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).

Plemmons Student Union
287 Rivers Street
Boone, North Carolina, 28608
United States

Carla Ramsdell

Carla Ramsdell is a physicist and registered mechanical engineer and is a senior lecturer in the physics and astronomy department at Appalachian State University. Her research is focused on thermodynamics as it applies to many energy sources, mainly food. She is of Italian heritage and a self-proclaimed “cooking evangelist” as she believes that the only way we will realize a sustainable food future is to take back cooking to reclaim power over the energy of our food system.

Christopher Bartel

Christopher Bartel is a professor of philosophy at Appalachian State University. He has received degrees from King's College London (PhD), University of Bristol (MA), and Berkley College of Music (BM). His research interests primarily lie within aesthetics with a special focus on philosophy of music and philosophy of video games. He has published essays on the ontology of musical works, the ethics of video fames, and historical inaccuracies in works of fiction. His essays have appeared in the British Journal of aesthetics, Ethics and Information Technology, the European Journal of Philosophy and the Journal of aesthetics and Art Criteria

Derek Davidson

Derek Davidson, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance here at Appalachian State University, where he teaches playwriting, dramatic literature, and theatre history. He is also Artistic Director of In/Visible Theatre (a professional company in Boone, North Carolina), and is a playwright, director, and actor. He has worked as an Associate Artistic Director for the Barter Theatre in Virginia and Coordinator for the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights. His plays have been performed all over the country. His solo performance piece Ox is to be presented at the Piccolo Spoleto Fringe Festival in June, 2018. Dr. Davidson received his Ph.D. in Theatre History and Criticism from the University of Washington.

Nancy Love

Dr. Nancy S. Love is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government & Justice Studies and Coordinator of the Humanities Council at Appalachian State University. Her research and teaching focus on art, culture, and politics. She is the author of Trendy Fascism: White Power Music and the Future of Democracy (SUNY 2016) and Musical Democracy (SUNY 2006), and the co-editor of Doing Democracy: Activist Art and Cultural Politics (SUNY 2013).