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).

Choi Auditorum
Occidental College
1
Los Angeles, California, 90041
United States

Ashley Leon

Ashley Leon is a history major at Occidental College and is currently on the pre-law track. She is a two-time alum of the Department of State language immersion program and is the founder of Occidental College's Moot Court team and co-founder of Occidental College's Law Society.

Barani Maung Maung

Barani Maung Maung was born in Myanmar and raised there for most of her life. She completed her last two years of high school in Singapore, and now studies Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She is interested in exploring how international relations, feminism, and religion intersect, and what that means for the future of our societies. In her spare time, she enjoys meditating, reading, and mindlessly scrolling through the news in hopes of better Presidents.

Chet McGensey

Chet McGensy is the co-founder of a political and legal consulting firm called Cornerstone Group. Prior to founding Cornerstone Chet was General Counsel and Chief Policy Officer for Dividend Finance and national solar finance company. Prior to Dividend, Chet was Director of Policy & Electricity Markets and Regulatory Counsel for SolarCity. Chet also is recognized as a co-inventor of SolarCity's MyPower solar loan. He has been a national figure on clean energy policy at the state and federal level. Chet also holds a law degree and master’s in business administration from the University of San Francisco.

Chet McGensy

Chet is the co-founder of a political and legal consulting firm called Cornerstone Group. Prior to founding Cornerstone, Chet was General Counsel and Chief Policy Officer for Dividend Finance and national solar finance company. Prior to Dividend, Chet was Director of Policy & Electricity Markets and Regulatory Counsel for SolarCity. Chet also is recognized as a co-inventor of SolarCity's MyPower solar loan. He has been a national figure on clean energy policy at the state and federal level. Chet also holds a law degree and master’s in business administration from the University of San Francisco.

Christine Ha

Christine Ha is the first-ever blind contestant and season 3 winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show, “MasterChef” U.S., on FOX with Gordon Ramsay. She defeated over 30,000 home cooks across America to secure the coveted MasterChef title, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal. Christine also has a Master of Fine Arts from University of Houston’s nationally acclaimed Creative Writing Program. During her time there, she served as Fiction Editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. She is currently working on her memoir and second cookbook. Christine’s first cookbook, Recipes From My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food (Rodale, 2013), was a New York Times best-seller. She has been featured on NPR, the BBC, and CNN International, and travels around the globe to give keynote addresses and TEDx talks. Christine has also served as a culinary envoy on behalf of the American Embassy as part of cultural diplomacy programs in Jordan, Serbia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and Croatia. She was a co-host on the Canadian cooking show, “Four Senses” on AMI, and a judge on “MasterChef” Vietnam on VTV3. Christine received the 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind, a recognition formerly bestowed upon Ray Charles, Patty Duke, and Stevie Wonder among others. Christine currently resides in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two dogs.

Christopher Oze

Christopher Oze is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Geology Department at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Chris earned his PhD from Stanford University and has been the Obering Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College and the Blaustein Visiting Professor at Stanford. Chris has also been the UCSA College of Science Lecturer of the Year at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. His research interests revolve around the fields of biogeochemistry and mineralogy.

Claire Krelitz

Claire Krelitz is a junior Politics and Sociology double major, and an Interdisciplinary Writing minor at Occidental College. She is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. Claire is very involved in Los Angeles politics surrounding workers’ rights -- she co-founded a student group that partners with two Community Job Centers and currently interns at a public interest law firm. Her academic interests include studying the ways that culture influences the economy and policy. For fun Claire loves to cook and she plays on the Oxy Womxn's Rugby team.

Dean Lin

Dean Lin, a junior at Occidental College, was born and raised in Queens, New York. His major is Media Arts & Culture, and he plans on pursuing a career in production/film in order to change the way people think through media and strip away harmful messages we are used to seeing in today’s world. He interned for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and is currently interning at Paramount Pictures for the Diversity and Inclusion department to explore potential career paths he would like to pursue. He’s an advocate for mental health, and loves to run, hike, travel, take photos, and practice restorative yoga. He’s interested in volunteering abroad, doing research in different areas of film and analyzing the difference in media in terms of its impact on the respective society’s mental health/wellness outside the US.

Jay Daigle

Jay Daigle is a math professor at Occidental College. In addition to his research in number theory, he brings a mathematical style to thinking about philosophy, politics, social dynamics, and everyday life.

Marquita Thomas

Marquita Thomas is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Nicole Vick

Nicole Vick is a public health advocate, educator, public servant, and fashion blogger. Ms. Vick has 14 years of public health experience with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health leading programs in community health and health education. She has 10 years experience teaching at the college level, most recently as adjunct professor in the Urban and Environmental Program at Occidental College. Ms. Vick is also President of the City of Los Angeles Health Commission. She has a passion for fashion and beauty and blogs under the name Style Vicksen.

Roberto Milk

Roberto is the CEO and Co-founder of NOVICA.com, a mission-driven company associated with National Geographic. They sell everything handmade, directly from artisans worldwide. To date, NOVICA has sent $87 Million to artisans and counting. Roberto is also a Schwab Social Entrepreneur and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Rumman Chowdhury

Dr. Chowdhury's passion lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity. She is an internationally recognized speaker on Artificial Intelligence, the future society, and ethics. She is the Global Lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, where she makes practical and ethical AI solutions for her clients. She is a data scientist and social scientist, holding two undergraduate degrees from MIT, a master's from Columbia University, and a PhD from the University of California, San Diego. She has been recognized as one of Silicon Valley's 40 under 40, one of the BBC's 100 women, and is a fellow at the Royal Society of the Arts.

Thomas Egan

Thomas Egan is a senior Cognitive Science and Spanish Studies double major at Occidental College. He chose Cognitive Science as a major so that he could examine more about the brain and mental illness. In his time at Occidental, he has been able to work in multiple research laboratories for cognitive science. Through these experiences he was able to explore more about his initial interest about the brain. Part of the inspiration for his talk today comes from personal experience and reflections from education. He has been involved with the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and Active Minds in his time at Occidental College.

Waruguru Waithira

Waruguru Waithira was born and raised in Kenya for 15 years of her life. She is a rising senior, studying art and art history. Waruguru enjoys telling Kenyan history through her paintings, and she recently received the Richter grant to travel to Kenya where she’ll be doing research for two months. Waruguru will be making a film, giving voices to female soldiers from the Gíkúyú tribe who went through unprecedented forms of sexual violence from the British colonial administration.

Yinbo Gao

Yinbo Gao is a senior at Occidental College. He loves building things, and dedicates much of his time towards running his community-oriented startup, Sylabo Creative.