Theme: Amplify

When we amplify a voice, we magnify the change it can create. By turning up the volume on the University of Georgia’s most powerful stories, research, and passions, we transform the status quo. With enough reach, even a whisper can grow into a revolution. At TEDxUGA 2019, we amplified big ideas to foster dynamic change in our communities and beyond.

Classic Center Theatre
300 N Thomas St
Athens, Georgia, 30601
United States

A.C. Williams

Student

A.C. Williams is a third-year undergraduate studying Management Information Systems and International Business. Williams serves as officer in Esports at UGA and a senior event director for EndGameTV, primarily working as an event organizer for Nintendo’s Splatoon 2. Driven by a passion for the gaming community, he has organized events for hundreds of competitors in venues across the country, collaborated directly with Nintendo of America at their Seattle headquarters, and served as international travel manager for an esports summit in Tokyo.

Ansley Booker

STEM diversity expert

Ansley Booker is the Interim Director for the Mercer University Educational Opportunity Center (TRiO Programs). After earning her master’s from UGA’s College of Pharmacy, she later went on to earn her PhD with Mercer University’s Higher Education Leadership program. Recently, Booker successfully defended her dissertation on African American women who have obtained STEM graduate degrees. She has received Georgia Southern University’s 40 Under 40 alumni award as well as the STAR Award from Mercer University’s Student Affairs Division. Booker is also a proud member of the University of Georgia’s Black Alumni Leadership Council, and she was recently featured by Georgia Daze; both programs encourage talented, historically underrepresented students to enroll at the University of Georgia.

Cat Hendrick

Student

Cat Hendrick is a third-year undergraduate majoring in Journalism with a certificate in Sports Media. Hendrick serves as the president of UGA’s chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media. She has helped produce two shows for ESPN, and she covered the 2018 Olympics in South Korea for teamusa.org.

Evan White

Biochemical engineer + researcher

Dr. Evan White is an assistant research scientist in the New Materials Institute, where he focuses on translating innovative technologies from the laboratory to commercial viability and application. He also works closely with industry partners to aid and advance specialized product development. Dr. White earned his PhD in Chemistry from UGA in 2014, and in 2015 he started a joint postdoctoral appointment between UGA and Molecular Therapeutics, LLC as a biochemical engineer focusing on the development of antimicrobial products. Dr. White has published nine papers in high impact journals in his research tenure in Athens.

Grace Bagwell Adams

Health policy researcher

Dr. Grace Bagwell Adams is an assistant professor of health policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the College of Public Health. After majoring in History and Political Science at Converse College, Dr. Bagwell Adams earned her Master of Public Administration and PhD in Public Policy at UGA. Her expertise is in public policy analysis and program evaluation, and all of her work has the common thread of examining how to mitigate vulnerability. Her current projects include work on the SNAP (food stamp) program, the opioid epidemic, and serving as Principal Investigator for the Athens Wellbeing Project.

Jeffrey Berejikian

Political scientist

Dr. Jeffrey D. Berejikian is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and senior fellow at the Center for International Trade and Security. His research on cognitive science and foreign policy appears in the top journals in the discipline of political science. Dr. Berejikian has provided policy briefings to multiple U.S. government agencies—including the offices for the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs and the Executive Branch—demonstrating how the insights of cognitive science can inform American conventional, nuclear, and cyber deterrence policies. In the classroom, Dr. Berejikian uses video games and simulation to teach international politics and foreign policy.

Jitendra Pant

Biomedical engineer

Dr. Jitendra Pant recently graduated with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the College of Engineering. Dr. Pant won over 20 awards during his PhD, including the Brahm P. Verma Award for Academic and Leadership Excellence. Through collaboration with the UGA School of Veterinary Medicine and federal agencies including the NIH, the Department of Defense, and the CDC, Dr. Pant’s research has already showcased the possible medical benefits of Nitric Oxide. Now, Dr. Pant works as a research associate at UGA and with the startup InNOveta Biomedical.

Laura Whitaker

Nonprofit director

Laura Whitaker is the executive director of Extra Special People, a Georgia-based nonprofit that runs year-round programs and summer camps for more than 600 individuals of all abilities and their families. She began as a volunteer at ESP in 2003, and when the founder tragically passed in 2006, Whitaker was chosen to be the executive director at just 19 years old. Whitaker is the co-founder of Java Joy, a mobile coffee cart giving away transformative joy by individuals of all abilities. Whitaker earned her bachelor’s and her master's in Adapted Curriculum Classic Autism at the University of Georgia, and she has received many honors for her leadership, including the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40, Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40, UGA 40 Under 40, Bulldog 100, and Leadership Georgia.

Malcolm Mitchell

Football player + author + literacy advocate

Malcolm Mitchell is a former University of Georgia football player and one of the top ten all-time receivers. After graduating with a Communications major in 2015, Mitchell was drafted by the New England Patriots and went on to become a Super Bowl Champion as a wide receiver. Among Mitchell’s numerous awards and accomplishments both on and off the field, he considers discovering a love of reading one of his greatest achievements. Initially, reading was a challenge; however, through perseverance, books became an avenue for expanding his curiosity, creativity, and learning. Mitchell has authored and published a children’s book, The Magician’s Hat, created a youth literacy initiative called Read with Malcolm, and established the Share the Magic Foundation to transform children’s lives through literacy.

Walden

Musician

Walden is a four-piece indie-rock band from Athens, Georgia that has quickly risen to become one of the most acclaimed bands in the region. You may have seen Walden at the Georgia Theatre, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Sweetwater 420 Fest, or a host of other music festivals near and far. This year, in addition to releasing their new EP, The Static, the band is slated to play the Shaky Knees Music Festival followed by a subsequent headlining tour in April and May.