Theme: Innovation at an Intersection

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).

El Paso Museum of Art
One Arts Ferstival Plaza
El Paso, Texas, 79901
United States

James Magee interviewed by Adair Margo

With no formal education in the applied arts, James Magee committed to making sculpture full-time in 1971 upon graduating from law school. Thirty-five years ago via Paris and New York, and after much searching, he arrived in Juárez/El Paso to find a site for what he would later refer to as The Hill. Since arriving, he has spent his life working on his project, which lies one hour and twenty minutes east of El Paso in Hudspeth County. The Hill Of James Magee has received support and acknowledgement nationally and internationally.

Beto O'Rourke

Beto O’Rourke is an entrepreneur and politician. In the Democratic Primary for the 16th Congressional District, he ran against an eight-term incumbent U.S. Congressman, and won the election in November of 2012. Prior to his congressional service, Congressman O’Rourke served two terms on the El Paso City Council, notably as one of the youngest representatives to have ever served in that capacity. A fourth-generation Irish American and a native of El Paso, he has been deeply involved in civic, business, and community efforts in his hometown. In Congress, his committee assignments include the House Armed Services Committee (Subcommittee on Readiness, Subcommittee on Military Personnel), and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (O&I), Subcommittee on Health). Congressman O’Rourke is a graduate of Columbia University. He is married to Amy Sanders, who owns and runs their company, Stanton Street, and they have three children together.

Brad Bryan

Dr. Brad A. Bryan is a cancer biologist, businessman, and military reserve officer who lives in El Paso, Texas. He is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Science Center-El Paso and is co-founder of Minerva Genetics, a next generation DNA sequencing clinical diagnostics company. He has earned a PhD in Medical Sciences from Texas A&M Health Sciences Center, a MBA from University of Massachusetts, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Dr. Bryan has received international acclaim and formal recognition for his laboratory’s discoveries on neurohormone signaling in cancer, has authored over 40 scientific publications and book chapters, holds a biomarker patent, and has maintained uninterrupted grant funding throughout his academic career. Dr. Bryan is dedicated not only to biomedical research, but also to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Brandon Bailey Johnson

Brandon Bailey Johnson is an extraordinary 14-year-old multi-instrumentalist, producer, and arranger, with a charismatic personality, and an impressive stage presence. He composed, arranged, produced, and performed all the live instruments, served as his own sound engineer, and supervised the mixing and mastering process for his debut album My Journey. It was recorded at his home-based studio, ReddOak Records, LLC, and was released in February 2015. On February 21, 2015, Mr. Johnson was officially recognized as the Guinness World Records Youngest Professional Music Producer. He has written and composed over 35 songs and is presently producing four artists. His latest album, Memories is scheduled for release in the fall of 2016. He practices kindness in his community through his Keep Reading Writing and ROCKIN literacy campaign by visiting local schools, relief agencies, and non-profits to offer words – and songs – of encouragement, and to remind everyone to be kind to each other.

Don Shalvey

Don Shalvey is a Deputy Director for K-12 Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to joining the foundation, he was the founder and CEO of Aspire Public Schools, and has spent the past 40 years in public education. In 1992, Dr. Shalvey served as the Superintendent of San Carlos School District, where he sponsored the first charter school in California. In 1998, Dr. Shalvey and entrepreneur Reed Hastings co-founded Californians for Public School Excellence, a grassroots organization that led to the passage of the Charter Schools Act of 1998, which lifted the cap on the number of charter schools in the state. In 2002, the prestigious Ashoka Foundation recognized Dr. Shalvey as a Fellow for his outstanding work as a social entrepreneur. Dr. Shalvey earned a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership/Administration from the University of Southern California, a Master’s of Education in Counseling and Guidance from Gonzaga University, and a B.A. from LaSalle College.

Dori Fenenbock

Dori Fenenbock is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Tulsa Law School. She served as a legal intern for the 10th Circuit United States Court of Appeals and the Oklahoma Court of Appeals. Beginning in 1994, she established her own business in the design, manufacture, and delivery of retail packaging to nationwide clients. Ms. Fenenbock currently serves as President of the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees. She was the Assistant Secretary and Governance Chair of the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, the past President of the El Paso Jewish Academy, and currently serves as President of the Jewish Federation of El Paso. She is a graduate of Leadership El Paso Class 36, a Sustainer with the Junior League of El Paso, and served as Vice President of the Coronado High School PTSA. Ms. Fenenbock and her husband Mark have four children, all of whom attended EPISD.

