Theme: TEDxBrownU 2023 Conference: Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare? This year’s annual TEDxBrownU conference will explore the theme Truth or Dare, showcasing truths that speakers have learned about their world, and the journey they took to get there, or dares they have embarked on, not knowing what the outcome would be. Join us in the Salomon DECI on Sunday, March 12th at 7:00 PM to hear a lineup of amazing speakers!

Tickets are available here (tinyurl.com/truthordare2023) and are FREE for all members of Brown and RISD’s community. If you are located outside of the Providence area and cannot join us in person, we will also have a livestream option.

For more information about our 6 speakers, visit https://tedxbrownu.com/events/truthOrDare. We hope to see you on March 12th! Doors open at 6:30 PM. See less

Salomon DECI
79 Waterman St, Providence, RI 02912
De Ciccio Family Auditorium
Providence, Rhode Island, 02912
United States

Barbara Tannenbaum

Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

Barbara Tannenbaum, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies. She teaches the popular course TAPS0220 Persuasive Communication. She also teaches in graduate programs in the School of Engineering and in the School of Professional Studies. She consults to global corporations, non-profits, and leaders on how to achieve more through powerful communication. Her volunteer work has long been in support of women.

Charlie Maitland

Engineering Master's Student at Brown University

Charlie is an Engineering master's student at Brown University. He is a graduate of Clarkson University where he did minors in Environmental Policy, and Sustainable Energy Systems. He wrote his undergraduate thesis on carbon taxation and has always been interested in climate change. Before coming to Brown, he worked as a facilities engineer focused on energy efficiency for several years. Recently, he became a volunteer "atomic ambassador" for the environmental non-profit Generation Atomic. Charlie is amazed by how we take for granted the basic luxuries of modern industrialization, an observation that makes advocating for energy education a natural interest. He is from northern Vermont and loves to cross-country ski.

Eric Loucks

Professor and Director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University

Eric B. Loucks, PhD, is a professor, researcher, and pioneer in the study of mindfulness and health. As director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, Loucks teaches mindfulness-based programs and leads high-quality, methodologically rigorous research to investigate the science behind mindfulness and its impact on health and well-being. An expert in aging-related research, he optimizes mindfulness programs to specific age groups. He is the lead developer of Mindfulness-Based College (MBC) and Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP), and has received numerous research grants from the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions. Dr. Loucks’ book entitled The Mindful College Student was released in April 2022. Dr. Loucks’s work has been widely distributed through media organizations such as the New York Times, TIME Magazine, and the BBC, along with numerous presentations to national and state governmental bodies.

Kalikoonāmaukūpuna Kalāhiki

Undergraduate Student at Brown University

Kalikoonāmaukūpuna (Kaliko) Kalāhiki is a queer and māhū Kanaka Maoli student, community builder, artist, creative, and farmer. They are currently a junior at Brown University studying Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies. Their work focuses on building sustainable, supportive, loving, and caring communities for peoples from marginalized identities. After college, they hope to return to their home island Oʻahu where they will continue learning about and practicing traditional loʻi kalo farming partially as a means of healing intergenerational trauma and interpersonal conflict. They believe that turning towards Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Lifeways, coupled with recognizing and upholding the sovereignty of Native communities, is essential to actualizing environmental justice and combating climate change.

Rishika Kartik

Undergraduate Student at Brown University

Rishika Kartik is a creative activist and disability advocate who feels fortunate to have worked with the blind community for several years. As the founder of “Touch and Create Studios” and the “Vision of the Artist's Soul” project, Rishika champions museum accessibility and creates tactile art experiences for blind people nationally. She is a sighted member of the National Federation of the Blind and enjoys teaching, learning, advocating for legislation at the Capitol, and doing educational research at the Bedny Lab at Johns Hopkins and the American Foundation for the Blind. Rishika is a 2022 US Presidential Scholar, a Coca Cola Scholar, a Live Más Scholar, and the recipient of multiple arts grants. Planning to pursue an independent concentration in “Disability and Design” at Brown University, she believes accessibility unlocks new ways of thinking, connecting, and experiencing the world.

Vincent Zhou

Undergraduate Student at Brown University and Team USA Figure Skater

Vincent Zhou is a Team USA figure skater, 2-time Olympian, Olympic medalist, 2-time World medalist, 14-time major ISU international medalist, 9-time National medalist, and 3-time National champion. He is currently a freshman at Brown University pursuing a degree in Economics. His hometown is Palo Alto, California, but he has lived and trained all over the world and competed in 17 countries. He is currently on the US Figure Skating Singles Development and Technical Committee and is involved with building the next generation of US figure skaters. In the future, he aims to work in management consulting, investment banking, or venture capital. In his spare time, he is an aspiring mountaineer who loves bouldering, scrambling in the Colorado 14ers, and listening to music.