Theme: March Forth and Do Something

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).

Performing Arts Center Main Stage
Western Washington University
516 High Street
Bellingham, Washington, 98225
United States

Dalia Monterroso

Chicken Educator

Dalia Monterroso is a chicken educator and enthusiast, focusing on teaching the basics of backyard chicken keeping through various classes and seminars across Northwest Washington. She is the former owner of a local farm store, has a popular facebook page called Welcome to Chickenlandia (in which she is known as the President of the fictitious country Chickenlandia), and is currently an ambassador for Scratch and Peck Feeds. Dalia loves sharing the ins and outs of chicken keeping, but also aims to pass on the broader meaning she has discovered in her passion for poultry. Dalia believes that being among her flock has brought a peace and significance into her life that she was always searching for, and she wishes to share that peace with everyone she meets.

David Nicol

Director of Solar Development for Capstone Solutions + President of Solar Washington

I grew up on deck working commercial fishing boats in Naknek Alaska. I always mention this first when people ask who I am. For salmon fishermen like me there are only two seasons: summer (when you fish) and winter (when you don’t). About six years ago, I had an “early midlife crisis” that culminated in my changing careers to work on energy access issues. Traditional energy systems were becoming un-affordable which threatened the viability of remote communities in Alaska. I decided to make it my life’s work to help people access clean. I am Director of Solar Development for Capstone Solutions, I serve as the President of Solar Washington and I'm a Practitioner Member with the United Nations Microgrid group. Through Capstone, we installed the largest solar array in Alaska and successfully worked to create a state regulatory environment that opened Alaska to renewable energy development.

Jessica Gigot

Poet + Farmer + Teacher + Musician

Jessica Gigot, Ph.D, M.F.A, is a poet, farmer, teacher and musician. She has a small farm in Bow, WA called Harmony Fields that grows herbs, lamb and specialty produce. Jessica has lived in the Skagit Valley for over ten years and is deeply connected to the artistic and agricultural communities that coexist in this region. She teaches agriculture and food systems classes at the Northwest Indian College and Western Washington University. Her first book of poems, Flood Patterns, was published by Antrim House Books in 2015 and her writing has been published in several regional and national journals.

Joy Wiggins

Multicultural Education + Researcher

Joy Wiggins, Ph.D., received her doctorate from The Ohio State University in multicultural education. She works in the Elementary Education department at Western Washington University. She is the director of Global Peaceful Paths, a consulting company that focuses on equity, inclusion and social justice in education. Her current work focuses on actively evaluating the way we are socially constructed and how that plays into our daily intercultural communicative experiences. Her goal is to facilitate transformative learning opportunities infused with empathy, education and liberation for all. She has presented her research through invited, keynote and peer-reviewed sessions at the American Educational Research Association, American Educational Studies Association, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry among many others and she has published in several educational journals on her work around social justice in education.

Kamea Black

Student + Farmer

Kamea Black is a year round farmhand at Rabbit Fields farm and the coordinator of the student run farm at Western Washington University. Currently, she is creating the syllabus for her class on women in agriculture that she will teach at Fairhaven College in the Spring of 2017. During that same quarter she will graduate with a self authored interdisciplinary degree in Holistic Agriculture & Food Distribution Systems. Proceeding this, she intends to continue pursuing her passion for increasing support for women in agriculture through shared spaces and cultivated community.

Kristin Leong

Teacher + TED-ED Innovative Educator + Writer + Public Speaker

Kristin Leong, M.Ed. is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator and is currently serving her third year as a Washington State Teacher Leader. Her current TED-Ed project ROLL CALL (RollCallProject.com) is humanizing the culture gaps separating students and teachers through portraits and interviews. In addition to teaching middle level Humanities, she is also a public speaker and writer focused on equity in education. She once delivered a talk at Town Hall entitled "Nightclub Bartending & Middle School Teaching: A Venn Diagram." Her project HALF on biracial identity in America was nominated for a USA Today Outstanding Academic & Intellectual Endeavor award. She was named a Graduate Already in the Drivers' Seat by the New York Times. Videos of Kristin and information about her upcoming appearances are available at kristinleong.com.

Paige Rosson

Student

Paige Rosson is a Senior at Western Washington University seeking a degree in International Business with a minor in French. She is the founder and President of Free the Toiletry WWU. Outside of school she has as part time job at REI and enjoys backpacking, climbing and running. Paige is a plant mom and cherishes her cacti. Upon graduation Paige would like to create a non-profit for getting feminine hygiene products in the public restrooms of Washington and beyond, as well as making efforts to take down the "tampon tax" in US states including Washington.

Paul Meeks

Professor + Stocks Analyst + CIO at Sloy, Dahl & Holst

Paul Meeks, CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) teaches at WWU. He has been a stocks analyst or portfolio manager for 29 years. He's among America's best-known tech investors & commentators. CNBC introduces him as "Top Tech Investor." Paul is the Chief Investment Officer of Portland's Sloy, Dahl & Holst. He lives in Bellingham but he's often in Seattle covering cloud computing companies.

Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre

Professor + Researcher + Author

Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre, is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University. Her research focuses on contemporary colonialism, popular cultural, and understanding the ways representations constitute knowledge. Her newest book, Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism, & American Exceptionalism, came when she shared Curious George, with her daughters. Horrified by the depictions of slavery and the growing popularity of this icon, her book explains how Curious George, teaches children to participate in modern colonialism. Rae Lynn was an intercollegiate debater for the University of Vermont. She earned an assistantship and a M.A. at Wake Forest University and a PhD in Communication at the University of Iowa. She is a Board Member for the Women’s Debate Institute, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of women through speech. She has authored an edited collection, Communicating Colonialism (2013) and numerous articles.

Tracey Pyscher

Assistant Professor + Researcher + Publisher

Tracey Pyscher, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education in the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. Her research interests include understanding and naming the social and cultural experiences of children and youth with histories of domestic violence (HDV youth) and their navigation of school and critical literacy and learning. She has published several book chapters articles related to her research on/with youth with histories of domestic violence.