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).

Greenhouse at Platform
8820 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, California, 90232
United States

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.

Aditi Khorana

Aditi Khorana is a wanderer who spent part of her childhood in India, Denmark and New England. She graduated from Brown University with a BA in International Relations, and she holds an MA from the Annenberg School for Communication. She has worked as a journalist at ABC News, CNN and PBS and most recently as a marketing executive consulting for various Hollywood studios including FOX, SONY and Paramount. MIRROR IN THE SKY is her first novel. She lives in Los Angeles and dreams of being bicoastal. Aditi's great passions include reading, writing, hiking, and exploring LA's eclectic and wonderful architecture.

Angela Davis

Angela Davis is a sought-after Soul Cycle instructor and contributor to Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sessions. Davis is a Fitness Evangelist who believes that all of the physical changes we are in search of have a mental, emotional, and spiritual origin. According to Davis, in order to be the highest expression of ourselves, we must change from within. Her approach to training equalizes the focus of the physical and the spiritual culminating in an exercise experience that is transformative on every level.

Beatrice Fischel-Bock

Beatrice Fischel-Bock is the co-founder and CEO of Homee, the furniture and home design iOS app, where she leads the company’s vision of redefining the home furnishing experience. Founded in 2015, Homee uses proprietary technology to help those short on time create a stylish, affordable and personalized space. Alongside co-founders Madeline Fraser, Lizzie Grover, Ben Broca, and Ethan Gromet, Beatrice drives Homee’s goal of becoming the premiere home furnishing solution for today’s on-the-go consumer.

Carrie Schrader

Carrie is a Writer/Director whose short films and screenplays have won film festival audience awards internationally. She won the "New Voices" award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was labeled one of the "Top Ten Directors To Watch Out For" by IndieWire.com. Along with Charlene Fisk, Schrader is the co-founder of Mighty Fine Pictures. Their current feature-length film The Founders recently debuted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and has won multiple awards, including the audience choice award for “Best Feature Film” at the Atlanta Film Festival.

Charlie Fisk

Charlene Fisk is a Producer/Director/Cinematographer who has won 7 regional Emmy awards for her work in Documentary and Nonfiction programming. She works with Netflix, TLC, Lifetime, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Travel and Scripts Networks. Along with Carrie Schrader, Fisk is the co-founder of Mighty Fine Pictures. Their current feature-length film The Founders recently debuted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and has won multiple awards, including the audience choice award for “Best Feature Film” at the Atlanta Film Festival.

Clare Vivier

After noticing a lack of functional yet stylish laptop cases while working as a journalist for French television, Clare Vivier decided to create her own line of handbags and accessories to satisfy that need. Vivier was recognized for her contributions as a new member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2014. While her bags are available at retailers worldwide, Vivier firmly roots herself in the Los Angeles design community, where her line has been made exclusively since 2008. Since opening her first flagship store in the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. in 2012, Vivier has opened Clare V. store locations in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Nolita, Brooklyn, and Newport Beach.

Dina LaPolt

Dina LaPolt, Esq. is the owner of LaPolt Law, P.C., an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles that specializes in representing music creators. She is an expert at strategizing and solving complex and sophisticated legal and business issues relating to contracts, copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, and litigation. In addition to practicing law, Dina serves as an activist for the broader music creator community in Washington, D.C., often becoming involved in legislative matters that affect their rights. She is one of the attorney advisors to the GRAMMY Creators Alliance and Songwriters of North America (SONA). She teaches a course entitled "Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business" at the UCLA Extension Program, and has since 2001, and served as the editor of Building Your Artist’s Brand as a Business, published by the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers in 2012. Follow Dina on Twitter @DinaLaPolt and @LaPoltLaw.

Elizabeth English

Elizabeth English is the Head of School at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles. She has served as an educational leader in both independent and public schools across the country for over 30 years, with a focus on building ethical school culture and excellence in teaching and learning through research. She holds a B.A. in English from Skidmore College, an M.A.T. from Tufts University, and an Ed.M. from Harvard University. She began her career as an English teacher at the Emma Willard School in New York, one of the oldest girls’ schools in the country and since then has been a passionate and devoted advocate for girls’ schools everywhere. She writes and speaks about education, parenting, and the issues facing girls today. A native of Boston, she lives in L.A. with her husband and two daughters.

Heidi Rose Robbins

Heidi Rose Robbins is a poet and astrologer. Her first book of poetry, This Beckoning Ceaseless Beauty, was published in 2013. Heidi has supported many men and women through life transitions as an esoteric astrologer and as the leader of Radiant Life retreats, in which she teaches women how to live fuller, more expressive and courageously loving lives. She's a founding member of The Hello Love Experiment (hellolove.us), a radical on-going project of naming, embodying, and realizing love in the world. Heidi lives in Los Angeles. Learn more about her poetry, retreats and grounded approach to astrology at www.heidirose.com.

