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 Houston Alumni Center
3204 Cullen Blvd
Houston, Texas, 77004
United States

Ahad Azimuddin

A recent graduate of the Texas A&M Mays School of Business, Ahad Azimuddin is now pursuing a medical doctorate at Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Medicine. Constantly intrigued, easily excitable, and having had one too many cups of coffee, Ahad finds joy in advancing innovation. It is his dream to develop impactful and sustainable solutions to challenges in medicine and entrepreneurship. In his free time, he can be found in a local coffee shop reading about South Asian history or making yet another Spotify playlist.

Amal Kassir

Amal Kassir is a Syrian American international spoken word poet who started as a waitress at her family's restaurant in Denver, CO. She has performed in 13 countries, and over five dozen cities, including Geneva at the United Nations. She has lectured, performed poetry and taught workshops in venues ranging from orphanages to refugee camps to youth prisons to universities to city sidewalks. Amal designed her own undergraduate major, titled Community Programming in Social Psychology, where she has been able to create programs for a range of causes and communities, from businesses threatened by gentrification to poetry workshops for refugee students to counter-terrorism websites for the department of homeland security and she is now working on her first book.

Harwood Taylor

Mr. Taylor is Co-Director of Gremillion and Co. Fine Art. He loves telling stories and has been involved in the Houston Storytelling community since 2014. He has won 3 Houston Moth Story Slams and was included in The Moth Radio Hour on NPR. He and his dear storytelling friend, Chris Gorman, are guest co-hosts for the 90.1 KPFT Houston radio program, “So, What’s Your Story?” Harwood is also a member of The Houston Story Teller’s Guild. He believes that we all benefit when we share our personal life stories with one another. He has hosted a breakfast every Friday for the last seven years for his writer and storyteller friends.

Stephanie Nweke

Stephanie is a first-generation Nigerian American and currently attends the University of Houston Law Center. She’s the Co-Founder of Blademy, an online learning platform created to respond to the widening racial wealth and economic opportunity gap that exists in this country between Black millennials and millennials belonging to other racial and ethnic groups.

Warren Holleman

Warren Holleman’s career in academic medicine began at Baylor College of Medicine, where he founded and directed two community health centers for Houston’s homeless population, as well as the Compassion & the Art of Medicine lecture and performing arts series, now in its 30 the year. More recently, he served as Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he directed the innovative Faculty Health & Well-Being program. Dr. Holleman has authored papers in Nature, Lancet, and Journal of the American Medical Association and coedited the medical textbook Fundamentals of Clinical Practice. Holleman’s avocation is writing and telling stories. His stories have been featured on The Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Mainstage, and he co-hosts So, What’s Your Story? Thursday nights on 90.1 FM KPFT. He serves as an editor for the online magazine Pulse-voices from the heart of medicine.

Wes Parham

Dr. Wes is a national speaker in the areas of organizational innovation and organizational leadership. With his unique mix of social commentary, humor, and scholarship, Dr. Wes has presented to thousands of students, professionals, and individuals and has established himself as a dynamic voice in today’s culture.