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).

Throckmorton Theatre
142 Throckmorton Ave
Mill Valley, California, 94941
United States

Allison Burgess

Allison Lee Burgess is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Professional Speaker, and Parent Coach. For nearly a decade she has specialized in working with highly sensitive, anxious, and spirited teens and their parents to help families stay emotionally connected through even the most intense times. Allison has helped hundreds of teens and their families, she has counseled members of the U.S. Figure Skating Team, and has done speaking engagements, presentations, and webinars to private, public, and charter schools. Allison is a single working mom and proud parent of three fabulous teenagers. She has a private practice in Pacific Palisades, California and also coaches clients virtually across the country. Learn more at www.AllisonLeeBurgess.com

Connie Sobczak

Connie Sobczak founded The Body Positive nonprofit organization in 1996 after her sister Stephanie died from an eating disorder and faulty breast implants. Connie had healed herself from her own eating disorder in her early twenties, and Stephanie’s death sparked her determination to change the world so that her daughter Carmen would never experience the pain of hating her body. In addition to getting her book, Embody, published and producing educational films that won several awards, Connie’s time is focused on working with school campuses, companies, and organizations to provide facilitator training, classroom curriculum, and online courses to keep the Body Positive movement going strong and to share healing tools with people worldwide. Learn more at www.ConnieSobczak.com

Dr. Frankie Bashan

Dr. Frankie Bashan is a licensed clinical psychologist, relationship coach, sex therapist, and CEO of Little Gay Book, the only Lesbian Matchmaking Agency exclusively for women in the country. With over 25,000 introductions in the last 10 years, she has one of the highest matchmaking success rates in the industry. Dr. Frankie’s expertise has been featured on NPR, MTV, Curve Magazine, Glamour Magazine, and Cosmopolitan. She recently debuted as the Relationship Expert on MTV’s historic, all-sexually fluid cast, for the hit reality tv dating show “Are You The One.” She runs lesbian/bi women speed dating events online and in person across the country, and offers singles training and community building programs online. Dr. Frankie also specializes in the field of trauma, supporting couples and individuals struggling with relationships. Learn more at www.LittleGayBook.com

Jean Shinoda Bolen

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, and an internationally known author and speaker. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California Medical Center and a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women, the International Transpersonal Association, and the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She is the author of thirteen books in over one hundred foreign editions. She is an NGO Permanent Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from the Women’s World Summit Foundation (Geneva), also represents Pathways To Peace, The Millionth Circle, Earthchild Institute, Women’s Perspective, and the International Public Policy Institute. She is in three acclaimed documentaries: the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film “Women – For America, For the World,” the Canadian Film Board’s “Goddess Remembered,” and “Femme: Women Healing the World.

Jennifer Johns

Jennifer Johns is a powerhouse, vocalist, songwriter, producer, activist, and entrepreneur who creates sounds, experiences, and products that are sure to stir your soul, inspire your mind and move your body. Ms. Johns has taken her brand of “afro-diasporic world music” all over the globe, rocking stages from Denver to Dusseldorf, Los Angeles to London, Kuala Lumpur to Kampala. Jennifer has shared line ups with some of the best in the business including the likes of Ms. Lauryn Hill, The Black Eyed Peas, Mos Def, Capelton, Ziggy Marley, Gil Scott Heron, Wyclef, Les Nubian, De La Soul, and Common to name just a few. Jennifer’s journey as a recording artist began in 2004 with the underground success of her first album, HeavyElectroMagneticSoularPoeticJungleHop. Songs like the title track “Heavy” with its accompanying artfully futuristic video, broke through the national and international underground soul and hip hop scene making Jennifer a notable force in her field. In 2008, Jennifer shifted her attention from the entertainment industry to leveraging her art for social movements. Immediately she began to find herself sharing stages with thought leaders like Reverend Dr. Michael Beckwith, Van Jones, Phaedra Ellis-Lampkins, Malkiya Cyril, Dr. Shawn Ginwright and more. Her brand of soul-inspiring sounds has landed her gigs at The Kennedy Center, The Apollo, and on stage for both NFL World Bowl and The NFL Hall of Fame. Jennifer has also become a Green For All Fellow, a BoldFood Fellow, Artist in Residence at Food First, the First Artist in Residence at Langston Hughes Center for Performing Arts Institute and a Montalvo Performing Arts Guest Fellow. While in most circles Jennifer is best known as a musician and activist, in the last 5 years since returning from Soth Africa, Jenn has explored more creative ways of being through performance installations and visual arts. In the summer of 2018, Jennifer presented Liv: A Ritual for Humanity at Montalvo’s Art on The Grounds where she simulated a citizen’s and ancestor’s arrest of a police officer. In the fall of 2019, she wrote poetry, story, and songs for reD:zONE a ritual and choreopoem. A stage performance on transmuting sexual trauma into the awareness of one's own divine power and joy. Produced by Kendra Barnes of K-Star Productions at Oakland’s historic Malonga Casquelourd Center. In the winter of 2020 Jenn presented Good Medicine at Zoo Labs, a series of images or "super -doodles", as Jenn likes to call them, accompanied by 3 songs produced by Kev Choice and vocals by Jenn. In the fall of 2020, Jenn collaborated again with Kendra Barnes and K Star Productions for a video installation featuring Movement by KKDE and music/story by Jenn under the working title Resilience in Joy. Learn about current projects at www.jennjohns.com

