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).

Goodyear Theater
1201 East Market Street
Akron, Ohio, 44305
United States

Alejandra Treviño

Alejandra Trevino is a senior at North High School in Akron, Ohio, and an advocate for death positivity for all people and cultures. She was born in Akron, Ohio, and has lived here most of her life. She’s a very creative and free spirit who is passionate about all she does. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, crocheting, and playing guitar, most of which she taught herself. She plans on attending Kent State University in the fall of 2018 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology with a focus in pre-medicine. Alejandra hopes to become a forensic pathologist and mortician and to one day own her own funeral home. Although she is only 17, her ideas, moral compass, and intellectual ability speak volumes to her maturity and adaptability.

Brant Lee

Brant T. Lee is Professor of Law and Director of Diversity and Social Justice Initiatives at The University of Akron School of Law. He also serves as Chair of the Akron Civil Rights Commission. Professor Lee received his B.A. from The University of California at Berkeley, and his J.D, and M.P.P. (Master of Public Policy) degrees from Harvard University. Professor Lee writes and teaches about race and complex systems. Prior to joining the Akron Law faculty, Professor Lee served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and as acting Deputy Staff Secretary and Special Assistant to the President in the White House.

Chelsea Avery

Entrepreneurs. World Record Holders. Kitchen dance party advocates. Chelsea and Ryan Avery created their thriving business and fulfilling relationship, implementing simple strategies gathered from research, experience, and couples all over the world. The communication strategy that has had the most profound effect on their relationship... YES MEANS YES! From Ryan getting laid off the day after their wedding and Chelsea starting the job hunt after getting her master’s in social work, the financial and emotional strain from the beginning of their marriage was intense. Like many of us, Chelsea and Ryan have wanted their relationship to be fun, fulfilling and meaningful but of course, life can’t always be donuts and vacation. There are real hardships, real emotions and real stress that threatens to take over. Chelsea and Ryan have found after 11 years of being together, experiencing the highs and lows of life, open communication is essential for having the fulfilling and lasting relationship most of us crave. Many of us are never taught healthy ways to communicate with our spouse, relying on reality-tv-show “role models,” gossip magazines and differing home or school environments. The good news? These communication skills are learnable (but will require unlearning of past habits) and we can start with… YES MEANS YES!

Christine Tackett

Christine Tackett RN MSN is a nurse and an educator for more than 18 years. She teaches psychosocial nursing and therapeutic communication at Herzing University. She is a graduate of Kent State University with BSN in nursing and a Master’s degree from University of Phoenix in nursing education. She has certification from International Coach Federation in Life Coaching, is the co-founder and CEO of The Omni Institute of Integrated Wellness and she is a Reiki Master. She was a contributing author for Foundations in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (by Margaret Halter). She is actively involved in her community. She commits much of her time volunteering and hosting workshops on a variety of topics related to positive mental health practices for both children and adults. Her passion is to empower people to live authentically healthy and joyful lives. She employs a proactive approach to mind, body and spiritual wellness.

Dominic King

Dr. Dominic King was born in Akron, Ohio and is a graduate of the University of Akron. He currently serves as a Sports Medicine and Medical Orthopaedic staff physician at the Cleveland Clinic, and is a clinical assistant professor for the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM). Dr. King provides care for high school, college, professional athletes and weekend warriors, and he is the founder of the eSports Medicine Institute (ESMI). He is the recipient of several awards including the Knights of Columbus Manhood Award (2003), the WVSOM Excellence Award (2009), the Cleveland Clinic Caregiver Award (2014) and the Brentwood Foundation OMM Leadership Award (2014). He has published several research articles in the field of medical orthopaedics and is a national speaker on the topics of orthobiologics, joint preservation, musculoskeletal ultrasound, asynchronous patient care and digital health devices. He has been a featured physician for Self.com, Readers Digest, Men’s Journal, Dr. Oz’s The Good Life Magazine, and WKYC Channel 3 News.

