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).

Online
Online
St. Louis, Missouri, 63101
United States

Christopher Alan Gordon

Christopher Alan Gordon is the Director of Library and Collections for the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. His career in the history, museum, and archives field is driven by a desire to better understand our collective history and the ways in which that history can be used to better understand the present. As a museum professional, he is dedicated to preserving artifacts, books, and documents that provide us with the resources needed to research and study the past. As a historian and lecturer Gordon’s book "Fire, Pestilence, and Death: St. Louis 1849" explores the ways in which a convergence of urban crises —the Great Fire of 1849, a terrifying cholera pandemic, and nearly unbridled population growth— forced St. Louis to adapt and rebuild itself into a modern urban center. For his book, Gordon drew heavily on historical sources that provide eyewitness accounts of the events of 1849. History, he believes, must be viewed through the emotions, experiences, and beliefs of those who lived it in order for us to truly understand it.

Dan Goods

Dan Goods is passionate about creating moments in people’s lives where they are reminded of the gift and privilege of being alive. He leads an extraordinary team of creatives, called The Studio, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory transforming complex concepts into meaningful stories that can be universally understood. Their work is seen in public spaces, art museums, and is in outer space. He was recently honored with NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Award. In the past he was selected as “One of the most interesting people in Los Angeles” by the LA Weekly. In 2002, he graduated valedictorian from the graphic design program at Art Center College of Design. He currently lives in Altadena, CA with his wife and three kids.

Dr. Kyra Krakos

Dr. Kyra N Krakos was named Science Educator of the Year by the STL Academy of Science in 2016. She teaches courses in Ecology, Plants and People, Evolution, Conservation and Sustainability, and Botany. She focuses on research that emphasizes the need to understand the dynamics of the natural world in a changing environment, the evolution and ecology of plant reproduction, including plant-pollinator interactions and breeding systems, invasive species, and more. Kyra did both her undergraduate and Masters in Integrative Biology at Brigham Young University, focusing on the impacts of invasive species on the pollination systems of tropical plant species. She did her doctorate at Washington University. She is a member of the Botanical Society for America, American Women in Science, and served as the co-director the Missouri state Junior Science, Engineering, and Humanities Symposium from 2012-2016.Kyra is a St. Louis Biodiversity Fellow in the Living Earth Collaborative.

Dr. Peter Raven

A well-known botanist and conservationist, Peter Raven served as Engelmann Professor of Botany at Washington University and president of the Missouri Botanical Garden starting in 1971. Earlier, he held a postdoctoral fellowship in London and a faculty position in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. His undergraduate degree was from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. from UCLA. A recipient of the National Medal of Science and of MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, he led the Garden to a worldwide role in education, research, and conservation, concentrating on Latin America, Africa (especially Madagascar), and China. Citizen of the Year in St. Louis, he has received honorary degrees from Washington University, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri as well as from Harvard, Yale, Leiden, and others. Raven has published nearly 800 papers and some 20 books, including The Biology of Plants, the best-selling botany textbook for the past 50 years. He served as co-editor of the 49-volume Flora of China, and has consistently encouraged colleagues around the world in their research efforts.

Tishaura Jones

Hon. Tishaura O. Jones is the first woman to hold the office of Treasurer in St. Louis and the founder of a citywide children’s savings program. Jones started her political career in 2002 as Democratic Committeewoman of the 8th Ward in the City of St. Louis. She served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, and was selected as the first African American woman in Missouri history to hold the position of Assistant Minority Floor Leader. In her tenure as Treasurer, she launched the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) to help St. Louisans make better financial choices, as OFE’s College Kids Program has helped over 16,000 public school students through educational savings accounts.