Damion Thomas is the Sports Historian for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. He earned a Ph.D. in United States History at UCLA. Prior to joining the museum, he was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland—College Park and the University of Illinois—Urbana/Champaign, where he taught courses that focused on sports in United States history, sports and U.S. race relations, and sports and black masculinity. He is the author of Glo

Dr. Monique Mitchell Turner is faculty and Associate Dean at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. Turner has held faculty positions in Departments of Communication at the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, and the University of Maryland. Turner’s expertise is in risk communication, with a particular focus on persuasive message design and evaluation, risk perception, and cognitive processing of health risks—including infor

Elizabeth Lindsey is the Executive Director of Byte Back, a dynamic Washington, DC based nonprofit that provides a pathway of inclusive tech training that leads to living-wage careers. Prior to joining Byte Back in 2015, Elizabeth served for four years as the Chief Operating Officer of Groundswell, a DC-based environmental nonprofit. She oversaw Groundswell’s evolution from a start-up, community-based organization into a nationally-recognized social enterprise. She earned her

Jack Coleman has performed stand-up in Washington, DC for just over four years. In that time he produced more than 1,200 shows, been on stage more than 2,000 times, has staged a coup, has opened for people whom he grew up loving and for the past 2.5 years has has run Capital Laughs, a local comic organization that produces 10 free weekly stand-up shows and various monthly showcases, with a group of fellow comics. #Blog #TEDx #TEDxFoggyBottom #Speaker

Donna Vallone serves as the Chief Research Officer at Truth Initiative’s Schroeder Institute and holds an Associate Professor (adjunct) appointment at the College for Global Public Health, New York University. Dr. Vallone leads a multidisciplinary team of over 30 research staff focused on examining the influence of health communication and tobacco policy initiatives to reduce tobacco use among youth and young adults. Most notably, Dr. Vallone leads the evaluation of the natio

Craig Cook is founder of ARCHOTUS, a creative consultancy that designs, curates, and advises across the disciplines of art, architecture and urbanism. Their work is informed by the milieu in which they operate, by close relationships with human rights campaigners, public interest lawyers, environmental activists, and others attracted to the US capital to create change. Leveraging design to provoke thought and action, they look for the inherent value and latent potential in an

Roy Richard Grinker is Professor of Anthropology at the George Washington University and the Editor-in-Chief of Anthropological Quarterly. Grinker received his B.A. in anthropology at Grinnell College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in social anthropology from Harvard University. He is the author of numerous articles and books on the anthropology of Africa, Korea, and autism. His book Nobody’s Normal: Capitalism, War, and the Stigma of Mental Illness is forthcoming with Basic Books i

Benjamin Williams, Ph.D. is the current and founding principal of Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, an all-male public high school in Washington, DC. Prior to this position he served as the Associate Principal at School Without Walls @ Francis Stevens in Washington, DC for two years. Dr. Williams served as an assistant principal, Dean of Students, and Social Studies Teacher in Albemarle County, VA and Newark, NJ. As a result of the discipline, courage, and drive his

Elias Yabarow, better known as Alakkuu, is a Somali-American poet and author behind Wet Grass Vanilla – a book of poetry that delves into the certain reactions one experiences through love. Born in DC, he spent most of his childhood in the area prior to moving to Kenya where he lived there for 3 years, before returning to study Electrical Engineering. He is currently at Georgetown University pursuing his Master’s and is the Co-Founder and CEO of Huvvit – a mobile-first startu

Nilmini Rubin is an executive vice president at Tetra Tech where she leads unit implementing energy and internet infrastructure projects in developing countries. Previously, Nilmini served as the Senior Advisor for Global Economic Competitiveness at the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee where she directed technology, energy, trade, and economic policy. She drove unanimous passage of a law to increase access to electricity in Africa that serves as the framework for the Unit

Myra Miller is Co-Founder of the Winston Group, a strategic planning and survey research firm in Washington, DC. She has worked with House and Senate Republican Leadership and Conferences for over a decade on strategic planning, communications and policy issues. Recently she has worked on a variety of Congressional policy issues and bipartisan initiatives specifically dealing with governance, including Congressional reform, and improving political discourse. On behalf of the

Maryam Zaringhalam is a molecular biologist who traded in her pipettes for the world of science policy and advocacy after receiving her PhD from The Rockefeller University. She is currently based in Washington, DC where she is an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, producer for The Story Collider, and a leadership member of 500 Women Scientists. Her words have appeared in Slate, Scientific American, and Quartz. Her cat is named Tesla, after Nikola and not Elon Musk's car

Mara Cherkasky is a DC-based historian and writer. In 2014 she co-founded, with Sarah Shoenfeld, both the historical research firm Prologue DC, LLC, and the digital public history project Mapping Segregation in Washington DC. This ongoing endeavor, which reveals the profound impact of racially restricted housing and other forms of segregation, has spurred much-needed conversation around race, wealth, and gentrification in the nation’s capital. She is also an experienced oral

Jim Garvin was born in a blizzard in Poughkeepsie (New York) and educated at Brown and Stanford Universities. He received his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Brown University in 1984 where his dissertation emphasized the geologic exploration of the surfaces of Mars and Venus. For the past 34 years he has served NASA as a scientist in various capacities, including his present role as the Chief Scientist of NASA’s flagship science center (Goddard Space Flight Center), as well

Jonna Mendez is a retired CIA intelligence officer with 27 years of service. During her career she lived overseas on multiple assignments, under cover, serving tours of duty in Europe, South Asia and the Far East. Her work took her throughout Western Europe, the sub-continent and Asia. Retiring in 1993, she had risen to the position of Chief of Disguise and the rank of GS-14 earning the CIA’s Intelligence Commendation Medal. As Chief of Disguise she was responsible for a worl

Stephanie Logan is the Founder and Host of DC Diary, a podcast that tells personal stories from political Washington. The podcast focuses not on politics or policy, but on people. DC Diary has been recognized as one of the best local podcasts in the nation’s capital and won Gold at the 2018 DC Webfest. In addition to hosting and producing DC Diary, Stephanie works as a Public Affairs Specialist at the Department of Justice. There she tells stories about oversight and good gov

TEDxFoggyBottom 2019 Saturday, April 13, 2019 - 10AM Lisner Auditorium TEDxFoggyBottom 2019 will be on Saturday, April 13th in the Lisner Auditorium at The George Washington University. The theme this year is REACTION and the event will feature over 25 live presentations, artistic performances, and interactive exhibits. Tickets can be purchased through the Lisner Auditorium box office for $20 or at tedxfoggybottom.com/tickets. For more information see tedxfoggybottom.com. Pr

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Nick van der Kolk is a radio producer, sound designer, artist, events organizer, and the host and creator of the critically acclaimed Love + Radio podcast. His work has appeared on This American Life, Radiolab, The New York Times, Snap Judgment, and numerous radio outlets worldwide. He is also the co-founder of Megapolis — an audio art and leftfield radio festival. His media career began in 2001 as a DJ and later station manager of his college’s 5-watt, student