and successfully navigate cross-cultural issues. Prior to obtaining her MBA at Smith in 2011, Sara was the Program Coordinator for CIEE’s Teach in Spain program in Seville, Spain. Sara also holds a BA in Spanish and English from Georgetown University.

Shantae Edwards

Shantae J. Edwards, is a native of Chicago, first of seven children, and first-generation college graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is passionate about exposure, education, college access and media awareness for youth. She is the Digital Outreach and Engagement Director with The Future Project, Inc. where she works with the team who believes in all people living a life full of passion and purpose. Shantae’s the founder of I AM D.O.P.E., Inc. (Dreaming Of Possibilities Everyday), a self-empowerment and story-sharing enterprise. A platform designed to create narratives to save humanity, one story at a time through workshops, speaking engagements, blog writing and transformative programing. She is a "Certified Passion Pusher" and inspirational speaker, using self-expression and empowerment to change the world one high-five at a time.

Tim Cole

Tim Cole is the Sustainability Officer for Virginia Beach City Public Schools and the Vice President of the Green Schools National Network. Tim was instrumental in the promotion and development of the first LEED certified elementary School in Virginia -- Hermitage Elementary-- as well as the first K-12 LEED Platinum Transportation and Maintenance Facility in the country. Under Tim’s leadership, Virginia Beach City Public Schools has constructed over 1.6 million square feet of LEED building space and was selected as the “Best Green School District” in the United States by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2012. Tim is active on several advisory boards, including the Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness and Resilience Intergovernmental Planning Pilot Project. Tim is an ex-Navy SEAL and holds a Bachelors of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Tom Mitchell

Tom Mitchell is the founder and director of Stillbrave Childhood Cancer Foundation. Affectionately known as “Tattoo Tom” by the children and families whom he serves. He is a nationally recognized activist and advocate for children with cancer and their families. Following the death of his daughter Shayla in 2009 from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Tom dedicated his entire life to providing non-medical support to children with cancer and their families. He is committed to raising awareness of the need for more research funding and safer, less toxic treatments for children with cancer. Dubbing himself and those who work for Stillbrave as “Renegades” Tom is always anxious to share what he’s learned, grown to understand, but refused to accept. His passion, activism, and innate need to be a voice for those who do not have one has led him to the forefront of a grassroots movement. Natasha Rose Gould, 12, was diagnosed with DIPG - a highly aggressive and difficult to treat brain tumor in children.