Theme: Dynamic Harmony

In music, dynamic harmony is critical for variety and brings a sense of moving forward. Individually, the words create an unusual paradox - something that is dynamic is characterized by constant change, while harmony is synonymous with consistency, consensus, and even conformity. At TEDxSaltLakeCity 2019, we will feature “ideas worth spreading” from speakers and performers who will share how we can use dynamic harmony to support diversity and unity in an an ever changing world through technology, entertainment, and design.

Kingsbury Hall
1395 Presidents Circle
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112
United States

Cathy Callow-Heusser

Instructional Designer and Educational Researcher

Cathy Callow-Heusser started her career as a software engineer. She coded expert systems and multimedia applications while earning degrees in Instructional Design and Educational Research and Evaluation. She has worn many hats, but her happy place is teaching math. Cathy prefers to teach students who have traditionally struggled in math because she loves watching attitude changes as students become successful. The best decade of her career involved evaluating the Bureau of Indian Education’s (BIE) Reading First program and subsequent initiatives in literacy and math, as well as providing technical assistance to help teachers improve reading and math instruction. During this time, she and her teams traveled to 86 BIE schools throughout the US, which cemented her passion for honoring cultures and languages. Representation MATTERS! Cathy is the proud mom of 2 biological, 2 adopted, and 3 bonus children. She and her husband Val have 10 grandchildren.

Connor Behr

Molecular Biology Student

Connor Behr is currently a student at BYU PathwayConnect in pursuit of a degree in molecular biology, which he has loved and studied since he was 12 years old. He is skilled in the field and has experience shadowing at ARUP Laboratories and a summer internship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Connor received the Emperor Science Award in 2017 for his research in cancer development and treatment, and he conducted related gene and protein expression projects with Physarum polycephalum, an organism he has been studying for more than 9 years. He is currently heading a campaign called the PhyR Project for the development of an alternative insulin production technique.

Cynthia Bee

Conservational Landscape Architect

Cynthia works to translate the technical nature of landscaping into public friendly messaging as the Outreach Coordinator for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District's Conservation Garden Park. Whether it's teaching landscape classes to homeowners or creating digital and social media marketing content, she's learned how homeowners think about landscaping-and how to influence them. Cynthia earned her Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University and has spent more than 20 years working in different sectors of the green industry.

David Kozlowski

Marriage & Family Therapist

David Kozlowski obtained a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from National University in San Diego. Since 1999, David has worked as a counselor, behavioral specialist, mental health worker, and therapist in group homes, crisis treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals, drug addiction facilities, and schools for severely emotionally disturbed kids and teens. David has his own private practice, is the Host of the Light The Fight podcast, and is the Executive Director of the Non Profit Quit Trip’n.

Denise Druce

Yoga Instructor

For nearly four decades, Denise Druce has been inspiring people to live healthier, happier lives. She calls herself an Elevator…when you’re around her, you’re going up! Denise has taught a wide variety of fitness classes over the years, from step to indoor cycling to her current and lasting love, yoga. She teaches her students to stand at the “Soft Edge of the Hard Place” in fitness and in life. Her non-profit Yoga Forward is "taking yoga where it isn’t"…prisons, shelters, schools, and shopping malls. She has a Masters Degree in Public Health, is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT500, and is a breast cancer Thriver. She spends most weekends on the road, making the world a better place by getting more people trained to teach yoga everywhere. Denise and her husband, Michael live in Salt Lake City with their three boys.

Dr. Joey Wilson

Engineer and Entrepreneur

Dr. Joey Wilson is an acclaimed engineer and entrepreneur, focused on the field of sensing people using radio waves. Dr. Wilson’s breakthrough doctoral work on detecting and locating movement using wireless networks at the University of Utah has earned worldwide attention. Dr. Wilson is now the founder and CEO of XANDEM, a company focused on high-tech radio frequency sensors for applications like energy efficiency, elder care, healthcare and security. XANDEM was the first to research, design, and ship a product that utilizes everyday wireless networks to accurately detect and locate moving people within buildings. Joey and his team are now helping other businesses turn existing wireless devices into powerful people-sensing systems. In his free time, you can find Joey throwing a disc with his wife and two sons on the grassy fields near their home in Salt Lake City, finger picking his guitar, backcountry skiing through the trees, or trail running in the beautiful mountains of Utah.

