Theme: IMAGINE!

The world often requires people to think in terms of black and white. Rigid, unbendable choices seem to close us in sometimes. After a while, life seems more monochrome than ever. But we live in a world of color, and texture, and music!
This year, we at TEDxTucson challenge you to imagine our new world. We invite you to imagine, to question, to be vulnerable, to doubt, and to gain new perspective. Expose yourself to the ideas that help create our chaotic—but dazzling—world of color.

Imagine! is the theme of our annual conference where we bring together Brilliant Minds and Intriguing Ideas on One Stage. You'll meet a diverse and curated collection of inspired speakers, sharing their ideas on topics ranging from virtual reality to the power of poetics, from becoming present to sustainability in the desert.
TEDxTucson creates unique community events featuring diverse, multi-generational thought leaders from all walks of life. We support contemporary themes and highly interactive learning. We facilitate community discussions so that, together, we can envision the impact of emerging ideas.
We will begin our journey together at 9am on January 14th at the Berger Theater where we will listen to incredible speakers, play together, talk together, explore ideas, and eat! We will experience oversized toys, collaborative art and music.
Come IMAGINE! with us!!
Connect, explore, network, and enjoy!

Berger Theater
1200 West Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, Arizona, 85745
United States

Domingo DeGrazia and the DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band

Performer/Spanish guitar band

The DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band is a Tucson, Arizona-based group. The band's founder, Domingo DeGrazia, combines the Spanish guitar melodies with Flamenco techniques. Domingo DeGrazia and violinist, Beth Daunis, first played together impromptu in 2008 at a New Year's celebration. Their 2009 CD, The Bluest Sky, has received critical acclaim and they have since recorded a number of albums including the 2014 Spanish Guitar release, Nuance. In addition to live performances the band also writes sound track music for movies and TV. The band includes Kai Felix on drums, Mark Brugler on bass guitar, and Rick Skowron on guitar. The musical style is influenced by traditional Flamenco and Spanish guitar.

Mariachi Sol Azteca

Performer

In 2001, two local high school students had a vision to create a respectable ensemble of mariachi musicians that would represent their culture and enrich the spirit of mariachi music. It is through strategic efforts by director Angel Guzman and committed members that turned this vision into a reality. Over the years, the ensemble has grown to 15 musicians that consist of violins, trumpets, guitars, a vihuela, a guitarron and a harp. Members of Mariachi Sol Azteca have a passion to share their music with others by performing for private events and community events that facilitate cultural growth. Mariachi Sol Azteca has also become a vehicle of expression, growth and discipline, whose mission is to educate and continue preserving mariachi music in professional and respectful way. Musicians: Angel Guzman, Manuel Celaya, Brisa Bergeron, Juliana Provencio, Jennifer Weisbrod, Maya Arce, Samson Weisbrod, Nicolas Aguilar, Benjamin Bergeron, Angel Duran, Christian Salgado,

Adiba Nelson

Writer

Adiba is author of the children's book "Meet ClaraBelle Blue", and forthcoming “50”. Adiba is also a contributing writer with online magazine Ravishly.com, My Brown Baby, and The Huffington Post, as well as a columnist with local paper, Tucson Weekly. She is an active voice in the Body Positive community, performing burlesque as The BIG Bang McGillicuddy, leading body love workshops and speaking at SlutWalk 2016. Adiba is also a staunch advocate for individuals with special needs, organizing and participating in various fundraisers that serve this population.

Brad Lancaster

Consultant

Brad is the author of the award-winning books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, www.HarvestingRainwater.com, and co-founder of DesertHarvesters.org. Brad is also a regenerative systems educator, designer, and consultant. In the Sonoran Desert, with just 11 inches of annual rainfall, he and his brother harvest about 100,000 gallons of rainwater a year on an eighth-acre urban lot and adjoining right-of-way. This harvested water is then turned into living air conditioners of food-bearing shade trees, abundant gardens, and a thriving landscape incorporating wildlife habitat, beauty, medicinal plants, and more. The goal of his book series and overall work is to empower his clients and community to make positive change in their own lives and neighborhoods—by harvesting and enhancing free on-site resources such as water, sun, wind, shade, community, and more. It’s catching on, as evidenced by tens of thousands of practitioners and demand for Brad’s work around the world.

Danielle McFarlin

Managing partner of Empowered Real Estate Solutions, LLC

Growing up in the border town of Nogales, Arizona, McFarlin was inspired to use her own journey through abuse and disempowerment to create a new framework for viewing the effects on both men and women in our present day "rape culture." Her memoir, From Wounded to Warrior, propose to serve as a beacon of hope for those who think their life is irreparable, showing them instead, through her own words, how, with courageous and deep self-inquiry, they can shine their own light on the path to healing and wholeness. McFarlin's work aims to create a safe foundation for those who have kept their stories of abuse and shame buried in the shadows.

