2020 TEDxKids@SMU Talks
*Talks are still being released by TED. Please check back frequently and we will post additional talks as they become available.
In light of heated national debate on the topic of border security and immigration, Ekansh Tambe explored most of the 1900 miles of the US Mexico land border with his family and documented the reality of the border using photography. His journey then continued along five additional world borders. As a public speaker, he informs people about the borders by sharing his photographs and the inspiring and heartbreaking stories he heard. Ekansh is a sophomore at St. Mark's School of Texas and an avid adventurer.
NBA 2K player Dimez shares his story about growing up and getting interested in a career that has just emerged in the last several years.
After watching, All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, sexual health educator Veronica Whitehead reflects on all the boys she’s crushed on before and shares lessons learned from crushes and other equally important relationships.
The source of great music is all around us. And playing with it is easier than ever. After spending over a decade in the tech industry, Dan Quinn finally answered his lifelong calling in music and event entertainment and took the plunge as a full-time musician, DJ, MC, and entertainer in the Dallas area and beyond. With a focus on private events such as weddings, galas, fundraisers, and milestone events, Dan’s calendar was quickly filled with over 100 events per year, and his approach to these events earned him invitations to speak and perform at events across the country-from the NAMM Show in California, to Wedding MBA in Las Vegas, to Industry Events across Texas, to luxury destination events as far away as Costa Rica. And along the way, he became a husband, a stepdad...and then a dad. Seeing the excitement kids had for dance music led him to forming Oontz Kids DJ Academy in the summer of 2016. Originally a nameless summer camp held at a community center, the event quickly sold out and there was a demand for more.
Fiddling duo June Blount plays different styles of music popularized by the fiddle, and explores ways that the fiddle connects us across language barriers. June Blount, LLC is a professional fiddle duo founded by Joanna Ridgway and Roberta Rast Smith (formerly of the Killdares) in 2016. Featuring a six-time national fiddle champion /nationally touring fiddler and classically trained violinist, June Blount performs authentic fiddle styles including Texas, bluegrass, old time/country, Celtic, and popular recognizable hits (Beatles, Sinatra, Bob Wills). The duo offers 30+ years of combined performance experience and has played for leading Dallas institutions such as the Business Council for the Arts, Dallas Country Club, Dallas Regional Chamber, Lakewood Country Club and numerous private events in DFW. The duo has provided music education to DISD and the Rise School. June Blount has been featured in Voyage Dallas and provided a TEDx talk at TEDxKids@SMU in November 2016.
Chris Fischer has always lived in the largest room in the world. What is that room and how can you get there? For Chris, this room has been filled with global adventures as he works to solve the life puzzle for great white sharks. Chris Fischer leads his life through the guiding principle of doing good for the world and including the world in the work. A full-time explorer, Fischer has a special gift of seeing the “big picture,” creating solutions around that picture, and communicating that picture in an accessible way to others.
An explorer and disruptor, Chris has led 37 global expeditions focused on accelerating the ocean’s return to balance and abundance, by unlocking the life history puzzle of white sharks and other keystone species through expeditions aboard the OCEARCH.
Emergency medicine physician Dr. Amy Faith Ho look into why everyone should embrace their inner nerd. Dr. Amy Faith Ho is an emergency medicine physician, writer and speaker. She is currently an associate medical director, core faculty and assistant professor in emergency medicine, where she educates and trains students and residents to have a passion for medicine and patient care. She is an expert in the field and is regularly featured on Medscape, MedPage and national medical conferences. Her passion for patients extends to addressing health care disparities and narrative medicine. She is a nationally published speaker, writer and presenter on these topics, with multiple features through TEDx, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, NPR, Huffington Post, Today Show, and more. Her talent for storytelling and narrative medicine have landed her a role as a featured physician on the TLC and Discovery Life show “Untold Stories of the ER.”
On March 5, 2020, TEDxKids@SMU welcomed 550 guests for the 11th edition of the beloved conference for middle school students. The event took place at The Majestic Theater in Downtown Dallas.
Your backyard holds a secret. Is it a a new species? A key solution to a global problem? A deeper connection to your planet?
Andrés Ruzo thinks he knows -- and it took nearly 10 years of working deep in the Amazon to figure it out!
Watch this thought-provoking talk that aims to bring global solutions, home-- ideally, to YOUR home. Andrés Ruzo is a National Geographic Explorer and host of the award-winning Nat Geo Latin America show, Misterios del Inframundo (Mysteries of the Underworld). His work has been featured across Nat Geo platforms, including the Channel, Magazine, Digital, and other media outlets. He is a geothermal scientist, conservationist, science communicator, and educator who in 2011 became the first geoscientist granted the shamanic blessing to study the sacred Boiling River of the Amazon. He is the founder and director of the Boiling River Project, a non-profit dedicated to understanding and protecting the Boiling River area by bringing together science, traditional Amazonian knowledge, and many other disciplines. He is based between Miami (USA) and Lima (Peru), holds degrees in Geology and Finance, and will soon be receiving his Geoscience Ph.D. (SMU). He is also a TED Main Stage Speaker and TED Book Author and has been featured on numerous major media outlets across the globe.