Theme: Reimagine

After a year of reflection, change, and chaos in the rearview, TEDxNorthwesternU invites you to question the status quo and discover new ideas around all the topics we may have taken for granted before having to press pause. Rethink, Rediscover, and Reimagine the world as we know it.

Get your free tickets now for TEDxNorthwesternU 2021! On April 24th we will be holding our annual conference as a live-streamed event with speakers ranging from medical professions to museum curators. Join us for our 2021 conference; Reimagine.

Lutkin Hall
700 University Place
Evanston, Illinois, 60208
United States

Camesha Jones

Camesha L. Jones, LCSW is a Radical Social Worker and Community Mental Wellness Advocate who serves at the intersection of culture, community, and social justice. She is the Executive Director of Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness, a social enterprise that provides low-cost mental wellness services that center the experiences of Black women in Chicago. Since Sista Afya's founding in 2017, they've served over 1500 Black women in Chicago through their innovative, community-driven programs. Camesha's work at Sista Afya has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Vogue, Allure, and Women's Health Magazine. Camesha is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois who graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Spelman College with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and received her Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago. Camesha strongly believes in eliminating barriers in the mental health field that people of diverse cultural backgrounds experience by creating affordable and accessible care that centers the well-being of the whole person.

Dr. Vijay Mittal

Dr. Vijay Mittal is an associate professor of Psychology at Northwestern University and directs the Adolescent Development and Preventive Treatment (ADAPT) program [http://www.adaptprogram.com; @adaptprog] - a laboratory dedicated to understanding intersections between adolescent development and emerging serious mental illness, promoting early identification, and designing novel interventions. He has published hundreds of scientific studies aimed at working to understand causes behind emerging psychosis in adolescents and this work has garnered large scale extramural funding from federal sources as well as a number of private foundations. Mittal has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) BRAINS award, Society for Research in Psychopathology (SRP) Early Career Award, Federation for Brain and Behavioral Sciences (FABBS) Early Career Award, and Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Independent Investigator Award, and the Northwestern AT&T Research chair.

Meranda Roberts

Meranda Roberts is an enrolled member of the Yerington Paiute Tribe in Nevada, as well as Chicana. In 2018, she earned her PhD from the University of California, Riverside in Native American History. Over the past few years, she has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History, where she is developing content for the renovation of the museum’s seventy-year-old Native American exhibition hall. Meranda also recently co-curated the exhibition Apsáalooke Women and Warriors with tribal member and scholar Nina Sanders. Meranda’s passion lies in holding colonial institutions, like museums, accountable for the harmful narratives they have painted about Indigenous people. She is also dedicated to reconnecting Indigenous collection items with their descendants. Through the use of Indigenous methodologies, as well as public history pedagogy, Meranda examines the harm colonialism continues to inflict on Indigenous communities and how public institutions can correct these wrongs.

Patrick Keenan-Devlin

Mr. Keenan-Devlin was named Executive Director on July 1, 2016. In addition to ensuring the effective implementation of the Moran Center’s strategic vision, Mr. Keenan-Devlin continues to represent youth in juvenile delinquency proceedings and serves as a certified trainer in juvenile defense practices. Previously, Mr. Keenan-Devlin served as the Deputy Director/Staff Attorney of the Moran Center – representing youth in juvenile delinquency and school law proceedings, as well as leading the agency’s development efforts. Mr. Keenan-Devlin’s experience in the area of public policy in Illinois, as well as his strong ties to the community, serve him well in his role at the Moran Center. Mr. Keenan-Devlin previously worked as the Health Policy Advocate for the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and as Legislative Director of Citizen Action/Illinois. He has also held numerous leadership roles in various local civic and community organizations and has been recognized for his service by the NAACP Evanston/North Shore Chapter and New Leaders Council. Mr. Keenan-Devlin graduated cum laude from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music and then received his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Mr. Keenan-Devlin serves on the Boards of the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University and Citizen Action/Illinois.