Theme: Momentum

Our 2022 theme, MOMENTUM, emphasizes how change is necessary by exploring the stories of individuals adapting to the world around them.

This year’s conference will be hosted remotely, and attendance is completely free. Don’t walk, RUN!

January 30th, 2022 | 1pm – 5pm | 7 Speakers | 2 Performances | Innovation Lab | & more!

Find the link to register here:
https://hopin.com/events/tedxqueensu-momentum

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@tedxqueensu.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

309 King Street West
Kingston, Ontario, K7L 2X4
Canada

Abi Tripp

Abi Tripp is a two-time Paralympian in the sport of swimming. She was born with mild cerebral palsy and began swimming at 6. Career highlights include winning bronze medals at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 50-meter freestyle and at the London 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Since her Paralympic debut in 2016, Abi has grappled with a diagnosis of dystonia. Her new reality has challenged her to jump over physical and mental roadblocks that lay in her path to continue her athletic career. Through her involvement in sport, Abi has become passionate about mental health and the importance of meaningful human connection. She is now studying psychology at Laval University.

Kelly Weiling Zou

Driven by her passion for justice and liberation, Kelly Weiling Zou (she/her) is an experienced grassroots organizer dedicated to supporting historically and politically ostracized communities. Kelly combines her academic and lived experiences to advocate for racial, environmental, disability, and queer justice. Following graduating from Queen’s Commerce in 2021, Kelly currently works with Fora: Network for Change to advance gender equity on a global scale. In her community, Kelly can be found programming with QTBIPOC youth; organizing sexual violence prevention and response initiatives; dismantling financial and social barriers to education; consulting on equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives; and fostering communities for marginalized students. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys powerlifting, cooking/eating, rollerskating, and training her service dog Sage.

Lindsay Rae D'Ottavio

Society tells us that we have to fit into this tiny narrow minded mold of what is considered beautiful. Lindsay believes confidence in the skin you are in trickles into every aspect and relationship in your life. She gives women permission to feel beautiful exactly as they are. Internationally published and multi-award-winning photographer, author, and Inspirational Speaker, including first place for RangeFinder Magazine's Celebrate the Body and first place at North America's largest speaking competition, the 2021 Speaker Slam on Self Acceptance. Lindsay owns and operates Self Love Experience out of Troy, NY; there she and her glam squad showcase the natural beauty and power in every woman, helping women overcome negative self-esteem and becoming more confident versions of themselves. Lindsay is an active contributor to Women's Business Daily and Co-Author of the Amazon Best Seller and Impact Award winning book, Success Codes: The Secrets to Success You Weren't Taught In High School. She also won a gold medal for W3s Online Social Activism for her work on size inclusivity.

Patrice Francois

Patrice Francois, MHRM, MBA is a dynamic entertainer, speaker, producer, author, and game-changing trendsetter who aims to inspire. She migrated from Trinidad and Tobago to New York to establish a new legacy for her life. Patrice is the host of The Mss Francois Show, a talk show that encompasses candid conversations with a variety of entertainment and uses humor to help others with their dysfunctional relationships.

Sara Guo

Sara Guo is a Chinese Canadian and first-year student at Queen’s University in the Smith Commerce program. At 16, she published a book titled “One Point in Time: To All East Asian Youth” after seeing the rise in discrimination and xenophobia towards the East Asian population during COVID-19. From dumplings to the Model Minority Myth, her book features a compilation of free-verse poems reflective of both her personal and shared experiences growing up in a western country. She hopes her book is something East Asian youth can relate to, especially during these times where connectivity seems so hard to achieve. Since publishing, her book climbed to #25 in its respective genre on Amazon and she has been featured on CBC and OMNI Television. Join her to discuss the importance of diversifying literature and specifically, ways in which you can add more diversity in the books you read or the media you consume.

Sara-Maya Kaba

Sara-Maya graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Development Studies from Queen's in 2021, and is currently completing her final year of a Bachelor of Education, specializing in Arts & Community Arts Education. She is a dancer, a spoken-word poet, and believes that storytelling through art is one of the most powerful ways of creating social change. Having worked in education-based settings in Canada, the UK, Pakistan, Mexico and Kenya, she is inspired by how arts and culture are valuable tools for mediation around the world. Her recent experience includes serving as a program director for an international youth summit, as well as research under established scholars concerned with sonic resistance in Kashmir, as well as increasing representation of Muslims in mainstream media.