2015 Main Event

What is TEDxABQ?

Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” TEDxABQ’s events are designed to celebrate New Mexico’s communities, organizations, and individuals. Locally organized TED-like experiences provide an opportunity to stimulate dialogue and foster connections between attendees, speakers, partners and volunteers.

On September 12, 2015, TEDxABQ showcased 20 of New Mexico’s most captivating speakers in science, healthcare, policy, technology, art, and the way we see the world. The program included live talks, stirring performances, fascinating audience members, interactive experiences, and short videos.

Today’s young adults are immersed in an internet culture that brings with it host of new social and legal challenges. When an ex-lover posted compromising photos of Nyika online, she felt traumatized, ashamed, and defenseless. This difficult experience transformed her into an advocate for all victims of revenge porn, working with policy makers to ensure that all future targets of this abusive practice have the support they need and the power to fight back. Nyika is well versed in the Technology field herself as one of the Directors of the New Mexico Technology Council and the weekly Technology Expert on 2 KASA Fox.

Max Baptiste
Bio

For the past 3 years Max Baptiste has been focused on developing and testing software that helps individuals generate, own and leverage their own data. Through this work, Max has developed a unique perspective on the meaning of value in our lives and society. Max is an adventure capitalist with an audio engineering background and experience in video game development/publishing, gamification and payment processing technology. In his spare time he likes to read non-fiction books and articles, ride his bicycle and speak passionately with people from all walks of life about anything and everything.

Alexandra Barr
Bio

When bacteria or fungi infect the bloodstream, receiving the proper antibiotic treatment is critical to augmenting the patient’s overwhelmed immune system. Delays can be life threatening. Then why do we detect these pathogens using slow, antiquated methods based on blood culture? Alexandra Barr is a molecular biologist and researcher whose work has focused on using tools from nature to save lives by decreasing the time required to identify infecting agents.

Jessie Brown
Bio

Let’s go on a journey through the hive into the world of the honeybee. In nine years of beekeeping, Jessie has experienced both pure joy and heart break. Learning to see through the eyes of a bee has led to changes in her own yard and the world around her. Jessie is the President of the NM Beekeepers Association and proudly sits on the Board of Directors of the American Beekeeping Federation and Western Apicultural Society.

Jessika Brown
Bio

Steven Brumby
Bio

Satellites are watching our world for disasters and slow environmental changes, but they produce too much data for humans to process. “Deep Learning” systems mimic how our brains perceive using massive computational networks in the “Cloud”, and are able to process large volumes of complex data in real-time. These systems are revolutionizing our understanding of global issues ranging from food security and urbanization, to the preservation of natural resources and planning for natural disasters. Steven Brumby is Co-Founder and CTO of Descartes Labs, a venture-backed start-up applying Deep Learning to mapping global patterns of life.

Cazandra Campos-MacDonald
Bio

It is easy to become overwhelmed with feelings of despair when a loved one is faced with a chronic medical condition. The fight to maintain your own identity while providing the care they need is long and difficult, but hope is a choice that can be made even in the worst of times. Hope brings with it meaning, comfort, and strength. Cazandra Campos-MacDonald is the mother of two sons with hemophilia and a Patient Advocate with Option Care. Cazandra lost a brother due to complications from hemophilia and is passionate about sharing with those who live with chronic illness.

Daniella Carter
Bio

Daniella Carter is 21 years old, but she has already lived several lives. At age 14, she was cutoff by her conservative Christian foster-parents and spent years living in the New York City subways while still attending high school everyday. Today, she is an advocate for LGBT youth, having spoken at local, national, and international events, and was featured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.” She continues to raise awareness of LGBTQIA youth homelessness and to motivate youth to develop the tools necessary to overcome their adversities and achieve their goals.

Chris Clavio
Bio

Chris Clavio is an Electronic Artist and Entrepreneur currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico. His work explores the sublime using light, sound, and interactive environments. Clavio has shown work across the United States, most recently at Art Basel Miami where he presented his interactive Full Dome piece, Mind Chimes, that uses a brainwave headset to visualize and sonify a viewer’s brainwaves in real time on a full dome theater.

