Theme: Momentum

The mission of TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen is to call forth the vital creative power of our participants by shining a light on women innovators who are reimagining, redefining, and shaping the world in their own images, based on deeply personal values, perspectives and vision. This year we will explore the theme Momentum, highlighting the power of girls and women to forge change and create meaningful progress in the way we live, think, and work today. Our audience will reflect the texture and depth of Los Angeles and be comprised of knowledge-seeking, socially conscious women leaders joined in the spirit of inclusivity, generosity, and possibility.

3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, California, 90404
United States

Anna Cummins

Anna Cummins is the co-founder and Executive Director of The 5 Gyres Institute, dedicated to engaging people in policy and design solutions to end the global threat of plastic pollution. She and her husband Dr. Marcus Eriksen founded 5 Gyres to establish a global baseline on marine plastic pollution in areas where no previous data existed, publishing the first global estimate for all ocean plastics in 2014. Their expeditions invite scientists, artists, journalists, and industry  on board to learn first hand, and become engaged as ambassadors for change. 5 Gyres is currently focused on inspiring communities to dive deeper into plastic pollution solutions through science, education, and action. 

Aziza Hasan

Aziza Hasan is the Executive Director of New Ground, a Muslim-Jewish partnership for change. She has extensive experience in program management and coalition building, and has worked with diverse groups to deliver quality programming that develops the skills of its participants in the areas of civic engagement, advocacy, service learning, leadership, conflict transformation, and diversity training.

Caitlin Notey

Caitlin Notey is a singer/songwriter with a passion for folk, rock, and electronic music who currently fronts an 8-piece band called Huxlee. She also writes all of the music and acts as musical director for the band. Huxlee recently released its first EP, called Bloom. The group plays in various clubs and restaurants around Los Angeles. Caitlin also works as a session singer, occasionally plays with cover bands, and has begun writing with a production team focused on licensing songs for television.

Danielle Gano

Danielle Gano is the founder and CEO of Elle Communications, a communications boutique with offices in Los Angeles and New York that represents impact clientele. Through her work at Elle, she has traveled the world highlighting ethical fashion brands using commerce to provide economic opportunity around the world.

Freya Estreller

Haley Hoffmeister

Haley Hoffmeister is a writer and comedian by night, and a PR maven for McGuire Denim by day. She lives in Los Angeles with her two perfectly well-behaved children.

Heidi Rose Robbins

Heidi Rose Robbins' first book of poetry, This Beckoning Ceaseless Beauty, was released to enthusiastic reviews in 2013. Of the book, author Danielle LaPorte (The Firestarter Sessions) wrote, "These poems make me want to live more fully, deeply . . . Heidi Rose Robbins notices the beauty of life." In addition to her work as a poet, Robbins has supported many men and women through life transitions as an esoteric astrologer and as the leader of retreats, in which she teaches women how to live fuller, more expressive and courageously loving lives. She is also a founding member of The Hello Love Experiment, a radical on-going project of naming, embodying, and realizing love in the world.

Jean Kaneko

Jean Kaneko has empowered thousands of educators, librarians, parents and students  to be agents of their own future through her “Tinker.Make.Innovate.” process. She shares her personal story of how working to develop artistic and educational uses of new technologies like computer graphics, special effects, stereoscopic and interactive techniques, for over 20 years, has  helped her overcome a paralyzing fear of failure brought about by her Korean immigrant parents. This work has compelled her to be a pioneer in bringing maker education into classrooms, libraries and maker space, all of this work inspired by her son and his need to be defined by more than a test score. 

Jess Weiner

Jess Weiner is considered this generation’s “Go to Authority” on women, girls, and confidence. She has over 20 years of experience working in the field as a speaker, writer and educator. Jess is a social entrepreneur and the CEO of Talk to Jess, a consulting and strategy firm that advises brands about the issues facing today’s women and girls. She is the author of two best selling books and has proudly served as Dove's Global Self-Esteem Ambassador for the last 10 years.

Jill Willard

Jill Willard has a keen sense of what's going on. As a gifted Intuitive, medium and leader in meditation practice, Jill's ease and grace have many coveting her golden rays of wisdom. She has been featured on Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP, Women's Health online and Atomic Moms. Her newest venture, IM, offers tools and tips on meditation and being here in presence. 

