Theme: Dare to Dream

TEDxOakland 2019 welcomes people of all ages, experiences and backgrounds to come together around this year's theme Dare to Dream. On November 3rd, 2019 innovators, artists, scientists, technologists, and fighters will embrace the TEDxOakland stage to share ideas and engage in game-changing conversations about the future of our community, humanity and the planet. We look forward to building community with you at TEDxOakland 2019!

Laney College
900 Fallon St
Oakland, California, 94612
United States

Brian O’Connor

Brian O’Connor began his career in the United States Marine Corps where he earned Marine of the quarter and meritorious promotion honors while serving as an Avionics Program Manager and Martial Instructor during two overseas campaigns – Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. As a Marine Corps College Fund recipient, Brian earned his undergraduate degree in Journalism from LSU and later his MBA from the University of Notre Dame before being selected to IBM’s prestigious Summit Leadership Program, where he began his IT career. After earning top sales honors including multiple Sales Eminence Awards – presented to IBM’s top performers - he worked at salesforce.com before joining the Chicago Cubs during their historic Wrigley Field transformation. Returning to his IT roots and hometown, Brian and his family returned to Sacramento joining EMC during the historic Dell EMC technology acquisition. He was tasked with managing and leading IT transformation within CA agencies as a senior account leader. While at Dell EMC, Brian quickly established himself as a top performer earning High Potential Leadership honors (HIPO) and top sales performance leading key government IT transactions to completion. Seeing an opportunity to have broader impact on the Northern California business community, Brian co-founded Veteran Enhanced Technology Solutions, a Sacramento-based, technology consulting firm focused on leading operational excellence while serving as a bridge and foundation for successfully transitioning veterans into technical roles. He currently serves as a Principal/Partner for the firm and is tasked with formulating and leading the execution of the five-year growth roadmap.

Cadence Strange

Cadence Strange [13 years-old and 6'2"] is a sharp young musician, cello player, and an artist. He sings with the Pacific Boychoir Academy (PBA), a GRAMMY Award-winning, independent choir school for boys now in its 20th year of existence. The Choir has nine independent albums and has won 3-GRAMMY Awards with SF Symphony.

Culture Shock Oakland

Culture Shock® Oakland (CSO) is a Federal non-profit 501(c)(3) hip-hop dance troupe dedicated to innovative performance, artist development, and community enrichment. Founded in 1993, Culture Shock® Oakland is a subsidiary of the worldwide network of Culture Shock® Dance Troupe, Inc. CSOconsistently presents urban dance forms with the artistic excellence and professional dedication traditionally associated with Jazz, modern, and other styles of dance. Our commitment to hip-hop dance as a highly entertaining, inspiring, and engaging art form is at the core of every activity and program that we offer. In addition to bringing first-rate performances to diverse audiences, we provide unparalleled opportunities for artistic expression and career development or our dancers. We encourage all members of our community to express themselves creatively regardless of their differences, including social class, age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. We provide a positive environment for dancers to experience personal growth, teamwork, and leadership. We are a highly diverse group of individuals who, through the power of hip-hop music and dance, cultivate self-worth, dignity, and respect for all people throughout our global community. Culture Shock ® Oakland under the direction of Kim Sims-Battiste is comprised of five dance troupes, each of which provides training, rehearsal, and performance opportunities for dancers and choreographers with various levels of experience and skill. Auditions are held every year for each troupe. Each performs at various venues and events and all take part in a nationwide choreographers' showcase every October in which Culture Shock dance troupes from around the world convene for a full weekend of performances, training, and community building. Each team provides a unique environment for personal and artistic growth as well as building team and community structure. http://www.cultureshockoakland.org/

