Theme: Empowering ideas for a higher purpose

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).

Saint Louis University - Madrid Campus
Avenida del Valle, 34
Madrid, Madrid, 28003
Spain

Dúo Atlántica

Artists

Gudrun Olafdottir and Francisco Javier Jáuregui are performing as "Dúo Atlántica" during the entract (between the sessions). Mezzo-soprano Gudrun has performed at venues such as Madrid’s Teatro Real, the St. Petersburg Philharmonia’s Glinka Hall, the Buenos Aires Coliseo and the Royal Festival Hall in London. Francisco Javier is a classical guitarist who performs, writes and teaches music. He has played both as a solo performer and with different chamber combinations in venues such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society Chamber (Glinka) Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Linbury Studio Theatre Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), St. James’s Palace (London), and the Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid).

Alejandro Sacristán

Director de Expansión y de Proyectos de Realidad Virtual en Vector 001

Alejandro Sacristán (@alejandrosacris) es Director de Expansión y de Proyectos de Realidad Virtual de Vector 001, empresa especializada en nuevas tecnologías audiovisuales e interactivas aplicadas a la comunicación publicitaria y en creación de contenidos inmersivos. Alejandro es miembro fundador del grupo de trabajo de internet 3D de AMETIC, comisario de ArtFutura, miembro de Aviador Dro, vicepresidente de la asociación La Voz de la Ciencia, y colaborador en los blogs de cultura digital e innovación de Fundación Telefónica y Tendencias21.

Jerome Katz

Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University

Jerome Katz (@jeromekatz) grew up working in his family’s different businesses, starting and selling his own during graduate school, before focusing on entrepreneurship education. Today he is the Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University in St Louis, Missouri, and before that taught at Wharton. He is the author of a textbook (Entrepreneurial Small Business) and an annual research volume (Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth). He serves as the founding director of his University's Billiken Angel Network, and is head of its Entrepreneurship Program, which holds top25 national rankings from USNews and Entrepreneur Magazines. He has consulted on entrepreneurial development to foundations such as Kauffman, Coleman, GE, Soros, and NSF; as well as to NGOs such as the ILO, Sweden's ESBRI, the Committee of 200, and NFIB. He has twice been recognized by INC magazine as one of the top small business researchers in the world.

María Jesús Cuesta López

Escritora, ilustradora y artista

María Jesús es una escritora, ilustradora y artista. Cambió su trabajo corporativo por su pasión: pintar y escribir e ilustrar libros, sobre todo infantiles, y refleja en muchos de sus proyectos, de manera natural, su interés por la tecnología. Colabora en proyectos que le permiten ayudar, por medio del arte o la tecnología, a niños y adultos que necesitan una dosis especial de fuerza. Para ellos pinta robots con superpoderes, ejerce de cuentacuentos, les enseña a crear sus propios libros y ofrece talleres y charlas para que los mayores recuperen la creatividad que creen haber perdido. Además, gestiona y organiza las reuniones mensuales en Madrid del grupo internacional Live Your Legend, fundado por Scott Dinsmore, que muestra que es posible trabajar en algo que te apasione y que deje una huella positiva en el mundo. Cuando no está entre lápices, acuarelas, ordenadores y reuniones, disfruta con su familia con quienes le encanta viajar.

Sara Bencheikh

Artist

Sara is a Saint Louis University Madrid student. She was born and raised in Algeria, where she studied music for a year in a conservatory and performed at many events in Algiers. Music always represented a big part of her life. She is a self-taught musician who plays guitar and ukulele. Sara started taking voice lessons in Saint Louis University Madrid. She is currently pursuing a degree in Communication with a minor in Performing Arts.

Sienna Brown

Founder & Managing Director at Las Morenas de España

Sienna Brown empowers and inspires others to create a life they truly love. Originally from New York, she is an internationally recognized entrepreneur with a focus on intercultural relations and personal development. Through her work with Las Morenas de España, she has reached thousands of professionals, expats and students in over 150 countries, empowering them to create change and live a purposeful life, no matter where they live in the world. She’s been featured in the Huffington Post, The Local Spain, JetSet Times, Black Enterprise and has worked with higher institutions like Syracuse University, Vassar College and Wesleyan College. She leads by example and looks to have a meaningful impact on everyone she meets.

Tania Menéndez-Hevia

Directora de Wake App Health

Tania Menéndez Hevia (@taniahevia) es Directora de Wake App Health, startup especializada en mHealth (con sede en Google Campus Madrid). Su trayectoria profesional ha estado siempre vinculada al ámbito de la comunicación, especialmente dentro del sector salud, desarrollando proyectos para entidades como Madrid Salud, la Fundación Atresmedia o Rioja Salud. Así mismo, tiene una importante experiencia en el ámbito académico-científico. Tania es Doctora Cum Laude en Comunicación (especialidad Psicología Social) y durante los últimos seis años ha sido docente en instituciones como la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, la Universidad de Harvard o el Instituto de Formación Empresarial de la Cámara de Madrid. Sus pasiones son los viajes, la cultura y las personas.

Yeonhee Jenny Kang

Public speaking, translation and interpretation

Yeonhee Jenny has professional experience in the field of public speaking, translation, and interpretation, and she enjoys researching and putting her own creative twist on topics that are already familiar to the general public by drawing inspiration from her own experiences. Her passport is South Korean, but she spent the majority of her early developmental years in the United States and now she is living in Spain. Due to her varied cultural background and multilingual upbringing, she has often faced difficulties in communicating and relating to individuals who are single-cultured (born and raised within the same culture), even in the workplace. This is what inspires her work and research, as she aspires to be a clinical psychologist who is culturally competent enough to offer multilingual services to her clients.