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).

2301 Vanderbilt Place
Sarratt Cinema
Nashville, Tennessee, 37235
United States

Akaninyene Ruffin

Senior at Vanderbilt University

I am a sister. I am a believer. I am a nurturer. I am a student. I am a visionary. I am a dreamer. I am imperfections. I am confusion. I am striving. I am a constellation of life moments. I am remnants of legacies I am.

Alice Li

Sophomore at Vanderbilt University with a major in neuroscience and a minor in music performance

Originally from Kentucky, Alice Li is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University. She is pursuing a major in neuroscience and a minor in music performance. In 2015, she was honored as a United States Presidential Scholar and as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship recipient. Outside of class, she enjoys cooking, playing piano, writing articles for the student newspaper, conducting research in a psychology lab, and participating in cross-cultural organizations. Her diverse interests stem from a desire to both create and exchange ideas with others, and she is passionate about exploring the intersection of academic disciplines and personal stories.

Lexie Garrity

Junior, Vanderbilt University with a major in Medicine, Health, and Society

A native of the coastal town of Montara, California, Lexie Garrity is a junior at Vanderbilt University. She divides her time between her studies in premed as a Medicine, Health and Society Major; her office as club co-president of the Disabilities Awareness Partnership (DAP); the Vanderbilt Club Soccer Team; her membership in Pi Beta Phi; as well as other work, and internships. Lexie is honored to talk about learning disabilities in the context of improving student-professor communication. Additionally, she hopes to motivate others who have been diagnosed with a disability to pursue their educational and professional dreams. Lexie knows she would not have achieved what she has to this day without her diagnosis in her senior year of high school, and the subsequent support of professors, family, and friends.

Queen Stevenson

Senior, Vanderbilt University with a major in Communication Studies

A senior in the College of Arts and Science and a Nashville native, Queen Stevenson has been a natural and nuanced storyteller since she could remember. She is a Communication Studies major and served as Opinion Editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler from 2015-2016. A lover of books, good conversation and the beauty of language, Queen is ecstatic to be a 2016 TedxVanderbiltUniversity speaker, ending her Vandy career by learning from her peers and sharing what she’s learned about leadership over the past four years.

Richard Galvez

Postdoctoral Fellow in Astronomy and Physics

Dr. Richard Galvez is a Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of Astronomy and Physics at Vanderbilt and Fisk University. He received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 2015 in Theoretical Physics with a focus on Cosmology and Particle Physics. Before this he completed a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Physics from Florida International University in Miami, FL, his hometown. Richard’s research focuses on the possible particle physics and cosmology connections of Dark Matter. Richard is also a passionate supporter of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge program, which aims to increase the representation of traditionally marginalized groups in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. On his free time, Richard also composes electronic music and is a strong supporter of the Python programming language, open source software and open access science. His long term goals include being selected to become a NASA Astronaut and increasing access to knowledge.

Victoria Scott

student at Vanderbilt University

Born and raised on an angus cattle farm outside of Lexington Kentucky, Victoria grew up outdoors, fostering a love of nature that led her work as a research assistant in the Abbot lab investigating gene flow in genetically modified carrots. Additionally, Victoria works on campus as a research assistant in the Tong lab investigating visual perception and attention at the primary visual cortex level. Victoria’s past summers have been spent working as a medical volunteer in Trujillo, Peru the summer after her freshman year and as a full time research assistant in the Abbot lab this past summer. In her free time on campus, Victoria likes to squirrel watch and cheer on Vanderbilt as they beat her hometown favorite, the University of Kentucky, in every sport. Victoria intends to pursue a career in medicine and fulfill her ultimate goal of becoming a psychiatrist in hopes to help young adults manage and eliminate mental health issues.