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).

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
United States

Ala Stanford

Dr. Ala Stanford is a national leader in health equity and a health care policy advisor. She is a trusted messenger and an advocate for vulnerable populations in the United States and globally. Dr. Stanford is the Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of the Mid-Atlantic, appointed by President Joseph Biden overseeing the health and well being of all Americans. A practicing physician for over 20 years, Dr. Stanford is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in both pediatric and adult general surgery. She serves as a medical and health correspondent for national media outlets. Dr. Stanford gained international recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic using the infrastructure of her pediatric surgery practice to create a grassroots organization focused on education, testing, contact tracing and vaccination in communities devoid of access to care and resources. Her focus on those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 saved lives. The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium directly served over 100,000 and countless others through the reach of their work. Dr. Stanford subsequently opened a Center for Health Equity in a Philadelphia zip code community with the lowest life expectancy, providing expert health care and improving health outcomes. She has received many accolades, a few notable include 2021 Top 10 CNNHero, 2021 Fortune Magazine: World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, 2021 George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award, the City of Philadelphia Commissioned a street in her name and listed in 2021 & 2022 by Forbes Magazine Most Influential Women. In April 2023 Dr. Stanford will deliver a TED talk at the University of Pennsylvania on the subject of medicine and social justice. Simon & Schuster will share her memoir and roadmap for achieving health equity in 2024. Dr. Stanford is a wife and mother to three teenagers.

Anthony Russo

Anthony Russo is one of the leading directors and creators in the entertainment industry today. Anthony, alongside his brother, Joe, are the artists and innovators behind some of the world’s most successful and iconic blockbuster films and television shows. In 2017, the Russo Brothers were pleased to announce the formation of their independent film and TV studio, AGBO. Through AGBO, the Russo Brothers have produced 21 Bridges, Mosul, Relic, Extraction 1 & 2, "Citadel" and Everything Everywhere All At Once. They directed Cherry which released on Apple TV in 2021 and The Gray Man which is Netflix's #1 movie of the year and #4 most watched film of all time for the streaming platform. The Russo Brothers just wrapped production on The Electric State starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, which they are directing for Netflix. Through a quartet of movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony and his brother raised the bar for blockbuster filmmaking in artistry, scope, and box office returns, directing record-breaking hits: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. In addition to their film and television successes, the Russos are also co-founders — along with almost two-dozen fellow directors and artists — of Bullitt, a filmmakers’ collective and creative studio that is centered on the creation of brand-integrated entertainment and advertising content, and which utilizes state-of-the-art technology to break down barriers between advertisers and audiences.

Christopher Tucker

Tucker thinks and works at the intersection of technology, strategy, geography, and national security. Tucker manages Yale House Ventures, a portfolio of technology companies, social ventures, and public entrepreneurship initiatives. Tucker is Chairman of the American Geographical Society (www.AmericanGeo.org), where he launched Geography2050 a multi-year strategic dialogue about the vital trends shaping the geography of our planet. At AGS, Tucker has also helped launch its EthicalGEO Initiative (www.EthicalGEO.org), and the Locus Charter as an international charter for the responsible use of location technologies. Tucker serves, or has served on a variety of other private sector, government, and non-profit boards including the Open Geospatial Consortium, the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, National Geospatial Advisory Committee, the Defense Science Board Intelligence Task Force, the DNI’s Intelligence Community Strategic Studies Group (ICSSG), the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Group, served as an NGA Independent Advisor, and served on the National Academy of Science’s Committee on NGA’s GEOINT Research Priorities. Previously, Tucker was the President and CEO of a high-technology firm in the area of geospatial intelligence that he took from startup to acquisition. Prior to his time in industry, Chris was the founding Chief Strategic Officer of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture fund. And prior to that, Chris served as the Special Advisor to the Executive Vice Provost of Columbia University. Tucker is the author of A Planet of 3 Billion (www.Planet3Billion.com), and spends his abundant spare time working to bend the global population curve, to save our planet and our species from climate catastrophe and ecological annihilation, through empowering strategies focused on women and girls.

Devin Carroll

Devin Carroll is an expert in robot design using found materials and is committed to making robotics more accessible to everyone. He is currently working towards his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania where he explores techniques to build robots from natural materials like ice and tree branches. His research has been published at high quality conferences and in international journals as well as featured on popular news sites such as IFLscience, IEEE Spectrum, and Digital Trends. One of his robots, IceBot, has received a Guinness World Record for the first robot made from ice. He believes that the future of robotics lies in making them more affordable for everyone and is excited to share his work and his passion for design with the TEDx community.

