Theme: Reborn

Buffalo is one city that has seen the maximum revitalization in the past 10 years and because of that, so has University At Buffalo. With that in mind, TEDxUniversityAtBuffalo 'REBORN' brings together a diverse group of speakers and presenters who highlight how the area and the world have culturally, technologically, and intellectually evolved and are evolving.

Student Union Theater
University At Buffalo
Buffalo, New York, 14260
United States

The Enchords

A cappella group

The Enchords are UB's only Co-Ed A Cappella Group! Founded in 2013, they sing everything from old to new in venues across the state, always staying fresh with new music picks and groovy dance moves. Check out their lush harmonies and fiery vocals at their concert at the end of every semester, or on Facebook, Instagram, or their website.

Brittni Smallwood

Lead News Anchor, Channel 4

Brittni Smallwood is a reporter and anchor at News 4. Before coming to Buffalo, Smallwood worked at WETM in Elmira as a morning co-anchor and reporter. She has a master’s in Broadcast Journalism from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Smallwood also received a Bachelor’s degree in English/Communications from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. In February, Smallwood was awarded the National Federation of Just Communities, Media Award. She was also part of the Wakeup team nominated for a Regional New York Emmy for Best Morning Newscast. In 2013, she won the Buffalo Excellence in Media, Rising Star Award. Smallwood is committed to serving in this community. She has volunteered with numerous non-profits and programs, such as one called Sisters in Success.

Colleen E. Heidinger

Director of Events and Programming - 43North

Colleen returned to Buffalo during the summer of 2014 to join the Renaissance that has overtaken our Queen City. She has spent most of her career in the film and television industry in both New York City and Los Angeles running industry events, program marketing, client sponsorship and partnership development. After fulfilling a life long dream of visiting Africa, she returned to LA, resigned from her role on the Special Events team at DreamWorks Animation and eagerly drove across the country back to her beloved home of Buffalo. After twelve years away, it was time to settle back close to family and find a role that directly allowed her to impact the rehabilitation, growth, and enhancement of our resurging community. Colleen graduated from Babson College with a degree focused on entrepreneurship. Her current role at 43North as Director of Events and Programming culminates her passions for event planning, entrepreneurship and the development of Buffalo. 

Drew Kahn

Founder - Anne Frank Project

Drew Kahn is Professor of Theater at SUNY Buffalo State where he teaches acting and devised theater (President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching/SUNY) and directed over 20 productions (Kennedy Center Award) since 1993. In addition to his work in higher education, he has taught K-12 populations for over three decades. He is the Founding Director of the Anne Frank Project, a multi-layered social justice program at SUNY Buffalo State that utilizes the wisdom of Anne Frank as a springboard for the examination of conflict and intolerance through the lens of storytelling and performance. He presents and teaches internationally on the use of story as a tool for conflict resolution, community building and identity exploration—most recently in Rwanda, Kenya the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma, Viet Nam, New Zealand, Greece, Croatia and Turkey

James Bowman

LGBTQ Wellness and Special Projects Coordinator

Jim Bowman is the LGBTQ Wellness and Special Projects Coordinator for Wellness Education Services at the University at Buffalo; a position he has held for the past 9 years. He is the founding coordinator of the LGBTQ Wellness program at UB which focuses on supporting and contributing to a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming campus community for all individuals with marginalized gender identities, gender expressions and/or sexual orientations. He earned both his BA in Psychology and Master of Education, Student Affairs Administration from UB. Before entering the higher education, Jim served almost 7 years in the US Air Force. In addition to his work at UB, Jim volunteers with the WNY chapter of AFS (an international exchange student program) serving at the orientation coordinator.

Preet Desai

A first year graduate student at University at Buffalo, Preet is a self taught phenomenal pianist

Sam Magavern

Co-Director - Partnership for the Public Good

Sam Magavern co-directs the Partnership for the Public Good and teaches at the SUNY Buffalo Law School and the Cornell University ILR School.  A graduate of Harvard University and the UCLA School, he serves as the attorney for the City of Buffalo Living Wage Commission and as a member of the Niagara River Greenway Commission and the Open Buffalo Advisory Board. His publications range from scholarly articles to comic books, including a non-fiction book (Primo Levi's Universe), a novel (Ooh La La), a movie (The Last Word), and a book of poetry (Noah’s Ark). He hosts a radio show, the Public Good, every Tuesday at 1pm on WUFO AM 1080.

Samina Raja

Associate Professor Department Department of Urban and Regional Planning; Community Health and Health Behavior

Dr. Samina Raja is an Associate Professor of urban and regional planning at the University at Buffalo (UB). Trained as a civil engineer and planner, her teaching, research, and civic engagement focuses on the role of planning and policy in building healthy communities and sustainable food systems. With her research lab, the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, Dr. Raja engages in participatory action policy research locally, nationally, and globally. She currently directs Growing Food Connections, a federally funded project focused on building capacity of local governments across the US to connect small-and medium sized farmers with low-income consumers. Dr. Raja is a recipient of multiple awards including the 2014 Dale Scholar Prize for excellence in urban and regional planning scholarship, the 2016 University at Buffalo Excellence in University-Community Engagement Award, and the 40 Under Forty Award.