Jitesh Vaswani

RF NPI Design Engineer at NXP Semiconductors, Faculty at The Art of Living foundation

Jitesh, a techie by profession, and a yogi by heart, Jitesch has been instrumental in inspiring hundreds and thousands of people across the globe to lead the way for building a happier and a healthier society. Often heard quoting Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in others", he believes that change must start from an individual. Along with being an electrical engineer, he is also a facilitator with The Art of Living foundation. He believes in the vision of the founder, Sri Sri Ravishankar to create a stress-free and a violence-free society. Being a role model for the youth, he has also spoken on various forums in universities across the globe.A graduate from Arizona State University, he is also the co-founder of the movement, Be Happy ASU , which is creating a wave of happiness across the campus, through various forums, including the "Yes Plus" workshops. Dynamism in action combined with inner peace and a speech filled with pure heart, his talks are sure to strike

Josiah Cantrall

CEO

Josiah Cantrall is a generational and cultural expert who helps clients address generational changes, navigate innovation in the corporate setting, and solve the opportunity gap that limits talent acquisition from diverse communities. A serial entrepreneur, Josiah is COO and co-founder of Stevia Kitchen, a company dedicated to 100% natural sugar-free food. Their first product line debuted on Amazon as the sites "#1 New Product Release." He published his first national column at 18 and by the age of 20 Josiah had made over 30 cable tv and radio appearances. Soon after his 21st birthday he was hired to advise a leading presidential candidate and then a public relations firm whose clients included the likes of Kid Rock, Dolly Parton, and Meatloaf.

Karyn Garvin

Dog Trainer

Karyn Garvin has remained true to her career as a professional dog trainer and behavior management specialist since 1978. Over her long career, she has taught over 40,000 private lessons with dog owners learning how to train their dogs. Karyn has also authored three books on the love and training of dogs. What drives Karyn is her commitment to saving dogs’ lives. It is still true today that a huge percentage of dogs that die in shelters each year are owner-released because of behavioral issues their owners did not know how to manage. She owns her own business: Garvin’s “Divine Dog” Training in Tucson, Arizona. She lives with her girlfriend, their six dogs, six cats and one African Grey Parrot.

Molly Hottle

Senior Marketing and Communication Specialist at Phoenix Children's Hospital

Molly is a strategic communication specialist in the health care field. She is currently a senior marketing and communication specialist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and previously worked in strategic communication for Providence Health & Services in Portland, Oregon. It was through this work that she experienced first-hand the literacy gap between medical professionals and the patients they treat. Before moving into health care communication, she worked as a print journalist for the Associated Press, The Des Moines Register and The Oregonian. In May 2017, she will graduate from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in communication, and in her free time, she volunteers with the Health Literacy Coalition of Arizona, a group of volunteers working to improve health literacy for people and organizations across the state. Molly is originally from Iowa and currently lives in Phoenix with her husband Nigel and two dogs, Lou and Churchill.

Stephen Duneier

Business/Financial Professor

For thirty years, he has applied cognitive science to investing, business and life. The result has been the turnaround of numerous institutional businesses, career best returns for managers who have adopted his methods, the development of a $1.25 billion dollar hedge fund and a rapidly shrinking bucket list. Mr. Duneier teaches graduate courses on Decision Analysis in UCSB’s College of Engineering. His book, AlphaBrain is due for release in early 2017 from Wiley & Sons. Through Bija Advisors, he helps business leaders improve performance by applying proven, proprietary decision-making methods to their own processes. Four months after his TEDxTucson talk, Stephen had an incapacitating stroke. Prior to suffering his severe stroke, he completed a life long goal: writing a book. His family, along with his esteemed colleague, Jake Vincent, have seen “AlphaBrain” to publication. It continues where his TEDxTucson talk left off.

Teré Fowler-Chapman

Poet

Teré Fowler-Chapman is a gender fluid writer. Words on the Avenue founder Teré Fowler-Chapman is a gender fluid writer– by way of this Sonoran Desert | by way of the boot’s bayou. This poet is a winner of National Arts Strategies’ Creative Community Fellowship, an educator, and family man. You can find Teré’s storytellings forthcoming or published in/on: VOCA, TEDxStarrPassWomen, Feminist Wire, Arizona Public Media NPR, Transcendence Magazine, & Literary Orphans.

Tony Ford

tony@startuptucson.com

Tony Ford has over 25 years experience in media, marketing, and business development He is the co-founder of ArtFire.com, PopCongGo.com, and is currently creating new storytelling methods for film and virtual reality As CEO of Darc Fusion. He holds an MBA in International Business and has coached more 100 company executives to pursue rapid growth as the Director of Venture Development Programs at Startup Tucson. As a storyteller, Tony practices his craft as a writer and film producer and is currently developing a productivity and mindfulness enhancement method for individuals based on the lean business skills honed in venture development.