Theme: Transform

Orillia is a city in the midst of rapid demographic change, with an influx of young families looking for an alternative to the big city. In this TEDx we will explore transformation in many ways. **** Tickets are now onsale at the Orillia Opera House boxoffice online. ****

Orillia Opera House
1 West Street N
Orillia, Ontario, L3V 5B8
Canada

Beth Grixti

Beth Grixti is a volunteer with Muskoka Gift of Life, bringing information about organ donation to the public. She shares her understanding of what it means to donate using her own experience as an anonymous live liver donor.

Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald is the host of Quirks & Quarks. One of Canada's best known science journalists, Bob is a regular science commentator on CBC News Network, and science correspondent for CBC-TV's The National. Bob's latest book, Canadian Spacewalkers, was shortlisted for CSWA Book Award. In November, 2011, Bob was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Charles Pachter

One of Canada’s leading contemporary artists, Charles Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer. His iconic pop images of the queen, moose, and maple leaf flag celebrate Canada’s cultural heritage with wit and whimsy. Pachter’s contributions to Canadian culture have been recognized with honorary doctorates from Brock University, OCAD University, and the University of Toronto. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters and a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals. Pachter studied at the University of Toronto, the Sorbonne, and at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the USA. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McMichael Gallery. He has held solo exhibitions in France, Germany, Japan, the UK, India, and Bangladesh. He is represented in public and private collections around the world.

Emma Reynolds

Emma Reynolds is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Midland. She is a two-time winner of Midland Idol, and has performed in eight Drayton Entertainment musicals.

Erin Dixon

Erin Dixon is committed to harmonizing right relations and reciprocity with all of life, living into our collective prophecies and weaving the greatest vision of our time – from the inside out. You can find her circling with leading change makers at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Feather Carriers Leadership for Life Promotion.

Ligaya Byrch

Ligaya Byrch is a Community Innovator and Entrepreneur focused on supporting programs and services in the Orillia area. She is one of the authors of the book Queering Social Work Education.

Melissa F. Olson

Melissa F. Olson is an author working in the Urban Fantasy genere. She has published ten novels in her Old World series for 47North, three novellas for Tor.com, and a standalone mystery. Her journalism and academic work has been published in The International Journal of Comic Art, The La Crosse Tribune, U-Wire, Women on Writing.com, the compilation Images of the Modern Vampire, Litreactor.com, and Tor.com.

Nancy Osborne

Nancy Osborne is a former United Nations security advisor, and was one of the first women in a formerly male-only branch of the Canadian Forces. Today, Nancy instructs women on dealing with bullying and harrasment in the workplace and in their personal lives.

Risha Yorke

Risha Yorke is a business and success coach. She runs a 3-month, online, transformational confidence and leadership program. In 2109, she introduced a free 5-day leadership program for teen women to help build the next generation of leaders.

Samyuktha Punthambekar

Samyuktha Punthambekar is a Bharatanatyam dancer, arts educator and arts administrator. She has worked with groups such as Banff and the TDSB. Samyuktha received the RBC Arts Access Award in 2018.

Yvonne Heath

Yvonne Heath is a registered nurse who has become and author, speaker, and global change maker. She focuses on transforming our relationship with grief so that we can all live a more fulfilling life.