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).

The Boylston Room
122 Pleasant Street
Easthampton, Massachusetts, 01007
United States

Brianna Mangano

Student

Brianna has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Westfield State University. Currently, she is a graduate student at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, expected to graduate in May 2019. She is passionate about helping people and with over six years of experience in the fields of mental health and social services, she strives to learn from every person she meets.

Caitlin Kelley

Librarian

Caitlin has recently been recognized by Business West’s 40 Under Forty class of 2018 for her “Career Achievements and Service to the Community” and by Urban Libraries Innovation Awards 2017 for “Planting the Seeds of Health Literacy.” She is a librarian and Supervisor of the Mason Square Branch Library in Springfield, MA, passionate about the power of public libraries. She develops and facilitates the branch’s adult and family programming, oftentimes collaborating with community partners.

Christine Monska

Program Officer at the Women's Fund of Western Massachusettes

Christine has been academically researching and analyzing the gaps in women’s participation and representation in politics. She focuses on security sector reform to address domestic violence and human trafficking while aiding in psychosocial support for victims of sexual violence. Currently, she is a Program Officer at the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts as well as a Continuing Education Advisor at Bard Microcollege in Holyoke. Her experience working at the U.S. Department of Justice under the Obama Administration and the Massachusetts State Legislature has paved the way for her to empower women and girls to participate in their government to become more civically engaged leaders in their community.

Cinzia Pica-Smith

Associate Professor

Cinzia is an Associate Professor at Assumption College in Worcester, MA in both the Education Department and the Department of Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed journals and articles focused on the interracial friendships of youth in schools; paying particular attention to how educators and school systems in both the U.S. and Europe can create equitable and socially just school environments to support young people. In 2013 she was awarded a Distinguished Paper Award by the American Educational Research Association for her article about the raced, classed, and gendered deficit discourses related to so-called “at risk” youth. Her most recent publication is a book titled Social Justice Education in European Multiethnic Schools: Addressing the Goals of Intercultural Education.

Elizabeth O'Gilvie

Food Justice Community Organizier

Liz serves as the working chair of the Springfield Food Policy Council, board chair of the urban agriculture organization Gardening the Community, Project Advisor to the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative and co-chairs the working group PVGrows – Racial Equity in the Food System. She is also the manager and founder of City Soul Farmers Market, started in 2016. A critical thinker about issues relating to race, class, gender, culture and privilege, Liz is quite comfortable with the discomfort attached to conversations about race. She works with social justice organizations, schools and universities across the country on developing pathways and curriculum for undoing systemic racism and white organizational culture. Her work in food systems, public health and community building is built on lessons learned from brick and mortar development.

Jamila Gore

Jamila is a spoken word artist, poet and writer living in Northampton, MA. She has facilitated Poetry Slams in the Pioneer Valley since 2008. Jamila is an activist against police brutality. She is working on a memoir and chapbook of poetry.

Jane Fleishman, Ph.D.

Sexuality Educator and Podcaster

Jane is a certified sexuality educator and podcaster on a mission to promote the sexual well-being of older adults. She believes there is no expiration date on sex. Her research and writing captivates audiences across the U.S. and abroad, spreading her ideas about changing the ways in which we perceive older adults’ sexuality.

Rachel Walker, PH.D, RN

Associate Director for the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring

Rachel is an Associate Director for the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Most notably, she is the first nurse to be named an “Invention Ambassador” by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her work as a nurse inventor has been featured on NPR and in publications such as Scientific American and Forbes magazine. She is grateful to everyone; from grandmothers in East Baltimore to Malian midwives to bone marrow transplant recipients who have taught her to have some humility when seeking to understand what health and wellness means to different people, and how to get there.