Theme: Reconstructing Reality

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).

1871 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio, 43210
United States

The Kawayan Team

The Suman Brothers and Halaya Sisters present the original dance of "Kawayan" - a hybrid form of rhythmic beats combined with elements of Arnis, modern stomp, and cultural flair. Established at the University of Cincinnati circa 1997, the Kawayaneros and Kawayaneras re-emerged in 2011 at the Midwest Association of Filipino Americans conference with an all new cast at the Ohio State University bringing a high-energy performance dedicated to the fighting spirit of our people.

Abd Al-Rahman Traboulsi

Abd Al-Rahman Traboulsi is a Syrian-American student at the Ohio State University studying Biomedical Engineering. Since the Syrian revolution began he has been working to aid civilians and refugees afflicted by the crisis, travelling to the refugee camps and field hospitals with UOSSM. Abd Al-Rahman founded Refuge, an organization that pairs adolescent refugees with college students in a mentorship program that focus on social acclimation and accessibility to higher education.

Bria Davis

Bria is a fourth year student studying Communications and triple minoring in Creative Writing, Art, and Pop-Culture Studies. She spends an exceptional amount of energy exploring connections between stories in our everyday lives and the science behind communication. She enjoys trying to understand why we love the pop-culture we do and what we can learn from it (though her friends may tire of hearing about the “broader social implications” of their favorite TV shows). When she’s not doing that, she’s drawing and writing in the hopes of becoming the next David Sedaris, Dr. Seuss, or Neil Gaiman. In what spare time she has, Bria enjoys performing random acts of kindness with the Boo Radley Society, creating concept art for Multivarious Games, and recruiting the next freshman class with her fellow Telecounselors. After she graduates, she plans to continue exploring her passions in whatever ways they present themselves.

Carla Bailo

Carla Bailo is the Assistant Vice President of Mobility Research and Business Development at The Ohio State University. She is also the President and CEO of ECOS Consulting, LLC which specializes in Engineering Efficiency and Optimization as well as Electrification and Computer Operated (Autonomous) Vehicles. Bailo previously served as OEM business unit divisional general manager for Nissan Motor Company, Ltd in Japan. In this multi-dimensional role she was responsible for overall operations, revenue and profitability of Nissan’s OEM relationships for vehicle, powertrain, technology and intellectual property business worldwide. Later, Bailo was transferred to Nissan’s global headquarters in Japan as vehicle program director. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Curtis Austin

Dr. Curtis Austin is an Associate Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) at the Ohio State University. He received his B.A. and M.A. in U.S. History from the University of Southern Mississippi and his Ph.D. in American History from Mississippi State University. While serving as Director of Undergraduate Studies in AAAS, Austin teaches courses on the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, the Black freedom struggle, and the history of American race relations. He is currently writing a book on the Black Power Movement and conducting research for a book that examines the history of radicalism in Black liberation movements. Dr. Austin has won numerous awards that honor his work including the C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Award. In 2007, his book, "Up Against the Wall: Violence in the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party", won the Choice Library Journal’s Outstanding Academic Book Award.

Cynthia Amoah

Cynthia Amoah is a spoken word artist who started her artistry through national poetry recitation competitions and motivational talks. An activist in her own right, her literary pieces often highlight the forgotten stories of the world, while transcending the often times marginalized groups that she delineates in her work. A large part of what she believes God put her on this Earth to do is to use words, whether written or spoken, to breathe life into spaces and moments, where silence has masqueraded itself as king. Cynthia aspires to leave an indelible mark on the way in which we discuss race, gender and culture through her literary works.

