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).

Bob Hope Theatre
6101 Bishop Boulevard
Dallas, Texas, 75205
United States

Ashley Nicola Wali

Ashley Nicola Wali is a Fashion Media and Finance double major at SMU. In 2012, she founded a non-profit called The Nari Project, which creates and distributes crisis kits to domestic abuse victims as they transition from a critical situation to a place of safety. Since then, she has distributed kits in Bangladesh and Dallas, and partnered with Engaged Learning, Clinton Global Initiative University and Big iDeas to expand my initiative. Last year, she started Théorie, a magazine that celebrates the disciplines of fashion, film, music and art with a critical and creative eye.

Dale Thomas Vaughn

Best-selling author of “The Good Life Plan for Men,” Dale Thomas Vaughn helps men and boys overcome numbness and stagnancy to create more connection, purpose and joy in life. He is the Editor of Leadership & Business at The Good Men Project and the founder of the EmpowerMentorship Institute, where he has led more than 300 workshops for groups of men, schools, companies and college administrators. Find more about him at DaleThomasVaughn.com.

Greg Brownderville

Greg Brownderville has published a book of poems titled Gust (Northwestern University Press/TriQuarterly, 2011) and a book of folkloristic poems titled Deep Down in the Delta (Butler Center Books, 2012). His third book, a collection of poems titled A Horse with Holes in It (LSU Press, Southern Messenger Poets series), is slated for release in fall 2016. Brownderville teaches Introduction to Creative Writing and upper-level poetry workshop. www.gregbrownderville.com

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer M. Jones earned her B.A. and her Masters of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University. She joined the Staff of SMU in 1985. After serving 16 years in various roles within Residence Life and Student Housing, Ms. Jones went on to be the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs and later Assistant Dean of Student Life, Director of Student Activities & Multicultural Student Affairs at Southern Methodist University. In her current role as the Executive Director of Student Life, she supports and advises the Student Association as well as coordinates the Social Event Registration process through her office. Ms. Jones supervises the Directors of the Women & LGBT Center, Family and Parent Programs, and the Associate Dean overseeing the Caring Community Connections (CCC) program

Jim Hart

Jim Hart serves as Director of the Arts Entrepreneurship program at SMU. Hart founded the first conservatory for theatre entrepreneurship, TITAN Theatre Academy, in Oslo, Norway and is a graduate of SMU Theatre and Yale School of Drama. He is the winner of the USASBE Spark! prize for impactful entrepreneurial exercises and a co-founder of the Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education. www.artsentrepreneurshipgames.com

Jonah Kirby

Jonah Kirby is a junior at SMU pursuing a major in Mechanical Engineering with the aspiration of doing design engineering full time. Jonah loves the outdoors; fishing, hunting, and being a proud Texan is what he loves most. In the past three years, Jonah has focused on product design and engineering, having completed numerous projects such as a SLA 3d printer, a direct-drive wind turbine, and an autonomous robot that could find, test, and remediate various water sources. As a design engineer at a startup company in Austin called Reaction, Jonah designed, prototyped, and engineered many different components of Reaction's flagship product, the Exo, which is a modular disaster response housing unit. Although he is passionate about engineering, Jonah sees design research and human centered design as a pivotal part of building a truly amazing product. With his unique background and experiences, Jonah hopes to redesign the way people think and feel about alternative energy.

Justin Mueller

I was blessed as a child to be raised in Germany to military parents and for the opportunities I was given to travel throughout Europe and the Americas. Though travel has helped to shape my philanthropic views of the world, my passion for service really began when I moved to Seattle at 20 years old. In the following six years I used my 25th birthday to raise money for an HIV/AIDS nonprofit, I worked with a group of young professionals (Philanthro) to produce multiple events around town raising money for nonprofits such as the YMCA, and volunteered countless hours to various organizations. Philanthropy is something that I am very passionate about, and I hope to inspire others to get creative with how they give back to their communities. To follow my journey and to keep in touch, find me on Facebook and Twitter! @JustinHMueller

Karla del Rosal

In Mexico, I went to business school and worked as a corporate banker for some years. In 2011, I moved to the U.S. and my son Rodrigo started experiencing multiple social, emotional, and academic challenges in his school. As Rodrigo's advocate, I became an active parent volunteer; later, a school paraprofessional; and eventually, a certified bilingual teacher. Once in the classroom, I realized that unfortunately most teachers were not prepared to effectively teach the growing population of English language learner students like my son. This was particularly true in K-12 mathematics and science classrooms. With the purpose of learning more about this urgent matter, I obtained a Ph.D. in Education at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity Program. Today, I am proud to be an Assistant Professor in Teaching and Learning in Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

Lackland H Bloom, Jr

I have taught Constitutional Law and Freedom of Speech and Religion at the Dedman School of Law for the past 36 years. I teach a course in Comparative Freedom of Speech: US and UK in the Law School’s summer program at University College, Oxford. I have recently published two books on the Supreme Court and Constitutional Law with the Oxford University Press—Methods of Interpretation (2009) and Do Great Cases Make Bad Law? (2014). I am a passionate defender of freedom of speech which I believe is always under assault.

