Theme: Plus

The theme for TEDxPlano 2018 is Plus ( + ):

Preposition: With the addition of. Together with.
Adjective: Rather better than. Positive.
Noun: An advantage.
Conjunction: Furthermore. Also.
Origin: Mid-16th century: from Latin, literally more.

Courtyard Theater
1509 H Ave
Plano, Texas, 75074
United States

Arie Jung

Dancer + Choreographer

Arie is a full time dancer, choreographer and artist. Currently, she works for Rhythmic Souls Tap Company in Dallas. She thrives on collaboration and sharing her passion for art to bring communities together.

Ayaz Quraishi

Community Builder

Ayaz is the Director of Sales Engineering at Acumenity, a McKinney-based startup in the e-learning industry. He is an active member of the Islamic Association of Collin County, driving volunteer-oriented youth initiatives and promoting community-oriented initiatives to re-engage young adults in their communities. With a background in television, engagement in his local community, and a holistic understanding of how to deliver a learning experience, Ayaz seeks to help communities come together for a greater understanding of humanitarianism.

Bishop Curry

Kid inventor

Bishop is entering the sixth grade. He has two younger siblings – Isaiah, 9-years-old and Anistyn, 22-months-old. He loves science and engineering. Bishop is extremely caring and always looks for ways to help someone or brighten someone’s day. Last summer he learned drone programming and CAD design at engineering camp.

Casey Fleming

Cybersecurity Expert

Casey serves as Chief Executive Officer for BLACKOPS Partners Corporation, the leading intelligence, think tank, strategy and cybersecurity advisors to senior leadership of the world’s largest organizations. He is widely recognized as an expert on cybersecurity, intelligence, strategy, national security and asymmetrical hybrid warfare. Casey advises leaders in business, government, the military, The White House and Congress. He is co-author of SPECTRE, a breakthrough hybrid warfare exercise. The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards recently named him Cybersecurity Professional of the Year.

Cathy Boyles

Wildlife Biologist

Cathy is a Federal Aviation Administration Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist. She serves as DFW Airport’s Wildlife Administrator to coordinate with numerous airport departments and outside professionals in implementing the airport’s Wildlife Hazard Management Program and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. Currently she is the Communications Committee Chair of Bird Strike Committee USA and is a member of the North Central Texas Wildlife Consortium of airports.

Dwight Nash

Pastor + Community Builder

Dwight desires to leave this planet a little better off than how he found it through different initiatives such as providing clean water wells in Africa, working in anti-trafficking around the world, serving to address homelessness in Dallas and making sure some kids at Thomas Elementary in Plano aren’t hungry on the weekends. He has been a pastor for 29 years and received his doctorate in 2012 from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Jay Appaji

Mridangam Performer

Jay has been studying the Mridangam, the primary drum of South India, with Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy since 2009. In 2013, Jay received the Percussive Art’s Society’s national scholarship and in 2014, he was named a Texas Young Master and an IndianRaga fellow. Jay regularly performs throughout Texas and nationally. Jay’s love for music extends to his interest in studying music perception and cognition. Currently, Jay is a junior at Southern Methodist University pursuing a double major in Music and Electrical Engineering.

Johnny Quinn

U.S. Olympian

Johnny is a U.S. Olympian in the sport of bobsled and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Johnny is also a former professional football player spending time with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Maddy Kulkarni

Awareness Ambassador

Maddy is the Founder and Executive Director of the Dallas Heroes Project (DHP), an organization which drives awareness of the positive impact made by local heroes.DHP creates month-long marketing campaigns around the hero and his/her organizations so people become aware of the issues these heroes are tackling and are inspired to get involved. Currently, she works as a Senior Marketing Manager at PepsiCo where she focuses on brand management, innovation, shopper and digital marketing, and global sustainability.

Matt Grubisich

Urban Forester

Matt is the Director of Operations for Texas Trees Foundation. For 15 years, he worked in Urban Forestry in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and was the Regional Urban Forester for Dallas and surrounding areas. Matt is a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and specializes in GIS mapping, technology transfer and eco-system analysis. Matt served on several boards and commissions including the Trinity Blacklands Urban Forestry Council, the Dallas Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, and as founding member of the Dallas Urban Forestry Advisory Committee.

Xiaosi Gu

Brain Researcher

Dr. Gu is one of the foremost researchers in the area of computational psychiatry. Her research examines the neural and computational mechanisms underlying human decision-making and social interaction, in both health and disease, through a synthesis of neuroimaging and computational modeling. Recently, Dr. Gu examined the interaction between beliefs and drugs in drug addiction.