Theme: Do You Believe in Magic?

TEDxEmory is an independently organized TED event at Emory University that strives to re-create the unique experience found at TED, where the world’s leaders, thinkers, and doers congregate to share what they are most passionate about.

This year, the theme of our main conference is Do You Believe in Magic? Our diverse group of speakers will highlight their own ideas worth spreading, from STEM, social justice, and many other disciplines.

WHSCAB Auditorium, Emory University
1440 Clifton Road
Atlanta, Georgia, 30322
United States

Damon Routzh

Undergraduate student of Philosophy

Damon is a current junior of Emory College studying philosophy. Damon’s research interests include both topics in feminist and environmental philosophy, and he has given talks in both of these subjects. Throughout high school, he participated in high school speech and debate. Coming to college, his passion of public speaking and debating has continued. He is a Georgia-circuit debate judge, as well as a debate mentor. In his free time, Damon enjoys hanging out with friends, drinking coffee, listening to Sia, and spending time thinking about what he is going to do after college. If he had to describe himself in one word, it would be LOUD (capital letters on purpose).

Ernest Garcia

Professor of Cardiac Imaging

Dr. Ernest V. Garcia is the Endowed Professor of Cardiac Imaging in the Department of Radiology at Emory University where he is recognized as a game changer. Previously, he was Vice-chairman of Research for Radiology, Director of the Emory Center for PET and the Advanced Imaging Research Center, and Co-Director of the Emory/Georgia Tech Biomedical Technology Research Center. He is a past President of the American Society for Nuclear Cardiology. In 2006 he was selected as a Medical Imaging Industry Top 10 Nuclear Medicine Researcher. Dr. Garcia was a member of the NIH Diagnostic Radiology Study Section and the FDA Radiopharmaceutical Drugs Advisory Committee. He has authored over 341 articles and 10 books in the field of medical imaging. He is a member of the editorial boards of 5 journals.

Ian Cohen

Founder of an education non-profit

An educator and entrepreneur, Ian Cohen has always looked to re-imagine the educational experience for students today. A Teach For America alum, Ian was awarded Teacher of the Year and Coach of the Year while in the classroom. He has experience at the district and state policy levels in education as a past Program Director for the Urban Leaders Fellowship and now serves as Executive Director of the education non-profit organization Next Generation Men & Women which he co-founded in 2014. A proud Emory University alumnus, Ian earned his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and is originally from Philadelphia, PA.

Jon Jackson

Founder of the nation's first veteran rehabilitation farm

STAG VETS Inc was Founded by the Executive Director Jon Jackson to assist veterans suffering from invisible wounds through the use of the nations first Acute Veterans Crisis Agriculture Center (Comfort Farms). With over 40 months in the Combat zone and a combined six Combat deployments Jon earned his stripes by serving his country with the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. He was a key a component to providing direct support to multidisciplinary Special Operations Teams spread across austere environments. Jons Can-Do anything attitude forged in war has become essential to leading his organization by building trust and integrity to the veterans and families for whom he serves.

Karen Owen

Assistant Professor of Political Science

Karen L. Owen is an assistant professor of political science and the director of the Master of Public Administration program at Reinhardt University. She is a gender politics and American institutions scholar. She has published articles on congressional elections, state legislative partisanship, and women serving within local levels of government and trial courts. Her recent book, Women Officeholders and the Role Models Who Pioneered the Way, explores the role of mentorship in helping women run for Congress and governorships. She is the recipient of the Jane England Teaching Excellence Award in 2016. Owen received her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Georgia. Prior to her academic work, she worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia, as a lobbyist at a Fortune 500 company, and as a public health legislative analyst at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kate Parker

Photographer

Kate T. Parker is a mother, wife, former collegiate soccer player, Ironman, and professional photographer who shoots both fine-art projects and commercial work for clients across North America. Her Strong is the New Pretty photo series has led to collaborations with brands like Athleta, Kellogg's, and Oxygen. The project has also inspired Kate to launch a philanthropic arm of Strong Is the New Pretty, partnering with organizations like Girls on the Run and The Bully Project that invests in girls' health and education. When she's not photographing, Kate can be found coaching her daughters' soccer teams. She lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Laila Alawa

