Theme: Meraki

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).

Kingsbury Hall
1395 Presidents Circle
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112
United States

Jaya & Archana Thiagarajan

Jaya Thiagarajan's music has always been one that elevates the state of mind. It has this magical ability to heal any agitated emotional state, take one back to the core, enable one to reach for the spark that is unique to them and provide it the nurturing space to let that grow.

Salt Lake Alternative Percussion

Performing in a genre they've dubbed "junk drumming," Salt Lake Alternative Percussion (SLAP) is known for unleashing a slew of rhythm and beats on buckets, pots and trash cans. They strive to present garage storage items in a new and interesting light. But really, it's a blast to see them make such a cacophony of sound. Wachira Waigwa-Stone, Jeremy Prows, Josh Sohn, and Andrew Nelson bring you beats from the streets, yo.

Salt Lake Capoeira

Capoeira was developed between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries by African slaves imported to Brazil during the slave trade. Prohibited from openly practicing forms of self-defense, slaves living on Brazilian plantations disguised their training by incorporating elements of dance, acrobatics, ritual, and music to their practice.

String Love

String Love is a string quintet that plays the best of contemporary music and the best of the classical world. People love the elegant look and feel of a string quintet but also want the music they listen to every day. We love to play songs everybody recognizes - songs you can sing along with, songs that you love - Katy Perry, The Beatles, Miley Cyrus, The White Stripes, Michael Buble, Led Zeppelin, and so much more.

Baya Voce

Dating & Relationship Coach, founder of Secret SLC, co-founder of Womenpreneurs and hosts a monthly segment on ABC as Utah's Relationship Specialist

Baya's business journey started as a cast member on MTV's The Real World where her interest in relationships was nurtured. She transformed her TV exposure into an entrepreneurial adventure, learning early on how the power of one strong connection can transform your life and career. Her inherent belief that the quality of your relationships equals the quality of your life and that your network is your net worth, led her to her interest in connection, community, and relationships. For the past decade she has studied connection in three pillars: connection with yourself, your partner, and your community. She is a Dating and Relationship Coach, founder of Secret SLC, co-founder of Womenpreneurs and hosts a monthly segment on ABC as Utah's Relationship Specialist. Baya is a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, studies Emotional Intelligence, Positive Psychology, and Body Language, and mentors under intimacy and relationship experts.

Brian Manternach

Voice Faculty Department of Theatre at the University of Utah

Brian Manternach is on the singing voice faculty at the University of Utah. He has performed professionally across the US and Europe. He has taught music and singing at every level from middle school through graduate school and his students have won numerous local, regional, and national awards. Brian believes that we all have a unique voice that deserves to be cultivated. He feels that popular culture has had too great an influence on setting expectations of how we are “supposed” to sound. He most enjoys helping singers see beyond these expectations to instead discover their natural, authentic voices by releasing tension and working from a foundation of efficiency, ease, flexibility, and fun. He also believes that, as we discover the power of our own voices, we also learn the importance of listening to ourselves and to others, allowing us to hear and respond with honesty and genuineness.

Carrie Rogers-Whitehead

Librarian, instructor, writer, CEO and an advocate for youth

Carrie Rogers-Whitehead is a "geek" and an advocate for youth;. She has worked and collaborated across sectors in government, academia, nonprofit and business. She is also a geek, a big one. She has led an anime convention for teens for years. She’s a frequent panelist at Salt Lake Comic CON and presenter and writer on graphic novels and geek culture. Carrie is passionate about providing equitable access: whether that be through her role as CEO of Digital Respons-Ability, her work in the autism community or her community volunteer work and outreach. One way she has increased access with diverse populations is through the medium of graphic novels. She has used graphic novels with the refugee population, individuals with disabilities and youth in care. Carrie believes in educating and engaging youth through unconventional means.

Dave Durocher

Managing Director, The Other Side Academy

When Dave was given the option to go to Delancey Street in Los Angeles, he was facing 29 years in prison. Dave was at Delancey Street for 8 years and became the Managing Director of their 250 person Los Angeles facility for the last 5 of those years. He is now devoting his life to creating a place where the most lost among us can come to learn about integrity, honesty, hard work and self-respect.

Davis Smith

Founder & CEO at Cotopaxi

As a four-year old, Davis ended up on a unique life-path when his family left the United States and moved to the developing world. His father was an adventurer, so Davis grew up climbing into active volcanoes, floating down the Amazon in a self-made raft, and surviving on uninhabited islands. He developed a love for adventure and the outdoors, which extended into adulthood. He has since traveled to over 60 countries and recently led a kayaking expedition from Cuba to Florida. While his life path was shaped by these childhood experiences in the outdoors, it was actually his exposure to those living in extreme poverty that most impacted his life. He believes that it is only through service to others that we can find true happiness. Davis is the CEO of Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear company with a humanitarian mission at its core. He is also a member of the eight-person United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council.

Deanie Wimmer

Broadcast Journalist

Deanie Wimmer currently co-anchors KSL News at 5, 6, 6:30 and 10pm. She is also an Emmy award-winning reporter who covers education and leads the station's literacy initiative "Read Today." Wimmer moved up the ranks in the KSL 5 newsroom as weekend anchor, political reporter, general assignment reporter, and producer. She was born and raised in Salt Lake City and began her broadcasting career at KSL Television as a University of Utah intern. Education has always been important to Deannie. She earned her Master's degree in political communication and Bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Utah. She attended a fellows program on education and journalism through the University of Washington.

Jamie Littlefield

Designer and Author

Jamie Littlefield is an instructional designer interested in how intentional creation within a defined space (either digital or physical) shapes the ways people learn, think, and connect. For the last three years, she has traveled the world in search of inspiring stories from innovators working to create a sense of place and connection within their communities. Her journey has introduced her to urban gardeners in Detroit, yarn bombers in Buenos Aires, front-yard “playborhood” legends in San Francisco, mall revolutionaries in Thailand, and a woman who sewed a massive 40-foot orange pedestrian crossing flag right here in Utah.

Kyl Myers

Socioligist and Project Facilitator for the HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative. Mother to Zoomer Coyote

Kyl Myers is a sociologist who specializes in gender and sexual & reproductive health. She’s been studying gender inequalities day in and day out for some time the last decade, and has decided to blaze a trail for future generations that will fascinate you. She’s no parenting expert, but she loves helping parents understand gender through a sociological perspective.

Lance Allred

Father. Writer. Motivational Speaker.

Born and raised in a polygamist commune in rural Montana, Lance Allred escaped at the age of 13. He was the first legally deaf player in NBA hHistory, with 80% hearing loss, when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008. A conversation with Lance will challenge your perceptions and invite you to look deeper at the psychological boundaries that shape your reality.

Michael Ferguson

Neuroscientist. Activist. Sorcerer. Queerist.

Michael Ferguson is inspired by questions about human brains and the gods they adore. His research program examines the intersections of culture and brain through the lenses of cutting-edge fMRI methods and cognitive neuroscience. Most recently, he is conducting interdisciplinary work with philosophy of mind to analytically describe intelligence. As a graduate student at the University of Utah’s department of bioengineering, he, his committee chair, and co-investigators designed and executed a first-of- its-kind fMRI study, looking at the brain activity of returned missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while the research participants were involved in acts of religious worship and devotion. Michael and his husband were the first same-sex couple legally married in the state of Utah, and they retain a major portion of their heart and love in Salt Lake City. They currently live in upstate New York, the spiritual cradle of their native faith.

Molly Heller

Molly is a dance artist that re-located to Utah from New York City in the winter of 2011. Molly's movement research investigates performance as a cathartic act and the relationship between physical expression and emotional trauma. Performance is her sixth sense, an extraordinary intelligence that connects us to the Incredible. For Molly, becoming incredible is terrifying and magical; it means that she chooses to believe she is capable of anything. Performance is vast, unparalleled in its extremes and transparent in its condition. It is always waiting, wanting more, needing more to sustain itself. Yet, it is also vulnerable – riding the edge of survival.

Paul Tanner

Prosthetic Artist

Paul Tanner is an artist that creates illusions. His canvas is silicone and his work is literally life changing! He makes life-like prosthetics (ears, eyes, noses, nipples, breasts, fingers, hands, & feet) and absolutely loves what he does.

Piper Christian

Youth advocate for environmental stewardship

Piper Christian is full of life and loves the outdoors. She grew up canoeing the lakes and marshes near her hometown of Logan, Utah, camping in Utah’s Southern Deserts, and hiking the canyons of the Wasatch and Uinta Ranges. Piper’s family instilled in her a deep love of nature. As a 16 year old, she has become a passionate advocate for youth environmental stewardship. She has discovered the power of storytelling to move people to action. As the president of the Logan Environmental Action Force, she helped pass a Clean Air and Sustainability Resolution through the Logan City Council, and is working to pass similar resolutions across Utah. She co-founded the Student Coalition for Institutional and Environmental Integrity, which fosters youth environmental awareness and activism throughout Utah.

Reid Robison

CEO and co-founder at Tute Genomics

Dr. Reid is a physician and data scientist turned social entrepreneur. He is adjunct faculty at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, and is CEO and co-founder at Tute Genomics, a venture-backed startup for precision medicine (with funding from Intermountain, Tencent, and others). Reid believes that knowledge is empowering, and that everyone should have access to their genetic information to live fuller and healthier lives. Reid has previously built and sold a number of companies focused on health and social good, including Anolinx, Boli and Clinical Methods.

Talia Keys

From crossing genres to playing multiple instruments, Talia Keys embodies her own unique style of singing and songwriting. Sporting an original brand of funk-soul-hip hop-rock n' roll, with an occasional splash of old time folk.