Theme: Bridging the Gap: Exploring Solutions to Barriers

Through this theme, we hope to provide a platform for speakers to explore solutions to barriers, disparities, and incongruities within themselves, among communities, and across the world. We look forward to learning about the unique barriers our speakers have encountered and exploring the solutions we can all take together!

Here at TEDxEvanston, we are passionate about TED’s mission to change attitudes, lives, and, ultimately, the world. To do this, we are focused on creating a platform for members of the local community to share their ideas worth spreading! We’re excited to welcome you to our event.

Date: Oct 23rd, 2022
Time: 3pm – 6pm CT
Location: Ryan Family Auditorium, Northwestern University (2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL 60201)

SPEAKER LINEUP: Andrew Sykes, Bevin Farrand, Christine Ivery, Mohamed Osman Mohamed, Johnathan Hill, Kimberly Godsey, Jake Teeny

Ryan Family Auditorium, Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Rd
Evanston, Illinois, 60201
United States

Andrew Sykes

Andrew Sykes inspires and guides leaders and sales professionals to become magnetic trusted advisors. He is the founder and CEO of Habits at Work, an experiential sales habit activation company on a mission to make sales the most trustworthy profession on the planet by empowering sellers to practice and embody the mindsets, skills, and habits that build and maintain customer trust. Andrew is a Lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, part of the Kellogg Sales Institute within the Executive Education Team where he teaches the award-winning course “Entrepreneurial Selling,” and he teaches courses on sales, leadership and the art and science of creating habits. Andrew has been a salesperson, entrepreneur, speaker, and behavior change expert for 30 years, having begun his career by building one of South Africa’s largest healthcare consulting companies. As a world-renowned expert on habits, Andrew co-authored The 11th Habit book, distilling the work of the organization he founded – the Behavioral Research and Applied Technology Laboratory (BRATLAB) – which seeks to understand which habits really matter for sustained high performance, competitive differentiation, trust building, and organizational growth, and how to help people to practice those habits. His personal speaking website is: andrewsykes.com and more information on his programs can be found at habitsatwork.com.

Bevin Farrand

In 2019, after an unexpected loss just 5 days after she returned from a whirlwind trip to France with her husband, Bevin Farrand founded the Take the DAMN Chance movement. Her DAMN framework has inspired hundreds to connect with the people that they love, do the “crazy thing” that makes all the difference and, when given a choice, to take the damn chance. Additionally, she is an executive business strategist and coach who supports small businesses and entrepreneurs in developing and executing strategies to take their revenue to 6- and 7-figures.

Christine Ivery

Christine Ivery is the Assistant Director of Public Health Programs at the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative (SNJPC) and Adjunct Professor at La Salle University. She is dedicated to addressing and mitigating issues of Black infant and maternal mortality. Her passion is to help all walks of life through disease and disparity prevention, as well as to make an impact in the communities she serves. She secures implementation of the program objectives, leads teams to successful program execution and cultivates networks with maternal healthcare stakeholders to effectively address barriers that affect birth outcomes. Christine serves as Chair of Sisters in Public Health Philadelphia Chapter, Past-immediate Chair of the Public Health Young Leaders Association (PHYLA) in Philadelphia, and Community Health Planning and Policy Development (CHPPD) Section Counselor for the American Public Health Association (APHA). She is a proud member of the American Public Health Association, Philadelphia’s Section on Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Drexel University Center for Black Culture (CBC) Advisory Board, the Greater Philadelphia Norfolk State Alumni Chapter, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science- Kinesiotherapy from Norfolk State University, a Master's degree from Drexel University in Public Health, and Health Education Specialist Certification (CHES).

Jake Teeny

Jake Teeny is an assistant professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management. His research focuses on the psychology of persuasion and understanding why and how people engage in it. More about his work as well as his ongoing blog on how to use psychological science to enhance everyday life can be found at EverydayPsych.com.

Johnathan Hill

Johnathan Hill is the community engagement lead for social impact for the eDiscovery company, Relativity. At Relativity, Johnathan leads global programmatic efforts to increase access to justice, which empowers the Relativity ecosystem, nonprofits, and academic institutions to tackle social and racial justice issues by providing the technology that allows organizations to better organize their data, discover the truth, and act on it. He has been writing and speaking on economic mobility, justice, and access in tech and education for over a decade. Before joining Relativity, Johnathan was employed by LinkedIn, helping organizations transform their talent strategies to attract and retain top talent. Johnathan lives in Washington, D.C., and has a bachelor's from Morehouse College and a Master's in Public Policy Studies from The University of Chicago Harris School of Policy. Johnathan believes that this greatest fear isn't if he's headed in the right direction of success but if it's created enough impact to bring others with him. His long-term vision is to return to his hometown of Washington, DC, and build on his experience creating public/private relationships that improve the communities in which we live and work through education, workforce development, and holistic support.

Kimberly Godsey

Kimberly Godsey is a Nurse Practitioner specializing in cardiology. She has over 20 years experience in healthcare starting with serving in the Army National Guard as a flight medic in an assault helicopter battalion. She graduated with honors from the University of Cincinnati with a Masters degree in Nursing. In 2013 she was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau for outstanding academic achievement. She practiced at The Christ Hospital for a decade before moving to California and starting the heart failure program at Montage Health in Monterey. She has a broad range of experience including critical care, cardiothoracic surgery, heart failure, palliative/ hospice care and clinical research. She works closely with patients to improve their health through the mind-body connection and lifestyle modifications. She is especially passionate about improving health care for individuals who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Kimberly lives with her husband, 3 daughters, 2 dogs and 2 cats. In her spare time she loves to be active and do anything outdoors like running, hiking, biking, boating and kayaking.

Mohamed O. Mohamed

At 16, Mohamed O. Mohamed fled the civil war in Somalia and eventually came to the United States as a refugee. Having then studied at both Indiana University and Kellogg School of Management, he has discovered the power of higher education to help not just himself but his home country. He is now advocating for access to quality education in low-income countries as a means to support their development.