Theme: Perspectives

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).

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, John Hirsh Mainstage
174 Market Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 0P8
Canada

Alan Cross

Broadcasting+Consulting+New Media+Content Creation+Voiceovers

Alan Cross is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his nearly 40 years in the broadcasting and music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock and is also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like the long-running show, The Ongoing History of New Music. Outside of radio, Alan’s resume includes four books, dozens of public speaking engagements, a national music column for GlobalNews.ca, voicework for film, and television, plus creating content for various film and TV studios, record labels, artist management companies, streaming music services like Spotify and a travelling museum exhibit called The Science of Rock’n’Roll. Alan is also sought after as a consultant for radio content. His current client is 102.1 the Edge/Toronto. One of his companies, Major League Mixes, provided music advice for professional sports teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Aleethia Mackay

Addictions Counsellor

Aleethia Mackay is a full time Addictions Counsellor at an alternative high school in the Winnipeg School Division. She works one on one with teenagers that have experienced trauma, and teenagers that are battling substance use and abuse. Since she can remember, Aleethia has always had a passion for working with youth of all ages, because she loves the tenacity and honesty they possess. Her style of counseling is guided on the idea that “I see you, I hear you, and what you say matters to me” regardless of one’s race, gender, or socioeconomic status. She believes in looking at the biological, psychological, and social aspects surrounding a teenager’s relationships with drugs and alcohol. Although she believes that addiction is a topic to be dealt with seriously, Aleethia also sees the value in counseling youth with with and exuberance.

Alice RL

Activist, Professional Illustrator and Art Teacher

Alice RL is a professional Illustrator and Art Teacher based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The non-binary, transgender, Ojibawe artist draws inspiration from their experiences and cultural teachings and melds it with a signature palette of bright, playful hues to create stunning juxtapositions of human brutality and emotion with hope and whimsy. Alice’s range of projects include game and comic book art, digital and traditional illustration, and graphic design. Alice is a Graduate of the University of Manitoba Fine Arts Program and Digital Media Design at Red River College. Alice is deeply involved in the local art community and strives to improve themselves and others. Whether working in digital or traditional art, Alice brings a unique personal style and emotional impact into all their creations.

Ashleigh Lodge

Application Development Manager

Ashleigh Lodge is the Application Development Manager at Neovation Learning Solutions, which encompasses the development, UX and QA teams for multiple products. A graduate of the Computer/Analyst Programmer (CAP) program at Red River College, she has held various development and management roles in the tech industry for the past nine years. In her free time, you can find Ashleigh either playing Pokémon Go, or consuming a truly frightening amount of pop culture media, including movies, TV shows, comic books, and novels (and usually both at the same time!)

Aylia Mohammadi

Scientist & Entrepreneur

Dr. Aylia Mohammadi (BSc, MSc, PhD) is a scientist and entrepreneur who combines her background in physics, biology, and health with her passions for food, movement, and the sensory experiences therein. She is the Founder and Scientific Director of Genotique, a personalized nutrition company integrating DNA-based dietary advice with key lifestyle, behavioral and psychological factors to promote and sustain optimal health. She is passionate about helping people find nourishment and thrive while enjoying the pleasures of food and not sacrificing quality of life. She obtained her PhD in Biological Physics from the Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, where she currently lives. Growing up in Winnipeg, her childhood encouraged her career as a scientist and her love of food.

Celine Nadon

Chief of Enteric Diseases Surveillance

Celine Nadon (PhD) is a scientist and public servant. She first developed an interest in infectious diseases transmitted by food and water during her studies at the University of Manitoba, earning Bachelor and Master of Science degrees. This interest led her to Cornell University (New York), where she obtained her doctorate in 2003, studying microbes like Listeria (a notorious disease-causing bacteria), and learning epidemiology, the study of how diseases are transmitted through the world’s populations. She’s currently the Chief of Enteric Diseases Surveillance, Outbreak Detection and Response at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory, leading national surveillance programs for infectious diseases transmitted by food and water, and her laboratory continuously monitors for and investigates outbreaks of foodborne disease using cutting edge technology.

