Theme: Re-Imagine

Re-Imagine a future of our own design, one that is not limited by the past. At TEDxSonomaCounty 2018, we will explore new ideas, ways of thinking, communicating, and interacting. We will learn how new technology takes us from abstract ideas to living the reality we desire to create.

Do you believe it is possible to reinvent our future? Not simply an evolution of our past, but one that is focused on the stand we take for who we are and what’s possible for ourselves and our community. Each day we have the opportunity to reboot, rebuild, and redo, creating an environment in which miracles can occur. Developments in technology, entertainment, and design offer us a glimpse into what’s possible. They demonstrate how we can go beyond the familiar, by choice or by circumstance, into unchartered territory where the outcome is uncertain. Doing so with courage, creativity and community allows us to step beyond what is, toward what could be for ourselves and our world.

Join us at TEDxSonomaCounty for our 7th annual afternoon of learning from those among us who are reimagining the world we live in and how we live in it – the dreamers, the visionaries, and artists whose shifting perspectives will spark inspiring conversations.

Jackson Theater at Sonoma Country Day School
4400 Day School Place
Santa Rosa, California, 95403
United States

Alex Salkever

Writer. Futurist. Technology Leader.

Alex Salkever is co-author with Vivek Wadhwa of Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Tech Is Winning The Battle To Control Your Brain - And How To Fight Back and The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Can Change the Future. He was named as a Finalist in the 2017 McKinsey Financial Times Book of the Year Competition. Alex explores exponentially advancing technologies such as robotics, genomics, renewable energy, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and driverless cars. He is a columnist for Fortune and previously served as the Technology Editor at BusinessWeek.com and as a Guest Researcher at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering.

Azure Antoinette

Poet. Serial Creative. Speaker.

Forbes named Azure Antoinette the “Maya Angelou of the millennial generation.” Her specialized style of performance poetry and storytelling have garnered her attention in a wide range of media and venues, from O, The Oprah Magazine to collaborating with Elizabeth Gilbert and Lady Gaga, to speaking for The Gap. Antoinette is the founder and CEO of Teller Creative Group, which officially launched in September 2018. TCG has been newly restructured as a multi-brand startup that curates an operating platform for Antoinette’s two loves; entertainment and business. Azure believes that we should all strive to do what we love for a living, for every day is never ordinary but always brilliant—and always alchemy.

Cathryn Couch

Nonprofit CEO.

Cathryn Couch is the founder and CEO of Ceres Community Project, an innovative and award-winning non-profit organization working to foster health by connecting people to one another and a healthier food system. Cathryn has worked in the corporate and non-profit worlds including founding one of the first gourmet organic home delivered meal services in the Bay Area. Cathryn is a founding member of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance and a member of the Food is Medicine Coalition. She and Ceres have won much recognition including being a national finalist for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Community Health Leaders Award, Leader in Sustainability Award from the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, and a CNN Hero.

Cindy Solomon

Leadership Expert. Author. Keynote Speaker.

As a self-confessed “recovering corporate executive,” Cindy Solomon’s mission is to radically update the way we think about and practice leadership in order to build better business environments, and a better world. Cindy is the President and CEO of Cindy Solomon & Associates, an organization that specializes in partnering with companies, associations and nonprofits as diverse as Google, Dow and the Girl Scouts of America to introduce courageous leadership as a daily practice at every level, transforming the working lives of tens of thousands across the globe. She is the author of two best-selling books on leadership, Creating A Culture of Courage and The Rules of Woo.

Forest Stearns

Artist. Creative.

Forest Stearns is a prolific illustrator based in Oakland, CA. He has a passion for facilitating creative permission – encouraging business executives, children, artists, and people everywhere to let go of their fears and practice their creative language. Currently he is producing giant paintings that adorn Google’s Quantum computers. Formerly, Stearns has produced the largest art show in Earth’s orbit as Principal Space Artist at Planet. His artistic adventure of fusing arts with technology has fruitfully covered rockets, radomes and 340+ satellites with eloquent illustrations, characters and handwritten calligraphy. He specializes in amplifying company culture, driving innovation and leading by example. Come get creative!

Frankie Bourne

Singer. Songwriter.

The Frankie Bourne Band is a Sonoma County rock and roll band known for their explosive live shows and their melodic, original music that bridges genres and eras of influence. Featuring drummer Jeff Nassi, guitarist Sunil Sharma, and bassist Matt Pasquale, the Frankie Bourne Band delivers infectious roots-rock songs, and an authentic sound that "combines the style of new Americana with all the things you loved about 90s adult alternative bands," according to TourWorthy.com. In spring 2018 they entered the legendary Prairie Sun Studios to record a 12-song original album, expected to release by end of the year.