Julie Moret

Julie Moret, author of What's Your What? How to Ignite Your Unique Brand, was knighted by the Order of the Orthodox Knights of St. John Russian Grand Priory alongside Jack Canfield, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Michael Bernard Beckwith. She enjoys traveling regularly as an inspirational speaker representing her home base, the Agape International Spiritual Center.

Kabira Stokes

Kabira Stokes is a social entrepreneur who lives in Los Angeles. She is an electronics recycler, an activist for social justice, and a previous employee of the City of LA. She holds a Masters in Public Policy from USC, and is a lover of fashion. 

Laura Gorenstein Miller

Laura Gorenstein Miller is the founder, choreographer and Artistic Director of Helios Dance Theater, a Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company. She has a BFA in choreography from CalArts where she was selected to attend the Laban Center in London for an intensive study in Choreographic theory. Miller has premiered her work at venues such as The Joyce Theater and Lincoln Center in New York, The Royal Opera House in London, UCLA's Royce Hall and Schoenberg Hall, The Getty Center, USC's Bovard auditorium, The Mid-Ocean Amphitheatre in Southampton, Bermuda and Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica, to name a few. Her work has been set on ABT, ABT 2, The Milwaukee Ballet, Bodytraffic and CalArts. Miller choreographed the dance scenes in the Oscar nominated film Puss In Boots,the animated film Madagascar 3 and a recent episode of Parenthood.

Marquesha Babers

Marquesha Babers is as an ambassador for the film Girl Rising. She has performed for ONE.org and global icons like HRH Princess Reema Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Freida Pinto, Hillary Clinton, and countless others. She is a member of the award-winning Get Lit Players, and she now performs and mentors at schools and political events all over the City of LA under the guidance of Get Lit, Turnaround Arts, and Mayor Eric Garcetti. She recently opened the Women in the World Summit at Lincoln Center alongside Angelina Jolie.

Natasha Case

In 2009, Natasha Case and Freya Estreller founded Coolhaus, an architecturally-inspired, gourmet ice cream sandwich company from their barely drive-able postal van at the Coachella Music Festival to an audience of 100,000. Since then, Natasha has been named a Forbes 30 under 30 and Zagat 30 Under 30, as well as being featured in many national publications and TV shows. The company has become one of the leading innovative small dessert businesses, growing significantly to include a fleet of 10 trucks and two scoop shops, along with a distributed product line of ice cream sandwiches, bars and pints in 4,000+ gourmet grocery stores nationally, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger and Safeway. Freya has since launched a second company, Ludlows Cocktail Co, that brought its first product: gourmet, craft cocktail-inspired jelly shots (!) to markets around the country and will be introducing a unique bottled spritzer line in 2016.

Noa Kaplan

Noa P. Kaplan analyzes and reconstructs overlooked forms to create physical artifacts and environments that allow viewers to inhabit unfamiliar orders of magnitude. She has shown work at ACME Gallery, Rosamund Felson Gallery, the California Nano Systems Institute, and on the Electric Objects platform. Kaplan received her BA in Studio Art from Yale University and her MFA in Design Media Arts from UCLA, where she is now a full­ time lecturer.

Sarah Gertrude Shapiro

Sarah Gertrude Shapiro is best known for going from SXSW to having her own scripted series ordered in less than a year. After winning an award at SXSW with her short film Sequin Raze, she sold a series based on the film and produced UnREAL with A+E Studios. UnREAL, co-created with and executive produced by Marti Noxon, premiered on Lifetime on June 1st, 2015 to rave reviews from The New Yorker, The New York Times, Forbes, and Variety, and was honored by Critic’s Choice as one of 2015’s most exciting new shows. Shapiro was one of 8 women chosen for AFI Directing Workshop for Women in 2013, and was a finalist for the Sundance Labs.

Tracy Gray

Tracy Gray is the Managing Director of The 22 Capital Group. The 22 is a international growth venture capital and advisory firm located in Los Angeles. Prior to The 22, Gray was the Senior Advisor of International Business and Marketing to the LA Mayor and began her professional career as a systems engineer/mission monitor on the NASA Space Shuttle program. She holds a BS in Mathematical Science/Aeronautics emphasis and dual MBAs from Columbia University and UC Berkeley. Gray recently founded "We Are Enough" with a business school classmate as an action platform and resource, targeting the finance and entertainment industries to inspire and educate women towards this change.