Joel Testa

Joel A. Testa, President and Chief Operating Officer of Testa Companies. The Testa Companies include 7 corporations that handle every facet of the real estate and construction industry. From design, development and construction to sales, management and building maintenance. Testa Companies was founded in 1967 and has twice made the INC Magazines list of fastest growing privately held companies in the US. Along with many other accolades both locally and nationally, Testa is the only contractor to be named Builder of the Year 4 times by the Home Builders Association. Testa’s portfolio spans several states, includes over 700 properties and more than 2 million square feet of office, retail, medical and educational facilities. Testa has developed over 6,000 mixed use and residential units and at one time was producing as many as 1,500 homes per year. Joel has helped develop several notable projects including the first aids housing facility and first vertical parade of homes site in the country. His architecture and design firm has won local and national praise including the recent expansion of Crocker Park, a mixed use lifestyle development in Westlake, OH, tying an existing retail center into the new American Greeting’s world headquarters. In addition to architecture, Mota works with city’s to assist in urban planning and creates branding for it’s corporate clients. Joel Testa was named one of Crain’s Business Magazines 30 under 30, a finalist in the Earnest and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and served on Governor Strickland’s advisory board. In addition to his role at Testa Companies, Joel is also the cofounder and partner of Mota Design Group, the Formerly Homeless Foundation and BYTE dining group, where he has been instrumental in creating and launching several restaurant and bar concepts with Chef partner Dante Boccuzzi including the recently opened Dante’s Inferno. He serves on several boards at the local, state and national level. He is a Past President of the Home Builder’s Association serving Summit and Portage Counties, a board member for Habitat for Humanity, S& T Bank and Director for the National Association of Home Builders. Joel was named the marketing and advertising person of the year by the Home Builders Marketing and Merchandising Council and voted one of the top 10 leaders to follow in Northeast Ohio. He is a national speaker and has been featured at several conferences throughout the country speaking on development and growth. In 2016 his construction company merged with Welty Building Corporation to create Welty Testa Builders, one of Ohio’s largest full service design, construction and development partnerships.

John DiJulius

International consultant and best-selling author of three Customer service books, his latest book, The Customer Service Revolution (Greenleaf Books 2015), instantly hit #1 on Amazon. John works with world class companies like The Ritz-Carlton, Lexus, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Nestlé, Marriott Hotels, PwC, Cheesecake Factory, Progressive Insurance, Harley Davidson, Chick-fil-A, and many more. John isn’t just talking about it, he lives it, as a very successful entrepreneur of two businesses. John Robert’s Spa, a chain of upscale Cleveland locations, has been repeatedly named one of the top 20 salons in America; and The DiJulius Group, a consulting firm focused on changing the world by creating a Customer service revolution. John will demonstrate how we can make our Customer service our single biggest competitive advantage and make price irrelevant!

John Gregory

John Gregory, Founder of The National Center for Urban Solutions, The Academy for Urban Scholars High Schools and The National African- American Male Wellness Walk Initiative, which is celebrating 15 years of saving Black men’s lives nationwide through awareness and free health screenings. As a nationally recognized entrepreneur, and motivational speaker he has inspired thousands of individual with his message “I’m a Winner”. John has dedicated much of his life to addressing the challenges of the community; empowering people of all ages to become self-sufficient. Known as the “Solutions Man,” he has helped young people create more promising futures for themselves through education and employment. This year, John will add author to his impactful accomplishments with the release of his highly anticipated book This publication will provide inspiring, practical life lessons, that will change people lives.

June Scharf

June is a journalist by training, a storyteller by inclination and a perpetual student seeking to stay current in today’s rapidly changing commercial environment. She’s an accomplished content creator, with her work appearing in both print and digital spaces. Not long ago, she overcame stage fright by pursuing standup comedy for a year (it worked), and she regularly visits her meditative space, the gym, where she lifts heavy weights and simultaneously drains her brain. She also is the proud mother of two college-age sons. Her talk, “How to Transform Weakness into Strength,” relates to life lessons learned after suffering a stroke at age 10 that paralyzed her right (dominant) side.

Kelly Dine

Kelly Dine, R.N., B.S.N., M.Ed, a biology instructor and nurse, has been leading and teaching the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Biomedical Science program at Akron North High School since 2014. She was awarded a 2013 Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, which facilitated her career change from nursing to teaching. Kelly is also a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, honorably discharged in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander (O-4). Kelly's other passion is baseball officiating. She currently works as a baseball umpire for the NCAA, the NAIA, the Midwest Prospect League, the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and Summit County Umpires. She is currently the only female umpire in the United States to be officiating college baseball in the College Baseball Umpires Association. Recently she was given a scholarship to participate in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Professional Umpire Camp in Fort Myers, FL. She is now working with the MLB and other organizations to evaluate and recruit more umpires, with an emphasis on drawing more females into baseball officiating. Kelly volunteers her time in her community in many ways. She is a longtime Little League baseball and softball umpire. She is also a trained advocate for the American Diabetes Association Safe at Schools program, assisting families and school districts in implementing plans to ensure the well-being and safety of schoolchildren who now battle diabetes. She and her husband Jeff have 3 sons; the entire family are dedicated American Diabetes Association volunteers and advocates for people with diabetes. Kelly's interests include collecting and selling antiques, and cheering on her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Kelly was selected as the Akron Public Schools 2015-2016 Rookie of the Year. She graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, with a B.S. degree in Nursing. She is also an alumni of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. She earned her Masters' degree in Education from the University of Akron, as well as earning more than 20 credit hours in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

