Theme: Chain Reaction

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).

Old Main
1600 Pleasant St
Boulder, Colorado, 80302
United States

Casey Fiesler

Casey Fiesler is an information science professor at CU Boulder who comes armed with a law degree and a PhD in computing. She’s also a remixer, a copyright advocate, and a champion for women in tech. Her feminist remix of a Barbie book gained widespread attention in 2014.

Dan Bruder

Dan Bruder’s personal Cause is to create a world where workplace organizations and companies embrace the opportunity to be the spark that builds people, companies, families, and communities. For nearly a decade, he has dedicated his professional consulting practice to this Cause. Prior to creating a consulting practice, Dan was fortunate to have worked for some of the most successful companies in the world and has benefited from their focus on helping him succeed at work, at home, and as a community leader. Leveraging decades of leadership experience in Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, teaching in the graduate business schools at CU, Boulder and Colorado State University, Dan works with companies on identifying organizational PURPOSE, developing strategic PLANS, and building a blendification PROCESS connecting outcomes with actions. His work with companies has resulted in immediate and strong financial growth while also building positive cultures that extend outside the company into families and communities.

Illya Kowalchuk

Illya Kowalchuk's ten years in the classroom included bringing comics, games, graffiti, and swing dancing to his middle school students. After a short stint as a stay-at-home-dad, Illya cofounded Pop Culture Classroom (popcultureclassroom.org) and Denver Comic Con. Currently, Illya designs and oversees pop-culture oriented educational programming in schools, events, and correctional institutions.

Kathleen Nalty

Kathleen Nalty has spent her entire career fighting for social justice, civil rights, diversity, and inclusion. Her passion was ignited by a transformative experience when she was 5-years-old, living in the segregated South during the Civil Rights movement. After obtaining a law degree, Kathleen worked as a federal civil rights prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice on cases involving hate crimes, police brutality, and slavery. She also founded the Center for Legal Inclusiveness and led the nonprofit’s work in diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. Kathleen is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant on diversity and inclusion as well as a published author of a book on the topic entitled Going All-In on Diversity and Inclusion: The Law Firm Leader’s Playbook.

Nashrah Mohd Reza

Nashrah is a 15 year old Muslim girl who has found her voice in the World through film making. By taking a risk and submitting her first ever film to the White House Film Festival, she had the honor of being invited to the White House and meeting President Obama. Her experiences have led her to learn the power that we all contain and the effect that we can have on our own futures. She has spoken at numerous events and churches about not only the power social media allows us but of the power of finding your voice.

Nick Titus

Nick Titus is the CEO and Co-Founder of Myonic Technologies (myopic.tech), a Boulder-based biomedical startup and alumni of the Boomtown Accelerator. Since the spring of 2016 Nick and his team, who are all seniors in high school, have developed a wearable device to enable those living with paralysis to move. Recently, Nick has participated in the 2017 Thiel Summit, MedTech Innovator Pitch, and various other events. He doesn't have formal training in the medical field or extensive business experience. However, the team has utilized the extensive resources of the age we live in to make strives and see success in uncharted territory.

Ozell Williams Jr.

I am Ozell Williams, Jr., founder of Mile High Tumblers 5280. I have coached camps, clinics and more, with multiple gyms throughout Louisiana, Colorado, and California. My team won 1st place & grand champions with West bank Dynamics (2005-2008). I was a Worlds Cheer-Sport champion in 2009 with Gymtyme All-Stars, I was a strong member of the University of Louisville team that won and swept College Nationals my freshmen year in 2009 winning four rings and a Cheer Sport jacket. Then I placed 6th at nationals with the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011 and won a National Championship with WSA and Worlds bid in 2011. I was a strong member of the University of Colorado at Boulder team that placed 5th at Nationals in 2013. I also am a member of the 2009-2013 Olympic Cheer Team (Team USA) cheering for Coed, we’ve been 1st Place champions since then. My passion for cheer is unmatched. And my dream to give back to the community through Tumbling and Cheer is coming true more and more everyday through my company, Mile High tumblers 5280! My goals are to give back to the youth communities and communities what I have been blessed to receive, to get where I am now.

Scott Carney

Investigative journalist Scott Carney spent years debunking spurious spiritual claims, then he met Wim Hof, a daredevil dutch fitness guru who transformed the way he thought about the relationship between the human body and its environment. Carney writes for Wired, Playboy, Mother Jones, and Fast Company. He is the author of three books, including the New York Times bestseller "What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning will Renew our Lost Evolutionary Strength".