Henry Daniell

W.D. Miller Professor, Vice Chair, Basic and Translational Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2007) and 14 th American member of the National Academy of Sciences, Italy in 250 years (Ben Franklin is the first American member of this oldest national academy). He is the Editor in Chief of the Plant Biotechnology Journal, Oxford, UK and the recipient of several awards including the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Bayer Hemophilia global award and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Award for outstanding contributions to lower the cost of biopharmaceuticals. He pioneered chloroplast genetic engineering technology to produce and deliver affordable biopharmaceuticals to treat major metabolic or genetic disorders, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, hypertension, hemophilia and retinopathy. Booster vaccines are developed in chloroplasts to prevent global infectious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, anthrax, plague, polio and more recently COVID-19. Studies with FDA and CDC funded by the Gates Foundation, NIH SMARTT program or major pharmaceutical companies facilitated advancement of these innovations to the clinic. More recently, viral trap proteins in chewing gum to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection/transmission is advanced to Phase I/II clinical trial, after receiving FDA approval of IND. He has published >300 peered reviewed articles (H-index 73, Google Scholar 93) and >100 patents. Details are available in the Google Scholar link: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7sow4jwAAAAJ&hl=en

Jordan Harris

State Representative Jordan Harris has emerged as a rising star and leading progressive voice in the Pennsylvania legislature on issues that matter most to his constituents, including criminal justice reform and education reform. First chosen to represent the 186th Legislative District on Nov. 6, 2012, Harris was most recently selected by his colleagues to serve a third term as the Democratic Caucus Whip for the 2023-24 legislative session. The Whip is the second highest ranking position in leadership behind only the caucus leader, and Harris is only the second African American to hold the position of Whip for the Democratic Caucus. Harris previously served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.

Lyn Godley

Lyn Godley’s work has crossed the borders of fine art, interiors, product, furniture, lighting, and jewelry. Of all her work, it is lighting which she has chosen to focus on for the last twenty-five years. The investigation of new technology and materials in a robust dialogue with beauty – through form, imagery, and color – the duality of science and emotion, right and left brain together at the same time. Her work has been chosen for public art projects and commissions that explore the intersection of Light and Art in public spaces, and is in numerous museum and private collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Percent for Art Public Art commission at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, or the permanent installation of 7,100 programmable LEDs at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Pennsylvania that continually “draws in light” across the center’s façade. In addition to her studio work, she is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Jefferson University, where she is developing curriculum and coordinating a Lighting Design concentration. Beginning in 2018, Godley is taking part in a three-year research project with universities in the UK, Denmark, Germany, and Russia to explore the impact of light on health, and to develop graduate level curriculum based on the findings.

Peikun Shi

Activist artist and filmmaker, Peikun Shi, uses his talent to raise mental health awareness and break through emotional barriers. As a science student, Peikun started off winning awards for math modeling and physics olympiad. Since then, he has co-founded a Fashion Show called Ashy Zone in honor of a friend who was dealing with depression and committed suicide. Through his short film "As If Lost In A Fog", co-directed and co-produced with a friend, Peikun shares his own experience with depression aggravated by the pandemic. Now, he uses his art to break the stigma surrounding mental illness in our society.

Shahd Batal

Shahd is a Sudanese-American digital storyteller born in Minneapolis who found initial and fortuitous success in 2015 through her YouTube channel— a platform Batal used as a video diary; a space to showcase her varying interests and overall love of sharing and connection. Her career has since evolved as she’s been a pioneer in the beauty and modest fashion industries, collaborated with top brands, and released her own style edit in 2020. Shahd has spoken at universities such as Stanford and Columbia University on topics like authentic storytelling, intersectionality, and the importance of Black and Muslim voices in digital spaces. Batal’s other hats include: model, consultant, host, and writer. Through it all, including new endeavors, Shahd understands her true weapon—her voice. She’s challenged industry norms and encourages consistent critique of ‘diversity and inclusion’ conversations while also pushing to create more safe spaces for minority girls and women and shift narratives surrounding American Muslims. Shahd was part of the U.S. YouTube Black Voices Creator Class of 2021 and has been featured in numerous press articles such as Vogue, Glamour, Essence, Allure, and more.