As the fourth annual TEDxCharlottesville event prepares for “The Power of One” on Friday, November 11 at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Charlottesville, Va., an expanded lineup of speakers is now available. The lineup includes the winner of the annual “Open Mic Night” event, which invited members of the community to present their best talk or idea to an audience at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville on Monday, September 26. Charlotte Matthews, whose winning talk was titled “Behold the Radiant Tonic of Silence,” was chosen by audience votes and will speak at the main event on November 11.
Additional speakers just announced include Darden School of Business Assistant Professor of Marketing Lalin Anik; Vastly CEO and Chairman Jerry Peng; UVA material science and nanotechnology engineering student Jill Ferguson; Andrew D. Kaufman, scholar, lecturer & creator / director of Books Behind Bars; UVA Jefferson Scholar Aryn A. Frazier; and HI-SEAS 4 crew commander Carmel Johnston.
This year’s focus on “The Power of One” will highlight the effect that one person, one idea, one decision, one election, one moment in time, and one shared idea can have to change the course of history or perhaps the direction of one person’s life.
More information on recently announced TEDxCharlottesville speakers:
- Charlotte Matthews – Poet, Writing Teacher at UVA and winner of TEDxCharlottesville Open Mic Night
Charlotte Matthews’ most recent book Whistle What Can’t Be Said (2016) chronicles part of her experience with stage three breast cancer. In addition she is author of Still Enough to Be Dreaming (2007) and Green Stars (2005). Her honors include fellowships from The Chatauqua Institute and The Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She holds an M.F.A from Warren Wilson College’s Program for Writers and a B.A. from the University of Virginia. She teaches in The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Program at The University of Virginia. She lives in Crozet with her husband, two children, a black lab, a hive of honey bees, and a very quiet fish.
- Lalin Anik – Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Darden School of Business
Lalin Anık’s work in marketing and behavioral economics explores the multifaceted influence of social connection on behavior. Lalin works with companies, organizations and governments to design novel social interventions that help employees, consumers and communities lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. Previously, Lalin worked at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and received her doctorate from Harvard Business School. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, she was a competitive swimmer for almost two decades. Lalin now spends her days wondering about the human condition, running after a ball, or flying. - Jerry Peng – Chairman & CEO of Vastly
Jerry Z. Peng is the Chairman and CEO of Vastly, Inc., a company that produces Rapidly renewable, sustainable, and high quality straw is the perfect fiber to make the paper products of the future. Vastly’s new earth-restorative technologies are ushering in a new era of paper making.He served previously as managing director with Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, based in Hong Kong, managing corporate financing and derivatives business in the Investment Banking Division and corporate sales for the Securities Division in China. Prior to this, Mr. Peng was executive director of China Onshore Sales for the Fixed Income Division of Morgan Stanley, and senior vice president and director at Standard Chartered Bank, as well as head of China franchise corporate banking. He is a member of Committee 2005 in China. Mr. Peng serves as a trustee on the University of Virginia Darden Business School Foundation Board and as vice chairman of Darden’s Global Advisory Council. He also serves as a trustee on the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges Board. He earned a BE in Finance from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and an MBA from Darden Business School. - Jill Ferguson – Material Science and Nanotechnology Engineering Student, UVA
A material science and nanotechnology engineer with a minor in engineering business, Jill makes it her life’s work to help establish and implement the policies that promote solar energy as a major part of the solution to get greenhouse gas emissions under control and atmospheric carbon levels to sustainable, healthy levels. She feels called to help solve one of her generation’s most pressing problems by using her understanding of solar energy and nanotechnology to make solar cells more energy efficient and affordable. She is involved in a number of research projects, volunteers in K-12 STEM outreach, helps organize the first annual National Student Leader Nanotechnology Conference, and has spoken at The White House, where she highlighted the importance of experiential education. Jill’s goal is to study technology policy and material science at MIT and work in the field of solar energy policy. - Andrew D. Kaufman – Creator and Director-Books Behind Bars, Scholar, Lecturer
Andrew D. Kaufman, nationally recognized scholar and lecturer at the University of Virginia, has spent the last twenty-five years bringing classical literature to life for Americans young and old. He is the author of several books, including Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times, and is a sought-after keynote speaker. Dr. Kaufman is the creator of the community-based literature course, “Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature and Leadership,” where university students have life-changing discussions about Russian literature with incarcerated youth at a juvenile correctional center in Virginia. The program has been featured in the Washington Post, on Katie Couric, and on Russian national television, and will be the subject of a forthcoming documentary film. - Aryn A. Frazier – Jefferson Scholar, UVA
Aryn A. Frazier is a fourth-year Jefferson Scholar from Silver Spring, Maryland studying Politics and African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia. She has dabbled in politics, public relations, advertising, media, and law, and hopes to work in political strategy before pursuing her law degree. She loves to travel, and in her spare time, enjoys reading, playing her guitar, binge watching unrealistic television dramas, and making other people laugh. To Aryn, the realization of ‘The Power of One’ is where everything that has ever changed has started. - Carmel Johnston – HI-SEAS 4 Crew Commander
Carmel Johnston recently finished serving as the Commander of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation where she and five other people lived in complete isolation for an entire year. With a Masters of Science in Land Resources and Environmental Sciences from Montana State University, she was able to apply her passion for science and sustainable living to growing fresh vegetable for the crew. Now that she is out of the dome, she is taking full advantage of being able to run, hike, swim, and play outside in her hometown in Montana while training for a full Ironman.
Additional speakers previously announced include:
- Monica O. Montgomery – Cultural Entrepreneur and Educator
- William J. Antholis – Director and CEO at UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs
- Josef P. Rauschecker – Neuroscientist, Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
- Mark Wingfield – Pastor, Author and Speaker
- Lulu Miller – Co-creator of NPR’s Invisibilia
- Bob Cafaro – Cellist
- Sarah Raskin – U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary
- Meghan O’Leary – Elite Athlete and 2016 Olympian
- Paul Perrone – inventor, robotocist, entrepreneur
- Dr. Pamela Moran – Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent
- Kelly Eplee – Executive Director, Building Goodness Foundation
To make the TEDxCharlottesville event as accessible as possible, 200 complimentary tickets will be distributed to educational and non-profit groups in the community.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are on sale now and available at TEDxCharlottesville.com. General admission tickets are available for $88.00 (plus a $2.50 facility fee) and include: access to all speakers and experiences, a continental breakfast and complimentary lunch.
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