Daniel Summerhill

HAILING FROM OAKLAND, CA, DANIEL B. SUMMERHILL IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POETRY/SOCIAL ACTION AND COMPOSITION STUDIES AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MONTEREY BAY. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF DIVINE, DIVINE, DIVINE (FORTHCOMING), A SEMIFINALIST FOR THE CHARLES B. WHEELER POETRY PRIZE. SUMMERHILL HOLDS AN MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING FROM PINE MANOR COLLEGE (SOLSTICE). HE HAS RECEIVED THE SHARON OLDS FELLOWSHIP AND WAS NOMINATED TO EVERIPEDIA’S 30 UNDER 30 LIST. DANIEL HAS PERFORMED ALONGSIDE GREATS SUCH AS JASMINE MANS, ABIODUN OYEWOLE, LEBOGANG MASHILE, GCINA MHLOPHE AND OTHERS. HE CO-HEADLINED A EUROPEAN TOUR AND WAS INVITED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL AND THE U.S EMBASSY TO TEACH AND PERFORM AT THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL POETRY AFRICA FESTIVAL IN 2018. HE IS THE 2015 NY EMPIRE STATE POETRY SLAM CHAMPION AND A 2015 NITTY GRITTY GRAND SLAM CHAMPION. HIS POEMS ARE PUBLISHED OR FORTHCOMING IN THE LILLY REVIEW, CALIFRAGLE, BUTTON, BLAVITY AND ELSEWHERE. A CHAPTER OF HIS RESEARCH, “BLACK VOICE; CULTIVATING AUTHENTIC VOICE IN BLACK WRITERS IS FORTHCOMING BY THE MASSACHUSETTS READING ASSOCIATION. http://www.danielsummerhill.com/#/about/

Dawn Morningstar

Dawn Morningstar (her given name) is an advocate for women, award-winning author, master life coach, speaker, podcast host, educator, creator of Facial Serum #18, and the grateful mother of two venerable daughters. Dawn founded Venerable Women in 2013 as a sisterhood, a philosophy, and a movement with and for women who choose to manifest a kind and loving world, starting within themselves. Her life-changing signature program, Living LOVE (Lives Of Venerable Expression), inspires hope and transformation for the creation of a new world. In 2018, Dawn founded the Venerable Women Empowerment Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, that supports women leaving prison to transform their lives. Her 10-member board of directors is extraordinarily dedicated and stands with Dawn to make positive change in our world. https://www.venerablewomen.com/pages/dawn-morningstar-coaching

Dev Cuny

Dev Cuny is a storyteller and activist who speaks out about the harms of conversion therapy as an ambassador for the #BornPerfect Campaign. Dev has shared their story in many documentaries and media outlets including Huffington Post, The Guardian, VICE, New York Magazine’s The Cut, The Advocate, and Mashable. Graduating with a Master of Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union, Dev is a person of faith working to create a world where every person feels loved and accepted for who they are. evCuny.com, Bornperfect.com, Facebook.com/DevCunyStoryteller

Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist and community organizer. She has worked for labor rights and social justice for over 50 years. In 1962, she and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union. She served as Vice President and played a critical role in many of the union’s accomplishments for four decades. In 2002, she received the Puffin/Nation $100,000 prize for Creative Citizenship which she used to establish the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF). DHF is connecting groundbreaking community-based organizing to state and national movements to register and educate voters; advocate for education reform; bring about infrastructure improvements in low-income communities; advocate for greater equality for the LGBT community; and create strong leadership development. She has received numerous awards: among them The Eleanor Roosevelt Humans Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998. In 2012 President Obama bestowed Dolores with The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Gabi Jubran

Gabi is the Founder/Executive Director of HAPPI (Helping Awesome Parents Parent Intentionally) and Co-Founder of Digital Wellness Collective. He’s a Bay Area Native on a mission to help shift technology’s incentives and our consumer culture from extractive to regenerative in order to support the flourishing of all life. He believes that a world where parents feel deeply connected to themselves, to their children, to their communities, and to nature will lead to more HAPPIness everywhere!

