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, live speakers come together to spark deep discussions 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).

TEDxDiabloValleyCollege will take place on the Diablo Valley College campus and feature four speakers.

Speakers include:

Sejal Thakkar - How to Harness the Power of Exclusion
Ed Smith - Just the Beginning...Living and Flying Outside the Aircraft
Martha Laham - The Toxic Mirror: The Chilling Truth About Selfies, Social Media, and Body Image
Jared Karol - Awakening Myself to Awaken Humanity

Diablo Valley College Performing Arts Center
321 Golf Club Rd
Pleasant Hill, California, 94523
United States

Ed Smith

CEO, Consultant Security and Diversity

A visionary, veteran leader with high level IT, Cyber Security, and Social Engineering experience that includes managing the development and maintenance of IT hardware and software products. Ed brings diversity, successful executive-level international business management, and sales experience, and effectively orchestrated multiple business turnarounds. He is a world-class athlete in the sport of Skydiving with the multi-talented entrepreneurial experience and knowledge necessary for successful business development in smaller and start-up companies. He has proven expertise as an organizer, innovator, problem solver, and “Crisis Manager," that successfully solves major Information Technology problems of businesses or departments not resolvable using traditional methods.

Jared Karol

Workplace Culture Consultant

Jared Karol (he/him) is the Head of Product Experience at Translator, Inc., a DEI technology company. For more than 20 years he has been in social justice spaces as a teacher, DEI consultant, writer, public speaker, and facilitator—specializing in guiding White people to confront racism and be unapologetic antiracists. Jared has extensive experience in Fortune 500 companies, facilitating difficult conversations and coaching executives to be impactful storytellers. His first book, A White Guy Confronting Racism: An Invitation to Reflect and Act, was released in November 2021. An avid reader, accomplished musician, and active meditator, he lives with his partner and teenage twins in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Martha Laham

Educator, Author

Martha Laham is a professor at Diablo Valley College, where she has taught business, marketing, and advertising for more than 30 years. She has authored college textbooks in marketing and selling, developed instructional materials for educational publishers, and contributed to HuffPost. She is the author of Made Up: How the Beauty Industry Manipulates Consumers, Preys on Women’s Insecurities, and Promotes Unattainable Beauty Standards (2020), and The Con Game: A Failure of Trust (2014). Martha lives in Oakland, California.

Sejal Thakkar

Employment Lawyer

Sejal Thakkar is on a mission to educate and empower people to create a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Sejal is a former employment law attorney, a 2X TEDx speaker, and the Founder and Chief Civility Officer at TrainXtra, a woman/minority- owned training consulting firm, where she helps leaders create positive, safe, and respectful workplaces through customized training and coaching. Sejal is also the Chief Culture Officer of Nobody Studios, a venture capital firm that aims to create 100 compelling companies, guiding them from ideation to full-scale company validation. She is responsible for cultivating a people-first culture at Nobody Studios.