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).

Point Loma Nazarene University
3900 Lomaland Dr.
San Diego, California, 92106
United States

April Maskiewicz

April Maskiewicz, Ph.D. TEDxPLNU Point Loma Nazarene University Associate Professor, Biology Director, University Now Program After teaching high school biology from 1990–1999, April Cordero Maskiewicz returned to college to earn her doctorate in Math and Science Education from the biological and natural sciences departments at UCSD and SDSU, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at UCSD in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Now, as a biology professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, April’s research focuses on developing more effective approaches for teaching introductory ecology and evolution that are grounded in the learning sciences literature. April is deeply committed to helping students and the church engage in meaningful conversations that bridge the science and religion divide. She also helps to educate and empower first generation college students as the Director of the University NOW program.

David Adey

David Adey is a PLNU alum and Professor of Art and Design. He began his career in graphic design working for clients such as Intel, Pepsi, Nike, Qualcomm, Taylor Guitars, Hasbro and Universal Studios. His more recent cut-paper works explore the fraught intersection between our physical bodies and the increasingly digitized world they inhabit. His sculpture has been exhibited at The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Orange County Museum of Art, Torrance Art Museum, Cranbrook Art Museum and galleries and venues nationally and internationally. His Hide series was selected for the “State of The Art, Discovering American Art Now” exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This exhibition is currently touring nationally and will open in February at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Hadley Wood

Professor, French and Literature Point Loma Nazarene University Raised in St. Louis, MO, educated in New England, living in California for many years with her late Oklahoma husband, and frequently visiting France, Hadley Wood considers herself appropriately eclectic and eccentric, if not downright funky. Being at a small Christian liberal arts establishment has not always allowed her to teach her specialization of 16th and 17th century French literature. Instead, she developed language teaching skills (she published a text with Houghton Mifflin) and some familiarity with Children’s Literature, World Drama, Michel Foucault and Literary Criticism. Such a disparate teaching assignment has been unified by an abiding fascination with teaching itself and with determining how to make specific material and skills accessible to as many students as possible.

Jamie Gates

Jamie Gates, M.Div., Ph.D., serves Point Loma Nazarene University as Professor of cultural anthropology and as the Director of the university’s Center for Justice and Reconciliation (www.pointloma.edu/cjr). Having been raised in and studied apartheid South Africa, Jamie continues to focus on justice and reconciliation as a central concern. Working for the sake of human trafficking survivors has become an important part of Jamie’s life. He co-lead the National Institute of Justice research project “Measuring the Extent and Nature of Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking in the San Diego/Tijuana Border Region” (2013–2016). He co-chairs the Research and Data Committee of the San Diego County Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and CSEC. He directs the San Diego Human Trafficking Research and Data Advisory Roundtable (HT-RADAR). He mentors campus organizers against human trafficking and serves as organizer with numerous national and local organizations.

Ted Vickey

Adjunct Professor, Kinesiology Masters Program Point Loma Nazarene University Ted Vickey is the Founder & President of FitWell, Inc., a fitness consulting company specializing in innovation and emerging technology. He is also currently completing a Ph.D. in Engineering, focusing on interdisciplinary research within exercise science, technology, and social networking at the National University of Ireland at Galway. He is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Exercise, the largest non-profit accredited certification organization in the fitness industry. He has also consulted with companies and organizations such as the White House, Department of Commerce, Securities and Exchange Commission, Fruit of the Loom, TSA, Sylvania, and Allied Irish Bank.