Theme: If Not Now

DUE TO THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON YOUR COMMUNITY AND THE GREATER WORLDWIDE TEDx COMMUNITIES, OUR EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED FROM APRIL 2020 TO OCTOBER 2020. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

On October 17th, 2020 TEDxFoggyBottom will bring the most courageous and innovative minds to one of the biggest stages in Washington, D.C. with our theme: If Not Now. Our speakers will examine the ways in which the urgency of the current moment shapes our decisions in the next, and speak to the importance of acting in the Now. As time moves and opportunities pass, it is necessary for us recognize the value of each moment, and the power that each of us holds to spur action for the future. Because if we fail to act, who will? What would that missed opportunity lead to? And when would anything change, If Not Now?

Lisner Auditorium
730 21st Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia, 20052
United States

Afua Bruce

Afua Bruce has spent her career developing and applying technology for the public interest. She is currently the Chief Program Officer for DataKind, a nonprofit that harnesses the power of data science in service of humanity. Afua was previously the Director of Engineering for New America's Public Interest Technology program. There, Afua oversaw the Public Interest Technology University Network, as well as technologists working with state and local government, and NGOs, to develop technology and policy better together. Prior to New America, Afua served in the Federal government, as the Executive Director of the White House's National Science and Technology Council and in strategy positions in the FBI's science and technology programs. Afua began her career as a software engineer at IBM. Afua holds a degree in computer engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Andrew Steer

Dr. Andrew Steer is the President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, a global research organization whose 1000+ experts work in more than 80 countries, with offices in Brazil, China, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Dr. Steer joined WRI from the World Bank, where he served as Special Envoy for Climate Change from 2010 - 2012. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Director General at the UK Department of International Development in London. Dr. Steer is a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Adaptation, a Global Agenda Trustee for the World Economic Forum, and is a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, the Energy Transitions Commission, the Champions 12.3 Coalition to reduce food loss and waste, and the Sustainable Advisory Groups of the Bank of America, HSBC, and Temasek. In earlier years, Andrew held several senior posts at the World Bank, including Director of the Environment Department. He was also World Bank Country Director in Vietnam and Indonesia, and served as chief of the Country Risk Division and director and chief author of the 1992 World Development Report on Environment and Development. Dr. Steer was educated at St. Andrews University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cambridge University. He holds a PhD in economics.

Anne Bowser

Dr. Anne Bowser is the Director of Innovation at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a quasi-government think tank in Washington, DC. Her work explores the challenge of how to make science better, and how to make technology more equitable. On a policy level, Anne analyzes the role that open science, including citizen science, open hardware, and open data, can play in accelerating discovery and opening participation to new communities. Through the Wilson Center’s technology labs, she also helps the public policy community understand and plan for the full complexity of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G. On a practical level, Anne She leads the Wilson Center’s participation in Earth Challenge 2020, the world’s largest coordinated citizen science campaign to date. She is also leveraging Earth Challenge 2020 to help the United Nations Environment Programmme leverage citizen science to monitor, and help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nancy Okail

Dr. Nancy Okail is a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s center for development, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). Her work focuses on the intersection of human rights, justice and equality with AI and emerging technologies for a more equitable society. Dr. Okail was sentenced to prison in Egypt when she was the director of Freedom House in Egypt, She was one of the 43 nongovernmental organization workers convicted with trumped up charges in a widely publicized 2012 case for allegedly using foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. She has 20 years of experience working on issues of democracy, rule of law, human rights, governance and security in the Middle East and North Africa region. She analyzes these issues and advocates in favor of human rights through testimony to legislative bodies, providing policy recommendations to senior government officials in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to heading the The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) as its executive director, She assumed several senior positions. She has also worked with the Egyptian government as a senior evaluation officer of foreign aid and managed programs for several international organizations.. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in the UK; her doctoral research focused on the power relations of foreign aid. You could follow her on twitter @nancygeo

Samantha Snell

Samantha Snell is the Collections Management Specialist for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Collections Program (NCP). In this position, she works to improve Smithsonian-wide collections emergency management and collections management professional development training as well as to support other priority pan-Institutional collections initiatives. Prior to joining NCP in 2016, Sam had a 15 year career at the Smithsonian’s National Air And Space Museum’s collections department. During her tenure at NASM, she worked on numerous projects that spanned various units within the Museum – from the documentation, transportation, handling, and installation of artifacts at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center with the Registrars and Collections Processing Unit to stabilizing artifacts alongside Restoration and Conservation staff. Samantha played a key role in coordinating the artifact recovery efforts after the Building 21 collapse at the Paul E. Garber Facility in 2010. She earned her BA from Moravian College, Bethlehem PA, and is a member of the AIC Emergency Committee, C2CCare working group, CCN Communication and Outreach Officer, and the Heritage Emergency National Task Force.

Yolandra Hancock

Dr. Yolandra Hancock is a much sought-after, double board-certified pediatrician and obesity specialist, who's background includes degrees from UCLA and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her medical residency at the acclaimed Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where she gained considerable knowledge and experience while working with some of the nation's leading physicians. Currently, as the founder of Delta Health & Wellness Consulting and in working with community organizations like the Green Scheme and DC Greens, Dr. Hancock continues to be a tireless advocate for public health reform, education and fighting pediatric health disparities. She is helping to raise up the next generation of physicians and public health professionals with her role as a professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University and The George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Hancock plans to become the “21st Century Dr. Spock,” using technology to transform children's health and tackle health disparities. Most recently in her first ever attempt, she applied and was awarded National Institute of Health (NIH) funding to further her work in childhood obesity prevention and care by developing technology to tackle the pediatric obesity epidemic. In addition, she was recently selected to serve as the advisor to the Prince George's County Board of Health and was named a BMe Social Determinants of Health Vanguard Fellow, which identifies Black leaders across the country who are working to build healthy communities through addressing the social determinants of health from an asset-framed lens.