TEDxQuincy Announces Speaker Line-up for 2018 Event

Quincy, IL; August 7, 2018 – TEDxQuincy will take place on October 8th at John Wood Community College’s Mary Ellen Orr Auditorium. The independently organized event, licensed by TED, will feature accomplished speakers and TED Talks videos under the theme of, “Big Ideas for Little America.”

Launched in 2009, TEDx is program of locally organized events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. Some of the best talks from TEDx events have gone on to be featured on TED.com and garnered millions of views from audiences across the globe.

TEDxQuincy will have a multi-disciplinary slate of speakers comprised of local voices and visitors from around the United States. The topics will move people to think in a new way and are scalable to rural American towns like Quincy.

“The curation team had a very tough job as we narrowed hundreds of applications from 4 continents down to 13 speakers and performers,” explained lead organizer Laura Sievert. “The selected speakers represent an incredible diversity of ideas designed to spark conversation, inspiration and innovation.”

Speakers at TEDxQuincy 2018 will include:

• Alvero Amat, Field Museum Design Director (Chicago, IL)
• Julian Watkins, American Red Cross Executive Director (Cairo, IL)
• Harry Wilkins III, Quincy Medical Group Surgeon (Quincy, IL)
• Jeri Conboy, Director of Blessing Hospice & Palliative Care and Clinical Ethics (Quincy, IL)
• Debbie Reed, Chaddock Executive Director (Quincy, IL)
• Kelsey Celek, Quincy Community Theater (Quincy, IL)
• Alex K. Rojas, Documentary Film Producer (New York, NY)
• Victoria Bradford, A House Unbuilt Artistic & Executive Director (Chicago, IL)
• Roger Breisch, Speaker and Philosopher (Chicago, IL)
• Melissa Kilby, Girl Up Co-Executive Director (Washington, DC)
• Pres Maxson, Author and Humorist (Indianapolis, IN)
• Drew Morton and Brian Lewis Smith, Soundscape Musician and Graphic Designer (Iowa City, IA)
• Ryan Foland, Entrepreneur (Irvine, CA)

Tickets to TEDxQuincy 2018 are $100 and include event admission, a speaker’s reception on October 7^th, and lunch on October 8^th. Due to TEDx rules, there are only 100 seats available for the live event. TEDxQuincy will also be live-streamed at John Wood Community College, Quincy Public Library, and Cheerful Home. There is no cost to attend a live streaming event. More information on ticketing will be released in late August.

TEDxQuincy sponsors include: WGEM, John Wood Community College, Arts Quincy, Quincy Community Theatre, Great River Economic Development Foundation, and Quanada.

For more information about TEDxQuincy, please visit http://www.tedxquincy.com   Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TEDxQuincy.

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 in a small group. 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 almost 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 on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The TED2014 Conference takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast in neighboring Whistler. TEDGlobal 2014 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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; the educational initiative TED-Ed; and TEDBooks, short e-books on powerful ideas. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http:// http://www.facebook.com/TED

For information about TED’s upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/ registration