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).

Riffe Center, JoAnn Davidson Theatre
77 S High St
Columbus, Ohio, 43215
United States

Ashton Colby

Transgender advocate + entreprenuer

Ashton Colby is a social entrepreneur, certified yoga teacher, YouTuber and writer from Columbus, Ohio. He began his gender transition in 2012 and has since become a spiritual bridge-builder reimagining the traditional media narratives of what it means to be transgender. His story and YouTube channel, “Beyond the Body,” have been featured on People.com, Today.com and many other media outlets. Ashton speaks on not just the physical, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual changes one must undergo to not simply transition but thrive. As a social entrepreneur, Ashton founded Gender YOUphoria, a movement that flips the script on the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is required for transgender people to access medical transition. Gender YOUphoria gives name to the profound peak experience of finally aligning all areas of life through gender expression. Ashton regularly teaches yoga and meditation to transgender youth.

Danae Wolfe

Danae Wolfe is a bug and botanical portrait photographer with a passion for nature education. She is an expert macro photographer with a passion for invertebrate conservation. Danae’s work focuses largely on increasing public understanding and appreciation of insects and spiders and their role in both human and natural systems. Her most recent photography project, Early Risers, depicts insects and spiders awakening with the sunrise. Danae works with the Ohio State University Extension where she has taught state and national audiences about topics ranging from invasive plants and pollinators to digital engagement. She also teaches photography workshops and manages a photography website and Facebook page.

Doug McCollough

Tech-evangalist, CIO City of Dublin

As CIO of the City of Dublin, Ohio, Doug McCollough has embraced the rich community of innovation that is Central Ohio. Through collaborations and partnerships he has worked to connect people to opportunities, remove barriers, and promote change in initiatives ranging from Smart and Connected Cities, IT Workforce Development, expanding broadband access, and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Dr. Jianjie Ma

Medical Researcher + Chair of Thoracic Surgery

Dr. Ma is a professor and the Karl P. Klassen Chair of Thoracic Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Ma leads a multidisciplinary team of research in cardiovascular disease, muscle physiology, cancer biology, and regenerative medicine. He discovered a gene that can repair membranes in the body, accelerating healing in patients with tissue damage. Dr. Ma serves as a study section member for the National Institutes of Health, holds multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, and has over 200 publications in scientific journals including Nature, Science and Science Translational Medicine. He holds 10 patents and is founder of a University spin off biotechnology company.

Edith Espinal

Mother, Neighbor, Immigrant

Edith Espinal had been living in Columbus with her husband and three children for 20 years before the threat of deportation led her to seek sanctuary in October 2017 at the Columbus Mennonite Church. She first came to the U.S. with her father as a 16-year-old trying to escape drug cartel violence on the streets of her native Mexico. Espinal later petitioned for asylum on behalf of her family; it was denied in 2015. Early last year, all her appeals were denied, and in August 2017, she was ordered to leave the country. She urges other undocumented immigrants to “keep fighting. If we don’t fight for ourselves, no one else will do it for us.” Get updates on Espinal’s continued fight against deportation on Facebook’s Solidarity With Edith Espinal page.

Frederic Bertley

Scientist, CEO COSI (Center of Science and Industry)

As President and CEO for the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), Frederic Bertley is shepherding COSI, the leading Central Ohio science center, to its next great iteration in a legacy of success. Prior to COSI, Dr. Bertley was the SVP for Science and Education at The Franklin Institute, where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of initiatives supporting innovation in STEM learning regionally, nationally and internationally. He also directed the storied 200 year-old Benjamin Franklin Awards Program. After graduating from McGill University where he studied Physiology, Mathematics and earned a Ph.D. in Immunology, Dr. Bertley worked in preventative medicine and vaccines in Haiti, The Sudan, and the Canadian Arctic. He then joined a research group at Harvard Medical School focusing on the development of DNA vaccines for HIV/AIDS and later worked in IP at WilmerHale. Dr. Bertley has been a speaker at The UN, The White House, and the National Academy of Sciences.

James David Ramsey

TEDx enthusiast, VR Developer

Raised in Cincinnati, Dave moved to Columbus for Ohio State, and never moved out of central Ohio. He founded Workflow Data Systems, a small software development consultancy, in 1998, and remains a principal in that organization to this day. In his 24 years in tech, he’s written process automation systems, end-user business apps, mobile apps, VR games, and tools for other developers. Five years ago, he retired to work on passion projects, including developer tools, VR and Unity game development, designing board games, and podcasting. His first board game design has been picked up by a publisher, and should hit the market with the next year or so. He has been a host of the podcasts Massively Unqualified: Development and VR Hermits. Dave has attended the previous 9 TEDxColumbus events (plus TEDxColumbusWomen once).