Ilana Nguyen

Ilana is the San Mateo Chapter Founder for the EduSTEM Initiative, a youth-led initiative that works to empower youths of underrepresented backgrounds to pursue STEM. She has partnered with the Peninsula YMCA and the San Mateo Public Library to hold three semesters of free STEM workshops and counting. She is also a 10th grader at Stanford Online High School. Ilana cares deeply about the problems surrounding growing up in today's age. She advocates for equal opportunities for youth and is a part of her school's efforts to promote social inclusivity in an online setting.

Jamie Almanza

Jamie Almanza has dedicated more than 20 years to uplifting vulnerable community members across California. Ms. Almanza is the Executive Director of Bay Area Community Services (BACS), and has provided strategic leadership to the agency since 2010. Ms. Almanza is an expert in the social services sector, with a lens towards pushing for reform and optimizing infrastructure and scale so that or communities experience true social impact. Before coming to BACS, Ms. Almanza was the Sr. Director of Administration and Quality Improvement at Fred Finch Youth Center, from 1998 to 2010. Beyond this work, Ms. Almanza has supported organizations addressing homeless and housing, mental health, social services, and substance use services. Ms. Almanza has served on numerous non-profit Boards, with an emphasis on modernizing the system of care, creating smart business offerings, and improving data analysis and continuous quality improvement. Ms. Almanza holds expertise in program start-up and design, budget design, data & reporting design, hiring, and resource development of new programs. BACS has opened over 25 new programs in the last 9 years under Ms. Almanza’s leadership including a significant program to end senior homelessness through a unique partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Ms. Almanza received her MBA from Mills College, and was awarded a full MBA scholarship as part of the 10,000 Woman Initiative to promote global woman leadership. Ms. Almanza is a contributor to the San Francisco Business Times, CASRA publications, and more. https://www.bayareacs.org/leadership/

John Hittler

John has made a habit of creating seemingly impossible outcomes, whether transforming a struggling team to become the top performer, or engaging an audience with his playful, interactive, life-changing style. His belief is simple: we are each endowed with one unique genius, different than any other person on the planet. John uses his genius to create seemingly impossible outcomes and in doing so, helps people win big! His professional career spans 9 owner funded companies, some of which thrived, others not as much. Regardless, each company (and one non-profit foundation) taught valuable lessons and honed the skills and passions John holds today. In short: Do what you love! Love the people you do it with! In Evoking Genius, John partners with clients to create outcomes that they simply could not imagine possible, through an encouraging coaching style. “The clients always set the agenda,” says John, “and my job is to make the process of necessary change or transformation safer and more attractive than standing still.” That result comes about often in a playful manner, transforming work into play, and unleashing individual, team, and organizational “genius” in the process. “We take struggling teams and help them to transform into top performers. We take already great teams and partner with them to transform to their next highest level of growth. That almost always centers upon releasing the pent up talent in each individual and team. That sounds simple, and it’s not always easy. Our job is to make that process accessible, attractive, and mostly…safe. It never hurts to make it fun too,” claims John, who spent more than his fair share of time in the principal’s office for his playful approach to life…and grade school. That same approach makes transformation much more appealing for clients. http://www.evokinggenius.com/

Kathleen Tarr

A University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Law School graduate and member of the California Bar, Kathleen Antonia Tarr began her professional career serving in the “legal Peace Corps” as a Skadden Fellow representing disabled military veterans in administrative, civil, and criminal contexts. Her publications have been cited by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in amici curiae, and by universities across the country. Kathleen has presented at University of Oxford, Universidad de Los Andes, Goldman School of Public Policy, Harvard Medical School, International Black Women’s Film Festival, UN Women Global Voices Film Festival, and more. Kathleen is producer of the annual Getting Played symposium on equity in the entertainment industry which was born of her 2009 documentary of the same name. A writer, award-winning vocalist, and filmmaker with stage, film, television, and commercial acting credits, Kathleen's artistic expertise intersects with years as a civil and human rights attorney in her decades long effort to eradicate discriminatory practices in the entertainment industry and beyond. She writes and produces for Novel Approach, LLC and What The … Productions and can be seen currently on screen in the feature film Bennett’s War and documentary Nevertheless. Kathleen also serves Stanford University