Kenyona Matthews

inclusion, and anti-racism. She is a University of Akron School of Law graduate who focused civil liberties. She earned her bachelors from Guilford College majoring in Political Science, Philosophy, and African American Studies. She was an active college student helping to start an Anti-Racism team at Guilford College, responsible for organizing city-wide diversity/inclusion events, and developed coursework focusing on race and racism. After college, Ms. Matthews served as an AmeriCorps Vista North Carolina Campus Compact Multicultural Service Coordinator. Her focus was facilitating, organizing, and training students to work in multicultural communities. In 2016, Ms. Matthews co-founded Dimensions of Isms with Ginger Bakos. What started out as a three-part workshop on diversity issues (racism, classism, sexism) became a grassroots organization. The vision for Dimensions of Isms is to bring awareness and progression to societal issues through training in corporate environments, church workshops, speaking engagements, and other civil and social organizations. Ms. Matthews continues to speak with various organizations throughout Northeastern Ohio including: Indivisible, Big Love, local elementary and high schools, and Women’s March on Washington.

Olga Nagdaseva

Olga Nagdaseva is a successful international IT technology enthusiast (at Digital Forensics Corporation), two-time Cleveland State University alumna (BBA, MBA), and award-winning/published business professional. Olga has a true passion for globalization, international business relations, and is a firm believer in the power of the global mind. She will share her international journey from the outskirts of her native city of Moscow, Russia to the business boardroom at a global Cleveland-based tech organization startup. Her voyage was not without challenges of immigration, assimilation, language barriers, and desire to return home. Olga leveraged the power global mind to a career at Fortune 100 company and tech startup, publications, panel, conference successes, and building meaningful international connections. Taking you along on the journey, she will share the secrets of building a global mind, and creating truly impactful global connections.

Ryan Avery

Entrepreneurs. World Record Holders. Kitchen dance party advocates. Chelsea and Ryan Avery created their thriving business and fulfilling relationship, implementing simple strategies gathered from research, experience, and couples all over the world. The communication strategy that has had the most profound effect on their relationship... YES MEANS YES! From Ryan getting laid off the day after their wedding and Chelsea starting the job hunt after getting her master’s in social work, the financial and emotional strain from the beginning of their marriage was intense. Like many of us, Chelsea and Ryan have wanted their relationship to be fun, fulfilling and meaningful but of course, life can’t always be donuts and vacation. There are real hardships, real emotions and real stress that threatens to take over. Chelsea and Ryan have found after 11 years of being together, experiencing the highs and lows of life, open communication is essential for having the fulfilling and lasting relationship most of us crave. Many of us are never taught healthy ways to communicate with our spouse, relying on reality-tv-show “role models,” gossip magazines and differing home or school environments. The good news? These communication skills are learnable (but will require unlearning of past habits) and we can start with… YES MEANS YES!

Vinny Tafuro

"I see distant horizons clearly and work meticulously towards them," says Vinny Tafuro, a visionary economist, thinker, and entrepreneur. Author of Corporate Empathy and Unlocking the Labor Cage, he is a pioneering advocate for the twenty-first century economy disrupting society's most rigid institutions and beliefs. His economic theories explore the societal and economic shifts being catalyzed by corporations as a result of technology, corporate personhood, and evolving human cognition.

Xposyur Xposyur

Xposyur is a 27 year old spoken word artist born and bred right here in the city of Akron, OH! She is a graduate of Garfield High School’s class of 2009. She is heavily involved with her community, youth and young adults, and other organizations in the city. She goes into high schools, middle schools, and soon into SCJDC inspiring young people to be the best authentic version of themselves that they can be! She has traveled some of the world spreading this awesome gift and has no intention of stopping until the world has become a better place.