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).

Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
United States

Amy Halliday

Amy Halliday is a curator, educator, and writer from South Africa who is currently the Director of the Center for the Arts and Curator of Gallery 360 at Northeastern University in Boston. She has an MA in Teaching from Smith College, an MA in Art History from University College London (UCL), and a lifelong passion for object-based teaching and learning. Her particular areas of expertise are in global contemporary art; interdisciplinary curation; socially-engaged practice; and museum education.

Anna Butler

Anna is a Harvard scholar with extensive experience in sustainable social programming, equitable education access, and global protection policies. Her fieldwork and research to date have spanned five continents, with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Anna’s nonprofit Modzi was created in an effort to support out-of-school youth via academic scholarship and community mentorship. She continues to connect capital to development opportunities, particularly those supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. Anna actively consults with various grassroots organizations and international institutions. Anna is a trained protection specialist and as such would like to acknowledge that the images captured and shared in this TEDx presentation were done so with appropriate consent by relevant parties. Many thanks to Peak Academy in Cape Town, South Africa for sharing their school

Diane MacGillivray

Diane MacGillivray is Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Northeastern University, where she oversaw the successful completion of the university’s largest ever campaign in 2017, which raised $1.4 billion, setting a new a university record. Under Diane’s leadership, annual fundraising has increased from an average of $20 million to an average of $85 million, including securing a gift for the first named college at the university and a $50 million donation for a second named college. Most recently, MacGillivray was instrumental in attaining two $100 million gifts to launch an advanced technology campus in Portland, Maine—one from David and Barbara Roux to create the Roux Institute and a second from the Harold Alfond Foundation to provide scholarships and other resources for its students. MacGillivray steers a University Advancement team that works closely with the deans of Northeastern’s nine schools and colleges, as well as with athletics and the university library, to develop and execute fundraising strategies that fuel the university’s momentum. She oversees a broad range of functions including: advancement communications; advancement services; events, alumni relations; development; interdisciplinary initiatives; and special projects. After coming to Northeastern, she implemented a strategic restructuring of the fundraising operation from a centralized model to a more effective hybrid structure and oversaw the creation of new initiatives such as the parent giving program, innovative alumni engagement programs, and Women Who Empower—a university-wide scholarship and conference series. Prior to joining Northeastern in 2007, MacGillivray was senior associate dean for Advancement in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). There Diane directed USC’s $400 million Tradition & Innovation fundraising initiative. She also oversaw the development of its annual giving society; parents’ program; seven regional and thematic boards; and an international fundraising effort. In addition, she established endowment funding for USC’s Korean Studies Institute and Institute for Armenian Studies and led the integration of the Shoah Foundation’s fundraising operation when it moved to USC in 2005. MacGillivray holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s in 19th century British history from USC.

Jamal Thorne

Jamal Thorne is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Northeastern. Thorne is a Boston based artist, known for his use of the drawing medium to investigate and visualize the nature of performed identity. With massive drawings, Thorne blends references from popular culture, religious iconography, and symbolism in an attempt to create a possible image of what our multilayered identities could look like.

Kyle Gobrogge

Dr. Kyle Gobrogge is a lecturer at Northeastern and BU. As a teacher-scientist, Dr. Gobrogge uses evidence-based pedagogical methods to enhance best teaching practices to foster effective student learning in both lecture and laboratory curriculum. Through his teaching, research and publications, Dr. Gobrogge aims to develop a better understanding of the neurobiology programming motivated and dysregulated behaviors. He earned his B.S. in psychology from Michigan State University, his M.S. and Ph.D. from Florida State University, and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, Tufts, and Boston College. Dr. Gobrogge began his scientific career at Michigan State University where he examined the genetic and environmental influences underlying sex differences in behavior using human twin and rodent models with the guidance of his mentors and collaborators Drs. Kelly Klump and Marc Breedlove. He went on to earn both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Florida State University, during which time he conducted studies investigating the neurobiology of aggression in the socially monogamous prairie vole in Dr. Zuoxin Wang’s laboratory. Following his studies on aggression, Dr. Gobrogge was awarded an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the behavioral consequences of manipulating octopamine neurons in male drosophila at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Neurobiology under the direction of Dr. Edward Kravitz. In order to expand upon his behavioral neurogenetics research in flies, Dr. Gobrogge transitioned to the Department of Psychology at Tufts and the Neuroscience Program at the Tufts University School of Medicine. During his time in the laboratories of Drs. Klaus Miczek and Jamie Maguire, Dr. Gobrogge employed cutting-edge opto-and chemo-genetic techniques to manipulate corticotrophin releasing hormone neurons during social defeat and drug administration paradigms in male mice. He completed a third postdoctoral fellowship at Boston College in the Department of Psychology under the guidance of Dr. Alexa Veenema, where he dissected the neuronal circuitry underlying social play behavior in male rats. Dr. Gobrogge has received many awards and prizes for his work as an educator and as a researcher, of which he is most proud of receiving the 2008 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Fellowship of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Lexi Doudera

Having grown up on the rugged coast of Maine, Lexi has always felt an innate connection to the ocean and a deep and powerful love for it. As the Founder and Executive Director of Saltwater Classroom, a non-profit focused on ocean education, Lexi is committed to inspiring an ethic of ocean stewardship in young students, as well as learners of all ages, through the transformative power of education. Lexi lives in Portland, Maine and is a graduate of Northeastern University with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Say hello at lexi@saltwaterclassroom.com.

Victor Coutin

Unbreakable optimist. UX and product designer, focusing his time and energy for the past 3 years to help improve the mental health and quality of life of more than 400 million Spanish speakers around the globe by launching the first and only science-based mindfulness meditation app in Spanish: Aire Fresco.