Theme: Keep It Simple

October 20, 2015 was an exciting day of Big Ideas at TEDxIndianapolis from the worlds of technology, culture, design sustainability -- all addressing the theme "Keep It Simple." What do we gain when we step back and pare down to the essential elements? What happens when the simplicity principle is applied to challenges in community building, artmaking, education, business, life?

1400 East Hanna Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46227
United States

Juggernaut Jug Band

What do you get when you blend jazz, blues ragtime, swing and original music with washboards, washtubs, kazoos, jugs and various other sundry hardware? Nothing less than the strange concoction called the JUGGERNAUT JUG BAND, based in Louisville, Kentucky. While members of the band are accomplished musicians, “They don’t let virtuosity get in the way of having fun.” (Washington Post) Each performance is a challenge to the audience to have as much fun as the band. Don’t let their antics fool you though. Their exuberant music is the result of skillfully conceived arrangements and unique vocal harmonies.

Andre Davis

Andre Davis is committed program coordinator for the YMCA.

Anthony Garcia

Anthony is principal of The Street Plans Collaborative, an urban planning, design, and research-advocacy firm and a part-time adjunct faculty member at the University of Miami School of Architecture, where he teaches new urbanism and an architecture studio course. He also blogs for Huffington Post Miami, co-authored Tactical Urbanism: Short Term Action, Long Term, and has been featured in many publications including, The Daily Business Review, Atlantic Cities, Momentum Magazine, Streetsblog, and the Miami Herald. He is active in several Miami-Dade based groups advocating for greater use of active transportation throughout the region, including the Green Mobility Network and Bike/Walk Coral Gables. These positions and experiences contribute to his leadership in the field of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

Bridgett Luther

Bridgett has been president of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute since its inception. As president, she leads both the administration of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Program and advocacy of its adoption by designers, manufacturers, major brands, and their suppliers worldwide. Bridgett served as director of the California Department of Conservation for five years under Governor Schwarzenegger. During this time, she oversaw a $1.3 billion dollar budget, 750 employees, and 14 offices throughout California.

Chris Baggott

Chris is an email marketing leader and content marketing innovator. He co-founded two companies that both sold to publicly traded companies in 2013: ExactTarget and Compendium Software. He writes a highly praised blog, which was called the “Best of the Web” by Forbes and quoted by several publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and ADWEEK. Chris also authored the Wiley book: Email Marketing By the Numbers. A native of Pittsburgh, Chris now resides near Indianapolis with his wife and four children.

Chunlei Guo

Chunlei Guo is a professor in Optics and Physics at the University of Rochester in New York and a renowned scientist in the fields of laser and materials processing. His research has led to discoveries such as the so-called Black and Colored Metals and material functionalization with laser technology. His scientific discoveries were covered by The New York Times several times and gained broad attention for their applications. He is an elected Fellow for both the American Physical Society and Optical Society of America.

Creek Stewart

Creek is a survival expert, television host, and author. He owns Willow Haven Outdoor Survival Training School, located in central Indiana, and hosts Fat Guys in the Woods, an original series on The Weather Channel. The station has picked up the show for its second season in 2015. Creek also wrote several books about survival, including Building the Perfect Bug Out Bag, Build the Perfect Bug Out Survival Skills, and The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide.

David Engwicht

David has over 25 years of experience in place making. Best known as the creator of the Walking School Bus and the 7 Day Makeover, he is a passionate designer, artist, author, communicator, and social inventor. David is also a founder and director of Creative Communities International, an organization dedicated to creating great public spaces. Nothing gives David greater joy than working with communities to breathe new life into dead public spaces and dead shopping streets. According to PPS in New York, David is “one of the world’s most inventive thinkers on creating vibrant public spaces.”

Denver Hutt

A Southern Californian by birth but Hoosier at heart, Denver Hutt attended Indiana University – Bloomington where she earned degrees in political science and criminal justice. Following her graduation in 2009, Hutt moved to Indianapolis where she has held roles focused on community development and engagement in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Hutt is a recent graduate of the Stanley K. Lacey Executive Leadership Series (class XXXIX). She also has been recognized as an Indianapolis Business Journal Forty Under 40 honoree, an Indianapolis Star Woman to Know, an Indianapolis Best and Brightest finalist and a Plan2020 CityCorps Fellow.

Emily Jacobi

Emily is Founder and Executive Director of Digital Democracy, a non-profit dedicated to empowering marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights. After beginning her career as a youth journalist at age 13, Emily now pursues her passion for leveraging technology to achieve a more equitable and democratic future. She led Digital Democracy from a start-up non-profit to a leader in technology for human rights space with partners in more than 20 countries. Secretary Hillary Clinton recognized Digital Democracy for co-creating the first rape response and women’s health hotline in Haiti.