Dr. Ruby Chou

Executive Director, Mundi Project

Dr. Ruby Chou is an arts executive, classical pianist, and educator. Ruby advocates for open access to pianos, music education, and innovative performances as the executive director of Mundi Project, a Utah-based nonprofit community music organization. Mundi Project is launching Utah’s first intergenerational music program at Neighborhood House in October. As an educator, she mentors 21st-century musicians as adjunct professor of piano and music entrepreneurship at Weber State University and specializes in teaching youth and adults in various learning environments. Ruby performs locally and nationally with professional, amateur, and young musicians. Ruby also serves on the board of directors for Utah Nonprofits Association. Dr. Chou earned a doctoral degree in Music and Human Learning from The University of Texas at Austin. She graduated from Manhattan School of Music in NYC with a master’s degree in piano performance and a Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Utah.

Dr. Taylor Sparks

Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Dr. Taylor Sparks is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah. He is originally from Utah and an alumni of the department he now teaches in. He did his MS in Materials at UCSB and his PhD in Applied Physics at Harvard University and then did a postdoc in the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB. He is currently the Director of the Materials Characterization Lab at the University of Utah and teaches classes on ceramics, materials science, characterization, and technology commercialization. His current research centers on the discovery, synthesis, characterization, and properties of new materials for energy applications. He is a pioneer in the emerging field of materials informatics whereby big data, data mining, and machine learning are leveraged to solve challenges in materials science. When he’s not in the lab you can find him running his podcast “Materialism” or canyoneering with his 3 kids in southern Utah.

Emily Capito

LCSW

Em Capito is an unconventional psychotherapist obsessed with the widespread loss of resilience in the face of overwhelming comfort. While studying her own trauma from the inside out, Em embarked on a series of experiments that led to a prescription for intentional discomfort. Em blends these experiential interventions with meditation and yoga therapy to build the holistic mind-body resilience that carries us through our darkest moments. She completed a master’s degree in social work at the University of Utah in 2007 and a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Phoenix in 2011. Em is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a certified LifePower yoga teacher, and a Dharana Method meditation teacher with a private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Foreign Figures

Musicians

Foreign Figures’ alternative take on pop music stems from the four very different humans that create it together: EJ, Steve, Seth and Jonny T. Formed in late 2014, the Utah band has achieved millions of streams online, received licensing deals from Fox, MTV and Fox Sports, and taken their charismatic live show to over half of the United States. The band’s sound and synergy comes from their desire to create something unique together that they couldn’t or wouldn’t create on their own. They view their creative differences and skills as something to celebrate, and collaboration as something special. The band name is a synonym for authenticity and imagination, which comes through lyrically in many of their songs, breaking down the culture of choosing sides. Everyone is a foreign figure to someone else in the world—if you’re unlike anyone else, then you’re a foreign figure.

Gerald Elias

Musician, Author, Conductor, Composer

Gerald Elias leads a dual life as an internationally acclaimed musician and award-winning author. A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, Elias, performer, conductor, composer, and teacher has concertized on five continents. He has been music director of the Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber series in Salt Lake City since 2004. His Daniel Jacobus mystery series takes place in the dark corners of the music world where greed, ambition and lust lurk backstage. His debut novel, Devil’s Trill, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Two others have been recorded as unique audio books in which Elias performs musical clues. Elias has also authored a children’s story, Maestro, the Potbellied Pig. His 2018 essay, “War & Peace. And Music,” won 1st prize from the Utah Division of Arts & Museums. Elias resides in Salt Lake City and West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Jaxon Willard

Dancer, Choreographer

Jaxon Willard dances at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio. He currently trains in numerous styles of dance, including Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Musical Theater and Ballroom. Jaxon has been dancing since before he could walk. He was a quick study and loved music and to move. He started choreographing early on as well. He made the Brigham Young University Youth Ballroom team when he was 12, but after much thought and heartache, he began his formal training for all styles of dance and dance company involvement. At his very first Nationals competition, the Dance Awards Vegas 2016, he placed in the Top 10 for the Best Dancer. The following year at the Dance Awards Nationals Vegas 2017, he was honored to be named the First-Runner Up for The Best Dancer, with a self-choreographed piece. Jaxon feels blessed to have the opportunity to have found something that brings him such happiness and allows him to express himself in a profound and positive way.

Jessica Baynes

Founder, Healing in Motion Dance

Jessica Baynes attended the University of Utah, where she received her BFA in Modern Dance. Jessica sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury during her freshman year and underwent almost two years of intensive rehabilitation to regain quality of motor function. During that time, she experienced social isolation, stigmatization, and loss of identity as a result of her injury. Since recovering, Jessica founded Healing in Motion Dance, an arts and medicine initiative that teaches rehabilitative ballet classes to participants with neurological conditions that impair neuromuscular function such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, and stroke. Her goals with the program are to physically strengthen and emotionally empower others with motor function inhibiting diagnoses, through ballet. Healing in Motion Dance serves as a platform on which collegiate dance and physical therapy students collaborate by designing adaptive ballet classes for patients in their local healthcare system.

