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).

TPAC's Polk Theater
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, Tennessee, 37219
United States

Debria Tyler and Luso Chithambo

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media. This year, Southern Word will serve over 5,000 youth through programs in 8 Tennessee counties, in almost every public Nashville high school, on four Middle Tennessee public college campuses, and in a large number of Nashville Public Library branches.

Kawehi

“If you don’t already know who Kawehi is, let us tell you: She’s winning the DIY music game,” James Cave, Huffington Post. Hawaiian independent artist Kawehi (kuh­veh­hee) is known across the nation for her live shows as a “one­woman band,” building soundscapes via beatboxing, a guitar, a midi keyboard and Ableton Live. She is known for her opinionated songwriting,centering her music messages around social issues and injustices. Kawehi’s videos and songs have been featured on CBS News Most Viral Videos, Vimeo, Booooooom!, Sony Music, Huffington Post, Esquire, Spin, Elle, Maxim, People, Devour, Gizmodo, etc. As an independent artist, Kawehi has taken to Kickstarter, raising funds for 7 EP’s, a live album and a documentary ­all through crowd­funding alone ­ staying true to herself and her fans by making the kind of music she is proud of.

Lecrae

Lecrae is quickly developing into one of the biggest music stories of the year and his Cinderella rise has been noted everywhere from RollingStone, XXL Magazine, Vibe Magazine, The New York Times, The Atlantic, the cover of The Huffington Post to industry trades such as Billboard Magazine, Variety and Vulture. His performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, perfectly timed with his album’s release, had fans buzzing as he performed multiple hit records from Anomaly. He’s performed at the BET Experience, co­hosted The Dove Awards, co-­headlined the highest ticketed tour in the country (Winter Jam) and received a nomination for Best Impact Track at this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards. Sway Calloway, MTV News Executive Producer and host of his own nationally syndicated radio show, The Wake Up Show, recently proclaimed Lecrae as the “Evolution of Hip­Hop.”

Music Makes Us Mariachi Band

Student performance from Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Nashville School of the Arts (Dance Duo)

Dancers: Isaiah Thornton and Alison Newman; Choreographer: Ella Vernali.

Nashville School of the Arts (Dance Trio)

Dancers: Nicole Greer, Isaiah Thornton, and Savannah Vawter; Choreographer: Ashton Campbell.

Street Corner Symphony

Street Corner Symphony is an acappella group based out of Nashville, Tennessee. They became internationally known in 2010 after becoming runners up on Season 2 of NBC’s all vocal competition, The Sing-Off. These southern gents quickly won over Sing-Off judges Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman, and Nicole Scherzinger and an NBC primetime audience after demonstrating their unique laid back, yet dynamic style of acappella. The group consists of two brothers; Jeremy Lister and Jonathan Lister; along with Adam Chance, Kurt Zimmerman, Kaleb Jones and Mark McLemore. Since their success on The Sing-Off, Street Corner Symphony has been making records and performing for audiences across the country and around the world. Their music covers a wide range of style, appealing to young and old alike. Highlights for SCS so far include touring with Ben Folds and Jay Leno, performing at Tony Romo’s wedding, and bringing their show overseas to Italy.

The Cerny Brothers

The Cerny Brothers are “a group without any trendy gimmicks, a lead banjo player strumming with the same vigor as if on the electric guitar and simplistic lyrics delivered with strength (Buzzbands.LA).” This year (2016) marks the release of their new album “Sleeping Giant,” which they recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Seattle with producers Jerry Streeter and Ryan Hadlock, who are known for their work with Brandi Carlile and The Lumineers. The songs on “Sleeping Giant” deal with becoming a man and finding identity in a constantly changing world, staying rooted in something that can be shaken but not moved, and realizing that we all have a sleeping giant inside of us waiting to be set free.

The Radial Conservatory

An immersive world of light and sound, The Radial Conservatory is comprised of artists and composers who seek not to perform or display their own art but rather assemble into an entirely different space – a space where people can step out of the everyday to engage their imaginations and connect with something deeper, something quieter within them.

Aidan Kassis

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media. This year, Southern Word will serve over 5,000 youth through programs in 8 Tennessee counties, in almost every public Nashville high school, on four Middle Tennessee public college campuses, and in a large number of Nashville Public Library branches.

Amelia Eisenhauer

16 year old American Idol Season XV finalist Amelia Eisenhauer moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams of becoming a recording artist. She is currently a senior at Nashville School of the Arts and spends her time recording and touring with her band. Amelia plans to attend Belmont University.