Kev Choice

In this mesmerizing performance, Oakland, CA native pianist, M.C., producer, and composer Kev Choice shows his heart and soul and share's some of his unique journey as an artist through his music. Kev display's the powerful blend of a classical pianist and conscious rapper. Kev is working in collaboration with drummer Dame Drummer, and upright bassist Shimpei Ogawa. They weave together beautiful vocals, drums and a bass into a mesh of this magic sound that combines elements of Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul, and Classical music, to convey a message that love and compassion are truly a balancing act, to follow your dreams, count your blessings, and spread love all around the world. Kev Choice was raised in Oakland, CA and began playing piano and writing rhymes at the age of 11. He went on to obtain a Bachelor's Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans and a Master's Degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, both in Piano Performance. Choice's career as a professional has featured stints as pianist/keyboardist for artist such as Michael Franti & Spearhead, Goapele, Zion I, LyricsBorn, The Coup, Too Short, and more. Kev was 7-time Grammy award winning artist Ms. Lauryn Hill's musical director in 2007. He's toured extensively to over 25 countries and all over the US as a musician and artist. Kev has produced 4 solo albums as well as was commissioned to write a piece for the Oakland Symphony in 2018. His work Soul Restoration Suite debut at The Paramount Theater to a sold out audience and rave reviews. As a producer, Kev has had his music on albums by artist like Lauryn Hill, Zion I, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Jennifer Johns, Martin Luther, and more. When not performing or producing, Kev Choice is active in community as an educator and advocate for arts. He teaches at Oakland School For The Arts, is a governor and Secretary of the board for the SF Chapter of the Recording Academy, and has been appointed to the Cultural Affairs Commission for the City of Oakland.

Leigh Ware

Leigh is a sex educator and entrepreneur exploring how we build relationships. She's helping the world create incredible connection–because we deserve to want it, and we deserve to have it.

Lili Gangas

Lili Gangas is the Chief Technology Community Officer at the Kapor Center for Social Impact. In this role, Lili helps catalyze Oakland’s emergence as a social impact hub of tech done right – where tech, diverse talent, and action driven partnerships can tackle pressing social and economic inequities of our communities. Lili advises inclusive tech entrepreneurship ecosystem building activities and Oakland initiatives such as Oakland Startup Network, TechHire Oakland, Kapor Center Innovation Lab to name a few. Before coming to the Kapor Center, Lili was an Associate Principal at Accenture Technology Lab’s Open Innovation team, based out of Silicon Valley, building bridges between startups and commercial clients. She was also a founding member of the Innovation Services team at Booz Allen specializing in crowdsourcing, prize challenges, and open data solutions at the federal level. Before that, Lili could be found in the lab working on software and hardware solutions for the aerospace industry as a Senior Multi-Disciplined Software Engineer at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. Lili is a proud immigrant from Bolivia who believes in fostering inclusive tech ecosystems for all. Lili holds an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and Systems Engineering Certification from UCLA Extension. Lili was an active TechStars Startup Weekend DC organizer, a judge of the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Startup in a Day Challenge, an open data innovation panelist at the White House Council of Women and Girls session, advisor to Dreamwakers.org and OpenDataNation.com, and a 2018 New America CA Fellow.

Michelle Joyce

Michelle Joyce is on a mission to eliminate unhealthy posture! She’s frequently featured on TV shows and teaches posture workshops worldwide. Originally trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist, she believes that helping people change their posture involves much more than simply telling them to sit up straight. She is the author of the book Posture Makeover, creator of the popular app The 30 Day Posture Makeover, and her online posture lessons have millions of views on YouTube. She first became interested in changing her posture when terrible back pain started interfering with her career as a professional dancer. After trying every imaginable remedy, and spending a small fortune, she finally discovered the power of posture to solve the problem. A happy side effect was that she also felt more confident, coordinated and attractive. She has devoted herself to spreading the word ever since. Michelle has a Masters in Counseling and is certified in Occupational Ergonomics, Reposturing Dynamics, Personal Training, Thai Massage and Reposturing Dynamics. She likes to combine techniques from various disciplines to help people build healthy habits that will make them look great, feel confident and live pain free!

