TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxWindyCity, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxWindyCity event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.
Join C2ST and listen to this Year’s TEDxWindyCity Speakers and Performers: Brandy Agerbeck, Bril Barrett, Deborah Siegel, Dennis Manarchy, Elise Zelechowski, Stephanie Wernet, Victor Saad, Kellen Alexander and Seth Dodson.
Brandy Agerbeck
As a graphic facilitator, Brandy creates conceptual maps of conversations. Her images help clients navigate the complex territory of their meetings, workshops, and conferences. She works in a large scale format and in real time, visually synthesizing the discussions. She loves getting clients’ ideas out of their heads and onto paper – so they can see what the heck they are saying. Spatial superstar, her strength is seeing connections between thoughts and organizing them into the bigger picture.Since 1996, she has facilitated groups from two to one thousand in the biotechnology, consulting, education, finance, food, medical, technology, transportation and utilities industries. @loosetooth // www.loosetooth.com
Bril Barrett
Bril is a dedicated tap dancer, whose mission is to preserve and promote tap dance as a percussive art form, foster respect and admiration for the history and creators of tap, and continuously create opportunities for the art form and its practitioners. Bril is the founder of M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms, Co-founder of M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada, director of The Chicago Tap Summit and founder of The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. His Performance opportunities include Riverdance, Tap Dance Kid, Imagine Tap, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Calgary Tap Summit and many others. Bril has taught and/or performed in Prague, Canada, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Albania, Amsterdam, and across the U.S. He has started many outreach programs in Chicago’s public schools, park districts and even a performing arts high school in Gary, Indiana. Mr. Barrett has been running an After School Matters Youth Tap Program at The Better Boys Foundation in the North Lawndale community for the last 3 years and has just started one at Englewood High School in Englewood this year. The BBF program has been so successful that it has spawned a new addition to the M.A.D.D. Rhythms family. “ M.A.D.D. Rhythms West: The BBF Crew” The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Jr. Squad is in its second year and quickly gaining a reputation for layin’ some madd rhythms on the wood. Bril is determined to make a difference in his community by using tap and it’s history to expose our youth to the art form that saved his life! Respect The Dance! @BrilBarrett // maddrhythms.com
Deborah Siegel
Deborah Siegel, PhD is the author of Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild (Palgrave Macmillan), co-editor of the literary anthology Only Child(Harmony/Random House), creator of the group blog Girl w/Pen, and a founding partner of SheWrites.com. Her writing on women, contemporary families, sex, popular culture, and the unfinished business of feminism across generations has appeared in venues including CNN.com, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Forward, Ms., and More. Deborah received her PhD in English and American Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a Visiting Scholar in Gender Studies at Northwestern University and a Midwest Regional Leader of The OpEd Project, a social venture designed to broaden the range of voices we hear from in public debate. She lives in Chicago with her husband and twins and lives online at The Pink and Blue Diaries, where she blogs about gender, parenthood, writing, and life. @DeborahGirlwPen // www.deborahsiegel.net
Dennis Manarchy
Dennis Manarchy grew a love for photography at an early age. He studied fine arts at Rochester Institute of Technology and apprenticed for the legendary photographer, Irving Penn. Following service in the Vietnam War, Manarchy returned home disillusioned. After meeting a Lumbee Indian chief in a bookstore and sharing his story, Manarchy was invited to live with the tribe where he spent 6 months readjusting and refocusing on photography. Manarchy returned to Chicago, opened a commercial photography studio, and developed an international client base including Porsche, Nike, and Dior. His artistic projects, “En Passant”, “METAL”, and “METAL2″ have earned countless awards. He is rated in the top 100 photographers and commercial directors internationally. His pivotal experience living with the Lumbee Indians has manifested itself in Manarchy’s latest project, “The Vanishing Cultures: An American Portrait”, which will artistically document and commemorate over 50 American cultures through a 20,000-mile journey with the largest film camera in the world. @VanishCultures // thevanishingcultures.com
Elise Zelechowski
Elise is founder and executive director of Rebuilding Exchange, a social enterprise with a mission to transform the waste paradigm; turning would-be liabilities into assets, creating new markets, living wage jobs for people with barriers to employment and forging a sustainable local economy. Rebuilding Exchange is an affiliate organization of the Delta Institute, where she also serves as a consulting managing director of ventures innovation, developing triple bottom line ventures that address pressing environmental and social issues. During her tenure at Delta, Elise led a number of exciting sustainability projects including the development of the 2011 Cook County Solid Waste Plan and the LEED certification for the 4.2 million square foot Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world. Elise is a member of the Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation and board member of Building Materials Reuse Association. @EliseZelechow // rebuildingexchange.org
Stephanie Wernet
Stephanie Wernet is the co-founder of Bright Endeavors, a social enterprise helping homeless and at-risk young mothers create inspiring futures, and currently serves as the creative/branding consultant for its brands, Dreambean eco home & bath and Good Glass Chicago. Before co-founding Bright Endeavors, Stephanie was the vice president of programs and social enterprise for The Cara Program. She served in a variety of roles during her eight-year tenure, helping to create personal and professional development programs designed to transform communities and break the cycle of poverty. Stephanie has traveled nationally to consult with other non-profits in the areas of workforce development, programming and financial self-sufficiency education. Prior to entering social services, Stephanie spent eight years working for Marriott Hotel brand products serving in areas such as operations and sales. Most importantly, Stephanie is a mom, aspiring artist, relentless optimist and fiercely believes transformation can happen at any time. Dream big folks! @StephanieWernet // www.brightendeavors.org
Victor Saad
Victor is a dreamer. He blames it on cartoons, video games, and his mother’s cooking. A year ago, he became interested in business school programs around social enterprise. After researching typical MBA routes and realizing the prices and the options didn’t fit, he decided to create his own education around design, business, and social change by establishing 12 experiences/apprenticeships in 12 months. Since January, his ‘classroom’ has been a myriad of office spaces, conferences, conversations, and volunteer experiences. The project has developed into a small community of people taking risks to create change in their own lives and communities. People have shared an array of inspiring acts — all of which are being compiled into an end-of-project book. His talk on February 23rd will be the final piece of his self-made educational journey. We even like to think of this as his graduation. With all of that said, he’s really just a nice guy who likes to help people create good things, and eat baklava. Lots of baklava. @VictorSaad // www.leapyearproject.org
NED Talks – Spreading Worthless Ideas
Kellen Alexander and Seth Dodson (of sethandkellen.com) are the creators of this comedic mini-conference that is at Chicago’s best bar, the Hideout, sporadically. In the style of TEDtalks our speakers aim not to smarten you up but to dumb you down and present speeches, powerpoints, pie charts and shoebox dioramas on topics such as “Protecting Your Brain from Hypnotism” and “How to Make the Color Green more Green”. Representing NEDTalks at this esteemed series are Chicago comedians Christina Boucher and Seth Dodson. Our mission is to take the tension out of pretension and have a good old fashioned laugh without having to really learn anything.
Tickets: Please visit http://tedxwindycity.eventbrite.com/ to secure your seat today.
We always sell out fast, so don’t delay.
C2ST registration is not available.
Event Details
When: Saturday, February 23, 2013
9:00am Registration Opens
10:00am Program Begins
5:30pm Program Ends / Cocktail Reception Begins
7:00pm Cocktail Reception Ends
Where: Thorne Auditorium at Northwestern University School of Law, 375 East Chicago Ave.
Fees: $95 *Lunch + snacks included
Tickets: Please visit http://tedxwindycity.eventbrite.com/ to secure your seat today.
We always sell out fast, so don’t delay.
