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).

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall
915 East 60th Street
Chicago, Illinois, 60637
United States

Amy Florian

Amy Florian combines her personal experience and the best of neuroscience and psychology with a good dose of humor in teaching people about how to prepare for, cope with, and support their loved ones through all the losses and transitions of life. She holds a Master’s Degree and is a Fellow in Thanatology (the highest level of certification in the field of grief studies from the Association for Death Education and Counseling). She taught a graduate class at Loyola University of Chicago for almost 10 years, and she has worked with over 2,000 grieving people in the past 30 years. In 2008, Amy founded Corgenius, a company that specializes in training professionals about death, loss, aging, and transition, and she educates audiences around the globe. She has published over 150 articles, and is a repeat award-winning author. Her latest book, which won a 2017 International Book Award and was the gold medal winner of the Indies Award in the category of Grief and Grieving, is titled “A Friend Indeed: Help Those You Love When They Grieve.” Amy was honored to be a 2017 recipient of the Chicago Business Journal’s Women of Influence award. It is her passion to help people heal, and make a difference in their lives.

Cathryn Nagler

Dr. Cathryn R. Nagler is a Professor of Pathology, Medicine, Pediatrics and The College at the University of Chicago. Dr. Nagler obtained her Ph.D. from the Sackler Institute of Biomedical Science at N.Y.U. School of Medicine. She was Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Immunology) at Harvard Medical School prior to joining the UChicago in 2009. Dr. Nagler has participated in numerous review panels for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, NIDDK and NIAID, including the Food Allergy Expert Panel. She recently began teaching in the FOCIS Advanced Course in Basic and Clinical Immunology and joined the FOCIS Education Committee. Dr. Nagler has a long-standing interest in the mechanisms governing tolerance to dietary antigens and the potential immunomodulatory features of the oral route of antigen administration. Her most recent work examines how commensal bacteria regulate susceptibility to allergic responses to food. She has applied insights gained from studying pre-clinical gnotobiotic murine models of cow’s milk allergy to launch a new company, ClostraBio, which is developing microbiome-modulating therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of food allergy.

Greer Baxter

Greer Baxter is a third-year creative writing major at the University of Chicago, where she performs stand up comedy and is a member of Off-Off Campus, the nation’s oldest college improv and sketch comedy group. Greer began writing poetry and fiction in grade school, winning several school-sponsored poetry awards, earning her an invitation to the White House for poetry month, and publishing a novel, “An Honorable Life,” when she was sixteen. She has also been composing music since the first grade, when she got her first keyboard, and has since developed into a songwriter specializing in pop. She performs her original compositions at campus musical events and is also a SofarSounds featured artist, appearing at venues around the city of Chicago. Greer was chosen to write a song for Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about the fraught relationship between the US and Mexico. The result was “Line in The Sand,” which was recorded by Ms. Gonzalez and included on the 2018 album Fandango at The Wall by Arturo O’Farrill. The song was also the basis of a music video that UNICEF adopted to promote its “A Child Is A Child” social media campaign. In addition to her work as a musical artist, Greer has also served as an assistant producer on the album Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico by Arturo O’Farrill and Chucho Valdes, which won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition.

Justine Shih

Justine Shih is a second year singer-songwriter originally from Columbus, Ohio. She grew up classically training in piano and violin, and has played with the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, for which she served as concertmaster. Later, she picked up songwriting and taught herself guitar to accompany the melodies and lyrics she writes about love, loss, life, and anything that tells a story. Outside of music, Justine is currently studying neuroscience at UChicago and enjoys lab research. She has served as president of UChicago Science Olympiad, is on the board of the Taiwanese American Student Association, and is a part of the Underground Collective.

Nirali Trivedi

Nirali Trivedi is a fourth-year Economics major at The University of Chicago and is the CEO of RALI Bottle, a smart water bottle that tracks hydration and nudges users to drink more water. She wants to create sustainable technology products designed with behavioral economics. Nirali was awarded The U.S. Department of State Public Diplomacy Award for her project, “Economic Empowerment for Women in Calama, Chile” where she facilitated the growth of 20 female-run small businesses. She also graduated Army ROTC Basic Camp at Fort Knox and has worked at The Council of Economic Advisers to the President at The White House.