TEDxTopeka 2017 Announces Speaker Lineup

TEDxTopeka 2017 Announces Speaker Lineup

TOPEKA, Kan. –  TEDxTopeka event organizers are excited to announce the speaker lineup for TEDxTopeka 2017.

“The TEDxTopeka crew is excited to be working on our fourth TEDx event in the Topeka community” said Mikki Burcher, co-lead organizer for TEDxTopeka. “This event allows local voices to share their ideas on a world-wide platform, and we love being able to showcase local speakers and performers.”

TEDxTalks are widely known as high quality, innovative, and thought provoking. TEDxTopeka 2017 will feature six local speakers, two local performing artists, and screenings of two TEDTalks. Event speakers and performers will be:

• Annette Hope Billings, author and poet, will perform “Brava!”, a spoken word collection about thriving, not just surviving, after victimization.
• Karl Fundenberger will describe the benefits of alternative transportation, such as biking and skating, in “You’re Bored Because You Drive Too Much.”
• Mary J. Martell will present “Vital Signs and Words: Inspiring a Culture and Community of Health.” In this talk, Martell poses the question: Can words make good medicine and inspire a community of health?
• Marie Myers highlights the effects of prolonged technology use on children’s development in “Growing Up Techie.”
• Jancy Pettit, energy artist, will perform “ArtLight,” which utilizes Pettit’s own energy art as the background for an energy movement performance, which is designed to cultivate feelings of peace and serenity.
• Dr. Sharon Sullivan’s talk, “Consuming Children,” will look at the hard realities of human trafficking happening in our own communities, and offers steps to work towards eliminating human trafficking both locally and globally.
• Dr. Brian Thomas will discuss the future of humanity by looking to the stars with “In the Really Long Run: The Future of Humanity in the Cosmos.”
• Marilyn Mendenhall Waugh will shed light on a little-known problem faced by many US adoptees in “Adopted People Have Two Birth Certificates?!”

“We had a lot of great applications this year,” said Nathan Morris, lead organizer. “Our team had a hard time narrowing it down, but we’re excited about the final speaker list and the variety of topics. We think that these presentations will really resonate with Topekans.”

TEDxTopeka will be held on November 9, 2017 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Topeka Civic Theatre and Academy.

To learn more about TEDxTopeka, please visit www.tedxtopeka.com or find us on Facebook at our TEDxTopeka Facebook page. Media inquiries can be directed to Mikki Burcher at mikki.burcher@gmail.com

— 30 —

About TEDx

In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxTopeka, where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxTopeka, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. 

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.