Theme: Illuminate

We are very excited to announce that we are moving to the state-of-the-art event venue The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum. The schedule of events has also changed. Join us Friday evening (11/11) for TEDxSMU: After Dark – a casual, fun night of food and drinks mixed with speakers and live music. Then return on Saturday (11/12) for two full sessions of TEDxTalks from local and national speakers. Come and learn something new, meet someone new, and get more connected to your community.
Your ticket includes the conference, a light breakfast and lunch. The VIP ticket will get you the official TEDxSMU swag bag and early seating. The day will run from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm.

The Bomb Factory
2713 Canton St
Dallas, Texas, 75226
United States

Antoine Joyce

Antoine Joyce has served as the City Leader of the All Stars Project of Dallas, the fifth city of the national All Stars Project, Inc. (www.allstars.org). In his work to build relationships in the Dallas community, he has helped establish the All Stars Project’s two core programs in Dallas, the All Stars Talent Show Network (ASTSN) and the Development School for Youth (DSY). Through his outreach, Mr. Joyce has shared All Stars’ innovative after-school development programs with more than 5,000 young people and their families in the poor communities of South Oak Cliff and West Dallas.

Chris Garcia

Chris Garcia has a BS in Physics, works in Information Technology and has been inventing, designing and building clocks since 2003. To see more of Chris' clocks, visit his website at www.Evolinea.com.

Daniel Krawczyk

Daniel Krawczyk is the Deputy Director of the Center for BrainHealth®, a research center affiliated with The University of Texas at Dallas. He is also an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and holds the Francis Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. His research has focused on understanding reasoning through a multi-disciplinary approach that combines brain imaging, cognitive psychology, and neuropsychology.

Dave Gallo

David Gallo is the senior adviser for Strategic Initiative at the Center for Climate Life Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. For more than 25 years, David Gallo has been at the forefront of ocean exploration, participating in and being witness to the development of new technologies and scientific discoveries that shape our view of planet earth.

David Hopkins

David Hopkins writes a little bit of everything and likes to make sense of crazy ideas. David has been a regular contributor to D Magazine and Smart Pop Books. He has also written for the Dallas Morning News, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Observer, as well as comic books and graphic novels in a variety of genres. His essay "How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization" was a Medium.com editor's pick with over two million views. He now works as the content strategist for Imaginuity, a digital marketing agency in Dallas. For more information, visit: http://thatdavidhopkins.com

David Vobora

Watch Retired NFL-Linebacker David Vobora use science to prove the validity of the stomach's affect on human behavior. He takes you through a series of stories that better explain how trusting his gut led him to found the Adaptive Training Foundation, an innovative non-profit gym that restores hope through movement by providing customized adaptive physical training to people with disabilities.

Douglas Newby

Douglas Newby’s passion for and success in contributing to Dallas has been propelled academically, vocationally, and professionally through a series of achievements. Every project reflects a keen understanding of people, the environment, and the community. An innate desire to redirect a neighborhood from disaster to delight spurred the academic genesis of his master’s thesis, “Economic Incentives to Reverse Migration in an Inner City Neighborhood.” The established economic argument of the thesis won the day when multi-family property owners actually petitioned the city to rezone their apartments to single-family zoning in this redlined area. Douglas’s efforts, garnering widespread support from the property owners, lenders, businesses, schools and the developer/pro property rights mayor, resulted in the largest multi-family zoned area to be rezoned single-family in the country and the first single-family zoned historic district with historic guidelines in Dallas.

Garnette Cadogan

Garnette Cadogan is an essayist and journalist who focuses on history, culture, and the arts. He is editor-at-large for Non-Stop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas(edited by Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro) and is co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of the Harlem Renaissance (with Shirley E. Thompson; forthcoming). His current research explores the promise and perils of urban life, the vitality and inequality of cities, and the challenges of pluralism. He has received research fellowships from Yale University, the University of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and New York University, where he is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Public Knowledge. At the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, Cadogan is writing a book on walking.

