Theme: Embracing the Unexpected

Join us for our first ever live TEDxNorthbrookLibrary event! We will feature 4 speakers from the local community whose TEDx Talks will revolve around the theme "Embracing the Unexpected."

Registration is free and open to everyone

Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook Public Library
Northbrook, Illinois, 60062
United States

Courtney Fong

Chief Compliance Officer

Courtney Fong is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Castle Creek Arbitrage LLC, and Adjunct Professor of Law at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Courtney serves on the Board of Directors of the NAPABA Law Foundation and is a regular presenter on diversity and inclusion issues.

Lauren Schifferdecker

Clinical Psychotherapist

Lauren Schifferdecker is a licensed clinical professional counselor and the founder of Inspire Counseling Center. As a psychotherapist, she is passionate about using neuroscience and research to inspire people to thrive. She first fell in love with research as a laboratory assistant in the Infant Cognition Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 17 years ago and has been dedicated to understanding and sharing scientific research ever since. As part of her mission to inspire others, she has written various articles and frequently speaks to groups in her community to help people live their best life.

Stephen Packard

Ecological Community Organizer

Stephen Packard has been a grassroots conservationist since the 1970s. He helped discover how to restore health to tallgrass prairies, savannas, and woodlands. As a volunteer and staff of The Nature Conservancy and Audubon, he helped develop the technical discipline and the popular appreciation of ecological restoration in the Chicago region. Packard edited the “Tallgrass Restoration Handbook,” a principal text in this new field. He taught conservation policy at Northwestern University and helped organize the Volunteer Stewardship Network, Mighty Acorns, Society for Ecological Restoration, and Chicago Wilderness. Packard is the hero of “Miracle Under the Oaks” by New York Times science writer William K. Stevens.

Steve DeLuca

Firefighter, Cancer Survivor, and Marathoner

Steve DeLuca is a full time firefighter with the Northbrook Fire Department. He is also an Acoustic Neuroma brain tumor and a 15-year stage-3 colon cancer survivor. He has completed 24 marathons, including 15 consecutive Chicago Marathons, and is a 2007 Ironman Wisconsin Finisher. In addition to being a cancer survivor, he is a double hearing aid wearer and has interviewed on CNN, WLS, WGN, and other venues talking about his experiences.