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).

4069 Spokane Ln
Seattle, Washington, 98105
United States

Brad Finegood

Brad Finegood is a Strategic Advisor in Public Health in Seattle & King County. He recently served as a co-chair of the King County Heroin and Prescription Opiate Task Force and was the Alcohol and Drug Coordinator for King County. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Michigan State University and his Master’s Degree in Counseling with a Specialty in Alcohol and Drug Abuse from Western Michigan University. He has worked in the behavioral health field for 20 years. Most importantly he is the sibling and survivor of a younger sibling that passed away from an overdose.

Debi Talukdar

Debi Talukdar is the Philosopher-in-Residence at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. She has been facilitating philosophical discussions with K-12 students and educators in Seattle for several years and serves on the boards of the UW Center for Philosophy for Children, and the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO). Debi is also the Program Coordinator and an ensemble member of Theater for Change UW at the Center for Teaching and Learning. They do anti-oppressive professional development using interactive theater. Debi is graduating with a Ph.D. in Education this summer. In her free time, she enjoys board games, yoga, and sleeping in.

James Keblas

James Keblas is a celebrated economic development leader in the areas of arts and entertainment. He got his start in the music business in 1991 working in hip hop at NastyMix Records, pushing artists like Sir Mix-a-Lot. He was Director of Seattle’s Office of Film, Music and Special Events for nine years, where he earned the title “Punk Rocker in a Suit.” His favorite professional achievement will always be Co-Founding The Vera Project, a music and arts center in Seattle run by and for youth.

John Vallier

John Vallier is the head of media and an ethnomusicology curator at the University of Washington Libraries. In these roles he oversees the Libraries’ Ethnomusicology Archives and audio/video makerspace: Media Arcade. As an affiliate professor of ethnomusicology John teaches on topics such as music of Seattle, remix studies, and sound of cinema for UW Honors, Cinema and Media Studies, and Ethnomusicology. Before coming to UW, John was an ethnomusicology archivist at UCLA, a composer for Activision, and a drummer for bands such as Swell and Santa Cruise Control.

Julio Covarrubias

Julio Covarrubias is a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant in the department of philosophy at UW. He is the recipient of the American Philosophical Association’s 2018 Prize Essay on Latin American Thought for “the best unpublished, English-language, philosophical essay in Latin American thought.” His research focuses on Latinx identity and racial oppression. Currently, he is writing a dissertation on the ethics and politics of inter- and intra-personal relationships in the wake of colonial violence. Julio is a graduate fellow at the Washington Institute for the Study of Inequality and Race, an affiliate with the Jackson School of International Studies, a founding member of the UW research cluster on Indigenous Studies, and an alumnus of the 2016 Summer Institute on Global Indigeneities.

Nat Puff

Also known for her internet presence, Left At London (sometimes stylized and shortened as /@/), is the stage name of singer/songwriter Nat Puff (she/her), a trans woman from Seattle, Washington who is not afraid to let herself be known intimately through her music, while still remaining accessible. Although Left At London mostly is known for her pop writing sensibility, she is also known for her deeply personal and introspective lyricism. Despite some of the songs subject matters being very specific to her life as a trans woman with autism, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, and PTSD, her songwriting style takes these concepts and makes them into something that’s uniquely abstract while still remaining relatable and honest.

Nathan Vass

Nathan Vass has had work displayed in over thirty photography shows and is the director of nine films, six of which have shown at festivals and one of which premiered at Henry Art Gallery. Born in South Central LA, he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Washington. His blog, The View From Nathan’s Bus, details his adventures as a public bus driver and has been featured in more than fifteen news outlets including NPR and The Seattle Times. His new book, The Lines That Make Us, is a Seattle bestseller.

Nicole McNichols

Nicole McNichols is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also received her PhD in Social Psychology. Over the past five years, Nicole has built her class, The Diversity of Human Sexuality, into the University of Washington’s largest and most popular undergraduate course with over two thousand enrolled students each year. She is the co-author of A Critical Introduction to Human Sexuality, an online, interactive textbook that stresses a sex-positive approach to sex education. Her research focuses on the role of interactive platforms in understanding and influencing undergraduates’ attitudes surrounding topics related to Human Sexuality. She is married and has three children.

Steven Quay

Steven Quay is the founder of Seattle-based Atossa Genetics, Inc., dedicated to breast cancer prevention. He received a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and a M.D. from the University of Michigan, a postdoc at MIT and Harvard, and he is a faculty member at Stanford Medical School. His contributions to medicine, cancer, and biochemistry have been cited more than 9,300 times, putting him in the top 1% of the world’s scientists. Since entering the biotech industry in 1983, he has founded six startups, invented seven FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, and holds 87 U.S. patents. Over 80 million people have benefited from the medicines he invented. His current passion involves the prevention of the two million yearly breast cancer cases worldwide.

Susanne Rafelski

Susanne Rafelski is a quantitative cell biologist and a Director at the Allen Institute for Cell Science in Seattle. Susanne has been imaging the structures inside living cells since she was 17. Her life-long scientific goal is to decipher the patterns and rules that transform the overwhelming complexity found inside cells into functioning units of life. The quest to unlock the secrets of the cell requires there to be no boundaries between scientific fields. Susanne is always looking for ways to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches into her research including data science analyses, image processing, mathematical modeling, computational simulations, and modern machine learning.

Venus Rekow

Venus Rekow is a behavioral strategist focused on applying behavioral economics to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to drive systemic behavior changes. She consults with leaders from Fortune 500 & non-profit organizations. She launched the Lean In Mamas Seattle Chapter.