Theme: Youth, American Style

TEDxYouthWrigleyville is an independently organized day-long TED event, operated under an exclusive license from TED worldwide. This inaugural, landmark event will be coming to Chicago on August 4th, 2019 at the Center on Halsted. The centralized theme of the event will be “Youth, American Style” and will focus on exploring various aspects of youth identity.

Our mission is to build a network of leaders who seek to broaden their understanding of self, culture and the world, for themselves and generations of Chicagoans to come. Presenters will share tips and tools to foster resilience and create a safe and successful future. We’re connecting promising high school graduates–many of whom are first generation college students–with local professionals who can inspire our future leaders with integrity, intention and purpose.

Center on Halsted
3656 N Halsted St
Chicago, Illinois, 60613
United States

Anneke Lisberg

Anneke Lisberg earned her MS in Entomology and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she teaches and works with undergraduate researchers studying chemical communication in dogs.

Caitlin V Neal

Caitlin V Neal is a sex and relationship coach and nationally-recognized expert on sexual assault at music festivals. In her day job, she helps people discover the joys of sexuality. On weekends, she helps festivals prevent assaults through the provision of dedicated “safe spaces.”

Christopher Mallette

Christopher Mallette is the Director of Community Relations and Engagement, the Athletic Director and the Head Football Coach at Chicago Hope Academy. He is also a management consultant and strategic advisor.

Connor O’Keefe

Born in Minneapolis and currently located in Chicago, Connor O’Keefe (he/him) is a documentary filmmaker invested in telling stories revolving around identity, social justice, and life on the margins.

Jason Patera

Jason Patera is the Head of School at the iconic Chicago Academy for the Arts, an independent high school for passionate, elite-level filmmakers, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, animators, and visual artists from throughout Chicagoland and well beyond. A fierce advocate for the arts and arts education, Patera has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and was named a 2018 Golden Apple Leader of Distinction.

Joe Martin

Joe Martin is a Chicago-based designer with a love for making things simple. As the CEO of Martin Creative, he has spent the last 18 years gaining experience in business, marketing, and leadership. A seasoned entrepreneur, all of Joe’s projects are rooted in his passion for building real-world communities.

Joel Braunold

Joel Braunold serves as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, a coalition of over 100 different organizations working in every sector of society building relationships between Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians. A contributor for Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post, his work has been published in numerous national and international publications including the New York Daily News, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, the Hill and the Daily Beast. He has been a guest lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, National Defense University in Washington DC, Loyola Marymount University, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and at Bar Ilan University. He works regularly with the US State Department, USAID, the National Security Council and Congress on the needs of the peace building community. Outside the US, Joel works with national governments and multilateral institutions. Joel is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and holds a BA(Hons) in philosophy from Bristol University. He is a board member of the Alliance for Peacebuildng, is the recipient of the Avi Schaefer Peace Innovation Prize, is a senior fellow for the Alliance for Youth Movements and holds Honorary Life Membership to the National Union of Students (UK). He was selected as an Emerging Leader by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs for their class of 2018.

Judy Torres

Judy Torres has graced the airways on NY’s WKTU for 20 years, performed her hits nationwide at famous arenas, and recently wrote & starred in her sold out One Woman Off Broadway show, No Reason to Cry.

Nosa Eguae

First generation Nigerian-American, speaker, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur Nosa Eguae has coupled a life of service, with professional and athletic success. Nosa remains the only athlete in Auburn University history to start in two National Championship games.

Sawyer Garrity

Sawyer is a 2019 graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and was a proud member of Douglas Drama Troupe 4879. Along with MSD drama Garrity has been a part of various outside theater companies such as, Barclay Performing Arts and Broadway Bound.

Stuart Kruse

Stuart is a CFA, Numbers-Cruncher & Positive Expected Value Seeker. After a getting a Chem E degree from Northwestern and working for Goodyear out of school, Stuart Kruse got his MBA from Kellogg in Finance and Game Theory. He cut his teeth in the investment industry with Lehmann Brothers in New York and Chicago and then Bear Stearns (1999-2007) where he became a CFA charterholder in 2005. He then founded Kruse Asset Management in 2007 in the desperate attempt to hold the investment industry to a higher standard. Instead of purely relying on relationships or marketing to drive business, his audacious goal was to let the numbers lead the way (and not the commissions) so the clients reaped the rewards… In other words, he tried to “Moneyball” finance. His first book, License to Steal: Turn Wall Street Greed into your Gain, is about the pitfall of investing both from the industry and the investor’s standpoints, and how to make the system and people biases work for you instead of against you (Due out at the end of the month). Non-Financial related activities include more than 100 jumps out of a perfectly good airplane, massive amounts of beach volleyball, motorcycle riding, all-around thrill seeking and travel (with and without his four Munchkins). He and his wife, Shermin Kruse, had a dream wedding in Fiesole, Italy 13 years ago this June.