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).

Mershon Auditorium
1871 North High St
Columbus, Ohio, 43210
United States

Anna Babel

Linguistic anthropologist

Anna Babel studies the complex relationship between language and social categories. She is particularly interested in language contact, the politics of minority languages, and migration.

Cal Murata

Aspiring Stand-Up Comedian

Cal Murata is an aspiring stand-up comedian who has had the pleasure of opening for comedy favorites like Ken Jeong, Creed Bratton and Mark Normand. Cal wants to spend his life traveling around the world and making everyone laugh.

Dragon Phoenix Wushu

Martial Arts Team

They are a Chinese martial arts team made of OSU students that combines traditional forms and styles with contemporary acrobatics. Other famous practitioners of this martial art include Jet Li, Wu Bin, and Donnie Yen.

Greg Anderson

Radical Historian

Greg loves to share his fascination with the many different worlds that humans have inhabited.

Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Truth Seeker, Truth Teller

Less concerned about repeating historical phenomena that produced racial inequality and more concerned about allowing these phenomena to continue, historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries studies the African American past in order to make a more equitable American present.

Imani Harris

Poet. Activist. Visionary

Imani Harris is a spoken word poet from Cleveland, Ohio who is dedicated to showing the educational and social possibilities of introducing spoken word poetry and rap music into academic spaces. Centering her research in Hip-Hop Feminist Pedoagy, Imani uses her platform as an artist and scholar to elevate marginalized voices and destabilize Eurocentric knowledge hierarchies that undermine the knowledge production occurring in low-income, black and brown communities.

Jamie Wise

Researcher, Sociologist

Jamie Wise studies how societies seek justice after genocide and armed conflict, drawing from her field research on Rwanda, Cambodia, and Syria.

Katra Bryam

Literary scholar, educator

A narrative theorist, Katra Byram investigates the roles different kinds of stories play in human experience, as they shape self-understanding and meaning in our lives.

Kyoung Lee Swearingen

Visual Storyteller

Kyoung Lee Swearingen is a visual storyteller with years of experience as a Lighting Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios and her filmography includes Ratatouille, Wall-E, UP, Cars 2, Toy Story 3, Brave, Monsters University, Presto, La Luna, The Blue Umbrella, Mater’s Tall Tales, and Partly Cloudy which have claimed numerous awards from the Academy Awards, BAFTA, Visual Effects Society, The American Film Institute, as well as many others. Currently, Kyoung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design, teaches computer animation at Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design(ACCAD) and her research focuses on creating games and animation for social good, using humane technology and practicing transdisciplinary collaboration.

Noah Bukowski

Disability Studies Scholar

Noah Bukowski is a Ph.D. student in the English department specializing in disability studies. Bukowski researches how disability is culturally produced and teaches ways to make the world more accessible for all.

Sarah K Parker

Sustainable Fashion Advocate, Designer

Upon recognizing the harsh consequences the fashion industry has on the environment, Sarah has made it her mission to spread awareness and design sustainable clothing.

Tsonwin Hai

Professor, Researcher

Tsonwin Hai teaches Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the Ohio State University. Her research focuses on how our cells respond to stress signals, and how these responses affect our immune system, which in turn affects disease progression.