TEDxUChicago 2012

Sonal Shah is an economist and has served as the Director of the new Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the White House since 2009. Previously she was a member of President Obama's Transition Project, in 2007 headed the Global Development Initiatives, which is a philanthropic arm of Google, the Director of Operations and Programs at the Center for Global Development, and in 2004 served as the Vice President of Goldman Sachs. Sonal's work in both the private and public sector is substantial; she has been active in overseeing programs in sub-Saharan Africa relating to debt relief, working with the Ministries of Finance in Bosnia and Kosovo to design the post-war banking system, and has even founded non-profits dedicated to helping Indian NGOS. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. 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

Karim Nader is a professor at McGill University in the department of Psychology. As a neuroscientist he works to understand what neurobiological processes are involved in acquiring and storing memories, especially relating to fear, in order to use the study of memory reconsolidation to treat anxiety disorders. Dr. Nader made a breakthrough in the field in 1999, when he first revived and tested the obscure theory that memories do not necessarily remain stable--think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Together with Andrew P. Hendry, Dr. Nader was nominated in 2009 for the prestigious E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship. He is also the recipient of a CIHR New Investigator Award and in 2006 was named one of the Top 40 under 40. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. 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 d

Carlos Miranda Levy is a social entrepreneur and Information and Communication Technologies for Human Development professional. He was acknowledged by CNN as one of the 20 Latin American Leaders of the Internet in 2000. He has lead a number of projects, such as the CIVILA-Virtual Cities Network, which engages millions throughout the world in sharing and accessing content and ideas, mostly on education, literature and culture. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Carlos coordinated missions through a collaborative assembling of aid using social networks, word of mouth, local stakeholders, celebrities, and number of universities. His Relief 2.0 model is being developed at the National University of Singapore in collaboration with Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab in order to better help countries like Indonesia and Haiti. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to s

Rachael Lloyd is an anti human-trafficking advocate. She is the founder and Executive Director of the New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). Since immigrating to the United States, Rachel has worked with incarcerated women, as well as combatting commercial sexual exploitation of children and young women within the United States. GEMS is the only organization in New York State of its kind. The organization has helped hundreds leave the commercial sex industry and the documentary and exposé of human trafficking of young girls on the streets of New York titled, Very Young Girls was directed by David Schisgall and Nina Alvarez and highlights the work that GEMS does. Rachel was named one of the 50 Women Who Change the World, as well as recognized as one of the 100 Women Who Shape New York by the New York Daily News. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring peop

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist. As the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation (a foundation working to develop widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies), author of numerous journal articles and books, and board member of a handful of editorial and scientific advisory boards, it is incontestable that Dr. Aubrey de Grey has dedicated his life to the science of combating the aging process. He received his BA and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, however, his original field was computer science.
Dr. de Grey is a Fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association and sits on the editorial and scientific advisory boards of numerous journals and organisations. He has appeared on countless shows, was even featured in the Max Wexler documentary, How to Live Forever, and has also spoken at a number of world-renowned events, including TED. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreadi

Rebecca Keller's career is deeply interdisciplinary. She's a Fulbright Artist/Scholar, an American Association of Museums International Fellow, recipient of grants from National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and College Art Association. Her recent projects create research-based "site-complicit' artworks in historic sites. A book about her "Excavating History" projects is newly released by Stepsister Press.
Other aspects of Keller's career include teaching and extensive museum experience (her Fulbright research explored the changing role of arts institutions in Post-Soviet society.) She views her cross-disciplinary, dialogic teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as central to her art practice. She is also a serious creative writer. Endeavoring to knit the various aspects of her creative life together, or at least to keep them in productive tension, is a major focus of Keller's thinking. As part of that effort, she co-founded YoYoMagazine.Org, an online

Mohamed is an economist, writer, speaker and compulsive traveler. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Institute of Political Studies (SciencesPo) in Paris, but also Cairo University's school of Economics and Political Science. Mohamed is now a consultant in international development and works with numerous actors such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank, IDRC etc., national governments, thinks tanks and research centers in order to develop workable policies. Mohamed works primarily on developing the private sector, investment promotion and entrepreneurship, with a special focus on post-conflict countries. He is also an award-winning writer and journalist, and has work in a number of publications like, Foreign Policy Magazine, The New York Times. He was a Professor of Development Economics at Cairo's Ain-Shams University. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organ

Noah graduated from Harvard and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he earned a Ph.D in Islamic Thought. He later received his J.D from Yale Law School, and is now a Bemis professor of International Law at Harvard University. Dr. Feldman worked as an advisor in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq following the 2003 invasion. He regularly contributes features and opinion pieces to The New York Times Magazine and is a senior adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. His work focuses on studying the intersection of religion, politics and law, with a particular focus on how Islam meshes with modern democracy. In 2003 he spoke on the main TED stage, relating politics and religion to technology, which is designed to efficiently connect and manage groups of people. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a T

Elizabeth Gerber is a professor in the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern Universtiy. She is also the principle investigator for The Creative Action Lab, which investigates how technology fosters innovation; she specifically focuses on researching crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and innovation education. As the founder of Design for America, an award winning national educational initiative, she helps teach young adults how to create change using tangible solutions. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. 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.* (*Su

As the Head of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) at Google, Catherine Roe helps drive online advertising initiatives for top midwest CPG clients. With her expertise in marketing, shopping behavior, and sales, Catherine helps Google to leverage digital media in connecting CPG clients to their target consumers. She contributes to the Shopper Revolution by focusing on building creative sales solutions and developing highly productive teams. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. 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 regula