Jason Roberts

Jason Roberts is originator of the Better Block, founder of the Oak Cliff Transit Authority, co-founder of the Art Conspiracy and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, and candidate for U.S. Congress. In 2006, Jason formed the nonprofit, Oak Cliff Transit Authority, to revive the Dallas streetcar system, and later spearheaded the city’s effort in garnering a $23 million TIGER stimulus grant from the FTA to help reintroduce a modern streetcar system to Dallas. In 2010, Jason organized a series of Better Block projects, taking blighted blocks with vacant properties in Southern Dallas and converting them into temporary walkable districts with pop-up businesses, bike lanes, cafe seating, and landscaping. The project has now become an international movement, and has been featured in the New York Times, Dwell magazine, and National Public Radio. Jason was given a Champions of Change award from the White House in 2012.

June Blount

June Blount is a modern fiddle duo featuring a 6-time fiddle champion/Killdares fiddler & classically trained violinist with a combined 30+ years experience performing private events and concerts. www.juneblount.com

Linda Swindling

A recognized authority on negotiation, strategic communication, and workplace issues, Linda Swindling is an author, executive coach, "recovering" employment attorney, and a Certified Speaking Professional. Her specialty is helping people communicate powerfully so others will listen. She is a graduate of Texas Tech School of Law, president of Journey On, her Dallas-based training and development company, and author/co-author of more than 20 books, including Ask Outrageously! The Secret to Getting What You Really Want. Learn more about Linda at www.LindaSwindling.com or follow her on twitter @LindaSwindling

Lois Farfel Stark

Lois Farfel Stark is an Emmy awarded documentary filmmaker, who covered countries in transition for NBC News, and produced films on architecture, medical research, and globalization. Her new book, The Telling Image : Shapes of Changing Times, is a visual tour of how humans shaped the world from migratory to modern times. Visit her online @LoisFStark or www.loisfstark.com

Michael F. Weisberg, M.D.

Michael F. Weisberg, M.D. is a practicing gastroenterologist in north Texas and has written short stories throughout his medical career. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Weisberg holds a BA in English Literature, Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University. He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston in 1985 and completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Weisberg is the author of the novel,The Hospitalist and is currently writing a second thriller. Learn more by visiting www.michaelfweisberg.com

Norman Beck

Norman Beck is a man who wears many hats. He is a speaker, writer, and magician when not working full time at SCA promotions in Dallas, where he is Vice President of claims and security. When not working at SCA Norman spend a his time speaking writing and doing magic. Norman is also a tournament bridge player and a voracious reader. To learn more about his rather unusual life please go to http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/21/risky-business-2

Paige Chenault

Five years ago, Paige was running a successful event planning business, throwing parties for the affluent and the celebrated. Then it hit her. What if she re-tooled her talent toward the underserved and forgotten. The Birthday Party Project was born. Convinced that joy changes lives, she now leads an organization that provides birthday parties to thousands of homeless children all over the country. With the support of thousands of birthday enthusiasts (volunteers), The Birthday Party Project hosts monthly birthday parties at homeless and transitional living facilities. Currently, they host 31 parties a month in 12 cities across the country. Paige hopes The Birthday Party Project will inspire others as they build bridges in communities across the country through celebrations. @paigechenault @thebirthdaypartyproject www.thebirthdaypartyproject.org https://www.facebook.com/thebirthdaypartyproject/

Thom Browne

Thom Browne is a writer, designer, and award-winning educator. He is currently the Storyteller in Residence at the Novus Academy in Grapevine, Texas where he is collaborating with artists to create an emotional literacy curriculum to train youth in self expression. Thom travels the country speaking and training educators on building more inclusive and innovative classrooms. Browne is an alumnus of the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!) and trained in design at Southern Methodist University's Master's of Design and Innovation program. He lives in Oak Cliff, Texas with his lovely wife and two clumsy dogs.

Willie Baronet

Willie Baronet has been buying and collecting homeless signs since 1993 as part of a long term art project titled "WE ARE ALL HOMELESS." In 2014 he began a 31-day cross country trip to buy signs in 24 cities, which was the subject of the documentary Signs of Humanity, which premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival and has been accepted into 5 additional festivals (so far). The project has been featured in dozens of international and local media, including Yahoo! News, NPR - All Things Considered, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera America and Fast Company’s blog, posted by Katie Couric. An UpWorthy video about the project that was uploaded on August 31, 2015 has been viewed over 6.4 million times. Willie is currently the Stan Richards Professor of Creative Advertising at SMU's Temerlin Advertising Institute, where he teaches classes related to creativity and portfolio development.