Theme: YOU, ME, US, WE.

This year’s 8th annual TEDxYouth@RVA, organized by a team of students from throughout the metro Richmond area, will take place on Saturday, November 13 from 5-7 pm.

This event will be live this year on the campus of Collegiate School. Talks will take place in the Hershey Center for the Arts' Oates Theater from 5-7 p.m. and will also be live-streamed. Masks are required. TEDxYouth@RVA focuses on innovative thinkers from the Richmond area who have ideas worth spreading throughout the community. At TEDxYouth@RVA, Richmonders have the opportunity to attend this engaging evening of short, powerful talks filled with new ideas. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Six speakers and one performer of different ages, races, and genders will share ideas and insights related to this year’s theme - You, Me, Us, We. - to inspire the Richmond community.

Oates Theater, Collegiate School
103 N Mooreland Road
Richmond, Virginia, 23229
United States

A. Omar Abubaker

Chair of VCU Dentistry

Dr. A. Omar Abubaker, DMD, Ph.D. currently serves as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry; Chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine; and Chairman of the Department of Dentistry at VCUHealth. Following the loss of his son Adam to opioids in 2014, Dr. Abubaker earned a Graduate Certificate in Addiction Studies. His personal mission is to provide better education in the areas of addiction, the opioid epidemic, and pain management.

Catherine Brown & Francis Iacobucci

Editor/Writer and Social Worker

Catherine Brown is passionate about inspiring, empowering, and educating readers through her writing about mental health, parenting, the arts, and fascinating people. A dedicated advocate for eating disorder recovery, Catherine co-edited Hope for Recovery: Stories of Healing from Eating Disorders and co-hosts the podcast Eating Disorders: Navigating Recovery. She feels fortunate to be able to engage in deep and vulnerable conversations with amazing people who inspire her to choose healing and recovery every day. Francis Iacobucci is a licensed social worker who specializes in working with individuals experiencing eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction, body dysmorphia, and disordered eating behaviors. Francis believes that no one is to blame for an eating disorder or negative mental health and wants to help people understand and overcome these challenges. Francis received his master’s in social work from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

Ewan Oglethorpe

Data Scientist

Ewan Oglethorpe is a private sector Data Scientist who worked as a humanitarian Information Management Officer and is now a humanitarian Executive Director. Oglethorpe runs the US-based NGO Data Friendly Space and is the Technical Lead of the DEEP platform. He is passionate about introducing modern technologies and processes to the humanitarian world with a particular focus on qualitative data. When he’s not working he can be found with his dog, biking, baking, or meditating.

Héctor Barez

Percussionist

Originally from Santurce, Puerto Rico, Héctor “Coco” Barez is one of the most active Puerto Rican percussionists of his generation. Barez has been an Adjunct Latin percussion instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2019, and a musician for the University of Richmond Dance Department. He has recorded 4 Grammy-award-winning productions and has had the opportunity to perform and record with artists such as Shakira and Alejandro Sanz. In 2017, Barez released his first solo project El Laberinto del Coco, one of the most innovative Bomba Fusion bands in the globe. With a collective of 12 amazing musicians, Barez, tours the world delivering the new sound of afro Puerto Rican Folk Music.

Jasmine Merricks

Police Officer

Officer Jasmine Merricks is the Victim Witness Coordinator for the VCU Police Department in Richmond, VA. She has been an officer with the VCU Police Department since 2017. In 2021, she received the IACP 40 Under 40 award for her working with and helping survivors of sexual assault and violent crimes. Officer Merricks is a Virginia native who enjoys the outdoors and spending time with family and friends.

Joan Lauren Gaustad

Visual Artist

Joan Loren Gaustad is an artist living and working in Richmond, Virginia. She is the author of the visual memoir, "Someone’s Missing…and I Think It’s Me." The book tells the story of her marriage to Jerry Donato and their struggles in navigating the mysteries and terrors of early-onset dementia. Gaustad originally intended to write a guide sharing what she learned in the eight years of his illness, but the book became a story of love and loss and how she used art to find the joy and beauty in what remained. Her art has been shown in both national and international galleries and museums.

Koshie France

Food Stylist

Koshie France is the founder of CocoaPariis LLC, a lifestyle brand that advocates for self-care and overall well-being through social experiences. As a lifestyle architect, she believes self-care is not a privilege but an attainable right. France is a Richmond, Virginia native and a global citizen. Koshie holds a Bachelor of Science In Business Administration (BSBA) from the University of Richmond and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Virginia Commonwealth University. Areas of interest and exploration are everything self-care, food styling, and charcuterie.