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).

Rudder Complex
401 Joe Routt Blvd
College Station, Texas, 77843
United States

Dear Aunaetitrakul

Assistant Director for Gender & Sexuality

Dear is the Assistant Director for Gender & Sexuality at Angelina Pedroso Center for Diversity and Intercultural Affairs at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) in Chicago, IL. Prior to her role at NEIU, Dear was a Diversity Education Specialist at Texas A&M University. She reinvigorated Aggies to Aggies (A2A), a peer-diversity education program, in response to a racial bias incident that took place on A&M campus in 2016. During her time, Dear established 5 standard diversity training workshops for A2A and the Department of Multicultural Services. Dear and A2A students conducted more than 140 diversity training sessions to the Texas A&M community. She was named a Fish Camp Namesake in 2018. Dear has been working in Student Affairs since 2012 and is specialized in diversity training and education. In her current role, Dear coordinates the Social Justice Ally Initiative, a social justice training for faculty/staff and oversees Gender &Sexuality education and initiatives at NEIU.

James Herman

Presidential Professor Veterinary Medicine

At Texas A&M, James serves as the Chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and serves on the Faculty and Student Advisory Board to the Center for Teaching Excellence. He serves as a member of the Aggie Honor Council and works as a faculty advisor for student organizations. Because of his love for the outdoors and backpacking, he also volunteered as a local Scout Leader. Married for 26 years, James and his wife have three children. His oldest son convinced him to take his boots out of retirement and hike the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in May/June of 2018. His journey on El Camino or “The Way” is a corner stone for this talk.

LeAnn Hale

Artist and art educator

LeAnn Hale is a local artist, art educator and advocate for visual art education. After working for multiple nonprofit art programs and a five year run as a public school art teacher she knew there was more to be done in the world of art education. Her studio began with a handful of students in a 400 sq. ft. portion of her family’s garage in 2000. LeAnn believes that all children should have the opportunity to learn to express themselves visually. She has worked with children in public schools, the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, homeschool students, Brazos County Juvenile Services, Camp Millican Campers, children with special needs and many more. LeAnn is a champion of the theory that creativity is a powerful skill that is easily learned in a nurturing environment. She has made it her objective in life to equip children with the tools of creativity so they are able to go into the world and create with confidence.

Rhett Butler

Award-winning guitarist and medical student

An award-winning guitarist, best-selling author, film-maker, father and most recently medical student, Rhett Butler has done it all or as he sees it, has not done enough. Rhett obtained a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in 2016 and is currently a second-year medical student at Texas A&M College of Medicine. He is a founding member of the Shift Committee, which through a case competition, recruits the best and brightest minds in the state of Texas to create novel solutions for rural healthcare disparities.

Ricardo Palomares

Author, Filmmaker, and Explorer.

Ricardo is an international keynote speaker, coach, author, filmmaker, and explorer. He immigrated to the United States from Mexico City after graduating from photography school with the singular focus of building a career that would allow him to explore the world. Later he earned a Film degree at the University of Texas at Austin, then he went on to create documentary work in Mexico and China, and make the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago in Spain. His most recent project, Pedal South, entailed leading a team on a two-year expedition cycling from Alaska to Argentina. The purpose was to create a documentary that would give a perspective of the people and landscape of the Americas today.

Zofia Rybkowski

Associate Professor in Construction Science

Zofia K. Rybkowski, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Science of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, and Holder of the Harold Adams Interdisciplinary Professorship for Construction Science. Dr. Rybkowski’s research experience includes Integrated Project Delivery, productivity analysis and lean construction, serious game and simulation development and testing, target value design, life cycle cost analysis, sustainable design and evidence-based design. She has extensive experience as a construction, architectural, and engineering researcher and consultant. She has consulted for firms in Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo and Hong Kong, and has offered Lean and Target Value Design workshops to such varied organizations as the Penrose/St. Francis Healthcare and Walt Disney Imagineering. Dr. Rybkowski holds degrees from Stanford, Brown, Harvard, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of California, Berkeley.