Ersela Kripa

Ersela Kripa is a founding partner of AGENCY, an award-winning architectural research and design practice established in New York City in 2010. AGENCY tactically shapes urban and architectural ecologies to inform new ways of living, seeking out productive and unexpected anomalies within the urban context, and capitalizing on their potential through tactical interventions. Ms. Kripa is recipient of the 2010-2011 Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome as well as a highly selective MacDowell Colony residency fellowship in 2009 and 2013; the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship; and winner of the ONE Prize international urban design competition with AGENCY. Her work has been exhibited at the 12th Architectural Venice Biennale, the Hong Kong Shenzhen Urbanism Biennale, Sofia Architecture Week, Eme3 Barcelona, among others. Ms. Kripa has been named as an ‘Emerging Talent’ by Architect’s Newspaper in 2010.

Gerry Cichon

As CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP), the nation’s 14th largest and one of the highest-performing providers of affordable housing programs for low-income families, Gerry Cichon manages a $90 million budget that supports 325 employees, 6,100 public housing units, 5,700 Housing Choice Vouchers, and 2,400 tax credit and non-subsidized units that collectively house some 40,000 El Pasoans. Mr. Cichon is currently overseeing a $1 billion renovation of HACEP’s entire portfolio of aging public housing units as part of the agency’s participation in the U.S. HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration program. He is an experienced attorney who has a Master’s of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, a Juris Doctorate from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, and a Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Karen Bell

Karen Bell is Her Majesty’s Consul General. She took up her posting in Houston in July 2015. As Consul General, she has overall responsibility for leading the UK’s engagement in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Ms. Bell’s business priorities and responsibilities include developing political ties between the UK and the consular district; enhancing trade and investment partnerships; promoting science and innovation links; and supporting the delivery of consular services to the many British nationals who have made the region their home. A career diplomat, she joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the 1980s. Ms. Bell and her husband Adrian have two adult sons.

Miguel Fernandez

Miguel Fernandez is a native El Pasoan who grew up in the Paso del Norte Region. In 2001, he co-founded and is now the CEO of Transtelco, a bi-national telecommunications carrier. The company is one of a small number of service providers that covers both the U.S. and Mexico, providing voice and data services to Fortune 1000 companies, telecom and cable companies over a fiber optic network that spans 10,000KM between both countries. In 2006, he founded a real estate company in El Paso, focusing on developing downtown projects; in this scope the company is focused on commercial and hospitality developments. Mr. Fernandez has an extensive background in serving the region through various leadership positions. Mr. Fernandez earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Texas at El Paso in 1998.

Ogechika Alozie, MD

Ogechika Alozie (MD MPH CPHIMS) is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Infectious Diseases fellowship program. Prior to this he completed internship and residency at the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he got his introduction to Digital Health working on EPIC planning and implementations. Dr. Alozie is currently the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso). As CMIO he is responsible for providing leadership for physician education, acceptance, and usage of computerized technologies, particularly to improve patient care in line with The Triple Aim. He leads the collaborative process of enterprise stakeholders to develop the health IT vision for TTUHSC El Paso as it seeks to grow into a Clinically Integrated Organization (CIO). Dr. Alozie is also CEO of Sunset ID CARE, an HIV and HCV treatment clinic in El Paso, Texas.

Patrick Hanlon

Patrick Hanlon is founder and CEO of Thinktopia®, a strategic branding and social engagement group. His books “Primal Branding” and “The Social Code” are in several languages and taught around the world. Mr. Hanlon looks at brands not as logo and website, but as a belief system that attracts others who share those beliefs. This creates a community of believers, advocates, users—a “tribe”. Mr. Hanlon has been guest speaker at IDEO, NYU, American Marketing Association, Parsons School of Design, FIT, Hyundai, and has written for, and/or been quoted in, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Advertising Age, as well as on NPR and other online radio shows and podcasts. His book Primal Branding is mandatory reading within YouTube, the largest social engagement platform on the planet. He has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, and takes part in the TV Documentary Series “The Kennedys.”

Patrick Schaefer

Patrick Schaefer is the Executive Director of the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness, an economic development think tank located at The University of Texas at El Paso that focuses on the transboundary, Paso del Norte region. Prior to founding the Institute, Mr. Schaefer held positions with the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., where he advised client-states on legal reforms to improve their commercial and financial sectors. In particular, his work centers on the comparative commercial, financial, and natural resource laws within the Ibero-American context, with a special emphasis on Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. He received his J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law and his LL.M. from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Woody Hunt

Woody Hunt is Executive Chairman of Hunt Companies, Inc. Hunt graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin, subsequently receiving his MBA in Finance from UT. He also earned an MA Degree in Management from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont. His passion is education, and he has served or is serving on numerous Boards and Committees for the advancement of education in El Paso and the state. He served as Chairman of The University of Texas System Board of Regents and The University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO). Mr. Hunt is a member of the Board of Visitors of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center-Houston; Chairman of the Borderplex Alliance in El Paso and a member of the Board of Directors for El Paso Electric (Nasdaq: EE) and WestStar Bank. Mr. Hunt also serves as Chairman of the Hunt Family Foundation, a private family foundation he and his wife Gayle established in 1987.