Theme: Dream Forward

In addition to the promise of an incredible program again this year our all volunteer team has been eagerly working on a few new things to mark this, our milestone 5th Birthday! In particular, we hope to make this year’s event more accessible to all, because at it’s best, TEDxBend is truly, owned by the community.

Hall of Dreamers

One way we are hoping to expand the inclusion this year is through the Hall of Dreams. We have sought out members of our greater community to find out what makes them tick. What dreams and ideas do they have for themselves, their family, the planet, the future or that magic thought that might rock the world? In the hall where attendees wait to enter the theater, we will display graphic representations of these selected community members and their Ideas Worth Spreading. The graphic treatment will include an image of the individual with their ideas or dreams overlaying the image. Dreamers are being reviewed by a community leader task force this week and will be announced next week.

Interactive Art Exhibit

Our fabulous creative team, with the help of the folks at DIY Cave, is busy creating up to 4 interactive art displays that we have affectionately dubbed “the dream tribe.” These upright wood sculptures, to be unveiled this Thursday at the Ticket Release Party, will provide an opportunity for every citizen, young and old, to share their view of the paradoxes of having a dream: hope and risk; love and fear; joy and darkness, amongst others. The art will travel around our community at partner and other locations providing a chance for everyone to weigh in about their dreams, landing at the end at the main event at Bend High April 23.
Art Show at the Bash

We are proud to feature juried art on the theme of “Dream Forward” at the event Bash, our after-party, to take place at the Old Mill District. As it has been in the past, the Bash provides a chance for all of us to cut loose and enjoy engaging conversation, and merriment after the stage event to expand on our ideas and inspiration, connecting with others to help make our dreams come true. The fine art we showcase will layer on new dimensions of reflection and thought to all who view it and meet the artists.

Bend Senior High School
230 NE 6th St
Bend, Oregon, 97701
United States

Fe Fanyi

Dance Collective

Fe Fanyi has been enlightening Central Oregon with the music and dance of West Africa since 2007. Since its formation, Fe Fanyi has performed at fundraisers, festivals and events throughout Central Oregon. Under the direction of drum instructor and artistic director, David Visiko, and dance instructor, Shannon Abero. Fe Fanyi performs traditional dance and rhythms from Guinea, Mali and the Cote’ d’Ivoire.

Angela Hucles

President, Women's Sports Foundation

Hucles is President of the Women's Sports Foundation and regular speaker on topics of sports leadership, equality, inclusion & safe spaces, anti-bullying, and the power of sport and its impact on personal growth and development. She is a member of the Advisory Board for You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.

Eric Pickersgill

Artist

Pickersgill received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina and is a current Visiting Lecturer. His work has been exhibited nationally at institutions and galleries such as The Center for Fine Art Photography, Duke University, The North Carolina Museum of Art, University of Northern Florida, and The Ackland Art Museum. A full time artist living and working in Charlotte, NC., Pickersgill is represented by Rick Wester Fine Art in New York City.

Franco Lodato

Bio Designer

Lodato, Chief Product Officer for SKYLABS, provocateur and visionary Bionics pioneer, is an expert in the interplay between design & technology. He holds 76 patents and is one of the world’s leading designers. He's served as Master Innovator of wearable technologies for Google-Motorola and has helped shape innovation agendas for Dupont, Coca Cola, Ferrari-Maserati, Boeing and others.

Kerri Kelly

CEO Kerri Kelly Yoga

Corporate executive and athlete turned yogi, nonprofit managing director, coach, organizer, and agent of change, Kelly is the founder of CTZNWELL. She spent seven years as Executive Director of the non-profit Off the Mat, Into the World and is currently board chair.

Lance Canales

Roots-Blues Musician

Lance Canales is a roots-blues musician from California’s breadbasket. He lived the life that so many songs have been written about since the birth of roots music – hard labor, one room shacks and ghosts whispering of a better life. Canales’ guttural vocals combine a hard-edged storytelling approach with stripped down, foot-stomping, acoustic instrumentation that people readily respond to; Canales and his band, The Flood, were a favorite at the 2015 Sister’s Folk Festival. Canales led the initiative to place a memorial headstone with the names of the plane crash victims of the famous Woody Guthrie song “Deportee,” who were discovered buried nameless in a mass grave in Fresno, California. Now and forever nameless no more.

Luca Badetti

Director of Community Life, L’Arche Chicago

Luca Badetti integrates his lived experience with persons with and without intellectual disabilities in L'Arche communities with his holistic and interdisciplinary study of the human experience. He's currently the Director of Community Life at L'Arche Chicago. He holds a PhD in Disability Studies, a MS in Clinical Psychology and a BA in Theology with Philosophy studies.

Maxwell Friedman

Musician

Twelve-year-old keyboard phenomenon Maxwell Friedman used to joke with the principal of his elementary school that she shared her office with him since he spent so much “reflection time” there. Discovering music and channeling his energy into the keyboard helped him turn things around. Friedman started playing piano 3-1/2 years ago and quickly took Central Oregon by storm. Friedman has played with musical heavyweights Karl Denson, ALO, and Michael Franti, and local favorites Elektrapod and Mark Ransom. A jazz-funk fusion band with Maxwell at the helm is currently in the works with help from Georges Bouhey, his longtime music teacher and mentor.

Molly Winter

Greywater Wonk/Sustainability Guru

Designer, researcher, and illustrator, Molly Winter, is program director of Recode, a nonprofit that works on legalizing innovation beyond just sanitation. She has created visual explanations for organizations including Beacon Food Forest, People’s Food Coop, Public Laboratory, Medical Reserve Corp, and USA Today. Molly’s work has been featured in MIT’s Design Issues, CDC, Smith magazine, and Sustainability Review.

Omar Samra

Chief Guanabana

Omar Samra is a father, successful entrepreneur and future astronaut. In 2009, he left a corporate career behind and founded Wild Guanabana, an award-winning travel company that helps reconnect people with nature through wild and wonderful adventures across the globe. Samra was born in London and now lives between Egypt and the UAE.

Roger Love

Voice Coach

Roger Love has coached award winning actors, musicians and speakers, from Jeff Bridges and Reese Witherspoon for their Academy Award-winning roles in Crazy Heart and Walk The Line, to Gwen Stefani and Eminem, to Anthony Robbins and Brendon Burchard.

Roger Seip

Brain Training - Author

Author of the national bestseller Train Your Brain for Success, Roger Seip has a knack for taking the principles of effectiveness that most of us struggle with and crystallizing them into clear strategies and action plans. He’s also passionate about teaching us how to recognize and train the incredible capacity of the human mind. He tells us the bad news: there are three common “default settings” we tend toward, each with negative consequences for perception and relating. Then he tells us the good news: once recognized, there are ways we can counteract this automatic tendency, changing the way we experience ourselves and others.

Stefanie Garber

Superintendent, Culver School District

Stephanie Garber is Culver School District's superintendent and elementary school principal. Garber established partnerships with Oregon State University Cascades Campus and Culver community partners to successfully move the district to becoming a K-12 STEM district.

Tina Meier

ED for Megan Meier Foundation

Meier is Founder and Executive Director of the Megan Meier Foundation. She travels throughout the country as a keynote speaker on bullying and cyberbullying, addressing students, educators, administrators, parents, youth rallies, counselors, law enforcement, and other professionals.