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).

Maldon Vintage Machinery and Museum
Vincents Road
Maldon, Victoria, 3463
Australia

Bessi Graham

Business and Leadership Strategist

I’m Bessi Graham, a Business and Leadership Strategist with nearly 25 years’ experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning. I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Benefit Capital and Creator of The Jasper Blueprint. My experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me unparalleled perspective and a unique skillset – the ability to bridge the systemic and the practical. I’m a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Monash and Macquarie universities; and The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Brad Hooper

Architect

Brad Hooper is an architect but so much more: a thinker, a photographer, a writer and a local Maldon resident. In a town where everyone knows everyone, he is the go-to person for anything from new residential builds to professional advice on heritage overlays and building approvals and even single screen doors. He is embedded in the community, is full of anecdotes and stories peppered with good advice, and loves his life as a regional Brad-of-all-trades.

Brian Nankervis

Actor, Comedian

Brian has been writing, producing and co hosting ‘RocKwiz’ since 2005. Brian co hosts 'The Friday Revue’, on ABC Radio Melbourne. Brian contributes regularly to The Age and radio 3RRR and is an experienced MC and performer for public events and corporate functions. He performs a poetry show in schools.

Christine Gordon

Programming and Engagement Manager

Christine Gordon is the Programming and Engagement manager for Readings; a role she has held for many years. Prior to realising the role of her dreams, Christine worked in public women's health. She is one of the founding board members of the Stella Prize, a former board member for the Emerging Writers Festival, sits on the board of the Victorian Women's Trust and on the advisory committee for the Australian Publishing Industry Awards. She is an avid reader and believes everyone's story has merit.

Christine Nixon

Former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police

Christine was the 19th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police leading 14,000 staff, operating across more than 500 locations, and overseeing an annual budget of $1.7 billion. She joined Victoria Police in April 2001, after serving with the New South Wales Police from 1972 where she became the first Female Assistant Commissioner in 1994. She led the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Agency after the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires. Currently Christine is the Chair of Leadership Victoria, was a Board member and then Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 2017-22.

Isis Jordan

Community Connector

Isis moved to Castlemaine from Queensland in 2016. When she arrived, she began working full time on her Aunty’s farm, the famous Holy Goat cheese company. Feeling a bit isolated, she sought out organisations to help her connect with the community. She completed a leadership course, which included reflection on core values. This helped her consolidate her lifelong desire to explore the world of creativity, drama and art. Isis volunteers at Castlemaine Community House in their Get Connected program, which links people in the community with activities and groups, to help them feel part of the community.

Jane Caro

Author, Broadcaster, Feminist, Activist

Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award winning columnist, author, novelist, broadcaster, documentary maker, feminist and social commentator. Her first novel for adults, The Mother, is a bestseller. She is currently writing another – bestseller, she hopes. She appears frequently on The Drum & Today Extra. She has created and presented 5 documentary series for ABC Compass. She is in demand as a speaker, panel facilitator and MC. She writes a regular column in Nine Media and her opinion pieces and articles appear frequently in The Saturday Paper and The Big Smoke. She is currently developing a TV series about education. She is on the boards of The Public Education Foundation and Every Age Counts. She is an Ambassador for The Older Women’s Network.

Jo Clyne

Performer, Teacher, Education Consultant, Historian, Writer, Magician

Dr Jo Clyne is the current President of the International Museum Theatre Alliance (Asia Pacific) and the host of the Museum Theatre Musings podcast. She holds a PhD in History and Theatre Studies from the University of Melbourne and spent more than fifteen years as a history education consultant for the History Teachers' Association of Victoria. Jo relishes her ‘portfolio career’ which currently includes being a museum theatre performer, historian, history education consultant, teacher, history competition judge, published writer, and one of only a few professional female magicians in the world.

Kaitlin Woolford

Victoria's Youth Governor

Kaitlin Woolford (she/her) is the elected Youth Governor of Victoria, as part of the 2024 Youth Parliament program. Kaitlin has volunteered with the YMCA for nine years and has been blessed to work with so many awesome young people. Being elected Youth Governor for 2024 is an exciting role that she has been striving to achieve for five years and is excited to see where the role takes her. Kaitlin was a member of the Wellington Shire Youth Council for four years, taking on roles such as Youth Mayor, Youth Deputy Mayor and Youth Secretary, whilst also working full-time, studying Musical Theatre and participating in local theatre productions. She currently lives in Melbourne and works in a high school mentoring and coaching students in having a positive view of school and finding ways to help re-engage them, whilst also supporting them to find their voice and have their say.

Katie Underwood

Singer, Songwriter and Sound Healer

Katie Underwood is a highly acclaimed Australian artist, recognized for her outstanding achievements in the music industry. With an impressive 25-year career, she has received an APRA award and has been nominated for an ARIA. As a versatile singer, songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Katie has collaborated with artists from around the world, exploring a diverse range of genres such as pop, dance, jazz, indie-rock, and new age. In addition to her musical talents, Katie has also ventured into the realm of meditation and sound healing, becoming a certified Meditation Teacher and Sound Healer. She has independently produced numerous albums that focus on mantra meditation, showcasing her deep passion for the transformative power of mantras and meditation.