Benjamin Smith

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media. This year, Southern Word will serve over 5,000 youth through programs in 8 Tennessee counties, in almost every public Nashville high school, on four Middle Tennessee public college campuses, and in a large number of Nashville Public Library branches.

Caroline Khalil

Caroline Khalil is Vice President of Strategy and Program Management for Healthways Network Solutions business. In this role, Khalil guides the overall strategic direction of the fitness and well-being solutions tailored for mature populations. Leading the division’s pinnacle program, SilverSneakers® Fitness, Khalil is responsible for innovative efforts and program development. She is focused on continuing to meet the needs of the changing marketplace, as the Baby Boomer generation transitions into the older American demographic.Khalil also leads key product enhancements, including commercial fitness programming and Healthways WholeHealth Living, an affinity network which provides access to the nation’s largest system of health and wellness practitioners.

Casey Bennett

Casey Bennett is the Chief Scientific Officer for Faros Healthcare. He received his PhD from the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University. His work focuses on artificial intelligence in healthcare, including the areas of robotics, machine learning, clinical decision support, and personalized medicine. He was the lead designer for Centerstone’s award-winning organization-wide analytics platform (2010 TDWI Best Practices Award) and the national Knowledge Network Data Warehouse, the largest ongoing clinical mental health data repository in the country. His work has also been featured as part of IBM’s “Smarter Planet” campaign. He is currently working on projects using artificial intelligence to augment clinical decision-making in chronic illness, as well as utilizing in-home robots for therapeutic purposes with elderly patients.

Dave Vigerust

Dr. Dave Vigerust earned his BS degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in Biology and Chemistry, a MS degree in Immunology and Microbiology from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in infectious disease first at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and second at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After completing his fellowships in 2009, he joined the faculty of the Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology Department at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and was concurrently a Health Research Scientist for the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Vigerust currently maintains an Adjunct Assistant Professor postion at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Department of Neurological Surgery. In 2014 he joined MyGenetx Clinical Laboratory as the Chief Scientific Officer and directs the scientific and educational missions of the lab.

Donato Tramuto

Donato J. Tramuto is the founder of Physicians Interactive Holdings, now Aptus Health, a global provider of insight­ driven digital engagement solutions for healthcare professionals and consumers. Tramuto also founded Health eVillages, a non­profit organization which provides state-­of-the­-art mobile health technology to medical professionals in the most challenging clinical environments. In addition, he is the Chairman and Founder of the Tramuto Foundation. In 2014, Tramuto was honored alongside Hillary Clinton, Robert DeNiro, and Tony Bennett, with the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the College of Fine Arts at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Tramuto serves on the Boston University School of Public Health, Brown University Healthcare Leadership Board, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights Europe, and the York Community Hospital Board of Trustees.

Dr. Jeffrey Balser

Dr. Jeffrey R. Balser, a '84 engineering graduate of Tulane University and a '90 graduate of the Vanderbilt MD/PhD program in pharmacology, undertook residency training in anesthesiology and fellowship training in critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins, and joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins in '95. Dr. Balser returned to Vanderbilt in ‘98, serving as Associate Dean for Physician Scientists. From 2001-2004, he served as the Gwathmey Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. Later, he served as the medical center’s chief research officer. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. Since 2009, he has been dean of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. Dr. Balser oversees one of the nation’s fully integrated academic health centers (AHCs), including nearly $4 billion in annual revenue, and 20,000 employees.

Dwan Hill

A musician known for his lively songs and quirky style, Dwan Hill delivers a sound that is wonderfully nostalgic, yet refreshing. His passion for creativity and adventure began at an early age with a love for the piano and continues today through worldwide tours, prestigious recording sessions, and numerous accolades and awards. Beyond excelling in his collegiate studies with degrees in Music Education (Bachelors) and Music Composition (Masters) at Belmont University, Dwan performs regularly with Grammy Award winners Jonny Lang and CeCe Winans, as well as Melinda Doolittle (American Idol), Janice Gaines (Motown Records), and many others.

Ella Al-Shamahi

National Geographic Explorer and stand­up comic Ella Al-Shamahi is a hilarious paleoanthropologist who specializes in Neanderthals. Much of her work involves fossil hunting in caves in dangerous locations such as Yemen. Ella uses comedy as both a coping strategy for the darker side of her work as well as to communicate science to people in engaging, unexpected ways. She holds degrees from Imperial College London/the Natural History Museum in London and University College London where she is undertaking her PhD. She is currently waiting for the worst of the war in Yemen to end so she can resume the search for Paleolithic caves there, to test a theory that early humans may have migrated out of Africa via land bridges between East Africa and Yemen and to test whether Neanderthals went that far south.

