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).

UCLA Northwest Campus Auditorium
350 De Neve Drive
Los Angeles, California, 90024
United States

Barry Jackson

Barry has worked as a visual artist for such talents as Neil Young, The Band, The Grateful Dead, ZZtop, and many others. Hand Painted movie posters include Disney’s Fantasia, Escape from New York, Big Top Pee Wee, Predator 2 and more. 20 Screen Credits in feature film include: Shrek, The Prince of Egypt, Ron Howard’s The Grinch, The Nightmare before Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, Sausage Party, Mary Poppins Returns, and the miniseries The Crowded Room. Awards include the 2011 Telly Award for Best Television animated feature, Firebreather. His animated short film, The Killer Buzz, won the Director's Circle Award, First Place in the Studio City Film Festival and others. Writing Credits include his critically acclaimed children's book, Danny Diamondback which has been optioned as a feature film. Teaching includes seven years at The Art Center College of Design, and now he creatively directs and teaches online at The Zoom Art Studio. www.youtube.com/@TheZoomArtStudio

Jim McCarthy

Jim McCarthy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stellar, the only full-service livestream partner for professional live entertainment organizers and creators, committed to delivering premium interactive online shows to paying audiences around the world. For nearly 20 years, Jim was the CEO/Co-Founder of Goldstar helping 10 million people go to Goldstar to discover live events nationwide for 5,000 live entertainment organizers. When the COVID-19 crisis shut down the live entertainment industry in March 2020, Jim led the charge to develop Stellar, to help producers create and sell high quality-live streaming events. In August 2020, Stellar started welcoming creators and audiences in beta. Since then, millions of people have live-streamed a variety of shows available on the platform. Released in July 2022, his book, Beyond the Back Row: The Breakthrough Potential of Digital Live Entertainment and Arts, helps break down the why, how, and what of online, streaming, and hybrid live events. Jim is also the curator and co-founder of TEDxBroadway, the sold-out annual event dedicated to the question: What’s the Best Broadway Can Be? He has spoken at conferences all over the world, including TED, SXSW, INTIX and more. His articles have been in Forbes, Fast Company and Business Insider. About Jim, Bob Lefsetz has said, “Jim McCarthy is smart, he’d win in any world, not only via his brain, but his hard work and dedication.” Jim is a very active member on the Board of Directors at the Pasadena Playhouse. He studied English at Harvard University and received an MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He has a black belt in Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu.

Kenneth Wells

Dr. Kenneth Wells, M.D., M.P.H. is David Weil Professor, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior and Professor Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine and Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health. He is Affiliated Adjunct Staff at RAND and Staff Psychiatrist at West Los Angeles VA and research co-director of the UCLA/VA Center of Excellence for Veteran Recovery and Resilience. His research focuses on Community Partnered Participatory Research to improve equity in mental health services access, quality and outcomes, including digital services for mental health prevention and use of arts to address mental health stigma. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and with community partners led by Healthy African American Families II won the 2014 Team Science Award of Association of Clinical and Translational Science. He directs the Semel Institute’s Center for Health Services and Society and Healing and Education through the Arts (HEArts), to address mental health stigma through arts. Wells is founder and director of the Mansfield Chamber Singers, and composes vocal works to address stigma of mental illness. Wells’ video integrating community-partnered research on depression with his choral composition, “Thrive!” with poem by the late Dr. Loretta Jones, was California winner of the National Academy of Medicine’s Visualize Health Equity (https://nam.edu/visualizehealthequity/#/artwork/94 ).

Meera Varma

Meera Varma is a mental health activist from Los Angeles, CA. Her struggles with mental health cast a dark shadow over many of her experiences as a teenager and were compounded by the shame she faced when seeking treatment as an Asian-Indian woman. The cultural and societal stigma she endured is what fueled her passion for activism at the age of 14. Meera’s activism focuses on mental health education, suicide awareness and prevention, and mental health policy. Her work has been recognized by Oprah, President Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. As of 2023, Meera is a graduate student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and The Fielding School of Public Health. Through her activism, Meera aims to be a voice of hope to those who are struggling in silence. Learn more about her at meera-varma.com.

Michael Jann

Michael Jann is an Emmy-nominated late-night comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for over two decades. Mike currently teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension. He co-wrote and co-produced the short animated film Bug Therapy. It is a story about a mosquito who faints at the sight of blood. The subject is deeply personal: Mike’s son suffered a severe mental breakdown at age 27, resulting in hospitalizations and psych wards. His ongoing recovery (fingers crossed) has fueled Mike’s passion to fight the stigma of mental illness. Mike lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and writing partner Michele Jourdan. Michele’s the smart one; Mike’s the pretty one.

Michael Leon

Dr. Michael Leon received his PhD from the University of Chicago and joined the professoriate at the age of 24. He is currently Professor emeritus (recalled) in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California Irvine. He also is a member of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, as well as the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders at UCI. Dr. Leon has received multiple awards for teaching, including the Professor of the Year Award as the best teacher on the UCI campus. He also was associate dean for undergraduate education for 22 years. He has received the Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute for Mental Health for his work on the neurobiology of early learning, the D.G. Marquis Award from the American Psychological Association for developing an effective treatment for children with autism, and the Healthcare Technology Acceleration Award from the California HealthCare Foundation for his work on body weight normalization. In a recent analysis from the Stanford University, he was ranked among the top 2% of scientists in the world. Dr. Leon is a partner in Science Lab 3 and the Mando Group

Russell Korobkin

Russell Korobkin is Interim Dean and Richard C. Maxwell Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He teaches and writes about negotiation, dispute resolution, contracts, and the intersection of law and human behavior. He is the author of The Five Tool Negotiator: the Complete Guide to Bargaining Success (Liveright, 2021), as well leading textbooks on negotiation and on contract law and more than 50 law journal articles in the fields of behavioral law and economics, negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, contract law, and health care law. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty in 2001, Korobkin held appointments at the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He has taught as a full-time visiting professor at Harvard Law School and the University of Texas School of Law. He regularly teaches negotiation courses to undergraduates, law students, and business students around the world, conducts negotiation training programs for professionals, and mediates disputes.