BrownsvilleWomen
x = independently organized TED event

Theme: Mujeres Moving Mountains

This event occurred on
October 27, 2016
Brownsville, Texas
United States

TEDxBrownsvilleWomen: Mujeres Moving Mountains is an independently organized TED event. We aim to rekindle the conversation about women empowerment in the Rio Grande Valley communities. In one of the poorest cities in the country, women become agents for social change through their many roles: entrepreneurs, advocates, promotoras, leaders, educators, mothers, and more. By embracing their power, women reshape their identities to survive, to thrive, and to raise the future. Women move mountains on their own terms.

Salon Cassia
80 Fort Brown
Brownsville, Texas, 78520
United States
Event type:
TEDxWomen (What is this?)
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Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.

Carmen Rocco

Pediatrician
Dr. Carmen Rocco was born in Havana, Cuba, the middle child of two very idealistic and highly motivated parents. Her father was a physician in Cuba and became one in the US but beyond that, he believed in this country as a model of democracy and justice. His idealism propelled his three children to pursue careers in advocacy and the healing profession. She was the only one that pursued a career in medicine. Following his idealism, Dr. Carmen Rocco became involved in the Texas Migrant Farmworker Movement which brought her to the Rio Grande Valley in 1986. She decided to practice medicine in Brownsville, Texas after a rotation in a migrant community health center, 35 years ago. Since then, she has practiced pediatrics in this region for 30 years. First, as medical director of a community and migrant center and then as a private pediatrician. Over her 30 years as a pediatrician, Dr. Carmen Rocco has a unique perspective of what makes families work in a community with few resources.

Claudia Michelle Serrano

Co-founder of BAM
Claudia Michelle Serrano is the co-founder of BAM and Office Manager at Children's Museum of Brownsville. Michelle grew up in a turbulent household and was even homeless as a teenager, but her love of music, art and the performing arts kept her grounded. She's currently in process of transforming Brownville Arts & Music (BAM) into a co-op, a transition she hopes will reinforce a strong arts and music infrastructure that benefits fringe groups and promotes diverse ideas in border culture. BAM hosted its second annual SXSM music festival in downtown Brownsville this August and was wildly successful. Michelle also works as the office manager at the Children's Museum of Brownsville, a job she loves.

Juliet V. Garcia

Former President of UT-Brownsville
Dr. Juliet V. García has devoted her life’s work to public service and is a national thought leader in higher education innovation. She is committed to nurturing America's democracy by flinging open the doors of higher education for first generation college students, transforming fast-growing regions into highly educated centers of human capital, building a culture of innovation and experimentation and developing the next generation of diverse leadership. Currently, Dr. García is Senior Adviser to the UT System Chancellor for Community, National & Global Engagement. She's been named 2009 Time Magazine Top 10 College President, 2014 Forbes Magazine Top 50 World Leader, and holds honorary degrees from Notre Dame, Brown and Smity, ACE Lifetime Achievement Award, Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

Matiana Gonzalez-Wright

Assistant Clinical Professor
A Brownsville native, Dr. Gonzalez-Wright holds Masters of Education and Doctorate of Education degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. She's currently the Director of Quality Assurance and Assistant Clinical Professor at UTRGV School of Medicine. Dr. Gonzalez-Wright completed a National Cancer Institute post-doctoral fellowship researching breast cancer and obesity prevention among minority populations. She has also practiced as a community and clinical Registered Dietitian. A runner and successful woman, Dr. Gonzalez Wright is a daughter, and mother of four girls. Her goal is to nurture strong, educated, independent, and amazing women who will be leaders and role models themselves.

Sadie Hernandez

Youth Organizer
Sadie Hernandez, is a 22 year old youth organizer at Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. Her work focuses on reproductive healthcare policy and inclusion of Xicanxs (Chicanos) in social justice spaces. Her name because a trending hashtag #StandWithSadie when she staged a 17 day protest against the Texas Governor in the summer for 2015. Since then she has become one of the top youth organizers around abortion rights and reproductive healthcare policy in the nation focusing her work mainly in Brownsville, Austin, and Washington D.C. Sadie is a published writer, national award winner, and has worked with people like Cecile Richards, Wendy Davis, Amy Hagstrom Miller, and countless others working in the fight towards reproductive justice in Texas and across the nation. Sadie's awards include: TeenVogue's 21 Under 21, Austin's Best Standing Activist, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Maggie Award: Media Excellence, Planned Parenthood Generation Action Outstanding Leadership Award.

Organizing team