Theme: Chaos & Order

"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order." Carl Jung

Doors at 3pm, show at 4pm. A light picnic is served during intermission.

Speakers announced: https://tedxboulder.com/speakers/chaos-and-order

Chautauqua
900 Baseline Road
Boulder, Colorado, 80302
United States

Aaron Stark

Aaron Stark was almost a school shooter. As a dark and destructive teen, Stark almost committed a terrible attack. Today he is a happy father of four, and wants to do all he can to help anyone on that path to find a way into the light again, and to see that they matter. After watching the news coverage of the Parkland school shootings, Stark wrote an open letter “I was almost a school shooter.” This was sent to local news 9KUSA in Denver, and was the feature story on Next with Kyle Clark. This story gained national attention and over 17 million views in a very short time, which propelled him into a life of activism for mental wellness awareness. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and also wrote his own article in the Washington Post. This was followed by his viral TEDx talk “I Was Almost a School Shooter“ that currently has over 14 million views and is shown in schools, colleges, universities, and all the way up to the Dept. Of Education.

Allison O'Brien

Allison O’Brien is a communication consultant and Director of Training and Development with ECHO Listening Intelligence based in Boulder, Colorado. Since 2014 she has been helping to build a worldwide network of listening experts, certifying Practitioners to deliver the ECHO Listening Profile™ in 10 countries and across 4 continents. Allison works across all levels from high-potential individual contributors to C-Suite Executives and excels working with teams stuck in unhealthy conflict that struggle with accountability, effective communication, and collaborative decision-making. Within a broad scope of work including executive coaching, leadership training for new, emerging, and mid-level managers, sales training, workplace conflict resolution and corporate communication training focused on Listening, Allison provides hands on, real time practice of critical listening concepts that bring about the crucial insights needed for creating deep long lasting cognitive and behavioral change. After a decade of helping leaders and teams build psychologically safe environments to improve work outcomes, she found herself in a personal situation - the dissolution of a 15 year marriage - where she needed to apply every concept she taught in business settings. As a result, she managed to navigate a divorce with no lawyers involved, by harnessing the power of listening. Allison truly believes that we can change the world, the way we do business, the way we love and lead, one conversation at a time. And it all starts with listening.

Austin Mao

Austin Mao is an entrepreneur, author, poet, and keynote speaker on the intersection of science and spirituality, psychology and shamanism. He is a co-founder of Ceremonia, a non-profit psychedelic church facilitating change makers and creators through what 96% of alumni share as the most profound experience of their lives. He has guided more than 400 founders including Fortune 500 executives, Silicon Valley Unicorn founders, and major blockchain leaders through their transformation towards living a life of inspired creativity, purpose, and peace.

Bradley Freeman, Jr.

Bradley Freeman, Jr. is the official performer of The Pigeon with Mo Willems Workshop. He is a principal performer on the Emmy-Award-Winning program Sesame Street, where he plays Tamir, Wes, Timmy Twiddlebug, and many others. Additionally, he is a supporting performer with the Disney Muppets. His work has been featured on shows including Sesame Street, The Muppets Mayhem, Helpsters, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Michael Buble’s Christmas in the City, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The View, Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days, Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular, Tamir on the Street, The Pigeon Explains, and more.

Brea Baker

Brea Baker is a freedom fighter and writer (in that order) who has been working on the frontlines for over a decade, first as a student activist and now as a national strategist. With a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, Brea believes deeply in the need for nuanced storytelling and Black culture as tools for change. As a writer, Brea has commented on race, gender, and sexuality for publications like ELLE, Harper’s BAZAAR, Refinery29 Unbothered, Coveteur, MISSION Magazine, PARADE, THEM, gal-dem (UK), and more. Her book, Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft & The Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership, was published by One World (an imprint of Penguin Random House). Brea has essays published in anthologies like OUR HISTORY HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONTRABAND: IN DEFENSE OF BLACK STUDIES & Devin Allen's NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. For her work in coalition with other activists and organizers, Brea Baker has been recognized as a 2023 Creative Capital awardee, a 2017 Glamour Woman of the Year, and 2019 i-D Up and Rising. Brea has spoken globally about racial justice and coalition building towards a more equitable future including the United Nations' Girl Up Initiative, Duke University, Yale Law School, the University of Chicago, the University of Southern California, Youth 2 Youth Summit in Hong Kong, Pace Gallery, Museum of City of New York, and more.

