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).

Mellon Institute Auditorium
4400 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213
United States

KELLY LIMERICK

"Kelly Limerick is a Singaporean self-taught textile artist who has been crocheting and knitting since she was 7 years old. Often creating without a sketch or fixed design, she has stretched this traditional craft beyond predictable patterns and challenges the stigma of crochet being a ‘granny craft’. Kelly's current line of inquiry concerns itself with the status of crochet as a ‘craft’, and explores destruction and deconstruction of a medium that is additive in nature. While considering the potential of crochet in both delicate lacework as well as its ability to be translated through different mediums in large installations, her work aims to reframe this craft in contemporary times and question the relevance of slow art in a fast-paced society. Today, her work ranges from sculptures, textile hangings and mix media installations. She has been an Artist-in-Residence in the Facebook APAC HQ, exhibited with Esplanade Singapore, and worked with brands like National Heritage Board Singapore, Disney, and most recently Gucci, for which she created their first in-store art wall display in South Asia Pacific."

REBECCA WAHLS

Rebecca (she/her) directs theatre, new media, and film. Originally from Williamsburg, VA, Rebecca is currently based in Washington, DC and Pittsburgh, PA where she is pursuing her MFA in Directing as a John Wells Directing Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Rebecca founded the non-profit theatre Who What Where Theater Collective, where she produced and directed two world premiere plays. Rebecca has worked as Artistic Associate for Acting for Young People since 2012, where she developed and implemented their improv curriculum for students ages 5-80. She has also taught corporate improv workshops with non-profit Art Propel for major organizations such as Marriott International. Catch her MFA thesis production of the new musical this old haunt here at CMU in November 2022. rebeccawahls.com

REBECCA MUNNELL MCHUGH

Rebecca Munnell McHugh holds a Masters of Science and Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology, and has been with Pitt-Bradford since 2016. She teaches Introduction to Psychology as well as an array of developmental psychology courses. Since 2001, she has been involved in a wide variety of research projects ranging from surveys to programmatic evaluations, clinical studies, meta-analyses, instrument development, and interview studies. She is passionate about teaching and student engagement in research and works collaboratively with students and alumni on a number of projects. Some of these overlap with her developmental training (for example, analyzing facial characteristics for gender markers in children’s cartoon characters) while some align with her work with stigmatized communities. Her research primarily focuses on the pressures and coping mechanisms of members of microcommunities through a process called Visibility Management, a decision-making process for dealing with stigma and interpersonal relationships. By exploring this process in a number of different communities she has the opportunity to meet and work with people in many different walks of life, and to explore many different cultures and experiences.

SAMORA LA PERDIDA

"Samora la Perdida (they/she) is a trilingual performer, poet, and creator. Their works range from musicals to spoken word pieces that utilize combinations of Spanish, English, and Portuguese to give voice to the beautifully complex realities of transgender and genderqueer Afro-Latines. Their Spanglish rap opera, pato, pato, maricón, premiered at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest in 2018. Their music video PAPI RUNS was an official selection of the 2019 National Film Festival for Talented Youth. This summer they will make their off-Broadway debut acting in Notes on Killing… at Soho Rep. They have also acted in various productions in Shakespeare in The Park, and have performed under the direction of Debbie Allen and Tarell Alvin McCraney. la Perdida graduated from LaGuardia High School as a YoungArts Presidential Scholar in the Arts. In 2018, they spent what they thought was their penultimate semester at CMU abroad in Bogotá, Colombia. There, they learned Spanish by studying performing arts at the University of Javeriana. They ended up traveling across South America for three years, fortifying their Spanish and picking up Portuguese along the way. This May they will finish their journey at CMU with degrees in Drama and Global Studies."

SIMRAN KAUR

Featured in Vogue, ABC, Oxford Women in Business +, more, Simran Kaur is a Stock Market Columnist, Author & Founder of the world's largest investing podcast for women, Girls That Invest. Ranked as a #1 Business Podcast in the US, Canada & NZ, Girls That Invest has reached almost 1M women & minorities in over 60 countries worldwide and is on a mission to make investing education more accessible.