Joel Miller

LISTENER, ADVOCATE, SEEKER

Joel Miller is pastor of Columbus Mennonite Church in Clintonville. Born and raised on a farm in Bellefontaine, Ohio, he still considers himself a farm kid living in the city. In the fall of 2017, Columbus Mennonite Church became the first congregation in Ohio to publicly offer Sanctuary to an immigrant with a deportation order. Edith Espinal, a mother of three children and 20 year resident of Columbus continues to live within the church building. Because immigration officers have not historically entered places of worship to make arrests, Sanctuary has enabled Edith to avoid deportation and remain with her family in Columbus while she and allies advocate for her legal case. Edith's story has been widely covered in the press and has garnered widespread support across the region. The Sanctuary movement continues to grow nationally as faith communities and immigrants confront this crisis.

LC Johnson

WRITER, ACTIVIST, FOUNDER Zora’s House

LC Johnson is an award winning writer, entrepreneur, and activist with a passion for empowering women, especially women of color. She is a recognized subject matter expert whose work and writings on the topic of race and gender have appeared in outlets such as Forbes Magazine, Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, and Policy Mic. With over ten years of experience developing and facilitating social justice programming for a diverse range of audiences, she currently serves as the Director of Leadership and Social Justice Programs for the YWCA Columbus and is the founder of Zora’s House – a coworking and community space whose mission is to provide women of color with the clarity, confidence, and connections they need to amplify their authentic voices; grow and contribute their talents; and powerfully transform their lives, careers, and communities!

Liv Gjestvang

EDUCATOR, ADVENTURER, INNOVATOR

As Associate Vice President for Learning Technology at Ohio State, Liv leads educational technology initiatives, including the Affordable Learning Exchange, saving students $10 million in textbook costs by 2020, and Digital Flagship, providing coding instruction and free technology to all incoming OSU students. Liv has taught film and video at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Taos Talking Pictures, and the Sundance Film Festival, and is founding director of Youth Video OUTreach, where she worked with gay and lesbian high school students to create the award-winning documentary “20 Straws: Growing Up Gay”. Liv is co-director of the Educause Learning Technology Leadership Institute and has written and presented about community media, social justice, college affordability, and transformative leadership across the US.

Naomi Kertesz

Cardiologist, Electrician, Scientist

Naomi Kertesz, MD, is Director of Electrophysiology and Pacing at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital. She is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. In 2017 she became the Medical Director of Project Adam Ohio. Dr. Kertesz received her medical degree from Northwestern University. After completing her residency at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, she received her fellowship training for both pediatric cardiology and pediatric electrophysiology at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Kertesz's area of clinical expertise includes the diagnosis and management of arrhythmias. In additions she specializes in the implantation and follow-up of pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators. She is passionate about making sure that all children can play and exercise safely.

Ronald Murray

Advocate, Social Worker, Founder P.E.A.C.E of Mind

Ronald G. Murray is a community leader with more than 15 years of training, education advocacy, counseling and social work experience beginning as a youth HIV/AIDS advocate consultant. He also is the founder and CEO of P.E.A.C.E. of Mind, LLC, a consulting agency that provides personal and professional development and education on the issues surrounding LGBTQ people of color. Murray also has been an active participant and leader in the underground house and ballroom culture since 1993. He is committed to educating others about and advocating for this community as a safe and worthy conduit for local and national outreach, education, support and visibility. Additionally, Murray is a licensed social worker and chemical dependency counselor with a master’s degree in public administration. He lives in Columbus.

Sam Corlett

MUSICIAN

Scott Woods

Poet, Writer, Founder Streetlight Guild

Woods is a writer and event organizer in Columbus, Ohio. He is the founder of Streetlight Guild, a performing arts non-profit. He is a 2018 Columbus Foundation 2018 Spirit of Columbus Award recipient, as well as the Greater Columbus Arts Council winner of the 2017 Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award for his event series “Holler: 31 Days of Columbus Black Art", and was named the first-ever "Face of Columbus" by Columbus Alive. Woods is the author of Urban Contemporary History Month (2016), We Over Here Now (2013) and Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods (2017). He has been featured multiple times in national press, including multiple appearances on National Public Radio. He is the co-founder of the Writers’ Block Poetry Night and in 2006 became the first poet to ever complete a 24-hour solo poetry reading, a feat he bested seven more times without repeating a single poem.

Trevon Logan

Economist, Historian

Trevon D. Logan is the Hazel C. Younberg Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Ohio State University as well as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University’s Center for Health and Well-Being and at the University of Michigan, where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research. He is also an affiliate of the Initiative in Population Research, the Center for Human Resource Research, the Food Innovation Center, and the Criminal Justice Research Center at Ohio State. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Explorations in Economic History, Historical Methods and Demographic Research. Professor Logan specializes in economic history, economic demography and applied microeconomics. His research in economic history concerns the development of living standards measures that can be used to directly asses the question of how the human condition has changed over time.