CEO of a global tech & media company

Laila Alawa is the Founder and CEO of The Tempest, the global tech & media company changing the narrative of diverse millennial women in the world. Previously, Laila worked with the White House and Congress. Her work with the Department of Homeland Security drew national controversy amidst bigotry. She worked as a research specialist at Princeton University, examining socio-cognitive processing within community identity and belonging. As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, Laila researched stereotype threat for women in sciences and consumer behaviorism, and was published in Psychology of Women Quarterly. The New York Times called her a disruptive force in media.

Michelle LaPlaca

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Michelle C. LaPlaca, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She earned a Ph.D. in Bioengineering (Ph.D., 1996) and completed postdoctoral training in Neurosurgery, both at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. LaPlaca’s research interests surround translational research in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion. The goals are to better understand acute injury mechanisms and mechanotransduction, identify novel TBI biomarkers, and develop multimodal concussion assessment tools. She has won numerous awards for her research and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Brain Injury Association of Georgia.

Pari Majd

Undergraduate student of Psychology

A current senior at Emory University, Pari Majd is a Psychology major and Predictive Health minor. She started her college career at Oxford College of Emory, where she became a Resident Assistant and discovered she enjoyed helping enhance student development and experience. On Emory’s main campus, she grew a passion for psychology research. Pari became a Research Assistant for the Emory Spatial Cognition Lab and for Dr. Stephen Nowicki, and studied topics from locus of control to gender stereotype treat. After graduation, she will be working for Amazon as a Senior Human Resources Assistant.

Rais Bhuiyan

Founder of a world-peace non-profit

Rais Bhuiyan an American Muslim from Bangladesh, is an extraordinary individual with a powerful story. After serving as an air force pilot in Bangladesh, Rais moved to the United States in 1999 to study computer technology. Ten days after 9/11, Rais was the victim of a horrific hate crime. Shot in the face at point blank range by white supremacist, Mark Stroman, self-described “the Arab slayer,” Rais barely survived. Sadly, two other victims were killed. Stroman was sentenced to death; ten years later, Rais led an international campaign, fighting to save Stroman’s life. Rais’ near death experience and subsequent religious pilgrimage sparked a profound journey of soul searching and began his path as a human rights activist for peace, forgiveness, empathy and understanding. Rais’ effort to save Stroman from execution in 2011 was unsuccessful, but his transformative ability to turn hate into compassion and forgive the unforgivable has been transformative.

Robin Sanders

Diplomat

Ambassador (Dr.) Robin Renee Sanders served as one of the U.S. Government’s top diplomats on African issues over a long career in the United States Diplomatic Corps reaching senior positions ranging from Ambassador to the Republics of Nigeria and the Congo, two stints as Director for Africa at the White House, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the West African Regional Organization ECOWAS.

Rohit Malhotra

Social entrepreneur

Rohit Malhotra has almost a decade of experience in social entrepreneurship, government, and community organizing. He is founder and executive director of the Center for Civic Innovation in Atlanta, his hometown city, where all three worlds collide. He received the Echoing Green Global Fellowship for his work in the areas of civic engagement and social enterprise. He also served as an Ash Innovation Fellow in the White House Office of Management and Budget and Office of Social Innovation focused on the administration’s efforts around social impact bonds and pay for performance. Malhotra holds a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Tony Lowden

Director of a prison reform program

Tony Lowden is the Executive Director of Stone Academy, an after-school enrichment program that serves at-risk children in the Macon-Bibb County area. He has served as a youth pastor at Lundy Chapel Missionary Baptist Church as well as in leadership capacities in numerous civic organizations in the Macon-Bibb area, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development Board and the Board of Directors for the Center for Racial Understanding. He is a 2011 graduate of the esteemed organization Leadership Georgia as well as 2014 graduate of the inaugural class of the Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO).