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).

Harris Theater
4400 University Dr.
Fairfax, Virginia, 22030
United States

Changwoo Ahn

Associate Professor in Environmental Science and Policy (George Mason University)

Changwoo Ahn is an Associate Professor in Environmental Science and Policy, and an affiliated faculty member with Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering and Biology at GMU. Ahn is a wetland ecosystem ecologist and an ecological engineer. He teaches Wetland Ecology and Management, Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis, Ecological Sustainability, Ecological Engineering and Ecosystem Restoration. To date, Ahn has published over 100 peer-reviewed abstracts and journal articles, authored several book chapters, and been serving as a book editor for Ecological Engineering-the Journal of Ecosystem Restoration. Ahn is a founder and director of the EcoScience + Art at GMU, a new interdisciplinary initiative started in 2013 to bring together individuals working across the boundaries of ecosystem science, engineering, art, and design fields.

David Anderson

Professor and Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Health, School of Recreation, Health and Tourism (George Mason University)

David Anderson, Ph.D. serves as a Professor and Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Health, School of Recreation, Health and Tourism, College of Education and Human Development, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He serves as project director and researcher on numerous national, state and local projects, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on drug and alcohol issues, community health, and health communications; conducts needs assessments; prepares evaluation and analysis; and assists with strategic planning. Specialty areas include drug/alcohol abuse prevention, strategic planning and mobilization, communication and education, health promotion, and needs assessment and evaluation.

Kevin Murray

Program Manager and Performance Faculty - School of Theater (George Mason University)

Kevin Murray is Program Manager and Performance Faculty member for the School of Theater at Mason. He is also the founder and manager of STEAM at Mason. Comprised of over 100 individuals and representing over 30 organizations, the STEAM at Mason’s mission is to raise national awareness of the importance of arts in education in order to stimulate creative thinking and discovery for the 21st century. Since its inception in 2013, the STEAM at Mason acts as a clearinghouse of information and shared resources, a producer and presenter of events, and one of several points of contact at George Mason University focused on the relationship between the Arts and Sciences, Art and Technology, and Arts in Education.

Linda Monson

Managing Director of the School of Music (George Mason University)

Linda Apple Monson is an International Steinway Artist and a recent honoree of the 2014 Influential Women of Virginia award. Named a Distinguished Service Professor of Music at George Mason University, Dr. Monson was honored as the George Mason University 2012 Faculty Member of the Year. An active international concert artist, lecturer, and master class clinician, Dr. Monson has given solo piano recitals, lecture-recitals, and piano master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. An advocate of new music, she has presented numerous solo piano world premieres.

Manjula Dissanayake

Founding Executive Director of Educate Lanka

Manjula Dissanayake is the founding Executive Director of Educate Lanka, an international non-profit social enterprise focused on enhancing access to quality education and employment for the socioeconomically marginalized children and youth in Sri Lanka. Born and raised in Kandy, Sri Lanka, Manjula completed his primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka. He moved to the U.S. at the age of 19 to pursue his higher education. Manjula completed his bachelor’s in finance from the University of Maryland in 2005 and a master’s in international development and social entrepreneurship from The Fletcher School at Tufts University in 2012.

Nadine Kabbani

Assistant Professor, Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study

Nadine Kabbani, PhD is a group leader at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study and an Assistant Professor of Molecular Neuroscience at George Mason University. Her research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor signaling in the developing and regenerating nervous system. Her lab explores the role of acetylcholine in synapse formation and maturation during early life stages using high resolution live cell imaging, genetics, and proteomics.

Paul Rogers

Associate Professor & Chair English Department (George Mason University)

Paul M. Rogers is an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair of English at George Mason University. Since 2011, he has also served as a Senior Scholar for the George Mason University Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. An innovative and interdisciplinary leader, Professor Rogers has led a variety of initiatives focused on advancing social entrepreneurship in close partnership with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. His recent publications include: “Why Curricular Advances in Social Entrepreneurship Education Matter” (2014), and the co-edited books “International Advances in Writing Research: Cultures, Places, and Measures” (2012); “Writing Across the Curriculum: A Critical Sourcebook” (2011): and, “Traditions of Writing Research” (2010).

Rebecca Kamen

Professor Emeritus of Art at Northern Virginia Community College

Rebecca Kamen’s work explores the nexus of art and science informed by wide-ranging research into cosmology, history, philosophy, and various scientific fields. She has investigated scientific rare books and manuscripts at the libraries of the American Philosophical Society, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and most recently the Cajal Institute in Madrid, utilizing these significant scientific collections as a catalyst in the creation of her work.