Netta Brooks

NETTA is a uniquely gifted singer, songwriter and actress with a special vocal tone that ranges from high and sweet to deep, warm and raspy. Born and raised between Berkeley and Oakland California.

Nikole Collins-Puri

Nikole Collins-Puri is a social justice visionary, strategist, advocate and mentor who has committed her life to unleashing the potential of untapped communities. She’s the CEO of Techbridge Girls, a nonprofit organization that excites, educates and equips girls from low-income communities through STEM, empowering them to pursue STEM careers and achieve economic mobility and financial security as adults. Nikole is a master collaborator who is able to leverage her rich professional experiences in tech, philanthropy and education to bring diverse groups of stakeholders together to urge social change in our communities. She’s committed to removing barriers and increasing access and opportunities for all those who are often left behind but essential to the success and growth of our society. Prior to Techbridge Girls, Nikole worked at AT&T where she spearheaded their diversity and inclusion efforts, at the College Board where she advised states on their college completion strategy for Black and Latinx students, and at the Women’s Foundation of California where she advanced women’s economic security by supporting and awarding grants to visionary grassroots organizations. Nikole holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida and MPA from City University of New York.

Pacific Boychoir Academy [PBA]

The GRAMMY Award-winning Pacific Boychoir offers Bay Area boys unparalleled performance opportunities, worldwide travel, collaborations with professional powerhouses, and ambassadorial experiences resulting in a compelling personal development experience. The Pacific Boychoir is composed of boys ages 4-18 from our choral music program, and boys grades 3-8 from the Pacific Boychoir Academy, an independent day school for boys. The only secular choir school in Western North America, PBA offers unique and rigorous choral and academic programming, producing confident, engaged scholars and artists. The Pacific Boychoir offers after-school choirs for boys in pre-kindergarten through high school, and girls ages 6-16. PBA is a richly diverse community, focusing on excellence in academics and music education. more here https://www.pacificboychoir.org/

Sofie Lovern

Sofie Lovern is just your average Hispanic Muslim comedian. She enjoys bunnies, long walks on the beach, & world domination.

Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri

Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri is a founder and Executive Director of Edja Foundation, which is now partnered with Nyaka Aids Orphans Project. She works with girls and women who are sexually assaulted and/or have been victims of domestic abuse. Tabitha is Rwandan, grew up in Uganda as a refugee and currently lives in Michigan U.S.A for the last 18years, with her four children and husband. Having experienced complex trauma herself, she was moved to act on behalf of the victims by providing FREE medical, legal, and mental health support. In addition, doing outreach, and advocating to end gender-based violence because she strongly believes: “Enough is Enough.” Her work has been recognized by Global Citizen, where she won people’s choice award 2018. She has been invited to the The Vatican to speak about the urgency of the work to end sexual violence. Tabitha is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology but also practices as a mental health therapist. When she graduated with her Master’s Degree, she moved back to Rwanda and served women who had been raped during the genocide as well as their children. She is highly trained in trauma & diversity work.

Tiffany Alvoid

Tiffany Alvoid is an attorney. She earned a JD from UCLA School of Law with a concentration in Critical Race Theory. Tiffany created a training about addressing microaggressions in the workplace in an effort to create awareness about how destructive they can be in the workplace. Tiffany’s training focuses on the historical context that makes certain phrases offensive in an effort to help participants understand the unique perspective of marginalized groups. Tiffany conducts the training for teams to help create a more inclusive and productive work environment. Currently, Tiffany works at Twitter on their employee relations team.