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).

Warren Miller Performing Arts Center
45465 Gallatin Road
Big Sky, Montana, 59716
United States

Cathy Whitlock

Dr. Cathy Whitlock is a Regents Professor Emerita in Earth Sciences at Montana State University and nationally and internationally recognized for her research and leadership activities in the field of climate and environmental change. Her studies of Yellowstone’s environmental history began in the 1980s when she started to collect sediment cores from lakes in search of information about past vegetation and climate change. This research continues to the present day in Yellowstone and in comparable places around the world. She served as lead author of the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment, which has inspired climate-change discussions across the state and led to the recent Montana Climate Solutions Plan, a consensus document for Montana’s future. Cathy has received numerous awards and honors from professional societies and organizations, and in 2018, she became the first person from a Montana university to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Charlotte Voctoria

Blu is a devotee of life beyond the veil. A mystic, medicine woman, musician, artist and storyteller. Her curiosity of maximizing the human potential has taken her deep into the studies of The Gene Keys – a technology which has supported her to activate dormant parts of her own DNA while guiding others into their own genetic blu-print. She has been endorsed by Richard Rudd, the Founder of the Gene Keys in her teachings of this profound lineage. Blu has also spent the past 7 years being a student in the shamanic world – studying the Shipibo lineage in the Amazon jungle as well as being a devoted student and facilitator of The Earth Temple – Center of Prayer and School of Shamanic Arts. Committed to learning the ways of the plant teachers and understanding how we can work together to heal some of our deepest wounds. Blu is also the host of Dejá Blu podcast with over 120,000 unique downloads world wide interviewing some of the most brilliant minds on the planet today. Blu utilizes the art of storytelling to take people on a journey into their own consciousness and to activate media as medicine.

David Leuschen

David Leuschen is the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Riverstone Holdings, a private equity firm focusing on growth capital investments in the energy and power sectors. Prior to founding Riverstone, Mr. Leuschen was a Partner at Goldman Sachs and founder and head of the Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Power Group.

Jim Salestrom

Jim is an Emmy Award Winning Songwriter, a gifted guitarist and a seasoned performer who has been writing and recording music since he was 13. He has performed for four US Presidents, at the White House, at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and at the Supreme Court for his friend Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. He has appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson three times and the Academy Awards show, as well as two HBO specials. Jim has also appeared on Ellen, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Jay Leno shows. His music crosses generational boundaries and is enjoyed by fans of all ages. Jim likes traveling and meeting new folks and sharing his songs and stories that have taken him around the world.

Josh McCain

At the time Josh McCain met his greatest level of success in New York City, something awakened inside of him, leading him to quit his promising career in the city, move to Montana, and start a nonprofit. The mission of this nonprofit was in inspiration of the damaging impact Josh saw in his brother-in-law, who was at the time returning from 14th combat deployment - all in Special Operations. Six years, 46 Task Forces, and over 200 Special Operations program recipients later, Big Sky Bravery’s mission is thriving. Josh knows he is living his life’s purpose and has no regrets on making this decision. He lives in overwhelming gratitude daily, for all that America’s elite military members

Lane Lamoreaux

Lane Lamoreaux is a venturesome, camera carrying wanderer of the West. Finding a sense of reverence in its vast and stunning scenery and a yearning to share breathtaking scenes, a camera naturally became a close companion. His photographs and films have become his way of expressing love and gratitude for our vast public lands—especially our rugged wilderness areas. Lamoreaux kept a camera close throughout his service in the U.S. Marine Corps and his nine years as a wildland firefighter as a Hotshot and a Smokejumper. Off-the-job injuries in 2013 led him to change careers and create a new livelihood with a camera. He’s carved out a niche for his work by creating training films for the National Fire Center, allowing him to also remain a part of the fire community. Lamoreaux loves moving messages and telling stories via the creative discretion inherent behind a camera lens and as a video editor.

Louise Johns

Louise Johns is a documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in Montana whose work examines relationships between people and place. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Science Journalism from the University of Montana, where she also studied photojournalism. She works with a variety of outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy, and Patagonia, and she also teaches photojournalism.

Max Lowe

Known for his ability to capture stories in the most remote corners of the world, Max Lowe has honed his skill as a director and photographer in his search for adventure and narratives unheard. From his home in the mountains of Montana to now countless countries, landscapes and cultures across the globe, Max has been witness to stories spanning the gap of human experience. Beginning his career with National Geographic in 2012 with a Young Explorers Grant, and then going on to work with National Geographic Magazine, Men's Journal, Outside Magazine and numerous other outdoor publications and brands, he forged a career for himself traversing the globe telling both his own stories as well as those of the people he encountered along the way. In recent years, Max has directed, shot and produced numerous award-winning short documentary films that garnered screen time at festivals such as Cannes, Tribeca and Indi Short Docs, and most recently directed a feature documentary film “TORN” with National Geographic channel. With a background in journalistic style storytelling honed over years of work with countless international brands and other media partners, Max has emerged with a distinct style by which he crafts narratives unheard.

Rob Balucas

Rob Balucas is an ‘every-man joe’ who was thrust into extraordinary circumstances in 2015 when a cycling accident rendered him paraplegic. At the time he was training for his first half IRONMAN triathlon, which was supposed to take place the very next weekend. He vowed to return to triathlon within a year and raced in 3 sprint-distance triathlons the next year after his injury. Since then he’s competed in 5 half IRONMANs, including the 2019 half IRONMAN World Championships in Nice, France. His next goal is to qualify again for the Kona (full) IRONMAN World Championship and race in triathlon’s biggest stage as a paratriathlete. Outside of paratriathlon, Rob resides in Southern California with his partner, Erika, and their dog Chloe. He is a small business owner at babaLucas Creative, serving the branding, marketing, and website needs of small businesses and non-profits.