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).

University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan, 48128
United States

Demetrius Harmon

Demetrius Harmon from Detroit, Michigan, raised in Dearborn, is a mental health advocate through comedy, compassion, and humanity. He shares his highs and lows in hopes of normalizing the human experience.

Don White

Don White is an award-winning singer/songwriter, a comedian, an author, and a storyteller. He’s been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for thirty years, released nine CDs, three live DVDs, and a book, Memoirs of a C Student. His latest album is More Alive. Since 2015, he has joined master storytellers Bil Lep and Bill Harley in Father’s Daze, a hilarious three-man storytelling show about the triumphs and tribulations of fatherhood. He toured North America for nine years with folk songwriting legend Christine Lavin, with whom he still plays the occasional show.

Emily Sabo

By day, Emily is a Ph.D. student of Linguistics at The University of Michigan. By night, she performs standup comedy at dive bars near you. In her work as a linguist, she investigates the cognitive mechanisms that underlie bilingual language processing and the social priming that modulates how Midwesterners perceive Spanish-accented English speech in the U.S. today. Her passion projects include encouraging linguistic diversity, discouraging linguistic discrimination, and advocating for gender equality.

Jalen Rose

Jalen Rose is from Detroit, MI and attends the University of Michigan–Dearborn, studying Electrical Engineering major. His involvement on campus includes being a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., serving as the coordinator of the campus' Alternative Breaks program as well as serving as the campus' 2019-2020 Newman Civic Fellow. Jalen also works on campus as lab assistant for the Introduction to Engineering course and a Talent Ambassador.

Jordan Wohl

Jordan Wohl is a Senior from Danvers, MA studying Political Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn with minors in Urban and Regional Studies and History. He currently serves as the Marketing Coordinator for the Union at Dearborn, Intramurals Coordinator and Student Section Committee Chair for the UM-Dearborn Athletic Department, and the Team Manager for the UM-Dearborn Lacrosse and Men's Ice Hockey teams. Jordan also has been recognized as Homecoming King on campus in 2018, a UM-Dearborn Difference Maker in 2019, and a Distinguished Student Leader in 2019.

Kas Kasravi

Prof. Kas Kasravi is currently teaching Engineering Probability and Statistics at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. He is also the founder of MindMoto, an invention company. Prof. Kasravi retired from Hewlett-Packard as a vice president and HP Fellow after over 30 years of professional experience. He had previously taught engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy and the Central Michigan University. His expertise includes artificial intelligence and data science, 3D printing, invention methodologies, and patent law. He has led projects in diverse industries, including engineering, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, defense, and insurance. He is a certified manufacturing engineer and has degrees in mechanical and manufacturing engineering as well a law degree.

Paul Draus

Paul Draus is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he has taught since 2005. From 1992 until 2000, Dr. Draus was a public health field worker in New York City and Chicago, and he earned his Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of Consumed in the City: Observing Tuberculosis at Century's End (2004), and he has published more than twenty articles and book chapters on topics ranging from substance abuse and street sex work to urban agriculture and prison education. His most recent research focuses on neighborhood landscape change in Detroit, and he is especially interested in the benefits of expanding green space and access to wild natural spaces in post-industrial cities. Dr. Draus has been the facilitator of the Fort-Rouge Gateway (FRoG) Partnership since late 2012 and joined the FOTR board in 2018. The FRoG vision celebrates the vitality of the Rouge River as a natural, economic and cultural resource for our entire region.

Zarinah El-Amin

Zarinah El-Amin is an award-winning Detroit based anthropologist who helps entrepreneurs, leaders and planet shakers create cultural change through programs, businesses, experiences, and products that feed their pockets, their soul, and the world. As a global presenter and coach, Zarinah has served clients all over the world and appeared on several media including NPR, PBS, FOX. Her companies include Beautifully Wrapped: The Fashion, Tradition, and Culture of Headwrapping, Enliven Your Soul - A Transformative Travel Experience, and Book Power Publishing, a self-publishing firm for soulful entrepreneurs. When not working, Zarinah is relaxing with her 3 children or planning her next global adventure. You may connect with her at fb.com/ZarinahImanElAmin or zarinah@enlivenyoursoul.com.