George McGraw

George McGraw wants to change the way you think about water. George founded and operates the DIGDEEP Right to Water Project in Los Angeles (http://www.digdeep.org/). DIGDEEP brings sustainable, clean water to communities around the world, while helping young Americans use their own resources more intelligently. DIGDEEP is also the only global organization bringing clean water to the 1.7 million Americans who still live without it. George is a contributor to the Huffington Post, and has been profiled by NPR, Vice, the New York Times and CBS News and has spoken at events hosted by the Clinton Foundation, TEDx, the World YMCA and Ford Motors. He was recently named one of the 100 global Magis fellows by Alpha Sigma Nu and an “Under 40” by Rare.us. George has a graduate degree in International Law from the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. Previously, he worked for several foreign governments and consulted for the U.N. Development Programme in Afghanistan.

Kelly Holley-Bockelmann

Kelly Holley‐Bockelmann is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Vanderbilt University, where she joined the faculty in 2007. She received her B.S. in Physics at Montana State University and her PhD in Astronomy in 1999 at the University of Michigan. After her PhD, she did postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Massachusetts. In 2004, she joined the Center for Gravitational Wave Physics at The Pennsylvania State University. She is a recipient of a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation , is a Vanderbilt Chancellor Faculty Fellow, and her work has also been supported by NASA. Dr. Holley ­Bockelmann’s research on growing supermassive black holes and rogue black holes have been featured in many online and print media outlets, though she still gets a bit nervous talking to the press.

Kiran Singh Sirah

Kiran Singh Sirah is President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC), an educational and cultural institution dedicated to enriching the lives of people around the world through storytelling. ISC organizes the world’s premiere storytelling event, the National Storytelling Festival, and supports applied storytelling initiatives across a wide variety of industries. Prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran developed a number of award-­winning peace-building programs in cultural centers across the UK. As an artist, folklorist, teacher, and advocate for social justice, he has used the power of human creativity to establish dialogue. An advisory member to UNESCO and a Rotary Peace fellow, he has developed educational programs and publications, articles, talks and conference papers about interdisciplinary approaches to relationship building in communities and around the globe.

Leslie Garcia

Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media. This year, Southern Word will serve over 5,000 youth through programs in 8 Tennessee counties, in almost every public Nashville high school, on four Middle Tennessee public college campuses, and in a large number of Nashville Public Library branches.

Lia Barrett

Lia Barrett is a Korean born, North Carolina raised professional underwater photographer. After completing university at Parsons School of Design in New York in 2007, Lia has been on a continual pursuit of travel and adventure. From her deep­ sea work in a homemade submarine off of Roatán, Honduras, to shooting world record holding free divers, Lia has embraced the underwater world as her ultimate sanctuary. Lia is the Photo Editor of Dive Photo Guide, the definitive source for underwater photography. She is also the co­founder and Creative Director of Prawno Apparel, an ocean­-minded apparel company that draws designs directly from Lia’s photographs. She has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the front page of the New York Times, BBC, CNN, Time, Huffington Post, Playboy, Men’s Journal and 60 Minutes. She has sat on several underwater photography judging panels, and finds great pleasure in encouraging other photographers to grow and develop their craft.

Neil Spector

Dr. Neil Spector is the author of “Gone in a Heartbeat: A Physician’s Search for True Healing.” Neil Spector, MD, is also the Sandra Coates Associate Professor of Medicine, and Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Developmental Therapeutics at the Duke Cancer Institute. In addition, Dr. Spector is on the Advisory Boards for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, Global Lyme Alliance and the Dean Center for Lyme Disease Rehab at the Spaulding Rehab Hospital, Harvard Medical School. After attending medical school and fulfilling his internal medicine residency a the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Spector completed his hematology medical oncology training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.

Nooshin Razani

Dr. Nooshin Razani has devoted her career to preserving natural spaces and improving human health through nature. She studied pediatrics and public health at the University of California at San Francisco and Harvard. She was trained as a Nature Champion by the National Environmental Education Fund & the US Bureau of Fish and Wildlife, and spent years working with the San Francisco Department of Public Health on a park prescription pilot. In 2012 she was a Senior Fellow at the Institute at the Golden Gate, a program of the National Parks. Since 2012, she has worked with East Bay Regional Parks District and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland (UBCHO) on finding ways nature can relieve stress in low-income communities, and recently completed a clinical trial evaluating their program SHINE (Stay Healthy In Nature Everyday). She currently directs the Center for Nature and Health at UBCHO.

