Theme: Unravel

TEDxSFU Unravel explores a bottomless cavern of ideas by encouraging individuals to discover and dive deeper into various thoughts, understandings and approaches. Ideas can lie deeper than surface level, in order to go beyond the surface we choose to follow
the paths of perspectives as stories and discoveries as they unfold. We dive into the details, the why, and the stories behind. We seek to investigate and decipher various topics. As the 10th anniversary of TEDxSFU we unravel the history and highlights of the past years while delving into a vast sea of ideas.
Unravel ideas with us.

Online Event
Using Hopin
Vancouver, British Columbia, V5A 1S6
Canada

Elisabeth Ormandy

Co-founder and Executive Director at the Animals in Science Policy Institute

Elisabeth’s background in neuroscience, animal welfare and research ethics drives her passion for championing the replacement of animals in research, testing and science education. Elisabeth is co-founder and executive director for the Canadian Society for Humane Science, a national charity working to achieve better science without animals. She has been teaching at the University of British Columbia science 2011 and is routinely sought after as a policy advisor and speaker. Elisabeth lives in Vancouver with her husband, Oliver.

Emerald UnRuh

SFU Student: Indigenous Studies and Political Science

Emerald is a fourth year undergraduate student from Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, who is currently studying Indigenous Studies and Political Science at Simon Fraser University as a Terry Fox Humanitarian Scholar. She is a proud Cree-Métis woman, and is passionate about progressive politics, decolonization, and social change. In the past, Emerald has applied her passion and commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous empowerment to her work within Natural Resources Canada, the Vancity Community Foundation, the City of Surrey, the Māori Law Review, and several Métis communities across Canada. In addition to holding the 2015 Si:Yam Cultural leadership award, Emerald was recently named a 2020 Métis Youth Role Model by the Métis Nation of British Columbia.

Juan Aguilar

Business Administration Graduate Student

Juan was born in Chihuahua, Mexico before moving to Canada at the age of six. He is currently a graduate student at SFU Beedie School of Business. His experience in hospitality management during an eight-year gap in his undergraduate studies led him to a love of all things leadership. From this interest stems his talk on the continued importance of Arts degrees as enrolment rates continue to drop, especially regarding leadership development. Between school and work Juan enjoys reading, surfing, good wine, and bad action movies

Kip Chow

Student

Kip Chow is an autistic student dedicated to education, activism, and accessibility as pertaining to neurodiversity. Since discovering that they’re autistic as an adult, they aim to promote understanding and acceptance of autistic folks, especially undiagnosed and multiply marginalized ones. As a result, Kip has served as a panelist and speaker at a couple of student conferences for health care providers in training to address how they should move forward in interacting with autistic and otherwise marginalized patients.

La Carmina

Travel, fashion and culture blogger / TV host

Award-winning author and TV presenter La Carmina runs a popular Gothic / alternative style, travel and culture blog (www.lacarmina.com/blog), which won "Best Blog of the Year" from Auxiliary Magazine. Carmina is the author of three books (published with Random House and Penguin), and hosts travel TV shows worldwide (she’s appeared on Bizarre Foods, No Reservations, Taboo, Oddities, Better Late than Never). She has visited over 70 countries, and is a journalist for publications like CNN, Fodor's, Business Insider, Sunday Times.

Lee Beavington

Author, Interdisciplinary Instructor, Learning Strategist

Lee Beavington is a river walker, forest seeker, and island dweller. He is an award-winning author, educator and PhD candidate in Philosophy of Education at SFU. He also served as co-curator for the Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver, recipient of the Award of Merit for Excellence in Exhibitions. His interdisciplinary research explores environmental ethics, place-based learning, and contemplative science education. He has worked and taught in five faculties at KPU, including the Amazon Field School.