Kalimah Priforce

Hacktivist CEO.

As “just a kid from Brooklyn," Kalimah Priforce is codebreaking human potential as founder of Qeyno Group, an education think tank of hacktivists closing the digital divide - once and for all. At the forefront of making “Wakanda” a culture of inclusive innovation in the lives of low-opportunity youth across the globe, Kalimah launched the first nationally-televised hackathon in the MSNBC mini-documentary, "Swimming in Their Genius,” and has been featured on the cover of USA Today and the indie award-winning film "Code Oakland.” Recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change, Kalimah sits on the National Advisory Council for Forward Promise, is a 2013 Echoing Green fellow, and awarded the 40 Under 40: Tech Diversity for Silicon Valley.

Kyle Ellicott

Entrepreneur. Chief Labs Officer.

Kyle Ellicott is the co-founder and Chief Labs Officer of ReadWrite Labs, an industry catalyst that is accelerating the growth of the Internet of Things economy by connecting the people, companies, and financing shaping our connected world and lives. Kyle has advised over 175 companies globally on topics such as the Internet of Things(IoT), transportation/mobility, blockchain/fintech, artificial intelligence, digital health, and smart cities and has successfully raised over $130 million in venture funding. Since late 2015, Kyle has worked closely with the local communities, corporations, and governments of China and greater Asia to develop their startup and venture ecosystems.

Rick Gomez

Actor. Writer. Filmmaker.

Rick has been acting in film and television for the last 25 years. His work on television includes HBO’s Emmy and Golden Globe award winning mini-series “Band of Brothers” where he portrayed Sgt. George Luz, and the J.J. Abrams produced “What About Brian.” He also co-starred alongside Bobby Canavale and Sarah Paulson in “Cupid” for ABC. He played David Vasquez for six seasons in the Peabody award winning FX drama “Justified.” Some of his film credits include the Best Picture Academy Award nominee “Ray” directed by Taylor Hackford, Robert Rodriguez’s “Sin City,” and “Transformers,” starring a bunch of shape shifting robots. Rick can currently be seen in ABC’s “The Crossing.” He wrote, acted and produced a feature film, “The Week,” alongside his dog, Rosie, which was filmed at his home in Healdsburg. Look for it on Hulu and Amazon.

Riya Sinha

Student. Entrepreneur.

Winner of the Women Economic Forum Iconic Teen Entrepreneur Award, Riya Sinha is a 12th grader at Palo Alto High School and the co-founder of Fuzia, a website and mobile app dedicated to women empowerment and creativity. She started Fuzia when she was 11 years old, and it now has over 3.5 million followers on social media and over 10,000 users. Riya is also a student journalist and editor for her school magazine, Verde Magazine.

Scott Lummer

Playwright. Actor.

Scott Lummer is, by day, a mild-mannered owner and CEO of a Bay Area investment management firm. By night, he’s an award-winning playwright, with 12 produced plays in 35 professional productions worldwide over the past five years, including Sydney, Dubai, London, and Akron. His writes across various genres including comedy, drama, mystery, and futuristic fiction. His play, 2045, has won several awards nationally and overseas, and will soon be published by Lazy Bee Scripts. He’s a three-time winner of the Redwood Writers’ Short Play contest and is the first playwright to win the British Theatre Challenge in consecutive years. Locally, Scott’s work has appeared at Pegasus Theater, 6th Street Playhouse, Raven Theater, and Mendocino College. Scott has written and produced a short play for TEDxSonomaCounty, which will be directed by Craig Miller, and will feature Juliet Noonan, Mark Bradbury, Paige Picard, and Chandler Parrott-Thomas.

Yobie Benjamin

Entrepreneur. Futurist. Speaker. innovator.

Yobie Benjamin is a successful entrepreneur, futurist, speaker, and an internationally recognized expert on unleashing innovation and creating hyper-growth. He was named a 2015 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum for his technology achievements and is an active member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. Currently, Yobie serves as Innovation Fellow at 4iNNO, working on product innovation with multinational corporations. He is also the founder and CTO Emeritus of Token.io and a senior advisor to several startups in the technology, blockchain and synthetic biology space. Additionally, he is a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank Faster Payments Task Force. Yobie is the former Global Chief Technology Officer for Citibank and a former Partner and Chief of Global Strategy at EY. He is currently writing a book, Tribes of the Valley chronicling the different power tribes and groups in Silicon Valley.