Theme: Uncharted Waters

TEDxAshburyCollege is a student-led, independently-organized TEDx event—a local gathering where live and inspiring TED-like talks are shared with our community. Speakers this year will explore the theme of 'Uncharted Waters'. The theme encourages us to ask new questions, consider new perspectives, and break our own boundaries.

Ashbury College
362 Mariposa Ave
Ottawa, Ontario, K1M 0T3
Canada

Alec Dewulf

Student

Alec Dewulf is a Grade 11 student at Ashbury College from Sudbury, Ontario. He plans to major in Computer Science at university and then go on to pursue a career in technology.

Carson Becke

Concert Pianist

Canadian pianist Carson Becke has performed worldwide. He holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford, and is the director of Pontiac Enchanté, a concert series in Quebec. His recordings of music by Richard Strauss can be heard on Spotify and iTunes.

Cindy Blackstock

Activist

Cindy Blackstock is a member of the Gitxsan First Nation, the Executive Director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. With over 30 years of experience in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights, she worked on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. Cindy is involved in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Am-bear-rister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

George Kourounis

Explorer

George Kourounis is an explorer and TV presenter whose efforts to capture tornadoes, volcanoes, hurricanes, fires and other fearsome forces on camera has taken him to over 75 countries. He has hosted 50 episodes of “Angry Planet” and co-hosted “Storm Hunters”. He earned a Guinness World Record for being the first person to ever set foot at the bottom of the Darvaza “Doorway To Hell” flaming gas crater in Turkmenistan.

Kamal Balaa

Student

Kamal Balaa is currently a grade 8 student at Ashbury College. Kamal has a great interest in public speaking. In grade 6, he won the public speaking contest for grade 4,5,6. Kamal’s 2018 TEDxAshbury talk was on "Changing our Minds to Save Water." This talk led to an invitation to the Ottawa TedTalk in 2019. As a teenager himself, Kamal will be exploring the mysteries of adolescent behaviour at this year’s event.

Kieran McDaniel

Student

Kieran McDaniel is a grade ten student, new to Ashbury this year. He has always been fascinated with the workings of the human body and enjoys delving into mind-boggling and crazy facts about it. He is prepared to lead us on an exploration of the trillions of microbes inside of us and their role in our future.

Rawlson King

City Councillor

Rawlson King was elected as the first Black City Councillor for the Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward. He was also the President of the Overbrook Community Association, Board Member and Treasurer at the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre, and Co-Chair of the Ottawa Police Service Community Equity Council. Recognized for his volunteer work, he won the United Way Ottawa Community Builder of the Year Award in 2018.

Rebecca Muscant

Student

Rebecca Muscant is a student in grade 12 at Ashbury College. An avid debater and public speaker, Rebecca enjoys sharing her passion for theoretical physics. Her interest in pure science, as well as its philosophical origins, will lead her to explore the importance of pure scientific research at this year’s event.

Sheila Copps

Former Deputy Prime Minister

The Honourable Sheila Copps is an outspoken Canadian feminist and politician. Serving for a quarter century as an elected politician at the provincial and national level, she has held numerous portfolios such as Minister of Canadian Heritage and as the first female Deputy Prime Minister. She is also a founding member of Equal Voice, Canada’s non-partisan movement devoted to the promotion of women’s political participation.