Jules Blaine Davis

Jules Blaine Davis is a mother of two, an artist in many realms and a kitchen healer. She has been nourishing women around a table or a wood board for over a decade. Jules is cooking up a cultural, anthropological and personal conversation about permission inside our lives, the rhythm we live inside, our values, our divinely urgent longing and underneath all of this — our deeper hunger. Her work as a healer guides women and families to unravel their stories, let go of the old stories that do not serve and lean into living a life that is lighter, loving and deeply nourishing. Jules believes in tending to the wisdom of our bodies so we can rewrite a new body story — individually and collectively! She helps women heal their hearts, their hearths and their homes. Jules inspires women to awaken their hunger and turn on the fire in their lives. She works with women privately, one and one & in sacred gatherings called body + miracles.

Katie Skene

Katie Skene is a 23-year old blues, soul and rock revival singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA. Growing up in Tallahassee, FL, she was raised on the roots music of the South, playing shows and festivals around the Southeast before moving to L.A to study and pursue music. She has shared the stage with many prominent musicians in the Americana scene including Col. Bruce Hampton, Tommy Talton, Vinx, and many others. Her music proudly pays homage to vintage influences while still capturing a fresh and modern sound. Her debut EP, 'From the River' was released in January 2016.

Kerri Johnson, Ph.D.

Kerri L. Johnson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in UCLA's Departments of Psychology and Communication Studies, where she also serves as department chair. Her research is at the forefront of the burgeoning field of Social Vision. She examines how perception of cues in the face and body impacts interpersonal judgments, behaviors, and biases. She has published widely on how such perception informs judgments ranging from politics, sexual orientation, and even religion.

Kim Dower

Kim (Freilich) Dower received a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, where she also taught. Her first collection of poetry, Air Kissing on Mars, (Red Hen Press, 2010) was on the Poetry Foundation’s Contemporary Best Sellers list, and was described by the Los Angeles Times as, “sensual and evocative . . . seamlessly combining humor and heartache.” Slice of Moon, her second collection, (Red Hen Press, 2013), nominated for a Pushcart, was called, “unexpected and sublime,” by “O” magazine, and her third collection, Last Train to the Missing Planet (Red Hen Press, 2016) takes us on a journey to places we’ve often visited but never seen. The collection has been praised by President Obama’s Inaugural Poet, Richard Blanco, as well as by Garrison Keillor, who has featured her work several times on “The Writer’s Almanac.” Erica Jong says, “Kim Dower dares you into the dark. You may find yourself lurking there.” Kim lives in West Hollywood, California.

Madeline Fraser

Madeline Fraser is from Los Angeles. A George Washington University graduate, Madeline double majored in fine art, interior design and architecture. Always entrepreneurial and independent, Madeline started her first company, Zoom Interiors, during her junior year of college. Zoom grew quickly when Madeline, along with her founders, appeared on Shark Tank. During the growth of Zoom the founders realized the next step was to take interior design completely mobile. Merging the tech and design space, Homee was born. Now the busy millennial consumer has the seamless process of furnishing their new home from the palm of their hand. Madeline currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Homee, spreading the gospel that everyone deserves a beautiful space they love to live in.

Nonny de la Peña

Nonny de la Peña is a pioneer in virtual reality, known primarily for her work in immersive journalism. Currently, she serves as CEO of Emblematic Group (formerly Virtual Pyedog) and is a senior research fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. De la Peña uses cutting-edge technologies to tell stories that create intense, empathic engagement on the part of viewers. By combining real time Unity graphics with real witness audio to recreate powerful events, users can experience immersive technology with virtual reality headsets. Fast Company recently listed de la Peña as one of the "13 People Who Made the World More Creative."

Veronica Everett-Boyce

Veronica Everett-Boyce grew up on welfare and was the first person in her family to graduate from high school and college. Today, Veronica is a doctoral candidate, and a certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner with over 20 years of hands-on experience developing and nonprofit programming. Her career is highlighted by 10 years leading the Chaka Khan Foundation which ultimately led to the creation of the Urban Fitness 911 Program. Urban Fitness 911 is a total wellness program for youth that emphasizes lifelong exercise, healthy cooking and nutrition, academic tutoring, and inspirational experiences with amazing people and places in the community. By giving these students respect, focused attention, and new experiences, Veronica has helped to change the trajectory of the students’ lives. She has helped them realize their true potential.

Victoria Orphan

Dr. Victoria Orphan is a Professor of Geobiology in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech. Since joining the faculty in 2004, her research has contributed new understanding of microbial interactions in extreme environments and their impact on the cycling of carbon and nutrients in the oceans. Much of her work focuses on microorganisms living in deep-sea sediments that sequester large quantities of methane venting from the ocean floor. Orphan studies microbial life in these remote environments using research ships and manned and robotic submersibles. In the lab, she employs novel methods that combine molecular biology, microscopy, and geochemistry to directly study the activity and intimate relationships between different microbes in their natural habitat. By tackling fundamental questions in microbial ecology, Orphan and her team are uncovering the microbial activities and processes that are central to the cycling of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen in the deep sea.