Theme: CONNECT

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).

University of Southern Indiana Performance Center
8600 Univesity Blvd
Evansville, Indiana, 47712
United States

Andre'a Grace Phillips

Family Recovery Coach

Andre'a Grace Phillips is an Associate Certified Coach, a Family Recovery Coach, and has a B.A. in Organizational Management. She’s a Member of the Evansville Mayors Substance Abuse Task Force, and Founder of the F.A.S.T. Initiative. She is also the Mother of an only son who passed in 2017 from complications due to a Substance Use Disorder. Her purpose is to continue to raise awareness about the impact of Secondhand Addiction and also, invite others to choose to fully live after the loss of a child to this epidemic.

Carlos Caballero

Health Care Leader

Carlos Caballero holds a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) from the University of Southern Indiana, and is an Account Executive for Medical Services of America. Caballero, is a visionary health care leader, passionate for serving people and building bridges of collaboration and communication. Focused on helping others become the best versions of themselves and making continuous improvements happen. He has served the needs of the poor through international medical missions, developing multidisciplinary strategic population health plans in the Evansville community, and improving Alzheimer’s Dementia care in Southwest Indiana. Caballero’s most recent achievement was becoming a published co-author for the peer reviewed Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions.

Courtney Johnson

Community Organizer

Evansville, Indiana native, Courtney Johnson, is the founder and executive director of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization called Young & Established. He created Y&E in 2013 to build a community-oriented organization. Through Y&E, he wanted to inspire and motivate youth and young adults to promote safety, education and success. Courtney believes the work he does is bigger than himself, and his greatest desire is to do everything possible to make the world a better place, one community at a time!

Hannah Jaramillo

Changemaker

Hannah Jaramillo is a changemaker and student at the University of Evansville. Her project, the CommuniTree, was the winner of the University of Evansville’s first Changemaker Challenge in 2016, where she was granted a full tuition scholarship. The CommuniTree, located at Mickey’s Kingdom in downtown Evansville, is the tallest solar tree in the world, and will serve the purpose of a bridge between technological, social, and environmental enagagement. Hannah has progressed and completed many changemaking initiatives since 2016, including marketing and volunteering for a non-profit improving U.S. diplomacy in Cuba, local urban planning and connectivity, millennial retention and space creation, and community engagement projects.

Matt Hanka

Political Science

Dr. Matt Hanka is Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Southern Indiana. Hanka earned a B.A. in History and Politics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and an M.A. in Political Science and a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs, both from the University of Louisville. Hanka’s academic work has been published in such journals as American Review of Public Administration, Community Development, Housing Policy Debate, Housing and Society, Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Urbanism, Local Environment, Planning for Higher Education, and Journal for Public and Nonprofit Affairs. He has provided leadership to strategic planning processes for USI, the Rotary Club of Evansville, and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science. Hanka became Director of the Commission on Homelessness for Evansville and Vanderburgh County in February 2018.

Nathan Hall

Student

Nathan Hall is a student at Butler University studying History, Political Science, and Spanish who is originally from Evansville. His undergraduate research has focused on the importance of public memory and how communities like his hometown remember and commemorate historical events and actors. He plans on attending law school next fall, and his current research is focused on the public defender system across the United States.

Paige Ward

Education Professional

Paige Ward is an international education professional and has spent the last seven years working in academic affairs for a study abroad provider based in Indianapolis. Last year, Paige moved back to her hometown of Evansville with her husband and two young children and happily bought a home 0.3 miles from her parents. Currently her days consist of figuring out how to work from home and coffee shops and the tables in the lobby at the gym while also caring for two very busy kids and herself.

Philip R. Hooper

Real Estate and Community Design

Philip R. Hooper is a real estate broker and development consultant with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Evansville, where he formerly served as the Executive Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. Prior to moving to Evansville, Philip worked for the City of Indianapolis where he managed community and economic development projects in coordination with the city’s Quality of Life Planning initiatives. A featured speaker locally and across the state on matters of real estate, architecture, historic preservation, and community development, Philip serves the community through his work as a board member of the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, the Indiana Greenways Foundation, and the Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science. He graduated from Wheaton College in 2002 and lives with his wife Amanda, son Adian, daughter Ava, and their cat Aslan in the Riverside historic district in Evansville, Indiana.