TEDxBuffalo 2019 speakers announced

TEDxBuffalo has announced its lineup for the annual speaker event on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Asbury Hall. The evening will include six presenters covering a wide range of topics:

•Michael Cyr is a waste industry expert based in New York City. As an operations consultant specializing in waste reduction, he is also the founder of Cup Zero – providing reusable zero waste cups for events and festivals. His talk will focus on why recycling is not enough and how to reduce the amount of waste one creates.

•Jill Jedlicka has been executive director of the nonprofit organization Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper since 2012. She has helped secure and implement over $100 million in federal, state, local and private investments toward local initiatives throughout Western New York that have contributed to the region’s waterfront and economic resurgence. Her talk will focus on the power that informed citizens have and working together to lead for change.

•Caitlin Dewey is a journalist based in Buffalo. Currently an enterprise reporter at The Buffalo News, she has also published stories for The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, The Atlantic, Medium’s OneZero and the Washington Post. Her talk will focus on the challenges facing media today and how to bolster trust in the community.

•Balaguru Ravi was born and raised in Texas, but has been living in Buffalo for the past year finishing his sports medicine fellowship at the University at Buffalo. His talk will focus on the new standardized treatment approach for concussions that is being developed at UB.

•Dr. Phil Stokes is the executive director of the Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve in Buffalo. Prior to working for big fossil, he has served as instructor, research associate, academic adviser, and community outreach coordinator in the department of geosciences at the University of Arizona. His talk will reflect on the history of life and death on Earth through the lens of the cockroach. He will discuss ecological specialization, climate-altering events and predictions for the future.

•John Panepinto is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. His research specialty is fungi that cause infections in humans. His talk will discuss the role of the microbiome in human disease and biological-based treatments that can impact this.

TEDxBuffalo, an independent event under the TEDx licensing program of the TED organization, is produced by an all-volunteer staff, and funds are raised through sponsorships and partnerships with local businesses, organizations and benefactors. Videos produced by TEDxBuffalo have garnered more than 400,000 views on YouTube.

For more information on TEDxBuffalo, email [email protected].

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 (subject to certain rules and regulations).

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at www.TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; and the educational initiative TED-Ed.

TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals who wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action. TEDx supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world. The TED Fellows program helps world-changing innovators from around the globe amplify the impact of their projects and activities.

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