Theme: Spectrum

Prisms transform light into a spectacular display of colors; the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. Ideas have the power to act as prisms. They challenge us, they change us—and when we hold them up to the light—they help us to see the world differently than before. TEDxUGA 2017 explored the full spectrum of ideas that exists within the University of Georgia.

Classic Center Theatre
300 N Thomas St
Athens, Georgia, 30601
United States

UGA Asura

Performer

Asura is the University of Georgia's premiere co-educational fusion dance team, and welcomes highly determined and motivated UGA students who demonstrate passion, character, and discipline. Specializing in a multitude of styles including, but not limited to Bollywood, bhangra, hip-hop, and contemporary, Asura constantly engages the audience and actively campaigns to represent all that there is to love about the art of dance.

Bart Newman

Chief Operating Officer for THRIVE Farmers International, Inc

Bart Newman is the Chief Operating Officer for Thrive Farmers International. Newman earned a B.A. from the University of Georgia, an M.A. in Management, Economics & International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law. Newman’s professional experience began in the U.S. Army where he rose to the rank of Captain and completed a one year tour in Baghdad, Iraq. Upon returning from Iraq, Newman wrote the book Because of Baghdad: What a Father Would Say About Life, If He Didn’t Come Home to Say It. Prior to joining Thrive, he served as a transactional attorney for a large Atlanta law firm.

Cameron Harris

Student

Cameron Harris is a fourth-year undergraduate studying marketing and is a Leonard Leadership Scholar from Marietta, GA. He is very active in campus organizations like the Wesley Foundation, Beta Upsilon Chi, and Breaking the Shackles. Harris founded Breaking the Shackles at UGA, a 501(c)3 non-profit and student organization that raises awareness, collects funds, and mobilizes others to fight human trafficking. In his free time, he likes to play racquetball at Ramsey and develop deep friendships with the community.

Carolyn Crist

Journalist

Carolyn Crist is a freelance journalist based in Athens, specializing in health, science and travel stories. She is also an adjunct journalism professor at Grady College and co-owns Pixel & Ink Studio, a design and print company in Athens. She graduated from Grady College in 2010 with a bachelor's in newspapers and in 2014 with a master's in health and medical journalism. You can find her work in consumer and trade publications such as Anesthesiology News, Reuters and Paste Magazine.

Darius Phelps

Lead teacher at Child Development Lab at the University of Georgia

Darius Phelps is a lead teacher at the Child Development Lab at the McPhaul Center, located on the University of Georgia campus. He has been teaching at the CDL for five years and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Reading Education with an emphasis in Children’s Literature & Language Arts. Phelps was recently named the 2016 Georgia “Childcare Giver of the Year."

Jake Carnes

Student

Jake Carnes is a fourth-year undergraduate from Marietta, Georgia studying Public Relations and International Affairs. Much of his meaningful college experiences have come from involvement in organizations like The Arch Society, Dawg Camp, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, SGA, the Dean William Tate Honor Society and The Chapel Bell. Carnes hopes to articulate the importance of thoughtful, credible, intentional compliments.

Kamal Gandhi

Associate Professor at Warnell School of Forestry at the University of Georgia

Dr. Kamal Gandhi is a forest entomologist and an associate professor at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and M.S. from the University of Alberta. Dr. Gandhi has 20 years experience in teaching as well as conducting research and outreach activities on many facets of community and population ecology of forest insects. Dr. Gandhi is heavily involved in policy issues, and spends time in Washington D.C. working with many state and federal agencies to advocate for science and research.

Keith Campbell

Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Georgia

Dr. W. Keith Campbell is Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Georgia. He holds a BA from the University of California at Berkeley, an MA from San Diego State University, and a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Campbell is the author of more than 150 scientific articles and chapters, and the books, When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself: How to Deal with a One-way Relationship, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement (with Jean Twenge), and The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Findings, and Treatments (with Josh Miller). His work on narcissism has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, and Time, and he has made numerous radio and television appearances, including The Today Show, NPR’s All Things Considered, Fox News, and CNN.

Leah Carmichael

Lecturer in the Department of International Affairs at the University of Georgia

Leah Carmichael is a professor in the Department of International Affairs. She received her PhD in International Affairs from the University of Georgia and her BA from Guilford College. Dr. Carmichael’s research agenda focuses on food insecurity as it relates to domestic policies, international law, and weapons of warfare.

Lee Pierce

Lecturer in Department of Communication Studies at Georgia State University

Dr. Lee Pierce currently teaches rhetoric and communication to undergraduates in the North Georgia area. In 2015, Dr. Pierce earned her PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Georgia. She studies rhetorical theory and criticism and contemporary popular and political culture in the United States. Her dissertation earned the 2016 Gerald Miller Dissertation Award from the National Communication Association.

Michael Thomas

Student

Michael Thomas Jr. is a financial planning Ph. student from Gary, Indiana. He works to find ways to provide relevant and reliable financial services to underserved populations in an effort to strengthen families and build stronger communities. He is most passionate about his faith, family, and baseball. By the time you are reading this, hopefully, the Chicago Cubs will have won the World Series!

Ngozi Okafor

Student

Ngozi Okafor is a first-year PhD student in Higher Education at the Institute of Higher Education. She earned her bachelor’s with honors in Psychology as well as a master’s cum laude in Organizational & Occupational Psychology. She currently serves as a graduate teaching assistant in the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), a part of the Honors program. Her work, exploring educational systems and cultures, has sent her to 34 countries. Her research interests in higher education include issues in comparative higher education and factors which influence access, persistence, and success for nontraditional students.

Pamoja Dance Company

Performer

Pamoja Dance Company is a dance ensemble that provides University of Georgia students with an opportunity to become part of a performing dance company without majoring in dance. Founded in 1974, it is currently housed under the Multicultural Services Program office. Pamoja Dance Company supports diversity and unity amongst dancers and strives to include members of all races, cultures, and creed. After more than 30 years, Pamoja continues to be one of the most entertaining dance companies at the University of Georgia.

Shaunak Godkhindi

Comedian

Shaunak Godkhindi is a fifth year undergraduate studying Communications from Alpharetta, Georgia. Godkhindi has been involved with comedy since coming to UGA, and he plans to continue his comedic endeavors after graduation. He is a member of both Improv Athens and Sharkwing, a sketch comedy group, and he performs stand up comedy around Athens and Atlanta. Godkhindi is the first comedian to perform on the TEDxUGA stage.

Valerie Babb

Director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia

Valerie Babb is a Franklin Professor of English and director of the Institute for African American Studies. She has been a professor at Georgetown University and a faculty member of the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Among her publications are Whiteness Visible: The Meaning of Whiteness in American Literature and Culture, Black Georgetown Remembered, and A History of the African American Novel. She has been a Scholar-in-Residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and is the recipient of a W. M. Keck Foundation Fellowship in American Studies. She has lectured extensively in the United States and presented a Distinguished W. E. B. Du Bois Lecture at Humboldt University in Berlin.