Theme: The Bigger Picture

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).

Old Union Hall
4400 Vestal Pkwy E, Binghamton, NY Binghamton University, New York
Union, 1st floor
Vestal, New York, 13902
United States

Andrew Marotta

Educator, Author, Speaker, Professional Developer, and Leadership Professor

Andrew Marotta is the Director of Communications & Academic Services at Port Jervis Schools, NY. He was Principal & AP for the last 20 years in the great small city of Port Jervis. He took on a new challenge in the 23-24 school year moving to this director position allowing him to promote and carry the banner for Port Schools in a new and creative way while giving him more flexibility to travel and present nationally as an inspirational speaker. He is a husband, father, adjunct professor of school leadership, former Division 1 men's college basketball official, speaker, & author. Andrew is also the leader of the Surviving & Thriving movement. Andrew is an energizing & impactful speaker, author, and school leader. He lives the words on his logo & strives to positively #IMPACT all he meets. A master storyteller, Andrew engages his audiences and fellow leaders with authentic and heartfelt stories.

Larry Dake

Superintendent of Schools, Chenango Valley Central School District

Dr. Larry Dake is the Superintendent of Schools in the Chenango Valley Central School District. Previously, he has served as an Assistant Superintendent, building principal, data coordinator, and teacher, starting his career in the Vestal Central School District. Dr. Dake also has served as an adjunct professor in the Binghamton University Educational Leadership Program since 2017 and has instructed and mentored over 75 current school leaders across the Southern Tier and New York State. In addition, he is the author of three leadership books focusing on career development, leadership habits, and work-life balance. Most recently, he was the keynote speaker at the 2023 Kentucky Association of School Administrators’ central office leadership conference in Louisville, Kentucky. He has presented at several leadership conferences in New York State. He lives with his wife, Kelly, and his three children, who span middle and elementary schools.

Michelle Osterhoudt

Superintendent, Margaretville Central Schools

Mrs. Michelle Osterhoudt has proudly been an educator in our region for over 25 years. Many of those years were spent in both High School and Middle School where she loved teaching literature while focusing on Social Justice. Michelle has also been an active community member having served as the city of Oneonta’s first black Council Member and is the current President Elect of the Oneonta Area Chapter of the NAACP. Michelle serves on the New York State Education Department DEI Leaders Advisory Group. Michelle is the proud Superintendent of Margaretville Central School. Michelle Osterhoudt attended SUNY Oneonta earning a bachelor of science degree in Secondary English Education. She received her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Certificate of Advanced study in Educational Leadership from The University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.

Pavel Masek

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University

Pavel Masek leads research on taste-related behaviors using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. He began his neuroscience career as a PhD student in Martin Heisenberg’s lab in Germany, working on olfactory perception and memory. Later, he shifted his focus to taste during his time at UC Berkeley and then became an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Nevada in Reno before moving to Binghamton. His lab focuses on feeding-driven motivational behaviors and decision-making, the molecular basis of synaptic plasticity, and the brain circuits underlying complex gustatory learning and memory. He studies the perception, coding and biological relevance of fat taste and the neural mechanisms underlying anxiety. These projects utilize various techniques such as behavioral assays, calcium imaging, and optogenetics to understand memory, dietary preferences, and stress response.

Ralph Miller

SUNY Distinguished Professor, Binghamton University

Ralph Miller did his undergraduate work at MIT in physics and then earned an MS in particle physics and a PhD in experimental psychology from Rutgers University. He was on faculty at CUNY for ten years before relocating to SUNY-Binghamton where he is now a distinguished professor in cognitive and brain sciences. His NIH-funded laboratory has focused on examining basic learning and memory in rodents and humans. Miller's research has lent support to the view that most failures of memory performance after learning has occurred, that is, ‘forgetting’ in the broad sense, are due to interference between acquired memories. Moreover, his work suggests that forgetting is ordinarily a failure to retrieve the forgotten memory. In recent years, he has been concerned with the boundary between conscious and unconscious information processes and peoples' unawareness of the influence of unconscious heuristics.