A diverse group of faculty, staff, students and alumni make up the lineup of speakers for this year's TEDxDePaulUniversity. Their talks and performances will explore the theme "Fast Forward." (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)Tickets are now on sale for TEDxDePaulUniversity’s return on April 12 with nine speakers, interactive engagement opportunities and a new location - the School of Music’s Holtschneider Performance Center.
Enthusiasm for the annual TEDxDePaulUniversity event continues to grow with a record-breaking 139 speaker applications submitted for this year’s event - a 22 percent increase from the previous year. After careful deliberation, the TEDx selection committee chose nine speakers who will present thought-provoking talks around the theme “Fast Forward.”
As activists, youth mentors, company founders and champions of the arts, mental healthcare and the environment, the speakers are a diverse group of DePaul faculty, staff, students and alumni. Each speaker's talk or performance is rooted in an area of research or personal interest and promises to provoke stimulating conversation within the DePaul community.
Don’t want to miss what this year’s speakers have to say? Registration for TEDx 2019 is now open. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by visiting the
TEDxDePaulUniversity website or
Eventbrite. Students can purchase tickets at a discounted price of $10 and will be required to show their student ID at check-in.
The 2019 TEDxDePaulUniversity speakers are:
- Glamour Magazine’s 2018 College Woman of the Year and Driehaus College of Business student, Bushra Amiwala
- Imagineer and adjunct faculty member in the College of Computing and Digital Media, Ellis Confer
- Assistant director of graduate programs and department operations in DePaul’s Department of English, Meredith Ferrill
- Founder of Zeal Inspirational Philanthropy and graduate student in the College of Computing and Digital Media, Josh Fort
- Executive director of the Chicago Arts and Music Project and School of Music alumna (’13), Lindsay Fredrickson
- Speaker, consultant and adjunct faculty member in The Theatre School, Amanda MacDonald
- Human rights activist from Syria and staff member in the Office of the Secretary, Emad Mahou
- Mental healthcare advocate and associate professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media, Enid Montague
- Youth mentor and graduate student in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Tyree Taylor
Each of DePaul's TEDx events has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm and support by those both within and beyond the DePaul community. Past attendees described the talks as “inspirational,” “necessary,” inclusive,” “thought-provoking” and “motivational.”
In 2018, more than 230 people attended the May event and immersed themselves in new ideas, not only through conversations and networking, but also through a variety of interactive engagement activities including music, meditation, balloon art and drawing. This year, TEDxDePaulUniversity is moving to a bigger stage with capacity for an even larger audience in the School of Music’s new Holtschneider Performance Center.
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, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. 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.