Theme: Spark. Inspire. Change.

TEDxLafayette organizers announced Lafayette’s inaugural community-inspired TEDx event themed “Spark. Inspire. Change.” The one-day event will take place on Saturday, November 22 at The Civic Theatre located at 313 N 5th St, Lafayette, IN 47901 in downtown Lafayette. TED Talks are internationally recognized for their award-winning speakers and conferences. TEDx events are independently organized at the local level.

Nine Lafayette-based speakers will bring their diverse perspectives to challenge our assumptions and expand our understanding in engaging 12-18 minute presentations. In keeping with the theme, speakers will focus on stimulating creative and innovative thoughts related to technology, community, and education in the Greater Lafayette area and applicable worldwide. “Sparking engaging conversation and inspiring positive change is the goal of our first TEDx event in Lafayette,” said Nelu Lazar, community activist founder of Lafayettech and K12TECH, engineering lead, technology evangelist and developer, and Executive Director of TEDxLafayette. “We’re excited to highlight amazing local talent and offer the opportunity for us to see and hear about wonderful ideas and powerful actions that take off and grow from within our community to better educate and change the world as we know it,” added Lazar.

The TEDxLafayette 2014 speakers include:

* Zachary Baiel (Director of Customer Relations at Spensa Technologies; assiduous citizen in the #greaterlala area; serves on the New Chauncey Neighborhood Leadership Team; Chair of the Housing and Maintenance Appeals Board for the City of West Lafayette; Vice President of the West Lafayette Friends of the Library; and sits on the WLPL Foundation board).

* David Bowker (Director of the Office of Future Engineers at Purdue University, responsible for directing and implementing recruitment activities for the College of Engineering; teaching Academic & Career planning at Purdue University; recognized by the College of Engineering for his leadership and is active on campus / community committees).

* Beth Carroll (Instructor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Purdue University, former small business owner and creator of Small Shopper).

* Ed Finkler (Developer at LegalServer; front-end and server-side work in Python, PHP, and JavaScript; served as web lead and security researcher at The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security - CERIAS; co-host of the Development Hell podcast; part of Engine Yard's Prompt).

* Joe Ruhl (Teacher, Biology, Genetics, and Science Research courses at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana; awarded a Golden Apple Teaching Award by the Lafayette, Indiana Chamber of Commerce; honored at the White House as Indiana’s recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching).

* Ashley Scott (Operations Manager & Community Curator for MatchBOX Coworking Studio, passionate about building communities and serving as a resource for individuals interested in launching a career in tech).

* Kris Taylor (Founder of Evergreen Leadership; author of The Leader’s Guide to Turbulent Times; teaches entrepreneurship in addition to her writing, teaching, coaching and leadership development work).

* Keith Watson (Information security architect for Purdue University, a host on the Eyes on Privacy podcast and co-author on "A Guide to Facebook Security").

* Double Helix Collective, an interdisciplinary new media collective that explores the visual poetics of the intersection of technology, sound, music, live-drawing, video, shadow and ritual. The collective features Sabrina Lastman (vocalist, songwriter, voice educator & Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner) & Petronio Bendito (intermedia artist & Associate Professor of Visual Communications Design at Purdue University).

* Briagha McTavish, a singer/songwriter earning award recognition on NPR's "In Search of Song" competition and the SAMI Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters and Blooming-Tunes Songwriting Competition.

Early-bird tickets are on sale for $30 (limited to 20 seats or through October 10). Remaining tickets will be sold at $45 on www.tedxlafayette.com . VIP Passes are also available. See the website for details and to reserve your seat. Included in ticket prices are access to both TEDx sessions experience, food, beverages, entertainment acts, and access to the super after-party. Early-bird and VIP ticket holders will have the exclusive chance to meet the TEDx speakers.

For a full list of speakers, latest news, and to reserve your spot at the event, go to www.tedxlafayette.com.

Civic Theater
313 N 5th Street
Lafayette, Indiana, 47901
United States

Briagha McTavish

Briagha McTavish is a singer-songwriter from Lafayette, Indiana. She claimed the winning and runner-up spots in NPR's "In Search of a Song" competition and was the show's featured artist for July 27, 2013. Briagha was the featured independent artist of the month for the Nov/Dec 2013 issue of "I Am Entertainment" magazine, a finalist for the August 2013 Songwriter Universe Song of the Month, won the 2012 SAMI Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters and was named a winner in the Blooming-Tunes Songwriting Competition.

David Bowker

David Bowker is the Director of the Office of Future Engineers at Purdue University. David is responsible for directing and implementing recruitment activities for the College of Engineering. Previously, David spent three years as Recruitment Coordinator at Ivy Tech State College-Lafayette and a year advising in the School of Education at Purdue. David is a “townie” raised in Lafayette and received both his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and supervision and his master’s degree in higher education administration from Purdue University. David has teaches a variety of classes and is currently teaching Academic & Career planning at Purdue University. He has a passion for encouraging young people to find their niche and takes pride in being a small bridge on their pathway to success. He has been recognized by the College of Engineering for his leadership and is active on campus / community committees.

Ed Finkler

Ed Finkler, also known as "Funkatron", leverages web technology to empower users at commercial and non-profit organizations. Ed started making web sites before browsers had frames, and does front-end and server-side work in Python, PHP, and JavaScript. He served as web lead and security researcher at The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) at Purdue University (http://www.cerias.purdue.edu) for 9 years. Along with Chris Hartjes, Ed is co-host of the Development Hell podcast (http://devhell.info). Ed's current passion is raising mental health awareness in the tech community with his "Open Sourcing Mental Illness (http://funkatron.com/osmi) speaking campaign. He is part of "Engine Yard's Prompt (http://prompt.engineyard.com) campaign. Ed writes at http://funkatron.com.

Joe Ruhl

Joe Ruhl received his bachelors and masters degrees at Purdue University and he has been sharing the joys of biology with kids for 37 years. He presently teaches Biology, Genetics, and Science Research courses at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana. The National Association of Biology Teachers named Joe Ruhl the Outstanding Biology Teacher of Indiana in 1987. In 1988 he was awarded a Golden Apple Teaching Award by the Lafayette, Indiana Chamber of Commerce. In 1989 he was honored at the White House as Indiana’s recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. In 1996 he received the Purdue University College of Science Distinguished Alumnus Award for Excellence in K-12 Science Teaching. In 2004 he was awarded the Purdue College of Education’s Crystal Apple Teaching Award. And in 2012 he was honored with the Shell National Science Teaching Award, which annually recognizes one K-12 science teacher in the United States and Canada.