TED Community » Luci McKean

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About Me

I am, by nature, a maker of things and connections, an artist and activist, explorer of spirit and meaning and identity. Special Projects Manager for the National School Reform Faculty. Setup crew chief for the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. Organizer of international gatherings and swaps, both spiritual and mundane, for my crafty friends online and in-person. Queen of outrageous birthday parties for kids. Enriched by my two beloved sons and my soul mate husband. President of the fan club for Bloomington, Indiana. And my latest incarnation: ghostwriter!

At work, I'm a professional communicator, having done about everything you can do in journalism and advertising: creative director in direct marketing, copywriter and media buyer in an ad agency, ghostwriter of speeches and educational materials, minimalist graphic designer, website architect, freelance magazine writer, daily newspaper reporter, radio announcer and newscaster, public relations and marketing director, podcaster and blogger.

Today, I advocate only for things I care about. I help people think about what to do in the context of a larger cause: I am curator of TEDxBloomington, a Critical Friends Group coach, Special Projects Manager for the National School Reform Faculty, partner/facilitator in Applied Collaborative Technologies, mom, Lotus volunteer, and marketing/PR/advertising maven for things that matter.

Location:
United States, Bloomington, IN
Current organization:
TEDxBloomington
Past organizations:
National School Reform Faculty, Self Employed Writer/editor/consultant
Gender:
Female
I am:
Activist, Artist, Marketer, Parent, Writer/Editor
Languages:
English
My website links:
TEDxBloomington
Universities:
Indiana University - Bloomington, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
TED conferences attended:
TEDActive 2012
Member Picture

TEDCRED 500+ AssociateTEDx OrganizerTED Attendee

More About Me

An idea worth spreading

"Happiness is available. Help yourself." -- Thich Nhat Hanh

Talk to me about

TEDxBloomington and TEDx events, The Availability of Happiness, Critical Friends Groups, Ghostwriting, Reiki, Guided Visualizations ... and whatever you're passionate about!

People don't know that I'm good at

Throwing outrageously creative parties for kids and other creative, playful people ... parallel parking ... Reiki

My TED Story

I've been watching TEDTalks (via borrowed DVDs from a TEDster) since about 2005. As we say, I've "drunk the Kool Aid" and feel entirely engaged by these Ideas.

I was thrilled to discover that a TEDxBloomington conference was in the works last spring. I became the first local volunteer, then Local Team Leader and Champion within a couple weeks, and then was promoted to Co-Curator a couple months later. I am now the Curator for TEDxBloomington, with an outstanding team of co-producers.

I'm committed to building and sustaining a vibrant TEDxBloomington community, conference, and series of conversations over time. In this wonderful Big Ten university community, there are hundreds of TED enthusiasts, most of whom don't know about one another, and so many thousands more people who have yet to be introduced to Ideas Worth Spreading.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +5345.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • +6

    A comment on Talk: Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity

    Nov 11 2011: "As kids we're taught to play and we're never given a reason why we should play, it's just accepted that play is a good thing." Thanks for this important reminder, Charlie! We LOVED having you here for TEDxBloomington!

  • A comment on Conversation: How far would you travel for a TEDx event?

    Feb 24 2011: Thanks for the responses, folks, and your answers completely make sense: "it depends!"

    I suppose I have a corollary question that I should ask (probably in another "conversation"). I wonder how may TEDx organizers develop their lineup and topics considering primarily a local audience vs. ones that plan an event that would appeal to people from all parts of the world.

    We started planning with a mix of world-class speakers coming into Bloomington (obviously speaking about non-local topics), and then found cream-of-the-crop local speakers who'd fill out our "Wisdom of Play" theme, still being conscious of a worldwide audience via the Livestream.

    Among the amazing speakers we have on our roster for this year: Jeff Han, 2006 TED speaker and creator of the multi-touch computer screens that we now can't imagine living without ... Marc and Sara Schiller of The Wooster Collective, speaking about ephemeral public art including graffiti ... Shawn Achor of Harvard, speaking about the happiness advantage ... Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere ... Hugh McLeod of Gaping Void ... and many, many more. We're having a Serious Games Arcade and other Wisdom of Play events starting the week before the conference, and a "Playing with Your Wisdom" idea-incubation event the day after.

    In short, we're building an event constellation that encourages not only quite a lot of local activity, but also hoping to attract applications/invitees and Livestream viewers from quite far afield of our lovely south central Indiana city. I can easily envision TEDxBloomington as a worthy destination for multiple reasons, and am wondering how TEDx fans in general feel about those opportunities.

    In a way, having "drunk the Kool Aid" of TED and TEDx events, I personally am always hungering for more: for experiences beyond that which we're creating in our city, for connections to other TEDx communities beyond my geographic center, for perspectives different from my own that enrich my experience.

  • A comment on Conversation: What's the overlooked gem, the book I haven't read that I must?

    Feb 23 2011: I'm digging Gever Tulley's new TEDBook -- Beware Dangerism! Smart analyses, easy to understand, quick read ... kinda reminds me of your books in those ways, Seth!

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