Dave Brown

Actor, Teacher, Singer-Songwriter and Musician

David Lawrence Brown has developed a reputation as a “chameleon” film performer, delivering a wide range of cinematic performances and personas, evidenced by his chilling portrayal of real-life psychopathic serial killer Gary Ridgway in A&E’s “The Riverman” to his comedic turn as inept hit man Sergei in the feature film “Stegman is Dead” to the bitter and heartbroken Sheriff Logan in “The Pinkertons” (Netflix), a performance that was recognized for an ACTRA award for Best Performance by a male Actor in 2016. David’s attention to detail in performance has allowed him to bring a nuanced believability to characters from various backgrounds including Scottish (Passchendaele), Minnesotan (Fargo) and the mid-west USA (The 19th Wife). David has shared the screen with many notable performers including Robert Downey Jr. (Charlie Bartlett), Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern (J.T. Leroy) and Ian MacKellan (X-Men) among many others.

Deb Chaboyer

Educator

Deb Chaboyer is a passionate educator at the University of Manitoba and an inspirational leader. She is an emerging entrepreneur in the developing stages of her company, Chaboyer International. The company’s mission is to empower change and connect the world through Human Resources, Adult Education, Customized Training & Advocacy. Throughout Deb’s lifetime people have shared their life stories, experiences, and challenges with her. She is very grateful to each of them for trusting her with their stories. This fuelled her passion to empower people to embrace their best selves and become the person in their dreams. Deb is a holistic practitioner who believes in meeting the needs of individuals so that they can prosper and thrive in life. Deb attended the University of Manitoba as a mature student and the lone parent of her six children.

Ian McCausland

Professional Photographer

A life long Winnipegger, Ian McCausland has been a professional photographer for over 30 years. He’s been producing award winning images for editorial use or advertising locally, nationally and internationally. His work has taken him far above the arctic circle, to the tropics and virtually everywhere in Canada. His work is known for his ability to set people at ease and make them enjoy the process of being photographed. Driven by his passion to connect with other in his community with his work, he’s been a TedX winnipeg volunteer for several years, producing some of the images you see of previous speakers. As well he helped form the local efforts of Help Portrait, a worldwide movement to provide images to those who can’t afford them at the holidays. With his wife Lynda and 14 yr old son Liam, Ian enjoys exploring the beauty of this province, camping as much as he can.

Jane McDonald

International Institute of Sustainable Development's Interim President and CEO and Vice-Chair of the Experimental Lakes Area Board

Jane McDonald is the Managing Director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), an independent think tank championing sustainable solutions to 21st century problems, where she oversees IISD’s global team working to advance sustainable economies, protect freshwater, and accelerate climate solutions. Jane has over 15 years of Canadian and international experience working with governments, corporate executives, and major think tanks to advance sustainability. She has worked in the financial sector, building new environmental markets at investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, and led advocacy efforts to secure the inclusion of Canadian renewable electricity in the US Clean Power Plan. From 2015-2016, Jane served as Policy Director for the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change where she supported the Canadian government’s role in the Paris Agreement, and negotiations with provinces on the ‘pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change’.

Jonathan Meikle

Human Rights Activist

Jonathan Meikle, born 19 August 1989 is an Afghanistan war veteran. He is father to his son Cohen Meikle and stays very involved with Cohen’s older brother Aidan Gray, in whom he loves the two of immensely. Jonathan grew up in the northern community of Norway House Cree Nation, approximately a drive of 800 km North of Winnipeg. There, he experienced what it was like to live in a community with the social difficulties that our reserves in Canada are faced with mainly as a result of inter-generational trauma acquired through colonization, the residential school system and the sixties scoop. Jonathan now resides in Winnipeg, where he is very involved in community and grassroots initiatives including volunteering With Winnipeg’s Bear Clan Patrol. Jonathan is very active in the addictions community, learning about traditional teachings, seeking knowledge in community economic development and advocating for community-based solutions.

