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).

441 E Fordham Road
Bronx, New York, 10458
United States

Aishwarya Balaji

Founder and CEO of Impact Chain Lab

Aishwarya is the founder and CEO of the Impact Chain Lab, a blockchain innovation lab focused on global development and social impact, and is also an investor for 37 Angels, a women-led angel network. She is passionate about developing systems that challenge the current order, promoting women in tech, entrepreneurship and venture capital, and breaking down cultural barriers. Aishwarya started her career in consulting at PwC working with fortune 500 clients globally with a focus on technology and security in the consumer products space. Her entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen led her to move on and join Build Academy as the first employee. Build Academy is an education technology startup which straddles social impact and the building industry and focuses on crowdsourcing innovative design solutions for building projects. Aishwarya played a key role in shaping the vision, building the business model, fundraising and growing the company.

Andre Lorenceau

Co-Founder and CEO of LiveLike

Andre, co-founder and CEO of LiveLike, established the company in 2015 to meet the challenge of bringing sports entertainment out of the 2D screen into a more immersive VR world. Under his leadership, the company has worked with major networks to broadcast live sporting events in virtual reality. Upon graduating from elite accelerator TechStars in 2015, the company went on to win TechCrunch’s “1st and Future” startup competition. Andre was an early adopter of VR. Prior to founding LiveLike, he worked at Innerspace VR, a virtual reality software studio, where he collaborated with industry leaders from Samsung and Oculus to develop VR content. He helped to successfully launch Innerspace VR’s first products including The Fifth Sleep, The Cave and Playhead onto the Oculus marketplace. He also assisted with fundraising, investor relationships as well as general strategy and business advising. He has a BBA from the University of Texas Austin’s Red McCombs School of Business.

Jennifer Gardella

Social Media Consultant

In her professional life, Jennifer Gardella, PhD, is a marketing consultant who helps businesses of all sizes reach their ideal clients through blogging, social media and video. In her personal life Jen is the mom of three fantastic daughters, wife of a retired Navy Commander, and step-mom to two teenagers and a dog. On her blog, My Steps in Time, Jen shares her stories of building a business, finding herself, and raising children. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post and she has been a speaker for the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. One of Dr. Gardella's greatest accomplishments to date is the friendship she developed with her ex-husband after their divorce. It was this rock solid friendship which carried them through John's 82 day battle with cancer. She shares this story and its importance with us today. Jennifer is a 1991 graduate of Fordham University and holds a Masters Degree and PhD from Rutgers University.

Laurie Cameron

Laurie Cameron is the author of The Mindful Day: Practical Ways to Find Focus, Calm and Joy From Morning to Evening, National Geographic, 2018, and is known for her warmth, energy and insight sharing the science and art of human flourishing and development. Laurie integrates emotional intelligence, positive psychology, mindfulness, compassion and neuroscience into everyday language for modern work and life.

Patricia David

Senior Diversity Advisor

Dr. Patricia David is the Senior Diversity Advisor for JPMorgan Chase. She provides strategic advice to the firm in a wide range of diversity topics impacting our work environment and to our heads of Talent Management & Diversity and Advancing Black Leaders & Diversity Advancement Strategies.