Martin Bouchard

Professor of Criminology, Simon Fraser University

Martin Bouchard is a Professor of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) where he leads the CaIN Lab: The Crime and Illicit Networks Laboratory. His research focuses on the ways in which social networks relate to gangs; how networks help understand the dynamics of gang violence, who gets into gangs, but also how they may help with gang exit. Dr. Bouchard works with a variety of government agencies and stakeholders interested in using network methods to reduce gang violence. His mentorship has been recognized with the SFU Graduate Studies Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision. He is also the 2018-2019 recipient of the WSC Fellows Award for individuals associated with the Western region who have made important contributions to the field of criminology.

Meagan Woods

Interdisciplinary Artist

Meagan Woods is a choreographer, performer, writer, and costume designer who is passionate about collaborative, interdisciplinary work. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University, a BFA in Dance from Rutgers University, and has guest lectured at both universities. Her research investigates movement theories across creative practices, including dance, film, and sewing. Meagan is currently a performer and collaborator with Re:Current Theatre and a librettist for the Breathing Bass ensemble. She also co-founded the modern dance festival Your Move, for which she was granted the Dance NJ Jete Award. You can learn more at her website, where you’ll find performance links from two TEDxJerseyCity conferences: meaganwoodsandcompany.com

Raaj Chatterjee

Research Assistant/Master’s Candidate at the SFU eBrain Laboratory

Raaj is a researcher in neuro-engineering, a community leader, and social entrepreneur. A Simon Fraser University mechatronics grad, he is the recipient of the 2020 Gordon Shrum Award, and Schulich Leader scholarship. Passionate about building better interventions for youth mental health, Raaj is a Master’s candidate at SFU’s Centre for Engineering-Led Brain Research where he collaborates with researchers around the world to develop signal processing techniques to interpret brain signals after non-invasive brain stimulation treatments. He has played an active role in the community throughout his life from sustainability, to environmental activism, to interfaith action on poverty. Raaj currently sits on the board of The Starfish Canada as the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer, and is the co-founder and CEO of MeaningfulWork, a social venture building a community of change-makers for skills-based volunteering.

Rana Faryad Ali

PhD student/researcher in Nanotechnology, Materials Chemistry/Nanomaterials Engineering

Faryad is an expert and an emerging star in the field of nanotechnology and pursuing a doctoral degree under the supervision of Prof. Byron Gates (a pioneer in nanoscience) at SFU. Faryad has a research background in materials chemistry/nanomaterials engineering and is his research work is focused on the syntheses of materials at the nanoscale for light-matter interactions, renewable energy and environmental sustainability. He has made significant contributions in the field of nanotechnology by preparing materials that can change the frequency of light, harvest solar energy, store energy, and image biological systems. Faryad has published 10 peer-reviewed research articles in scientific journals and has attended many scientific conferences/meetings to share the knowledge with the community. Faryad believes one day the advances in science and nanotechnology will enable our planet to run on renewable energy sources and will also help to protect our environment from chemical toxicology.

Trystan Jones

Health Care Worker

Trystan's passions have always come from storytelling. As a teenager, he co-founded a production company to provide opportunities in the arts for youth in his rural northern community. Having travelled the world in search of creating new stories for himself, he has worked vigorously to hone his craft as an artist and storyteller. More recently he has involved himself in climate and racial activism. In the wake of COVID-19 and the rise of Anti-Asian racism paired with the George Floyd protests, he spent much of his energy getting the conversation started on racial justice in his rural community of Fort St. John, BC. Real change only comes if there are those who are willing to have conversations on the uncomfortable topics.

Yabome Gilpin-Jackson

Executive leader, Consultant and Educator

Yabome Gilpin-Jackson,PhD, is a multi-award winning scholar-practitioner in human/organization development with research awards and professional recognitions in Canada, United States and United Kingdom. She is an executive leader, consultant and educator in Leadership/Organization Development and Systems Change across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. In addition to a groundbreaking book on Transformation After Trauma: The Power of Resonance, she has also authored peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, is author of Identities & Ancestries, short story collections about global African experiences and Lead Editor of the We Will Lead Africa book series. Yabome continues to research, write and speak on leadership & organization development issues, posttraumatic growth & on honouring diversity and social equality in our locally global world.