Debanuj DasGupta

Debanuj DasGupta is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the South Asia Studies Initiative at the Ohio State University. His research interests are related to the intensification of neoliberalism and bio-politics in contemporary U.S. and India. Debanuj’s dissertation, titled “Racial Regulations and Queer Claims to Livable Lives,” analyzes immigration regulation related to HIV/AIDS, transgender asylum, and radicalized queer migrant subjectivity over the past two decades in the US. In 1994, Debanuj founded the first HIV prevention program for homosexual men in Kolkata, India. His work has coincided with the environmental, sexual, and immigrant rights movements. Debanuj holds a B.A. in Sociology from Presidency Autonomous University and an M.A. in Geography & Urban Planning from the University of Akron. Debanuj’s work has been published in the Disability Studies Quarterly, Contemporary South Asia, and many other notable journals.

Elaine Richardson

A survivor of human trafficking and addiction, Dr. Elaine Richardson is an inspirational university professor, performance artist, and speaker.

Hollie Nyseth Brehm

Dr. Hollie Nyseth Brehm is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Ohio State, where she teaches classes on conflict, global crime, and terrorism. Her research focuses on the causes and processes of genocide and on how countries rebuild in the aftermath of atrocity. She has lived and worked in Rwanda and Bosnia, where she interviewed both perpetrators and victims of genocide. Nyseth Brehm is currently a member of a government atrocity prevention task force and regularly consults with the Rwandan National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide. She also volunteers with the Center for Victims of Torture and is a core member of I-Activism, which provides humanitarian action to people affected by mass atrocity in Darfur. She has previously served as the chair of a school board for English Language Learners and has worked with many human rights organizations, such as the Mexico City Human Rights Commission. In 2014, she was named one of the top 30 thinkers under 30 by Pacific Standard.

Joe Donnermeyer

A city boy by birth and upbringing, Dr. Joe Donnermeyer’s interest in rural societies and cultures go back to his graduate student days at the University of Kentucky and his thesis research conducted deep in the heart of the Bluegrass state’s Appalachian region. During his many years at The Ohio State University, he became an academic “bigamist,” pioneering the development of rural criminology while at the same time conducting research and teaching a course annually about the Amish. With retirement, Dr. Donnermeyer has not slowed down. His upcoming publication, “International Handbook of Rural Criminology” is scheduled for release in mid-2016, and he is the co-founder and assistant editor of the “Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies,” which is published semi-annually.

John Carlarne

Dr. John Carlarne was born in Kenya and grew up in Nairobi and London. He has spent much of his life trying and failing to understand what it means to be alive. His work around the world as a British Army officer, police officer, peace and human rights activist has taken him to places of genocide and violence and to communities of peace and hope. He has been fortunate to witness the best and worst in people. Now Dr. Carlarne is working with wonderful colleagues and friends to make Columbus a hub for peace and nonviolence. An anthropologist by training, his current research focuses on the evolutionary basis of meaning.

Jonathon Sun

Jonathon Sun is a fifth-year senior studying sociology with a minor in Chinese. His research interests in sociology are leadership, Asian Americans, and religion. Jonathon is an Undergraduate Research Assistant on the Religious Leadership and Diversity Project, that studies pastors of Multiracial Churches. He is currently working on a thesis studying Asian American pastors and how they lead their congregations. Aside from academics, he has been beatboxing seriously for about 2 years and playing piano for 15 years. He has performed at the Midwest Asian American Students Union spring conference and leadership summit in addition to the Society of Asian Scientist and Engineers. Jonathon is passionate about creating change through development of culture-friendly leadership.

Joshua Manculich

Joshua hails from Windber, PA, graduated valedictorian in 2005 and went on to pursue dance and psychology at Point Park University. Joshua’s performance credits include The Pillow Project, Jaxon Movement Arts, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Pursuit Productions, as well as five seasons with Thodos Dance Chicago. Joshua’s Ride, The Rate In Which I Am and Monologue have been toured internationally with DanceWorks Chicago. In collaboration with Jacqueline Stewart, their duet, A Forgotten Rhyme, has been seen in NYC as a part of the Dance Gallery series. Other choreography endeavors include Dancing in the Parks, Grand Valley State University, Interlochen Arts Academy, MetDance, and Piel Morena Contemporary Dance. Josh currently is pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Dance at the Ohio State as a recipient of the Susan Huntington Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship. Josh received a Princess Grace Foundation Award – Choreography Fellowship to create a work with The Big Muddy Dance Company.