Josh Taylor

Creative Change Agent

Josh Taylor is a filmmaker, designer, writer, art director, and creative strategist, but at his core, he is a Creative Change Agent and Business Storyteller. He helps companies in the midst of pivotal change/transformation moments, discover, craft and share their own stories through creative content, experiences, and workshops, in order to help their employees and customers build stronger emotional engagement and human connection to the business and its journey.

Karen Burns

Assistant Director, Intermountain Therapy Animals

After working in the corporate world for many years, Karen Burns found her true passion in a non-profit organization, Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA). Karen is the Assistant Director of ITA and manages Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) Programs in 30 (and growing) schools and libraries in the state of Utah. She has partnered with three different therapy animals over the past two decades, and is also a licensed ITA Workshop Instructor and R.E.A.D. Instructor. Karen enjoys traveling around the country and internationally training others to use our literacy support program, R.E.A.D., in their communities. Karen remains passionate about sharing the gifts our four-footed friends can offer people during difficult times in their lives. They offer hope, healing, fun and a sense of normalcy in settings where that is rarely otherwise possible.

Kotryna Liepinyte

Student

Kotryna Liepinyte is a former undergraduate student from the University of Utah with a BA in English Literature and Communications. She was born in Kaunas, Lithuania and is passionate about honoring her foreign culture and engaging in conversation about immigration stereotypes. Kotryna's mission is to provide an open dialogue about the representation of immigrants in local and global news. Kotryna intends to pursue her education and passion by attending law school. She also enjoys traveling around the world and experiencing a variety of cultures.

LeBaron Family

Singing Family

The LeBaron family was brought to the limelight when a casual recording of their family karaoke night went viral. Dennise LeBaron had requested that her children make her a video of them singing “One Day More.” The LeBaron children and their spouses all love to sing, so they happily complied. The video was posted to Facebook, and by the end of the week, it had over 8 million views! When the children were very young, they showed themselves to be extremely musical and eager to perform. Mom and Dad, musicians themselves, were pleased to instruct them in the hope that sharing music would create strong bonds between their children. After the oldest daughter, Holli passed away in 2002, the remaining siblings have prolonged her legacy through music. The family attributes its closeness to the memory of Holli and her deep appreciation for music and their family’s religious faith. The LeBarons hope to not only share their music with the world, but make everyone who hears it feel like family.

Rob Landes

Violinist

Take a classically-trained violinist who began studying at the age of 3, add two music performance degrees, include a loop pedal and a dash of humor, and you have Rob Landes. Rob Landes has become a sensation on both YouTube and Bilibili (China’s most popular short-video platform) for his combination of video game music, pop music, comedy, and costumes. With over 1.6 Million subscribers worldwide and 160 million views online, Rob has delighted diverse audiences with hundreds of musical covers. As to his live performances, Rob Landes has opened for T-Pain, Rachel Platten, and Jason DeRulo, while also having performed at New York Fashion Week, Carnegie Hall, the Sundance Film Festival, throughout Europe, Northern Africa, Southeast Asia, and now TEDxSaltLakeCity!

Sara Jones

Inclusion Pro

Sara Jones was adopted from South Korea at 3 years old and raised in Utah. As a life-long and proud Utahan, her life and career path have taken her through unexpected twists and turns - from patent attorney to CEO. Sara Jones is CEO of InclusionPro®, where she is passionate about helping thoughtful leaders and organizations build cultures of inclusion. Sara is also co-founder and COO of Women Tech Council, a national organization focused on the economic impact of women in driving high growth for the technology sector. Sara has almost 20 years of experience within companies leading talent, workforce, operational, partnership, fundraising and legal strategies. She started her career as a patent attorney, leading diversity efforts and became a partner at Workman Nydegger. Sara has a J.D. law from BYU and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Utah. She is the proud mother of two beautiful sons.

Sonali Loomba

Kathak Dancer

Sonali Loomba is a Kathak dancer artist from India, now based in Utah. Kathak is one of the 8 classical dance forms from India showcasing the grace, beauty, and power of storytelling of various mythologies from India. Sonali is the first kathak dancer to have showcased this dance form on large platforms in and around Utah and is the Founder and Artistic Director of the only Kathak school in the state – ‘Kaladharaa Dance School’ which aims to promote and preserve this ancient and traditional dance form. With a Masters education in Human Resource Management from India, Sonali has always been close to Indian Classical Arts and found dance to be her calling making it her full time profession. She is a well known choreographer in her field and believes dance can bring communities and people closer to one another. She has worked with various western dancers and musicians and has been successful in bringing out the true color of different dance forms and music.