Erica Elliott
Bio

Twenty-five years ago, Erica Elliott stumbled upon a group intent on forming a co-housing community in Santa Fe. Her decision to join has changed her life so much that she can no longer imagine living in ordinary housing. Pioneered in Denmark, co-housing offers social, economic, environmental and practical benefits. These novel communities can provide a caring and supportive place to raise children as well as grow old. Some say that co-housing reminds them of an old-fashioned neighborhood at its best, providing a balance of privacy and community. For Erica, it provided the sense of community that had been missing in her life.

Gary Gonzales
Bio

After a near death experience as a young man, Gary Gonzales dedicated himself to making a difference in the care of others. Gary has spent 20 years as a paramedic and registered nurse. Concerned with the quality of patient care and increasing healthcare costs, Gary and his team developed a telemedicine-based approach to rural healthcare that connects physicians remotely with patients in their homes who are accompanied by highly trained nurses. This model delivers optimal medical care at a lower cost while keeping it safe, effective, and available to all.

Vince Kadlubek
Bio

Creativity is a human thing. Imagination is a human thing. Art is a human thing. But over the course of many generations, the relationship between the human and the world of artful thought has become increasingly exclusive to those with the capital to engage in the art industry’s economy. Meow Wolf, a radically inclusive art production company from Santa Fe, is looking to ferociously alter this trend. Meow Wolf’s CEO Vince Kadlubek is working on a team of 120 artists in Santa Fe, NM to produce an unprecedented, immersive art experience that will disrupt the art world’s existing paradigm and open the artistic experience to people of all socio-economic backgrounds.

Jodie Martinez
Bio

The 700-year old Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh once held over 200 family homes, but that number had declined to a mere dozen by 2010. The Owe’neh Bupingeh Rehabilitation Project is reinvigorating life in the Pueblo by renovating the buildings at its core, making them livable once again while honoring the Pueblo’s rich history and traditions. Forty families have returned. Jodie Martinez has been at the heart of the project, working to complete a vision from the past and dream for the future of Ohkay Owingeh.

Don McIver
Bio

Being a poet means collaborating. In March, twelve poets slammed off until four (Khalid Binsunni, Matt Brown, Damien Flores, and Mercedez Holtry) were chosen to represent Albuquerque at the National Poetry Slam. They then came together to create original poetry to perform in regional and national competitions. Usually, these poems disappear at the end of each season, but this year, members from the team will present a collaboratively written work for TEDxABQ. Don is the coach of the 2015 ABQ Slam Team. He’s been active in the poetry scene since 1998 including being the media director the 2005 National Poetry Slam.

Loren Fletcher Nickerson
Bio

What do the northern passage, neuroscience, and Mozart have in common? Loren Fletcher Nickerson has spent much of his life thinking in analogies and metaphors, discovering parallels that connect everything. While performing, teaching, and choreographing in over 100 cities in the United States and Canada, he posed many internal questions. Through examining teachings of master instructors and his professional journey, he has experienced and realized the power and importance of the apprenticeship. He believes that viewing education and life from this perspective will lead to highly useful learning, the awareness of our interconnectedness, and deeper, richer living.

Divana Olivas
Bio

What is the relationship between grief and community building? How can the loss of a loved one manifest itself into a productive and nurturing space? The Ruth Olivas Community Garden was recently dedicated in memory of Ruth Olivas, a former teacher in the Los Lunas Public Schools. For her daughter, Divana, the garden represents the intersection of her personal and intellectual endeavors. It is a space for healing within the community, and as symbol of intervention in the food desert it occupies.

Lauren Poole
Bio

Lauren Poole is an actor/improvisor/comedian and New Mexico Native. She came to local fame with the success of viral video “Shit Burqueños Say”. Lauren is an ensemble member of Blackout Theatre, a company specializing in original works, comedy, and film. She is also an ensemble member of Improv Troupe “the Show,” which performs every Friday and Saturday night in Downtown Albuquerque, and she can be spotted in several movies that were filmed in New Mexico. “Inspiring. Insightful. Game-changing” – these are some of the terms used to describe the experience of TEDx. Hopefully you will find Lauren “entertaining.”