P.J. Tobia

P.J. Tobia is a Foreign Affairs Producer at PBS NewsHour, covering the Middle East, Africa the intelligence and diplomatic community. He is also the host and producer of NewsHour’s Shortwave podcast, on the intersection of foreign affairs and American life. Prior to joining NewsHour, he lived and worked in Afghanistan covering Afghan politics, life and the U.S.­led war. His work appeared in major American and European print, television and radio outlets.

Sam Nana-Sinkam

Working out of New York City, Sam oversees mobile strategy for Google’s specialty retailers in the US. In this role, he consults with companies on all things mobile ranging from site/app design, to advertising strategies, and even analytics. In addition to his work at Google, Sam has a deep passion for how our digital knowledge can improve lives in developing areas as he invests personal time with infrastructure projects in Africa.

Seth Winner

Seth Winner is a structural innovator obsessing over three dimensional textiles. Building off the understanding that a textile is more than a decorated surface, he explores the possibility of the textile as a functional construction. By subverting the use of digital textile technology, interlaced yarns can be coerced into three dimensional shapes that solve engineering problems. These problems have included how to give the body a scaffold on which to regrow an artery or trachea or how to weave a bridge or house. Seth joined Secant Group in 2011, bringing more than 15 years of experience in textile design and development. With a focus on jacquard and dobby woven textile structures, Seth has invented several new textile technologies, with several patents pending. In his tenure at Secant Group, Winner has developed many successful woven, knitted and braided structures for medical implants and technical textiles.

Stephen Mansfield

Stephen Mansfield is a New York Times bestselling author who first rose to global attention with his groundbreaking book, The Faith of George W. Bush, a bestseller that Time magazine credited with helping to shape the 2004 U.S. presidential election. He has written celebrated biographies of Barak Obama, Booker T. Washington, George Whitefield, Winston Churchill, Pope Benedict XVI, and Abraham Lincoln, among others. Mansfield’s latest book, The Miracle of the Kurds, is a timely introduction to the Kurdish people that reached bookstores just as Kurdish troops began standing heroically against the evils of ISIS in the Middle East. The book has been named “Book of the Year” by Rudaw, the leading Kurdish news service.

Steve Keller

Steve Keller is CEO of iV and iV2, audio brand consultancies based in Nashville and Frankfurt. He’s recognized as one of the leading experts in the field of audio branding, channeling his passion for art and science into award winning strategy and creative for a long list of global agencies and brands. With a head for data and a heart for sonic expression, he’s an in demand speaker, sharing his insights at international conferences (MIDEM, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Eurobest, Dubai Lynx, Transform Hong Kong, Transform London), professional organizations (AMA, AAF, Audio Branding Academy) and universities. Steve has a degree in Psychology, which is one of the reasons he’s survived over 25 years in the music industry as a producer, remixer, composer, independent label executive, music publisher and manager.

Susan Carter

Susan Carter is the Administrative Director at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt’s Osher Center was the very first center for integrative medicine at an academic institution to become operationally financially viable, and Susan’s center continues to lead the way in the worldwide movement towards an integrative medicine approach.Susan received her bachelors degree from Wake Forest University, and a Masters of Management in Health Care from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.Susan serves on the Advisory Council for the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. In 2011 she helped to launch and served as co-chair of the Business sub-committee of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (ACIMH), and became Treasurer of the organization in 2014. In 2013, she received a Health Care Hero award from the Nashville Business Journal.

Tracy Jackson

Dr. Tracy Jackson completed training in anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina, where she served as chief resident. She also completed a fellowship in chronic pain management at Stanford. At Vanderbilt University she created and directed their pain fellowship. She quickly learned that the epidemic that is the leading cause of accidental death in Tennessee and the USA isn’t an infectious disease – it is opioid overdose. She has co-authored guidelines for responsible opioid prescribing in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Health and is on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Pain Society. She is also certified in medical acupuncture and yoga, and worked closely with the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt to better understand “alternative” methods to deal with chronic pain. She works within Vanderbilt to develop new interdisciplinary functional rehabilitation programs. She’s also recently founded “Relief Retreats” for living beyond pain.