Kerri Twigg

Career Coach

Kerri Twigg is an international career coach who helps people use their stories to grow their careers. She was named the #1 Career Coach to follow by JobScan and was named a LinkedIn Top Voices in 2018 in the Workplace and Management category. She is a contributing author to the Amazon best-selling career book, YouMap. Kerri has been helping people to figure out what makes them awesome and how to embrace that awesomeness for over 20 years. First as a creative drama teacher and now as a career coach. She doesn’t tell everyone this, but she’s allergic to formulas that make you look like everyone else. You’re more interesting than that. Kerri is a Certified Resume Strategist. She holds a B.A in Theatre and Film (U of Winnipeg), M.Ed in Humane Education (Cambridge College) and an HR Certificate from Red River College. She has taught and spoken at theatres, Universities, corporate boardrooms and even a boathouse.

Kobra Rahimi

Community Activist

Kobra is a Kurdish-Canadian lawyer. She lived the first 14 years of her life at a refugee camp in Iraq. Since arriving in Canada, Kobra has committed herself to turning her family’s struggles into opportunities to be a positive addition to the Winnipeg community. Passionate about higher education, Kobra completed her degree at the UofW and then moved on to study law at the University of Manitoba. She received the Emerging Leaders Award for displaying exceptional leadership qualities within the university community during her studies. In 2014, she co-organized a rally of over 1,000 people to demand clean drinking water for Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. In 2016 she coordinated student placements at Welcome Place to assist asylum seekers, a program that continues.

Leslie Walters

Obstetrician/Gynaecologist

Dr Leslea Walters is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, having trained as an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist. She sees patients in her downtown practice, delivers babies at the Women’s Hospital (Health Sciences Centre) and operates at various hospitals around Winnipeg. She has been in practice for 5 years and prior to that completed residency training at the University of Manitoba, after graduating from medical school at the University of Ottawa. Her interests are quite varied and she will tell you she ended up in medicine “by accident” after a brief career as a flight attendant. Fortunately, it has been a good fit for her and she finds it fulfilling to serve her patients with a wide range of women’s health concerns. Leslea has led her colleagues in several community based initiatives to advance women’s health. Her next endeavour is to take on the role of Section Head of Obstetrics at the Women’s Hospital – HSC.

Matthew Shorting

Community Advocate

Matthew Shorting is Anishinaabe living on Treaty 1 Territory and is a member of the Little Saskatchewan First Nation Treaty 2. He was placed in the Manitoba Child Welfare system at 5 months old, becoming a permanent ward at 6 until the age of 18. He now shares how he heals from intergenerational trauma to holistic well-being. Matthew works in restorative justice and is a father to a 10-year-old daughter. He’s participated in various speaking engagements since 2012, assists with Meet me at the the Belltower and volunteers for Bear Clan in Winnipeg. In June of 2017, Matthew was 1 of 4 Indigenous torch carriers that helped light the Canada Summer Games flame. On November 7, 2018, Matthew was a voice in The Amendment made to the Child and Family Services Act. BILL 223, where Children can no longer be apprehended due to Poverty and in February of 2019, he received the Royal Canadian Humane Association Bravery Bronze Medal award.

Monique Andrew

Personal Stylist & Thrifter, YouTuber, Fashion Blogger

Monique is a mother, a personal stylist, hair and makeup artist, fashion blogger, YouTuber, model, vintage enthusiast, party planner, professional thrifter and social media personality better known as Style Hunter Fox. Wearing so many hats means her days are never the same but this creative chaos is what keeps her batteries charged. Monique always loved playing dress up, her dad’s old army foot locker acting as the family Tickle Trunk. She would also spend hours using her seamstress mother’s bag of scrap fabrics to dress and re-dress her barbies with flourish, learning at an early age to take something simple and be able to see what it could become. She was able to experience the joy of dreaming up a dress for a special occasion and seeing it come to life under her mother’s skilled hands.