Brie Doyle

These days, we hear a great deal about our culture’s endemic mental health problems, often handled through diagnosis, talk-therapy, medications, and normalized through social sharing. But how much do these strategies, and all the lip service really help us? Could ruminating in, and creating identity around our issues do us more harm than good? Author, teacher, and business owner, Brie Doyle offers regular retreating as a proactive tool to build mental and emotional resilience in a society that would rather slap a label on our discontent, and send us on our way. A voice for all, but most specifically women, Doyle reminds us of an age-old discipline, with a refreshing new framework, that creates fortitude, mental and emotional durability, spiritual depth, and inspires creativity, to bring us back to ourselves—no labels or medications necessary.

Dr. Graham Lau

Dr. Graham Lau is an astrobiologist, science communicator, and storyteller. Holding extensive academic knowledge in biology, chemistry, astrophysics, and geology, he specializes in scientific and conceptual issues in understanding what life is and searching for life beyond Earth. As the host of the NASA-funded "Ask an Astrobiologist" livestream show, he illuminates the intriguing field of astrobiology for a broad global audience and regularly guides students pursuing careers in space exploration. In his current role, Dr. Lau serves as the Director of Communications and Marketing for Blue Marble Space, a US-based international non-profit that promotes cooperative exploration of space, examines life as a planetary process, and enables a sustainable future on Earth. Additionally, Graham actively contributes to scientific progress as a Senior Research Investigator with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science and serves as the Director of the institute's globally recognized Young Scientist Program internship. Dr. Lau also leads student trips for Smithsonian Student Travel and National Geographic Student Expeditions, as well as overseeing logistics for the University Rover Challenge, an undergraduate robotics competition centered on Mars rovers. Dr. Lau's passion for sharing knowledge extends beyond the field of astrobiology. He has inspired students worldwide through public lectures, podcast interviews, and his compelling perspectives on our cosmic significance, the Overview Effect, and the future of civilization. Beyond his scientific pursuits, Dr. Lau imparts wisdom as a meditation instructor and cultivates confident speakers as a public speaking coach. His diverse expertise underlines his commitment to education, personal growth, and our shared exploration of our place within the cosmos.

Dr. Peter McGraw

Dr. Peter McGraw is a behavioral economist, business school professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, and an expert in judgment, emotion, and choice. He is the author of "Solo: Building a Remarkable Life of Your Own" and hosts the popular podcast "Solo—The Single Person’s Guide to a Remarkable Life." McGraw also writes for "Single Insights – The Science of Solos" and hosts "The Solo Salon." His research and writings challenge conventional narratives about marriage and fulfillment, advocating for societal and policy changes that support diverse living arrangements. McGraw teaches courses at the Leeds School of Business and has taught at the London Business School and UC San Diego. He has delivered talks at universities and organizations worldwide, including Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Chicago, as well as for companies like PayPal, Xerox, and Google. Through his work, McGraw empowers individuals to embrace their single lives and highlights the importance of good health, financial security, and social connections in achieving personal and societal well-being.

