Theme: Genius Loves Company

TEDxConnecticutCollege was founded in 2012 with the theme Rethinking Progress—begging each of our 12 speakers to answer the question: “What is real progress?” In 2013 the theme for TEDxConnecticutCollege was On the Shoulders of Giants, blending together concepts of collaboration with historical perspectives. Our conference this year will begin at 10:00 am, finish at 5:00 pm, and will feature between fifteen and twenty speakers and performers, all discussing their work and experiences within the scope of our theme, Not All Who Wander are Lost. Working within TED’s spirit of sharing ideas, we are unable to compensate our speakers for their time on stage. Over the course of the weekend andevent, however, you will be a guest of TEDxConnecticutCollege and all your transportation, lodging, and meals will be provided to your liking.

Evans Hall
270 Mohegan Avenue Parkway
New London, Connecticut, 06320
United States

Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation

Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation/Connecticut College Partnership

Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation and Connecticut College (EPTN/CC) partnership was established in 2012 as a Community Based Learning and Research program. It brings together tribal members and students in a seminar, Genocide and Resistance, where the partners engage in dialogue on the issues faced by the nation and develop collaborative programs to address the Nation’s self identified needs. Our goals are to build community with the tribal nation and the college based on respect, equality and reciprocity. And, through mutually supportive dialogue, service and research, empower the nation while enhancing the teaching and learning experience of all participants through activist pedagogies that advance positive social change.

Ali Rice

Ali Rice is a Connecticut College senior studying International Relations with a concentration in human rights. She is the Vice President of Slavery Ends Today, a trip leader for the Outdoors Club, a tour guide, and a research assistant for Professor Borer. She was lucky enough to grow up at New View Cohousing, an intentional community neighborhood forty minutes outside of Boston. Her wonderful blended and extended family have all helped teach her about the multiplicities of emotional vulnerability. In particular, being an identical twin has shaped her experience of extreme empathy and emotional vulnerability. Hoping to practice vulnerability in every aspect of her life, she plans to one day pursue a law degree and work in the field of human rights.

Bruce Elfstrom

Bruce Elfström is a biologist by training, and an explorer and outdoorsman by profession. Born to an American documentary filmmaker father, and Swedish writer and UN employee mother, Bruce was born in New England and called home places ranging from Beirut Lebanon and coastal Maine. Logger, commercial fisherman, zookeeper and more, he established Overland Experts LLC, an expedition training business, in the late 1990 creating a job that allowed him to keep the adventure going. He first became aware of Mongolia’s desertification and conservation problems on a trip to the Mongolian steppe in 2006. Discovering several families still using original. While spending most of his working time training groups as diverse as Navy Seals to Red Cross, Bruce began a non-profit organization after running an IMAX film in Mongolia. Bruce founded Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project in 2011 to put his varied knowledge to practical use.

Christopher Steiner

Christopher Steiner is the Lucy C. McDannel '22 Professor of Art History Chair of Art History and Architectural Studies Director of the Museum Studies Program at Connecticut College. Christopher Steiner teaches a range of interdisciplinary courses in art history, anthropology and museum studies. His classes cover topics on the traditional and contemporary arts of Africa; on the visual representation of race and ethnic identity in art and film; on the history of museums and on recent museum debates and controversies; and on kitsch or "bad" art emerging from the margins, cracks and corners of the canonical art world. From http://www.conncoll.edu/directories/faculty-profiles/christopher-steiner/

David Kim

David Kyuman Kim is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and a member of the Associated Faculty in the Program in American Studies at Connecticut College, where he was also serves as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. A cultural critic, philosopher of religion, and scholar of race, Kim has published widely and speaks on college campuses across the country. In addition to his scholarly work, he conducted the major dialogue forum Rites and Responsibilities on authority, sovereignty, and the public life of religion for the SSRC. Kim is the author of Melancholic Freedom: Agency and the Spirit of Politics (Oxford 2007). He co-edited The Post-secular in Question (NYU Press 2012) and Race, Religion, and Late Democracy, a special issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. With John L. Jackson, Jr., Kim co-edits the Stanford University Press series RaceReligion. Kim’s current book project is The Public Life of Love.

David Rau

David Rau has been the Director of Education & Outreach at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme since 1998. Most recently, Rau played a key role in the reinterpretation of the Griswold House as a boardinghouse for the Lyme Art Colony. Rau has initiated a broad array of new educational programming at the Museum, designed to promote active, experiential and life-long learning opportunities for a diverse audiences. Rau holds a Master’s degree in the History of Art and a Certificate in Museum Practice from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Rau has held positions at Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan; and The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire. He is also an adjunct instructor at Connecticut College where he teaches in the Museum Studies program offering classes on museum education and house museums.

Jerry Davis

Jerry Davis

Jerry Davis has been a leading producer in family entertainment for over 20 years. Starting out under the mentorship of legendary Broadway impresario Alexander H. Cohen, Davis produced numerous successful off-Broadway shows and collaborated with talents as diverse as Charles Busch and Sid and Marty Krofft. In Los Angeles, Davis joined Walt Disney Studios in 1992 as the production executive on Disney/Pixar’s TOY STORY. Recruited to Warner Bros.’ nascent feature animation division, Davis acquired IRON GIANT and assembled the movie that became Brad Bird’s first feature and a cult favorite. Returning to his beloved New York, Davis began his long association with Blue Sky Studios, helping build it into the largest animation studio on the east coast. His credits include ICE AGE, ROBOTS, and EPIC, all released by Twentieth Century Fox.

Onasis Parungao

Ramzi Kaiss

Ramzi Kaiss and is a Philosophy and International Relations student at Connecticut College. Born and raised in Beirut, he developed a deep interest in learning about the different countries and cultures of the world. Kaiss greatly enjoy discussions of Human Rights, Philosophy, Music, and Film. And at Connecticut College, he is involved with the Student Government, Honor Council, and the Amnesty International Club.

Robert Safian

Robert Safian is editor-in-chief and managing director of the influential, award-winning business magazine Fast Company and its digital and live-event affiliates. He oversees all editorial operations and plays a key role in guiding the enterprise’s advertising, marketing, and consumer-engagement efforts. Under Safian’s leadership, Fast Company has received numerous accolades, including the highly coveted National Magazine Award for Magazine of the Year in 2014. Named Editor of the Year by Adweek in 2009, Safian has also served as an executive editor for Time and Fortune and headed Money as its chief editor for six-years.

Stephen Hallquest

Stephen Hallquest has a background in education associated with Christian life, career development and other life skills. He has a history of community organizing, educational programming, and project fulfillment. He is currently a postal assistant at Connecticut College

Walker Cammack

Walker Cammack is an environmental studies and ethnobotany double major at Connecticut College. He grew up in Baltimore, but spends his free time in the outdoors, whether it be hiking in Alaska, fishing in the Eastern United States, or foraging for wild mushrooms in the Northeast. Walker spends his summers in the Adirondacks, where he sells wild mushrooms and other foraged ingredients to chefs. He plans on starting his wild foods company, Walker's Goods From The Woods, this upcoming summer.