Theme: Mavericks and Misfits

The ethos of The University of Texas at Arlington has always been to provide an atmosphere that will help nourish connections and ideas that will help our local and foreign communities. With this ethos in mind, our passion for enlightening, enriching and inspiring others led us to contribute to the advancements of our vibrant city and university by bringing TED caliber talks to our community. Through the creation of TEDxUTA, leaders, solution seekers and the merely curious will be able to congregate in an event that will not only stretch the boundaries of their mind, but also challenge them to have new insights into old and new topics.

Rosebud Theater
300 W 1st Street
Arlington, Texas, 76010
United States

Anugrah Singh

Anugrah is a freshman at The University of Texas at Arlington who is majoring in Computer Science. He has a deep interest in Acting and Singing. He has also been into Public Speaking since High School and wants to connect with as many people as possible to spread his ideas that he believes have the power to instigate change. Beyond the classroom, Anugrah is quite involved and never misses out on any opportunities to show off his Maverick Pride. He is a Freshmen Orientation Leader, a member of EXCEL Campus Activities and a Research Coach for UTA Central Library. Truly a great leader in the making, Anugrah wants to go on to help make lives better for the people.

Brittani Retig

Brittani (Brit) Rettig is the founder of GRIT Fitness, an empowering fitness concept based on her belief that mental grit or "passion and perseverance for long-term goals" is the key to both fitness success and to living our best lives. Prior to founding GRIT Fitness, Brittani Rettig worked at Deloitte Consulting, LLC. She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University where she was captain of women's varsity basketball team. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and numerous fitness certifications.

Greg Shirley

Dr. Greg Shirley is the Assistant Director of Career Services and Operations at the Lockheed Martin Career Development Center at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he has been since 2014. He specializes in career and major exploration as well as interview preparation, job search strategies, and social media and professionalism for current students and alumni for UTA. He enjoys engaging UTA students in conversations that alleviate any concerns about career choice and empowering them in their professional development success.

Jeff Williams

Jeff Williams is founder and President of Taste Project. He has always had a passion for cooking, food, and feeding people. Being half Italian, Jeff’s heritage feeds his passion and discovery in the area of Italian Cuisine. His vision for Taste Project is different than a growing, profit generating, Italian restaurant. His vision is not a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen; but a place where every day folks eat; and those who could not afford to eat there, could still enjoy a meal in the restaurant. In June 2012, Jeff launched Taste Project.

JJ Eromonsele

JJ is a smile having modern millennial exploring and learning with each new day that comes. He love Open Mics, fresh skies, and the city of Arlington. Additionally, he hosts and plans events. Hit him up if you have the next big idea.

Julienne Greer

Dr. Julienne A. Greer is an Assistant Professor of Theatre; Social Robotics and Performance. She earned a BFA in Drama from NYU, an MA in Media Arts from TCU, and her PhD in Humanities at UTD. Dr. Greer is an interdisciplinary scholar + artist working at the emerging intersection of theatre and social robotics. Her primary focus is examining Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) to “humanize” social robots to the nuances of human behavior and develop better human-robot relational outcomes. Dr. Greer works with interdisciplinary teams including Social Work, Education, Computer Science, and Engineering.

Katie Gosa

Katie Gosa is the 2017-2018 Student Body President at UTA, and a psychology history double major. She's resentfully spent a lot of money on textbooks that she regrets not spending on food, rent or saving up for her future political career.

Kaushik De

Dr. Kaushik De is a Professor of Physics and Director of the Center of Excellence in High Energy Physics at UTA. His research helped in the discovery of two new particles of nature - the top quark and the Higgs Boson. He is a leader in Big Data computing for the sciences. Dr. De is a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Kierra Woods

Kierra Woods is a native of Henry, Virginia. She has her Bachelors degree in Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is currently a UTA Social Work grad student studying Community and Administrative Practice. Kierra is a mother of three young and inquisitive princes and one little diva. She spends her time studying policies that affect vulnerable communities, doing yoga, and watching movies with her children.

Parker May

Parker May is a graduate of Film Studies from SMU and current programmer for the Oak Cliff Film Festival. Rumor has it if you say his name three times inside the Texas Theatre, he will appear and talk to you about Hellraiser for three hours.