Isabella Cohn

Isabella Grace Cohn is a 21-year-old student activist and the director and videographer of the documentary film Watch You Rise. She was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, and is a recent graduate with a BFA from Goddard College and was accepted into the 2024 Telluride Student Symposium. Isabella is driven by studying and creating socially engaged films and media. Her work explores contradictions without resolution while refusing to minimize or exploit trauma. Her film, Watch You Rise, works to portray provocative content and difficult truths about gender, sex, transgenerational, and cultural issues with individuals who are typically excluded from public discourse. She is committed to engaging young adults in front of the camera and behind it, believing that young people can create significant changes in their lives and communities. Isabella’s path toward creating Watch You Rise began seven years ago when she started the Me Too Teen Project. The website provides teens with a safe and healing space for reading and sharing stories of survival, reaching every continent and all 50 states. Her work associated with the Me Too Teen Project included significant fundraising for nonprofits working with sexual assault. Isabella has received local, state, and national attention from multiple news outlets and was recognized by the Boulder D.A. for her social activism in 2018-2019. She was invited to speak at the 2022 YWCA Reproductive March of nearly 3000 people. Over the past 4 years, she has shared her work on the film with the Boulder YWCA, 2022 YWCA Reproductive Rights March, SPANN (Safehouse Progressive Alliances), MESA (Moving to End Sexual Assault), the Boulder D.A. and the Restorative Justice program in 2023. Watch You Rise documents Isabella’s cross-country journey to uncover the roots of sexual assault, through interviews with young adult and teen survivors, perpetrators, and experts to fill in gaps of current cultural, historical, and organizational limitations to understanding youth and young adult sexual assault. Isabella confronts personal trauma and challenges her mother’s silence about her childhood assault, exposing their family’s fragile relationship to the past. Her exploration reveals societal divisions, diverse perspectives, hope, and transformation through action and vulnerability. Interviews include Dr. Annie Farmer, a licensed psychologist and one of the first women to come forward as a youth survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and Giselle Maxwell, and Dr. James Gordon a psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of trauma recovery. As rights to education around sexuality, sex, and sexual assault continue to be withheld, she aims to make Watch You Rise accessible and distributable so that it can reach communities across the country. If you would like to be part of the community of people supporting youth and young adults and support her work opening up the conversation around youth and young adult sexual assault, please visit her website at watchyourise.com for more information about the film and how to donate. Donations to Watch You Rise are tax deductible and the film is fiscally sponsored by From The Heart Productions.

Jason Antin

Jason Antin, a native of New England who now calls Colorado home, focuses all of his time striving to achieve the ultimate work-life balance. Between working with early-stage start-ups with business development and strategy, to training and guiding clients eager to explore the mountains, Jason's professional life is built around cultivating and contributing to an enthusiastic outdoor community. Off the clock, Jason enjoys moving quickly in the mountains over all mediums that mother nature shares with us whether that be trails, rock, ice or snow. Long days in the mountains with plenty of smiles is what he's looking for.

Kim Boyd, MD

Kim Boyd, MD is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of WndrHLTH, a stealth startup bringing a new approach to longevity. A former national team gymnast, Kim’s innate interest in optimizing wellness and transforming healthcare paradigms has driven her medical career. As an innovative physician-executive, Kim has shaped and built companies on the cutting edge of new models of medical care across six startups. She was an early leader at One Medical and has led companies at the forefront of AI and healthcare, as well as those delivering new approaches to women's health, obesity, and metabolic health. Kim was Phi Beta Kappa and an Academic All-American at Stanford University. She continued at Stanford Medical School where she was a Medical Scholars Research Program grant recipient for her work integrating medicine and the humanities. Kim lives in Boulder with her professor-husband, two marvelous children, and dog.

Parker McMullen Bushman

Meet Parker McMullen Bushman, CEO and Founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, and Co-founder of Inclusive Guide. Listed by Outside Magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry. Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator who engages organizations in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education, and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head-on activism and education. Parker has a Master of Natural Resources from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, with a focus in Interpretation and Environmental Education. They lead several committees that focus on diversity in environmental fields as well as a presenter and trainer on diversity issues. They also sit on the board of the National Association for Interpretation and The Next 100 Coalition and formerly served on the board for Environmental Learning for Kids.

Pete Adeney

Mr Money Mustache is a thirtysomething* retiree who now writes about how we can all live a frugal yet Badass life of leisure. My (former) wife and I studied engineering and computer science in Canada, then worked in standard tech-industry cubicle jobs in various locations throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s. Then we retired from real work way back in 2005 in order to start a family. This was achieved not through luck or amazing skill, but simply by living a lifestyle about 50% less expensive than most of our peers and investing the surplus in very boring conservative Vanguard index funds and a rental house or two.