TEDxChicago 2021
To Gather Together
This year’s theme symbolizes the anticipation of a new beginning after more than a year of social isolation. We had to learn how to take our time at difficult times, work in a new way, and overcome challenges unimaginable before. TEDxChicago continues to bring inspirations to the constantly evolving world with daring and powerful speakers.
Speaker Lineup
Bella Gandhi
The Big Secret to Finding Lasting Love
Bela Gandhi has been helping people find love since college. She is a media expert on dating and relationships and has spoken on the topic on local and national news and talk shows.
Dr. Elizabeth Pieroth
Concussions: Hard-hitting Facts
Elizabeth Is a neuropsychologist who has spent her career dedicated to the assessment and treatment of individuals who suffer concussions. She works with individuals ranging from children to professional athletes.
Professor Sir Angus Deaton
An Interview on the Future of Humanity
Prof. Sir Angus Stewart Deaton, British American economist who received the 2015 Nobel Prize for Economics. Senior Scholar and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton Universit
Fatima Sancheznieto
How to Keep the Next Generation of Brilliant Scientists
A University of Wisconsin researcher in the biomedical sciences and current president of the advocacy nonprofit, Future of Research.
Pam Johnson Davis
Where Do You Find Your Poetry?
Pam R. Johnson Davis is an historian, poet, and singer who believes there is powerful poetry in all of us, if we just allow ourselves to release it.
Dr. Melinda Ring
What If You Could Be Your Own, Best, First Doctor?
Melinda Ring serves as Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern University and has spent over two decades witnessing the transformative power of food as medicine.
Anne Marie Slaughter
What Renewal Could Look Like
Anne-Marie Slaughter is the CEO of New America and is the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. She also served as the Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position.
Ashlee Piper
How Small Actions Can Save A Big Planet
Ashlee Piper is a former political strategiist-turned-sustainability expert, author & media personality focused on making transitioning to personal eco-friendly habits warm, welcoming & fun.
David Allen
The Healing Power of Tattoos
David Allen is a world renowned tattooer and painter who splits his time between tattooing and The Self Reclamation Project, a nonprofit organization that facilitates healing through empathy, art, and science. His mastectomy tattoo work has been shown at the MOMA and his article on the importance of empathy as published in JAMA… which called his work the “intersection of art and science”.
Dr. Kristen Donnelly
How To Be There For A Traumatized Friend and Not Cause More Pain
Dr Kristen Donnelly is a social worker who has studied trauma for nearly twenty years, including studying conflict zones in Rwanda, Colombia, South Africa, and Northern Ireland.
Eboo Patel
Building Bridges: Religions’ Role In Our Societies
Eboo Patel is the founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, the nation's largest interfaith organization, and has consulted with multiple White House administrations on interfaith and bridge building initiatives.
Performer Lineup
Funkadesi
The Healing Power of Music
Chicago-based Funkadesi blends Indian bhangra, Bollywood & folk with reggae, funk, and Afro-Caribbean grooves. Band members are healers, educators, and advocates passionate about teaching inclusion and belonging by combining entertainment with experiential learning.
Tina Jenkins Crawley
Jazz Vocalist
Tina is one of Chicago’s finest and most highly acclaimed Jazz Vocalists with a songbook ranging from Jazz Standards to Jazzy versions of songs that you hear on the radio today. She also has an immensely deep repertoire of Pop, Gospel & Soul.