Giang Dinh

Giang is a designer of simple and elegant origami art. He studied architecture in Vietnam and the United States, and found origami in 1998 as a way to create simplistic and striking pieces. Giang was born in Hue, Vietnam and currently resides in Virginia.

Malina Jeffers

Mali is the founder of Mosaic City, an organization dedicated to finding creative ways to address diversity, equity, and inclusion needs in cities. Described as “The Unsegregator” by the Indianapolis Star, she started her career organizing a series of performance-based public events for underserved communities. Mali previously worked as the artist services manager at the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the director of marketing and programs at Madame Walker Theatre Center. She also uses her hometown passion in her role as Love Indy project manager for Plan 2020, Indianapolis’ bicentennial planning agenda.

Mary McConnell

Mary is the State Director for the Indiana Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, which has protected over 85,000 acres of land in Indiana. One of the highlights of her 23 years of work at the Conservancy has been spearheading the creation of the Bicentennial Nature Trust, a $30 million public/private partnership to purchase land for nature parks and trails to commemorate Indiana’s 200th birthday in 2016. She also oversaw the design and construction of the Conservancy’s LEED Platinum headquarters in Indianapolis.

Maura Malloy

Maura is a screenwriter who moonlights as an organizer and stylist, while sharing her path to simple living on her blog, A Serene Space. She has several film projects in various stages of development including: the web series Dream Boat recently wrapped production of a pilot episode, and the features AN ILLUMINATED LIFE and OUR REVELS are currently in development. AN ILLUMINATED LIFE, a biopic about J.P Morgan’s right-hand woman who passed as white during the turn of the century, and OUR REVELS, a modern day platonic love story, will both with star Tessa Thompson.

Maurice Young

As a homeless Indianapolis native, Maurice has dedicated himself to promoting awareness of homelessness and the need for change regarding the mistreatment of those who call the streets home. He began his fight for the fair and equal treatment of the homeless in 2011. Maurice believes transforming public perception of homelessness will directly impact government legislation and local policies to improve the conditions of local communities.

Paul Mahern

Paul began his successful career in music production as the 17-year-old singer for The Zero Boys, a hardcore punk band. Through that experience he learned about the production aspect of record making and began recording bands in the Indianapolis area. Paul moved to his current home, Bloomington, Indiana, and began working with major label acts like The Blake Babies, The Judybats, and Mysteries of Life. He later worked as the recording engineer for John Mellencamp, another Indiana native, and completed work at Indiana University for the Sound Directors project at the Archives of Traditional Music. It was there that Paul was lead engineer on an IU and Harvard University co-authored paper on best practices for audio preservation. Today, Paul works out of his own White Arc Studios in Bloomington.

Pauline Oliveros

Pauline is a composer and accordionist who significantly contributed to the development of electronic music. The culmination of her life-long fascination with music and sound is what inspired the practice of Deep Listening, the art of listening and responding to environmental conditions. As a Professor of Practice in the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, she produced highly regarded work as a composer and improviser. Pauline’s 1989 recording, Deep Listening, is considered a classic in her field.

Rob Funkhouser

Rob Funkhouser is a composer, performer, and instrument builder who can never quite sit still. Currently residing in Indianapolis, Indiana, he divides his time between composing, performing, and curating shows at various venues around the city. While his compositions vary widely, the common thread of his recent work is a reflection on the beauty in limiting conditions. He is currently pursuing an M.M. from Butler University in Music Composition, and most recently completed Three Movements for Solo Baritone Saxophone.

Susan Dynarski

Susan writes about and teaches the economics of education and inequality. Her experience as a first-generation college student sparked her interest in these topics. Her father was a high school dropout, but she earned a Bachelor degree. at Harvard. Susan worked as a union organizer, earned her PhD from MIT, and then joined the Harvard faculty. As part of her work with activists and governments, Susan testified to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to improve education for low-income students. She now teaches public policy, education, and economics at the University of Michigan and writes for the New York Times.

Tyler Bush

Tyler is a performer, storyteller, and brand-builder. As an undergrad, he was an NCAA Academic All-American Wrestler and a GLCA New York Arts Fellow. Tyler continued his study of performance after college at The Second City Chicago acting studio, The Actors Center New York, Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and The Atlantic Theater Acting School. He also co-illustrated and co-authored Gary is a Fish, a children’s book that Author House will publish in the summer of 2015.