Are you as excited for TEDxRedmond 2011 as we are?! If not, here’s something to whet your appetite–the first four confirmed speakers for this year’s event, The Spark in All of Us, to be held on September 10, 2011!
Be sure to click “Register” at the top of the page to sign up to attend TEDxRedmond.
Birke Baehr
Over 360,000 people got to know Birke Baehr after his 2010TEDxNextGenerationAsheville talk, “What’s Wrong With Our Food System,”got posted on TED. Today, it is the most viewed talk from a TEDx event–ever–onYouTube. The 5-minute speech (which he started with a matter-of-fact “Myname’s Birke Baehr, and I’m 11 years old. I came here today to talk aboutwhat’s wrong with our food system”) has became a rallying cry to changethe way we produce food. Birke continues his advocacy through speeches,interviews, his website, Birke on the Farm, and evenappearances in 2 documentaries (Bite Size, about childhood obesity andChoice Point, a film about being the change you want in the world). Birke’smission? To educate others about the problems of our industrialized foodsystem, while presenting solutions through local, organic, and sustainablefood.
Kara Chambers
Upon realizing that she could have been a slave to Ugandan rebels if onlyshe had been born on a different continent, thirteen year-old Kara Chambers wasset into action. Now sixteen and a junior at Redmond High School, Kara’spassions have caused a local community to think globally. Inspired by the workof Invisible Children Inc., Kara has been determined to create change in thearea affected by Africa’s longest running war in history, in which childsoldiers and child brides are the fuel to the seemingly never-ending conflict.Though dreaming of future on-the-ground work in Uganda and Central East Africato personally help the victims of tragic war, Kara utilizes local support tomake a difference in any way possible, though primarily in education.
Tyler Menezes
A web developer working in the Seattle area and a University of WashingtonComputer Science student, Tyler Menezes has designed websites for major siteswhile simultaneously maintaining successful side websites, researching, and (ashe put it on his website) “building cool things.” This year heco-organized StudentRND Talks, a TED-like conference for students in theSeattle area. Tyler authors papers (“A Few Simple Guidelines Related to ImageCAPTCHAs” — ICASSP, 2011 and “Mixing Animation and Enforced Computation into anEfficient Human Interactive Proof” — ACM Multimedia, 2011) and writes technology commentary on hiswebsite. His age belies a wealth of experience in the technology field–he’sbeen designing and coding websites since he was ten years old.
Roberto Granados
Over the years, many young people have felt tugged to guitar–whether forits “cool” status, or for idolizing famous musicians. How manycontinue the instrument can be another story. Roberto Granados is an example indedication to an instrument. His initial inspiration for playing the guitarcame from watching his uncle play guitar and listening to Jimi Hendrix. Thefour-year-old would spend hours strumming his guitar while listening andsinging along. At 6, he began seriously studying guitar, and today has a broadrepertoire of not only classical and flamenco works but also the music ofgreats like Dylan, Hendrix, and Lennon. Roberto’s skill has earned kudos frommusic lovers and politicians alike–in 2009, he was invited to perform at aDemocratic National Committee fundraiser (Organizing For America) attended byPresident Barack Obama. That same year, he also represented “From theTop at Carnegie Hall” at the 36th annual Emmy Awards. The self-taughtentomologist, magician, poet, amateur plant botanist, and (of course) guitaristis obviously going places in every sense of the word.
Birke Baehr
Over 360,000 people got to know Birke Baehr after his 2010TEDxNextGenerationAsheville talk, “What’s Wrong With Our Food System,” was posted on TED. Today, it is the most viewed talk from a TEDx event–ever–onYouTube. The 5-minute speech (which he started with a matter-of-fact “My name’s Birke Baehr, and I’m 11 years old. I came here today to talk about what’s wrong with our food system”) has became a rallying cry to change the way we produce food. Birke continues his advocacy through speeches, interviews, his website, Birke on the Farm, and even appearances in 2 documentaries (Bite Size, about childhood obesity and Choice Point, a film about being the change you want in the world). Birke’s mission? To educate others about the problems of our industrialized food system, while presenting solutions through local, organic, and sustainable food.
Kara Chambers
Upon realizing that she could have been a slave to Ugandan rebels if onlyshe had been born on a different continent, thirteen year-old Kara Chambers was set into action. Now sixteen and a junior at Redmond High School, Kara’s passions have caused a local community to think globally. Inspired by the work of Invisible Children Inc., Kara has been determined to create change in the area affected by Africa’s longest running war in history, in which child soldiers and child brides are the fuel to the seemingly never-ending conflict. Though dreaming of future on-the-ground work in Uganda and Central East Africa to personally help the victims of tragic war, Kara utilizes local support to make a difference in any way possible, though primarily in education.
Tyler Menezes
A web developer working in the Seattle area and a University of Washington Computer Science student, Tyler Menezes has designed websites for major sites while simultaneously maintaining successful side websites, researching, and (as he put it on his website) “building cool things.” This year he co-organized StudentRND Talks, a TED-like conference for students in the Seattle area. Tyler authors papers (“A Few Simple Guidelines Related to Image CAPTCHAs” — ICASSP, 2011 and “Mixing Animation and Enforced Computation into an Efficient Human Interactive Proof” — ACM Multimedia, 2011) and writes technology commentary on hiswebsite. His age belies a wealth of experience in the technology field–he’s been designing and coding websites since he was ten years old.
Roberto Granados
Over the years, many young people have felt tugged to guitar–whether for its “cool” status, or for idolizing famous musicians. How many continue the instrument can be another story. Roberto Granados is an example in dedication to an instrument. His initial inspiration for playing the guitar came from watching his uncle play guitar and listening to Jimi Hendrix. The four-year-old would spend hours strumming his guitar while listening and singing along. At 6, he began seriously studying guitar, and today has a broad repertoire of not only classical and flamenco works but also the music of greats like Dylan, Hendrix, and Lennon. Roberto’s skill has earned kudos from music lovers and politicians alike–in 2009, he was invited to perform at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser (Organizing For America) attended by President Barack Obama. That same year, he also represented “From the Top at Carnegie Hall” at the 36th annual Emmy Awards. The self-taught entomologist, magician, poet, amateur plant botanist, and (of course) guitarist is obviously going places in every sense of the word.
SPONSORS
We are currently looking for sponsors! If you or someone you know would be willing to sponsor transportation costs (for speakers), the venue, and other costs or would like to donate products or services, please email us at info@tedxredmond.com.
If you would like to sponsor a speaker, we will be rolling out a “Sponsor a Speaker” ticket this year for you to do so.
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