Maja Havrilova

Relationship Counsellor

Relationship counsellor and educator, Maja Havrilova, presents a new approach to creating and maintaining fulfilling relationships called 'Love Crafting', which highlights that love is a craft that you can learn, rather than simply an emotion that can easily fade. Love Crafting empowers people by helping them nurture the skills and insights to creatively master their relationships.

Mandy Nicholson

Architect, Mentor, Dancer, Designer

Dr Mandy Nicholson has worked with architects and landscape architects to create cultural safety within public spaces as well as corporate interiors/fit outs. She has also coauthored a masterplan and worked as a cultural consultant for many years. She has authored and coauthored papers around the topic of embedding First People's perspectives through design and planning regimes in an urban environment. Mandy mentors First Nation young girls through learning and teaching of culture, language, dance, and maintenance of ceremonial practices. She created Djirri Djirri dance group in 2013 to create cultural grounding and support network. She also rekindled an ancient Coming of Age ceremony called Murrum Turrukurruk, alongside two Wurundjeri Elders in 2015 after 185 years of it not being practiced. This work was recognised in 2022 by winning the Ganbu Gullnj (One Mob) section of the Melbourne Awards. Djirri Djirri have performed locally, nationally and internationally.

Nerrida Johnson

School Principal

Nerrida Johnson is a local school principal who has lived a vibrant and slightly unexpected life. From being sent to a home for unmarried mothers at 14 years of age, she has made some big decisions which have led her to become a teacher, a political activist, a mother of three, and a school principal. She has worked in Parliament House, a rainforest school on the side of a mountain, Instagram Influencer filled Byron Bay and in remote West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Nerrida has given workshops and lectured on Steiner Education all over Australia and at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. She is passionate about helping young people to develop the tools they need to make their own big decisions to lead positive, vibrant and ever so slightly audacious lives.

Nicky Barry

Comedian

Nicky Barry is a comedy powerhouse, storyteller par-excellence, occasional actress, full time goddess and mother to four wonderful kidults. Nicky spent her formative years hanging out in dodgy bars with depraved social misfits. Somewhere past the age of 40, she realised this was her true calling and decided to give stand-up comedy a crack. Nicky launched herself onto the scene via Raw Comedy, making the state finals as an absolute newbie having never done a gig. She honed her skills in the best of Melbourne’s worst open mic rooms and is now in high demand as an MC and feature act in rooms all over Australia and occasionally beyond. Described as: ”frighteningly funny” in her first review, she is one of those acts that many comics are reluctant to follow. Her razor- sharp wit and brazen delivery are always a hit. When she is good, she is really very good. When she is bad, she is absolutely hilarious!

Peter Sandor

Managing Director

Peter Sandor, until recently, was the Managing Director of Sim Crawcour Pty Ltd, a family-owned and run business which has existed for almost 100 years, named after its original owner Simon Crawcour, back in the mid-1920s. The origins of the business were mainly as a manufacturer’s agent, selling items as diverse as clothing and jewellery to retail shops in Tasmania. In the early 1950s Mr Crawcour’s son-in-law, John Sandor, entered the business and saw opportunity in direct importing for the general and souvenir retail trade. In 1983, Peter, John Sandor’s son, commenced working in the business and ran the company as General Manager for 35 years prior to becoming Managing Director. Peter is a natural leader and manager and has done his family and community extremely proud and in what he and the business has achieved.

Rosalie Hastwell

Public Servant

Originally trained as a classical pianist and steeped in the music of the past, Rosalie’s focus over her extensive career has shifted to building communities and promoting contemporary cultures. She believes that healthy places need to be vibrant, inclusive and brave enough to both respect and challenge traditions. From leading the development of a village engagement strategy in India to facilitating partnerships across the arts, mental health and education in bushfire recovering towns and rural communities in Victoria, she has learned much from local perspectives while also facilitating new partnerships and collaborations that promote resilience and liveability, Rosalie’s extensive career in the arts, community, health and local government has ranged from inner city contexts to the outer suburban, statewide and small rural. She now works for Central Goldfields Shire, contributes to the local community, and chooses to make Maldon and this region her home.

Tamika Sewell

Founder and Creative Director

Originally from Edenhope and regional Victoria, Tamika Sewell is the Founder and Creative Director behind AUREI LÚA, a luxury womenswear brand that has garnered international acclaim. AUREI LÚA has graced the pages of British Vogue Magazine and DeMode Magazine, and the brand has been invited to showcase at New York, London and Paris Fashion Weeks. Tamika's designs have graced the runway at Thailand Fashion Week (2022) and Cairns Fashion Week (2023). In 2022 Tamika's brand caught the attention of industry leaders, with Not Just A Label selecting AUREI LÚA to pitch designs to European retailer, Zalando. In 2023, Tamika received a prestigious offer to feature her label in the Flying Solo Retail Store in Paris, marking yet another milestone in her extraordinary career.