Kat Vellos

Kat Vellos is a trusted expert on the power of cultivating meaningful connections. She’s an experience designer, facilitator, and coach. She’s the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships which was called “marvelous” by BookLife and which Kirkus Reviews compared to the work of Norman Vincent Peale and Cicero. Since its release in January 2020, it’s been helping adults around the world heal from disconnection and loneliness. Her follow-up workbook, Connected from Afar, helps adults strengthen existing friendships from a distance. Kat has twenty years’ experience creating communities where people find belonging and authentic connection. A veteran facilitator, she founded Better than Small Talk and Bay Area Black Designers which was profiled by Forbes. A seasoned researcher, designer and program manager, she’s worked for Slack, Pandora, and multiple corporate and nonprofit organizations. Her current coaching and facilitation work focuses on social and emotional wellness. Her experience with facilitation and interpersonal dynamics runs deep. Over the last twenty years Kat has created, run, and mentored a variety of communities focused on everything from spoken word poetry to photography to digital design to authentic connection and friendship. She’s the creator and facilitator of Better than Small Talk, an immersive experience of authenticity and connection that’s been held in Seattle, Oakland, and Berkeley. She has been a facilitator for Partners for Youth Empowerment, The Power of Hope, Young Women Empowered, and Reel Grrls. Learn more at www.weshouldgettogether.com

Mary Crowley

Mary Crowley is the founder and executive director of Ocean Voyages Institute established in 1979 as a non profit, public charity based in Sausalito, California, with the goal of preserving the ocean environment, the maritime arts and sciences, and island cultures. Mary's efforts since 2009 at Ocean Voyages Institute have focused on the removal of toxic plastics from our global ocean and conducting cleanups of consumer plastics and derelict fishing gear which entraps sea life, kills reefs and marine habitats. Mary is one of the founders and project directors of the environmental mission Project Kaisei and personally led two month-long expeditions on board the 151' Brigantine Kaisei to the North Pacific Gyre. She has previously served as Executive Director of the Oceanic Society, publisher of Oceans magazine and on the board of Directors of WELL Network, Richardson Bay Maritime Association, Project Jonah, the Maritime Museum of San Diego, Sail San Francisco and many other organizations. She is a founding member of Planetree, which enhances healing environments in hospitals and healthcare education. Besides being an educated and ardent environmentalist, Mary has found time to enjoy exploring the world via yacht, logging over 115,000 miles at sea. She was a teacher and program director for the Oceanic School of New York on board the 345' Brigantine Statsraad Lehmkuhl for nine months, (a school year). She was also on the first voyage of S.E.A. of Woods Hole on board the Brigantine Westward as staff. She has sailed in the Galapagos archipelago 23 times as well as repeat visits to most of the world’s ocean areas. It is Mary’s lifelong passion for sailing, snorkeling, diving, and exploring the world’s oceans that has fueled her continuing commitment and dedication to ocean conservation and the marine environment. She feels we all have an opportunity to be part of the solution and take action to change behaviors around the epidemic of throw-away plastics and support ocean cleanup. To Learn More Visit: www.oceanvoyagesinstitute.org

My Blomqvist Olsberg

My Olsberg produced, directed, and wrote the stage script for the Swedish sold-out hit musical for kids, "Babblarna - Första Musikalen" which recently completed a 2-year sold-out tour, that included 431 performances. It’s sequel, "Babblarna Andra Musikalen - Bibbel Babbel Bubbel" is currently on tour throughout Sweden. As an author, My has published the children’s book series, Snårpan, where she also produced, wrote, composed, and performed Snårpan's Swedish children's musicals. My writes children’s music and scores for the Hatten Förlag publishing company that includes "Olle & Mia LÅTAR" 2014 and "Ajja & Bajja - Tittut" 2017. My has a deep passion for helping children build their self-esteem. To learn more, visit www.myolsberg.se

Sheila Rubin

Sheila Rubin, MA, LMFT, RDT/BCT is a leading authority on Healing Shame. She developed Healing Shame Therapy work over the last two decades and is the co-director, with Bret Lyon, of the Center for Healing Shame, in Berkeley, California. The Center is a continuing education provider that offers Healing Shame workshops and a full certification and training program to therapists and helping professionals. Sheila has delivered talks, presentations, and workshops across the country and around the world at conferences from Canada to Romania. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Registered Drama Therapist and a Board Certified Trainer. She has developed therapy techniques to work with the all-pervasive shame and trauma that underlie eating disorders, addictions, and toxic family dynamics. Sheila has served as adjunct faculty at JFK University and the California Institute of Integral Studies. She’s the therapist’s therapist and offers therapy and consultation to therapists online. Her expertise, teaching, and writing contributions have been featured in numerous publications, including seven books. For more information www.HealingShame.com