Theme: Game Changer

TEDxCU is an independently organized TED event organized at the University of Colorado to help further educate and innovate within beautiful Boulder, CO.

TEDxCU 2018 consists of 9 speakers who will each share their unique stories about what makes them an agent of change. Join us in a celebration of new and game changing ideas that will inspire others to take action.

For more information on the speaker lineup and event schedule, visit tedxcu.com

Glenn Miller Ballroom, University Memorial Center
1669 Euclid Ave
Boulder, Colorado, 80309
United States

Allie Nunes

Education Abroad Program Manager at CU Boulder

Allie Nunes is a Program Manager in the CU Boulder Education Abroad Office who also coordinates outreach events and the Peace Corps Prep program. She advises students, approves study abroad applications, and supervises marketing interns. She graduated from CU in Broadcast Production with a certificate of International Media. As a student, Allie journeyed on Semester at Sea, circumnavigating the globe and stopping in 12 countries over the course of 108 days on a floating campus. She also worked as a production intern at Canterbury Television in Christchurch, New Zealand. These travels sparked her interest in global comparative education and experiential learning.

Andi Sue Phillips

Founder of Phillips Consulting Group

Andi Sue Phillips is a Diversity & Inclusion Strategy expert, author and a former Navy Helicopter Pilot, who has worked globally with people from a variety of social, economic and religious backgrounds in dynamic and fast paced environments. While working from the front row seat of the ‘ultimate boys club’ of Naval Aviation, Andi Sue became passionate about inclusive leadership, education and building high functioning diverse teams. After a successful Navy career and completing her MBA, Andi Sue’s current ‘mission’ is to consult with businesses in the STEM, Startup and Aviation Industries on how to successfully diversify their workforces by creating an inclusive and collaborative culture with Phillips Consulting Group-Inclusive Leadership Experts.

Connie North

Mental Health Therapist at Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at CU Boulder

As a trauma therapist and recovering academic, I am committed to addressing social injustice while attending to human dignity. Engagement with mindfulness philosophies combined with my body-based trauma training translate into a focus on the complex systems we are and inhabit as human beings. Perceiving clearly what is and responding to that reality with curiosity, compassion, and boundaries are my aspirations.

Erin Rand

COO at ServiceRocket

Erin’s passion is helping tech founders identify the keys to igniting accelerated growth, prioritizing the most critical focus areas that will speed their trajectory. Erin’s voice cuts through the noise surrounding bias and business, helping leaders find effective ways to identify and overcome bias. She is the recipient of the Silicon Valley Business Journal's Women of Influence 2015 Award. Erin is a ginger, a hiker, a Las Vegas poker player and a bit of a geek who holds degrees in engineering and mathematics. She serves as a mentor for Techstars and Mergelane accelerators, as a Director of ServiceRocket Inc. and on the Advisory Boards of Quarrio Inc. and The CLUB (theclubsv.org), a non-profit accelerator of women leaders. Erin currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at ServiceRocket, a company dedicated to software adoption and amplifying the impact of disruptive technology companies by helping enterprise customers adopt, get the value out of, and LOVE their software.

Jackson Long

Co-founder & Owner of Thought for Food Lifestyle

Jackson Long co-founded the Thought For Food Podcast, a show about the practical benefits of plant-based living after developing a fascination in nutrition science while studying physiology at the University of Colorado. While working on his master's degree in nutrition, Jackson realized that fiber may be the most underrated nutrient and our gut the most underrated organ of all time and has made it his mission to start an epic dumps revolution to make our world a healthier and happier place.

Jahmaya Kessler

Jail and Prison Program Specialist

Jahmaya Kessler is a trauma-informed, mindfulness-based counselor and jail and prison program specialist who has been working with incarcerated adults for the last 6 years. Within that span of time, the way he sees this population and the correctional system has been completely transformed. As someone who specializes in how trauma impacts the body and brain, he has become passionate about how the system creates harm rather than healing, and the impact this has on the culture at large. He hopes to educate the general public about the benefits of offering compassionate services, and the dangerous costs of not paying attention to who will be walking out those locked doors if we don't.

Jamie Skerski

Faculty at CU Boulder, Department of Communication

Dr. Jamie Skerski teaches communication and gender at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research on tomboys reveals the gender norms limiting the potential of girls. She is a tomboy, feminist, scholar, and mom.

Ruth Opara

Instructor at CU Boulder, Continuing Education

Ruth is an African woman, a music practitioner and an ethnomusicologist. She immerses her experience with a women’s musical group in Nigeria to reveal the identity of the African woman.