Maya Jones

Maya A. Jones, Soprano, a Texas Native, has been studying voice since the young age of 11. Eager to learn all she could about her love of Voice, Maya participated in regional and state competitions, performed every chance she had and has already enjoyed over a decade of choral work. Education has been a large part of her life, starting with her acceptance into the selective Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts where she was active in her choir, took lead roles in school productions and had strong showings in state, national and international competitions. Maya enjoys traveling and has made memories singing in Greece, South Africa and this summer, made many more performing in the Amalfi Music Festival in Italy.

Mel Fugate

Mel Fugate is an associate professor of Management and Organizations in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. His research and consulting aim to enhance individual and organizational performance by utilizing a variety of practical, research-based tools related to leadership development, organizational change, performance management, organizational culture, and employee engagement. His research and consulting span many industries (e.g., legal, energy, healthcare, information technology, and financial services) and often involve organizational assessments intended to measure the human resource health of organizations. He has published in and reviewed for a number of premier management and applied psychology journals and is a coauthor of a new book—“Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem Solving Approach.” Professor Fugate is an award-winning teacher who has taught in both the United States and France.

Milan Sevak

Milan Sevak is currently a faculty member at SMU and directs the Ed.D. program in educational leadership. He has previously served in school and district roles in a variety of settings. Most recently, Milan worked as Assistant Superintendent of Strategic Leadership in Dallas ISD, where he led the District's efforts to reform teacher evaluation, compensation, and support systems. Previously, he also served as a Division Assistant Superintendent and was responsible for student outcomes for 41 schools with 30,000 students. Prior to joining Dallas ISD, Milan worked as Deputy Chief of School Performance in the Chicago Public Schools, Special Assistant to the Superintendent in Austin ISD, and Director of Instruction & Assessment for Leadership Public Schools (a charter management organization in the San Francisco Bay Area). Milan received a B.A. from the University of Chicago, an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, and an M.Ed. and Ed.D. from Harvard University.

Quinton Linn

My credentials for giving this talk are not professional, but personal. As someone who was diagnosed with learning disabilities at a young age, I have been handicapped, not by lack of intelligence, but by inability to fit into other people's definition of intelligence. This has given me a special appreciation for falling outside of standard measures of intelligence.

Robert Hunt

Robert A. Hunt was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. After attending school in Austin and Richardson, he majored in History at the University of Texas in Austin. After completing a Master of Theology at Perkins School of Theology (SMU) he and his wife Lilian moved to Kuala Lumpur, where they taught at the Seminary Theology Malaysia. From 1993 to 1997 he taught at the Trinity Theological College in Singapore. In 1994 he received his PhD from the University of Malaya, focusing on Christian understandings of and relationships with Muslims in Southeast Asia. From 1997 to 2004 he was a United Methodist pastor in Vienna, and Adjunct Professor in International Relations at Webster University in Vienna. Dr. Hunt is presently Director of Global Theological Education at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University and teaches courses in World Religions, Inter-religious Dialogue, and Cultural Intelligence.

Rochelle Carr

Rochelle was raised in Dallas, Texas by a single mother and a loving set of Grandparents, were she received a solid foundation in faith. Her Grandmother (Bigmama) was a driving force in her life that showed her with prayer and faith anything is possible. Often while preparing a meal and at dinner, Bigmama would tell stories that challenged her to reach for nothing less than her full potential. Bigmama would often say, "you have many choices to make, but remember the results are yours to experience;" and Rochelle has experienced many things. She is a graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Public Administration. She received a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University. And a Doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminar, in Pasadena, CA.

Thomas Siems

Thomas Siems is Chief Engineering Economist and Senior Lecturer in the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU and also Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He has researched the productive efficiency of systems for more than 30 years and is author of the National Association for Business Economics' award-winning papers "Strengthening Globalization's Invisible Hand: What Matters Most?" (with Adam Ratner) and "Who Supplied My Cheese? Supply Chain Management in the Global Economy." Dr. Siems has received several outstanding teacher awards in the Lyle School at SMU as an educational and entertaining speaker.

Ulrike Schultze

Ulrike Schultze is Associate Professor in Information Technology and Operations Management at Southern Methodist University. Her research explores the impact of information technology on work practices. She has studied the work practice implications of knowledge management technology and of Internet-based self-service technology. Most recently, she has been focusing on the implications of social media technologies, specifically the virtual world Second Life, for identity work. Dr. Schultze frequently relies on multi-method research designs, which include ethnographic observations, interviews and surveys. During her tenure at SMU, Dr. Schultze has taught a variety of classes in the BBA, MBA, MSA and MSBA programs. Dr. Schultze holds a Bachelors’ and Masters’ degree in Information Systems from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She earned her PhD in Management, with a concentration in Information Systems, from Case Western Reserve University.

Willie Baronet

Willie Baronet was the owner and creative director of his own advertising design firm (formerly GroupBaronet, now MasonBaronet) from 1992-2006. In 2013 he was given the AIGA Fellow award, the highest honor an AIGA chapter can bestow upon one of its members. Willie graduated with an MFA in Arts and Technology from UTD in 2011. Willie is a 1982 graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He has taught advertising design at Brookhaven Community College, Texas A&M at Commerce, TCU, and has served as visiting faculty for the MA Program at Syracuse University. He was recently named the Stan Richards Professor of Creative Advertising at SMU's Temerlin Advertising Institute where he now teaches classes related to creativity and portfolio development.