Theme: TEDxSFU: Take the Leap

Take The Leap is about what it means to step outside the parameters of familiarity and explore unchartered ideas and spaces.
We pursue the unknown because it brings a strong tremor to our knees but a far stronger fervour to our hearts. Doubts placed upon us do not hinder our performance, but only motivate us to venture further and surpass preconceived notions of our potential.

TEDxSFU 2016 encourages the community to acknowledge fear, embrace uncertainty, and conquer unconventionally extraordinary aspirations. Each speaker has seized their individual endeavours and molded them into their own distinct visions; however one thing unifies them: their decision to take the leap.

600 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 2P1
Canada

Alexa Mazzarello

Visual Storyteller

Alexa Mazzarello is a Vancouver-based freelance photographer and visual storyteller. In 2015, she created BodyThoughts, a multimedia experience that aims to ignite new conversations about body truths for content creators.

Alissa Antle

Scholar and Inventor

Dr. Antle pushes the boundaries of computation to expand the ways we think and learn. As a designer and builder of interactive technologies, her goal is to explore the way in which these innovations can improve, augment, and support children’s development. Her interactive technologies have been deployed to facilitate collaborative learning about aboriginal heritage, sustainability and social justice; improve learning outcomes for dyslexic children; and teach self-regulation to disadvantaged children.

Dan Lok

Millionaire-Mentor

Dan Lok - http://www.danlok.com - is a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, an international best-selling author and is one of the highest-paid and most-in-demand consultants in the luxury and high-ticket space. Dan spends much of his time managing his companies and investments.

Danny Ramadan

LGBTQ Activist and Gay Syrian Refugee

Danny Ramadan is a Jack-of-all-trades who found his calling in activism, civil justice, journalism and creative writing. As an LGBTQ activist, he has been involved in coordinating online and on-the-ground efforts to support gender and sexual minorities in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, as well as his birthplace, Syria. Danny is passionate about the values of volunteerism and democracy, and the causes of social justice and LGBTQ refugee’s rights. His commitment to and advocacy of refugees’ rights across Canada is expressed through his work as an experienced journalist, storyteller, and public speaker. Each day, he strives to give back to the community that welcomed and embraced him since his arrival in Canada in September 2014.

Ian Crosby

Fintech Entrepreneur

At 16, Ian was studying at the University of British Columbia. Post-graduation, he worked as a bookkeeper and treasurer at various companies, as well as a management consultant at Bain & Company. It was during these corporate years that he was overcome with a strong need to redesign the way in which entrepreneurs manage their finances. In 2012, Ian co-founded Vancouver-based tech company, Bench.

Missy Jena

calm-versationist

MissyJena spent 14 years as an educator and avid observer of student learning within the Vancouver School District. Her experiences and awareness of subtle nuances in human interactions led Jena to step away from the established education system, and instead, create a new framework for learning that's delighting humans of all ages. MissyJena is the founder of calmversation; a multi-dimensional approach to authentic, creative and high impact communication.

Nohémie Mawaka

Social Venture Entrepreneur

Nohémie Mawaka is a daughter of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and immigrated to Canada with dreams of becoming an influential figure for other aspiring black women. In elementary school, she was called an ‘oreo.’ A decade later, she is the only black woman sitting in The United Nations’ international meetings. Nohémie hopes that her journey of challenging and defying social norms may serve as an inspiration for others.

Rosan Auyeung-Chen

Clinical Psychotherapy Counsellor

Rosan is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and has been working for the last few years at Vancouver General Hospital. In her work, she provides individual and group psychotherapy treatment to adults dealing with depression, anxiety, adjustment and personality issues, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorders.

Tara Teng

Human Rights Activist

Tara Teng is a TV host, Miss World Canada 2012, and a human rights activist. She was named Canada’s “Woman of the Year” in 2011, the Globe and Mail’s “Top 25 Most Transformational Canadians,” and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of her vast human rights work. Her advocacy has helped to pass new laws in Canada that protect victims of human trafficking, and she established Canada’s first Municipal Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

Zebulon Austin

Artist

Zebulon grew up in the Yukon where life was all about the environment. It directed a daily routine that was practical and often harsh, which made creativity challenging, but void of restriction. Free of the pressures that come with childhood social interaction, he dove deep into exploring the area that surrounded him. It is where, to this day, Zebulon feels he owes all of his creative inspiration. He believes that humans are creative beings and have an obligation to the environment in which they live. He feels that it is imperative for us to use this creative nature and foster a relationship with our environment. Only through this will we be able to create a better “human-earth relationship.”