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).

Kelly Strayhorn Theater
5941 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15206
United States

Aarti Singh

Aarti Singh is the Director of the NSF AI Institute for Societal Decision Making and Professor in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on designing principled interactive algorithms for decision making with application to scientific and societal domains. Her work is recognized by an NSF Career Award, a United States Air Force Young Investigator Award, A. Nico Habermann Junior Faculty Chair Award, Harold A. Peterson Best Dissertation Award, and multiple paper awards. She serves on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Board of Mathematical Sciences and Analytics, World Economic Forum expert network, and Action Editor for Journal of Machine Learning Research.

Christina Cassotis

Christina Cassotis is Chief Executive Officer of the Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA), which operates Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Allegheny County Airport (AGC). Under Christina’s leadership, PIT has transformed into an industry-changing origin-and-destination airport with record growth. She has recruited multiple new domestic and international carriers for passenger and cargo service, including during the pandemic. AGC has also experienced its own renaissance, capitalizing on the growth of private flying. Christina is focused on making PIT the most accessible airport in the world – one that is built by and for Pittsburgh. Under her leadership, ACAA is constructing a new, state-of-the-art terminal, scheduled to open in early 2025. Her innovation-centric approach led to the creation of PIT’s microgrid, which has made the airport one of the most resilient in the world, and the development of Presley’s Place, a space dedicated to people with sensory challenges to help them prepare for a flight or decompress after landing. The microgrid and Presley’s Place have both received several high-profile awards. Her nationally recognized approach to workforce development has provided countless community members with access to airport opportunities, on-site skills training and childcare. Christina’s focus on innovation for the passenger experience led her to establish xBridge, a space at PIT dedicated to testing technology and materials, taking advantage of the Pittsburgh region’s strong R&D talent, to support aviation and other industries. Christina’s career began in commercial aviation at the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan International Airport. She went on to lead a global aviation practice as Managing Officer of Airport Services for consulting firm SH&E. She earned her MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and her bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts.

Danielle Obisie-Orlu

Danielle Obisie-Orlu is a Nigerian-American PhD student, social justice advocate, actress and poet who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. Danielle previously won the title of Youth Poet Laureate of Allegheny County As an accomplished public speaker and poet, Danielle enjoys inspiring hope and belonging by telling stories about changemakers, immigrant histories, justice, girlhood, racial equality, joy, and what it means to live for peace.

David Rabin

Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, PhD, is a neuroscientist, board-certified psychiatrist, health tech entrepreneur & inventor who has been studying the impact of chronic stress in humans for over 15 years. He is the co-founder & Chief Medical Officer at Apollo Neuroscience, which has developed the first scientifically-validated wearable technology that actively improves sleep, relaxation, focus, and calm, using a novel touch therapy that signals safety to the brain. Dr. Rabin is the Executive Director of The Board of Medicine & the Medical Director of the Apollo Clinic.

Liz Berlin

As a founding member of Rusted Root Liz Berlin has toured the country with Santana, the Allman Brothers, Dave Matthews, Page and Plant, and The Grateful Dead. She’s appeared on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, and has been featured in Ice Age, Mathilda and Twister. And she’s a member of Social Justice Disco (a collaboration with Pittsburgh jazz diva, Phat Man Dee) and Drowning Clowns (internationally featured in skateboard videos by band member and professional skateboarder Evan Smith.) Liz Berlin delivers a truly hypnotic live solo performance. Her collection of original songs –sometimes tranquil, sometimes funky, and sometimes raging– are written on a very personal level, and her life experiences unfold like chapters in a book. She explores her imagination thoroughly, projecting the fine lines and shadowy corners of her heart and mind with a sensitive intelligence. You may become utterly enchanted by her many voices, spiraling at times from tender and chillingly true, into an elegant wailing decree. Liz Berlin is also co-owner of Mr. Smalls Recording Studio and Mr. Small’s Theatre in Pittsburgh where Manchester Orchestra, Arctic Monkeys, Snoop Dogg and many others have drawn sold-out audiences. Her not-for-profit, Creative.Life.Support, offers youth educational programs, an internship program and a record label. For this, she received a Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2013. She continues this legacy with We Rock Workshop providing free recording and performance opportunities to current and former foster youth for the last 12 years. And she has branched into collegiate-level education, creating and teaching a “Live Music Touring” class for Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College Masters of Entertainment Management program for five years.

Virginia Montanez

Virginia Montanez is a humor writer, novelist, essayist and historian who once spent the day as one of the most-Googled names in the country while appearing as the lead story on CNN's homepage when she was fired from her nonprofit Pittsburgh job after revealing her identity as the writer of the popular humor site The Burgh Blog. Montanez went on to publish a successful follow-up blog about Pittsburgh and then became the humor columnist for Pittsburgh Magazine before leaving to focus on writing novels. Her debut novel Nothing. Everything. was published in 2023 by Brooklyn's Winding Road Stories. She is the volunteer founder of Make Room for Kids at Mario Lemieux Foundation, a program that has placed hundreds of XBOXes in nearly every in-patient room at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She now writes a Pittsburgh history-focused column for Pittsburgh Magazine and has contributed essays to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In addition, she publishes a weekly newsletter, Breathing Space, via Substack. She is the creator of the artifact-mapping project Pittsburgh Remains to be Seen. Her awards include the "Blog of the Year" from the City and Regional Magazine Association for her work with Pittsburgh Magazine, as well as multiple Golden Quill nominations and wins. May 30, 2014 was named "Virginia Montanez Day" in the City of Pittsburgh by Mayor Bill Peduto. She is a history graduate student (remote) at UMass-Boston, a single mother of two teenagers, and has been profoundly hearing impaired since birth.