Theme: Resilient Bodies

TEDxConnecticutCollege presents: "Resilient Bodies"

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxConnecticutCollege, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDx ConnecticutCollege event, Connecticut College students, faculty, staff, and outside professionals will come together to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

Evans Hall, Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue
Connecticut College
New London, Connecticut, 06320
United States

Eric Vukicevich

Educator

Eric Vukicevich is an educator who specializes in small-scale and community agriculture, soil ecology, and mycology. He teaches, conducts research, and facilitates the student farm at Connecticut College in New London, where he is a member of the Botany Department. His research can be found in journals such as Plant and Soil, Symbiosis, Agronomy for Sustainable Development, and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. He enjoys most activities that involve soil, such as gardening, mountain biking, and mushroom hunting as well as cooking and music.

Francesca Andre

Filmmaker, Photographer, Writer

Francesca Andre is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and writer known for creating richly emotional work that tackles the complexities of life. Andre is the co-founder and creative director of Optik 21, a creative agency offering high-quality photography and video services. Her work has been published in outlets such as Forbes, the New York Post, New York Daily News. In 2017, she released her award-winning short film, Charcoal, which captures the stories of two black women as they embark on a lifelong journey to overcome internalized colorism, find self-acceptance, and ultimately find redemption. She is also the author of “I am a Phenomenal Black Boy”, a groundbreaking children's book. In 2018, Francesca Andre was named one of “40 under 40” high achievers by Connecticut Magazine. She serves on the Board of Sacred Heart University Board of Visitors and a member of For(bes) the Culture

Franky Piña

Cultural promoter, transgender activist, writer, graphic designer

She has co-founded several past and present cultural and literary magazines in Chicago: Fe de erratas, zorros y erizos, Tropel and Contratiempo. She is the co-author of the book Rudy Lozano: His Life, His People. Piña was also featured in Se habla español: Voces latinas en USA and Voces en el viento: Nuevas ficciones desde Chicago. She functioned both as editor and publisher of art catalogs. Currently, she is the executive director of El BeiSMan, a non-profit open collective of journalists and educators that publishes a bilingual and Spanglish digital magazine. Piña is also the Board Chair of the Chicago LatinX Authors Book Fair. She is the co-founder and co-host of Puntos de ENCUENTRO, a hybrid show on the internet in Spanish and Spanglish where happenings of the Latino Arts and Culture of the Chicago Metropolitan Area are deconstructed, analyzed, and clarified.

Gus Vaughn

College Student

Gus Vaughn is a student at Connecticut College as a member of the Class of 2023. He is a double major in Film Studies and Philosophy and he is in the creativity pathway. Outside of academics, Vaughn has begun working on a documentary about his education experience outside of school. He grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, and spends his summers working with kids at summer camps. He is currently studying remotely in the spring of 2021. Outside of the main courses, he is also interested in government and psychology. He enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with his friends and family

Manuel Lizarralde

Professor of Ethnobotany, Writer

Dr. Manuel Lizarralde is Venezuelan and an Associate Professor of Ethnobotany, teaching in the Botany Department and Environmental Studies Program at Connecticut College since 1998. His main research focuses on the botanical and ecological knowledge of indigenous people of the tropical rainforest (with the Barí people of Venezuela). He has also done ethnobotanical research with the Matsigenka of Peru and is the author of an index and map of South American Indigenous languages (1988). He is the author or co-author of 28 journal articles, 3 maps and two books, including a co-edited volume Neotropical Ethnoprimatology: Indigenous Peoples’ Perceptions and Interactions with Nonhuman Primates. He works with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Nations in Connecticut on the reconstruction and uses of traditional bows and arrows and reproducing the Ötzi/Iceman’s bow. Dr. Lizarralde is also an avid bowyer, basket maker, plant gatherer, mushroom hunter, spearfisherman and bow hunter.

Shani Collins

Dancer, College Professor

Shani Collins Achille first joined Connecticut College in 2009 as a dance professor. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Shani received a high school diploma from The North Carolina School of the Arts. Her professional growth developed at the American Dance Festival where she first met and studied with some of her most influential teachers. Shani is a worldwide renowned artist. She has choreographed and performed in the NYC Off Broadway Production of The Vagina Monologues at New World Stages and has participated, as a choreographer, in the Lincoln Center Director's Lab. Shani is crowned a “Contemporary Revolutionary” by Lax Thomas in The Studio Museum Harlem Summer Magazine. Her company, Eternal Works Inc, is dedicated to fostering women’s healing empowerment and facilitating community and cross-cultural dialogue. Prior to coming to Connecticut College, Shani performed and taught extensively throughout the United States and internationally.

Steven Friedman

English Professor

I am an English teacher in Chicago and I am a volunteer in Chicago My ultimate goal is to ensure that every student learns to read and enjoy and respect the written word. My biggest achievement is giving every one of my students the greatest gift I can ever give – the love of learning!