Theme: The Future Is Now

On April 20, 2024 at Baker Demonstration School, TEDxWilmette will present six speakers with big ideas around the theme The Future Is Now. The pace of change in our world brings what once felt futuristic into the present. From climate to AI, media to healthcare, we face big technological, ethical and social questions, and the answers have implications not only for our shared future but also for our common present. At TEDxWilmette 2024, we will explore how to navigate these issues when The Future Is Now.

Baker Demonstration School
201 Sheridan Rd.
Wilmette, Illinois, 60091
United States

AJ Goehle

CEO & Principal of a Museum Planning and Design Firm

AJ has spent close to twenty years working across a diverse range of nationally renowned cultural spaces to push the boundaries of experience design and museum planning. Recently, AJ was named as one of the 2023’s top 50 museum influencers in the world by industry-leading publication Blooloop. As the CEO and principal of the museum planning and design firm Luci Creative, her business has grown to more than 40 employees, with offices in Chicago, Boston, and Seattle. Clients include the Adams Presidential Center, Boston Holocaust Museum, the National Music Museum, Harley-Davidson, McDonald's, John Deere, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, Kohl Children's Museum, and more. She believes that experiential storytelling should inspire and captivate, and act as a catalyst for new and significant ideas.

Charlie Saffro

Talent Advisor & Recruiting Thought Leader

Charlie is the CEO and Founder of CS Recruiting, a multimillion-dollar third party recruiting firm. Charlie is a recognized logistics expert and her team represents hundreds of hiring companies nationwide. Charlie is a conscious leader who advocates for human-centric workplaces with connection, purpose, empathy, and employee engagement as key workplace cultural components for employee happiness, productivity, and organizational success.

Lisa Rachelle Owens

Program Manager, Podcast Host & Army Veteran

Lisa hosts "The Unapologetic Third Act" podcast, where she champions the idea that age should not be a limitation but a gateway to profound personal growth, reinvention, and social impact. Lisa is a seasoned Global Digital Marketing Program/Project Manager in digital, financial services, government, and retail. She holds the honorable title of post-9/11 Afghanistan Combat Veteran and Military Intelligence Officer, having served eleven years as a later-in-life female citizen soldier in the Illinois Army National Guard. Lisa is also a breast cancer survivor.

Lizzie Docel

Communication Coach & Learning Specialist

Lizzie is a Learning Specialist and Facilitator at Google, an English Language Coach at Northwestern University, and the Founder of Unscripted Speech, a public speaking and communication coaching practice. She started her career with Google in 2017. Building on her experience across acting, improvisation, speech language pathology, and business, she has broken down what makes effective communication and how we can prepare for it in the future. In the last 7 years, she has spoken for large global audiences, delivered app demonstrations at industry conferences, hosted trade show booths, facilitated trainings, and given keynote talks.

Rachel Douglas Swanson

Creativity Coach & Speaker

Rachel has over 18 years of experience in education, her master's degree in curriculum design, and currently works as a Samsumg Educational Coach. She has worked as a Chicago Public Schools elementary teacher and instructional coach, Director of Instructional Technology with the Lutheran Schools of Chicago, and Director of Academics with the Chicagoland Lutheran Educational Foundation. Rachel is a former Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Gates Foundation Redesign Challenge Innovator, and a Google for Education Educator, Innovator, Trainer, and Coach. She is the Co-Founder of TechKnow Coach and Co-Creator of the Create Brave card deck.

Tayyaba Ali

ClimateTech Founder & Innovator

Tayyaba Ali is the 24-year-old CEO and co-founder of Tikal Industries, a Chicago-based hardtech startup focused on creating an industrial water IoT platform to help manufacturers and energy plants tap into the blue economy. The goal of her current work is to create the market’s first IoT-supported water trading platform to achieve water neutrality for industrial usage. Tayyaba has been fortunate to see all faces of the innovation spectra from being a founder, researcher, advisor, investor, and consultant. As a product development engineer, she has previously worked in medtech, energy, robotics, and sustainability.