Theme: Reinvent

TEDxRoyalRoadsU will take place at the Learning and Innovation Center on Royal Roads University campus. Join us live or online via live-stream.

TEDxRoyalRoadsU is a student-driven event. We hope to spark meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue and create stronger connections throughout campus and the greater community.

This year's theme is REINVENT: inspiring people to reinvent themselves through learning and innovation. The event will bring together local thought leaders, performers and reinventors.

Located in one of Canada’s most beautiful National Historic Sites, Royal Roads University has a long history of reinvention. Hatley castle has served as a private residence, military college, mutant academy and public applied research university. With a vision of "connecting people, ideas and experiences to change lives and the world," Royal Roads is a cornerstone in many mature students path to reinvent themselves through learning and innovation. This is increasingly relevant in today's political, cultural and environmental climate.

Learning and leadership has taken place on the land for thousands of years. Royal Roads University rests upon the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish people; the Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) and Lkwungen (Songhees) nations.

LIC- Center for Dialogue (4th Floor)
2005 Sooke Rd.
Victoria, British Columbia, V9B 5Y2
Canada

Adam Braidwood

Boxer, Actor, Martial Artist

Adam Braidwood is a former CFL defensive end, current world champion boxer and martial artist and a two-time winner of the strongest man award from Washington State. He currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia.

Cheryl Heykoop

Professor

Cheryl is an assistant professor at Royal Roads University who is passionate about understanding the lived experiences of young people affected by war, disaster and illness. She is also a young adult living with cancer, and believes stories are integral to shaping how we educate, inform and lead.

Jeff Ward

Entrepreneur and Founder

Jeff is a father, husband, entrepreneur, proud Ojibwe and Founder of Animikii, a digital agency empowering Indigenous-focused organizations to leverage technology for cultural, economic and social impact. Jeff is passionate about building a business that affects positive change for Indigenous Peoples, and the world.

Jill Doucette

Sustainability Consultant

Jill is an author, west coast explorer and a founder of Synergy Sustainability Consulting, a company that specializes in sustainable business best practices and communications. For the past 10 years, Jill has been actively working in both environmentalism and business, creating solutions that reduce environmental impacts while making businesses more successful. Her company has won awards for environmental excellence and has won the national Nicol Entrepreneurship award for best business concept in Canada.

Joel Kroeker

Clinical Counsellor

Joel is a Jungian Psychoanalyst, a music-centered psychotherapist and an international recording artist. He is the founding facilitator of Archetypal Music Psychotherapy, which includes a pioneering clinical approach, multiple publications and a series of expressive arts courses that are a summary of his professional work. After many years of cross-cultural research including projects in South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Japan and across North America and through his enduring conviction to bring these diverse perspectives into a beneficial form that aligns with his values, Joel is pleased to finally be able to offer this approach through his psychoanalytic practice, writing, music and work as a clinical supervisor and educator.

Lee Herrin

Executive Director and Associate Faculty Member

Lee is an associate faculty member at Royal Roads University and the executive director of Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group Society (Fernwood NRG), a neighbourhood-based organization that he has been involved with for almost 20 years. Lee is passionate about building an organization that is both of and for the neighbourhood—that finds creative ways to meet peoples’ needs right where they live. Fernwood NRG provides critical neighbourhood-based services such as child care, family support services and affordable housing. The group creatively finances a significant portion of these activities through our neighbourhood-based investments.

Mark Shapiro

Entrepreneur

A former executive at Showtime Networks Inc., Mark left the safety of his 12 year career and six-figure income to live a more fulfilling life and be a positive interruption to the status quo. Through his acclaimed authenticity themed podcast, The One & Only, provocative websiteAreYouBeingReal.com, and innovative leadership community Winning Weeks, Mark lovingly challenges people to be real with themselves and others and is re-inventing the way we support and connect with each other - igniting people to stand for what they believe in to live happier, healthier and more connected lives. In just over two years, Mark's work has touched the lives of over 150,000 people. He has interviewed hundreds of thought leaders, entrepreneurs and artists on The One & Only Podcast (#7 on iTunes in Spirituality; April '17), grown the Winning Weeks leadership community to hundreds of members, and has conducted cutting-edge social experiments that have earned him the opportunity to speak internationally a

Nikki Lineham

Teacher, Math Coach and Co-Founder

Nikki is a teacher, a math coach, the co-founder of Educating Now and a highly sought after presenter and professional development facilitator. She is passionate about changing the way we think about, talk about and teach mathematics so that all people can be successful in math. She works with teachers and parents to educate them about “growth mindsets” and she shows them how to teach math using visuals, hands-on materials, specific language and tasks that promote creativity and problem-solving. Through Educating Now, Nikki helps parents and teachers move away from solely teaching math procedurally, which is the way most of us were taught, to teach for understanding. Her methods have been known to boost confidence, attitude towards math, retention and achievement.

Paul Allison

Garden Maker and Nature Connector

Paul is a garden maker and nature connector who has a passion for pioneering and exploring the relationship between people and plants. Paul is said to have the hands of a gardener, the mind of a scientist and the vision of an artist, all firmly rooted in the heart of a naturalist.

Rob Abbott

Professor

Rob is a pioneering sustainability and social responsibility catalyst who uses his life coaching and mentoring skills to foster the soulful awareness and aliveness of his clients and students. His compassionate, inventive approach, coupled with exceptional visionary capabilities, enables him to guide people through the terrain of the personal and the professional – supporting them to live the fullest expression of their genius. This is the new kind of leadership and presence that is urgently needed in the world now.

Taylor Conroy

Entrepreneur

Taylor’s first social enterprise, Change Heroes, funded and built 400 schools, libraries, water projects and more for 200,000 people in developing countries. He has lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Cornell and the United Nations on movement building and creating social change. He writes and speaks about being a millionaire, going bankrupt, building impact driven businesses and finding joy in all of life’s phases.

Yarden Zilber

International Investment Banker

Yarden (Jordan) is an international investment banker with vast experience in cross-border deal-making. Yarden is an entrepreneur and the founder and managing partner of Sheng Enterprises. He is a former jet pilot of the Israeli Air Force, a graduate from Harvard University, Tel-Aviv University and the first Israeli to graduate with an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) from a top Chinese MBA school, China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.