Kristina D'Onofrio

Kristina is currently a third year MFA student in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University, where she is the recipient of an Ohio State University Fellowship and a Career Development Grant. In 2013, she received a Columbus Dances Fellowship award for choreography. Kristina graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati with a B.F.A. in dance where she studied on a scholarship. While in college she danced as a member of the Tulsa Ballet II and the Louisville Ballet. She has also performed as a guest artist with the Dayton Ballet and Kentucky Ballet Theatre. After graduating she danced for three years with the Festival Ballet Providence in Rhode Island while also working with Colleen Cavanaugh’s contemporary dance company, Part of the Oath Dance Theater, as a performer and instructor in her outreach after school program. She is currently an instructor with the BalletMet dance academy and the BalletMet Educational Outreach program.

Paul Sutter

As an astrophysicist, Dr. Sutter received his PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2011. After spending three years at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, he had a research fellowship in Trieste, Italy while a visiting scholar at the Ohio State University. Now, Paul is an astrophysicist at the Ohio State University’s Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics and the Chief Scientist at the COSI Science Center. His research focuses on many topics, from the emptiest regions of the universe and the earliest moments of the Big Bang, to the detection of the first stars. As an “Agent to the Stars,” Dr. Sutter engages the public in science outreach. He is the host of the “Ask a Spaceman!” podcast, where he answers questions posted on social media. He writes for Space.com, appears at events and on TV, consults for films, and is leading the creation of innovative new outreach productions, such as Song of the Stars, a fusion of modern dance and astronomy.

Rebekah Matheny

Rebekah L. Matheny has been bridging the design profession and academic environment for 12+ years. She is an assistant professor of interior design at The Ohio State University, where she teaches courses in interior finish materials, lighting design and design studios that integrate retail brand strategy and the storytelling process. Matheny’s research investigates the sensory perception of interior finish materials and their application to create an emotional connection between the person and the place in order to create lasting memories of place. Her research also investigates how materials create an authentic experiential storytelling, particularly for connecting to millennials’ and Gen Z. Prior to her appointment at OSU, she practiced in a multidisciplinary retail and brand strategy firm where she collaboratively created retail brand environments for nationally and internationally recognized brands. Matheny holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon.

Rustin Moore

Dr. Rustin Moore is the dean and Ruth Stanton Chair of Veterinary Medicine in the Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Dean Moore is a board-certified equine surgeon and has extensive experience in teaching and mentoring veterinary and graduate students, research & scholarship, and providing academic and scientific disciplinary leadership. An award-winning alumnus of West Virginia University and a two-time graduate of the CVM, he returned to lead the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, rising to executive director of the College’s Veterinary Medical Center, associate executive dean and then dean. The CVM has a particular interest in serving the community, and Dean Moore has a special interest in the power of the human-animal bond and zooeyia, the positive health benefits (physical, emotional, behavioral, social and psychological) on people by interacting with animals.

Susan Chess

Dr. Susan Chess received her Bachelor of Music Education, Master of Arts in Piano Pedagogy, and PhD in Music Education from the Ohio State University. Her graduate studies include work in music technology, harpsichord, composition, and piano. She studied contemporary harmony with David Wheeler in Columbus, Ohio and Improvisation and Composition for modern dance with Charles Rybacki and Hazel Johnson in New York. She has presented for The Ohio Dance Festival, Music Educators National Conference, Ohio Music Teacher Association, and others. Dr. Chess has played dance master classes for The Martha Graham Company, Dance Theater of Harlem, Columbus Ballet Metropolitan, Merce Cunningham company, and many more. She received her Certification in Dalcroze Eurhythmics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999. Dr. Chess released a CD of her original music entitled "Light from Light" and has performed in numerous dance concerts.