Dennis Ramirez
Bio

People hate to fail. Failure makes us feel as though we cannot measure up and that we’ve reached the end of our journey short of the destination. However, failure is integral to learning, creativity, and success. How can we change this negative mindset? Dennis Ramirez is an award-winning educational game designer and doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research explores how video games, where failure is expected and even rewarded, can be used to change how we think about failure and risk.

Gail Rubin
Bio

While modern medicine’s life-saving strides are impressive, humans still have a 100 percent mortality rate. Yet only 30 percent of adults make end-of-life plans: wills, advanced medical directives and pre-need funeral planning. That leaves 70 percent of the population unprepared and devastated, not if, but when there’s a death in the family. As a pioneering death educator, Gail Rubin starts conversations about end-of-life issues using funny films. Humor helps people relax about these stress-inducing topics and take much-needed action before someone goes and dies. Talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, and talking about funerals won’t make you dead.

Dora Wang
Bio

Half of us experience an anxiety or mood condition in our lifetime. These can lead to disability, serious medical conditions, and costly medical care. Yet little help is often available for anxiety and depression, aside from medications. Dr. Dora Wang is a practicing psychiatrist, author, and UNM faculty member. She believes we can reduce healthcare costs and have a profound impact on many lives simply by teaching basic skills to control anxiety and depression. The internet and smartphones pose opportunities to teach these skill in impactful, scalable ways.

Performers

Chloe Nixon
Bio

The Handsome Family
Bio

Polyphony Marimba
Bio

New in 2015!

TEDxABQ Adventures | A new program for those who want more than a talk Following today’s event, our team will be offering opportunities for members of the community to connect with the speakers off the stage in fun, hands-on Adventures—all for free.

The TEDxABQ App | Not new—but greatly improved! Check out the event schedule, learn more about the speakers, navigate to engagement partners and food trucks, sign up for upcoming Adventures, and more!

Hero Tickets | Spreading the TED to younger generations Over 20 attendees chose to buy $100 tickets for this event to sponsor 2 young people to attend TEDxYouth@ABQ in November. We salute you, TEDxABQ Heroes!

Artist in Residence Program | A new way to showcase local artists As the first ever TEDxABQ Artist in Residence, local electronic artist Chris Clavio created a large-scale installation for the event’s stage design, developed a TEDx Talk, and will mentor the 2016 Artist in Residence.

Zero Waste Initiative | Minimizing our event’s footprint We partnered with Knowaste to make TEDxABQ 2015 a zero waste event. We also minimized our footprint by encouraging participants to bring reusable water bottles, providing biodegradable nametags, and offering a digital version of the program.

Engagement Partners | Providing opportunities to learn and connect outside the theater Eighteen organizations are joining us as engagement partners this year, providing lots of exciting activities in the lobby and outside of Popejoy. Be sure to check them out during the breaks!

StoryCorps Interview Booth | Recording the stories of New Mexicans StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind and has collected over 50,000 interviews since 2003. All conversations are archived in the Library of Congress. Winner of the TED Prize this year, the StoryCorps app allows everyone to record and publish their own interviews.

Food Trucks | More lunch options from the city’s best From Mesopotamian to Korean fusion to classic sandwiches, 12 food vendors are happy to provide you with more variety at lunch than we’ve ever had before.

1st Annual Video Contest | Highlighting short films by local filmmakers We held our first short video contest this year and are happy to present the 3 top videos during the program.

Performers inside and out | Seven local musicians on the stage and outside We’re proud of New Mexico’s musical talent so we’ve fit as many musicians into the day as we can. From registration to the after party, local musicians will be making this event even better.

Ending with a Laugh | Wrapping up the event with humor Comedian Lauren Poole will bring TEDxABQ 2015 to a close with a humorous look at the day’s events, ideas, and participants.

After party at Tractor Wells Park | More fun to enjoy after the show Great conversation, cold beer, live music, food trucks, and a celebration of an exciting day of local ideas. What’s not to love?