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).

TU: West Village Commons
8000 York Road
Towson, Maryland, 21252
United States

Brain Jara

Brian Jara joined Towson University in 2017 in the new position of Associate Director for Cultural Competency Education in the Center for Student Diversity. Brian is a native Marylander who has returned home after working for more than 20 years in higher education in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. His professional experience includes academic advising, student organization advising, and teaching in women’s, gender, sexuality and LGBTQ studies, sociology, and African-American studies. He is an uncle of eight, an aspiring cyclist and an amateur potter. His proudest professional accomplishment is figuring out how to print anti-violence messages onto urinal splashguards.

Kwame Opare

Kwame Opare, a performer and instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, uses the power of African dance to open the eyes of young people in Baltimore City to possibilities. Opare has been an artist all of his life. As a dancer and choreographer he has toured the world and was a part of a Broadway cast for 6 years. Opare, began capturing images in 1999 with the purchase of his first camera and was keenly interested in capturing the beauty of the world as I experienced it. Kwame is a DC native who also claims Brooklyn as home. He began training in West African dance as a teenager at the Kankouran West African Dance Company and he founded the DishiBem Traditional Contemporary Dance Group in 2003 to bridge the gap between traditional West African and contemporary performance modes.

Monique Head

Dr. Monique Hite Head is a native of Newark, Delaware. She received her bachelor and master of civil engineering degrees from the University of Delaware in 2000 and 2002, respectively, and her doctorate in structural engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in May 2007. Currently, Dr. Head is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. Prior to this position, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University. Dr. Head's research and teaching interests include experimental testing, detailed analytical modeling using state-of-the-art software to study the responses of bridges, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, multi-hazard mitigation, seismic retrofitting of bridges and other critical structures, performance-based bridge design using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials, and evidence-based structural informatics

Nosa Isabor

Nosa Isabor is an up and coming young DJ, Nosa is has always had an interest in music and the music industry as a whole. He specifically developed an interest on the innovations and advancements in the field of music sampling, and how the evolution of sampling is creating new and exciting sounds that have not previously been heard in the industry.

Ryan Perpall

Kwame Opare, a performer and instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, uses the power of African dance to open the eyes of young people in Baltimore City to possibilities. Opare has been an artist all of his life. As a dancer and choreographer he has toured the world and was a part of a Broadway cast for 6 years. Opare, began capturing images in 1999 with the purchase of his first camera and was keenly interested in capturing the beauty of the world as I experienced it. Kwame is a DC native who also claims Brooklyn as home. He began training in West African dance as a teenager at the Kankouran West African Dance Company and he founded the DishiBem Traditional Contemporary Dance Group in 2003 to bridge the gap between traditional West African and contemporary performance modes.

Usjid Hameed

Usjid Hameed is senior, political science major at Towson University. An American-Muslim of Pakistani descent, he has been fascinated by the Muslim world since a young age. He has taken numerous courses in international relations and his undergraduate thesis explores the motivations of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry. His activism outside of the classroom has focused on political engagement and combating Islamophobia. A prolific writer, he has written multiple pieces for the Towerlight discussing the current political climate's impact on the American-Muslim community. In addition, he serves as an editor on the Towson University Journal of International Affairs for which he has penned blog articles focusing on the Middle East.

Veronica Canarte

Veronica Canarte is currently an undergraduate transfer student pursuing a career in Academia at Towson University. As a Latina woman of science, she aspires to close cancer health disparities affecting minority populations. Specifically, she is interested in preventative health care and researching the potential medicinal properties of food.