Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.
– Steve Prefontaine
Does it exist? If so, what is it?
Ask a thousand people and you’ll get a thousand different answers.
Whether you’re talking about a person, place, thing or idea, this word provokes discussion. The desire for it pushes people to think of bigger and better things, challenging them to make their own definitions and maybe even make them a reality.
9:00 to 10:30 10:50 to 12:00 1:30 to 3:00 3:30 to 4:30 session one ession Two ession Three ession Four
nong poonsukwattana
Nong was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Nong’s mother taught her, from the time she was a little girl, to cook in traditional Thai-style, focusing on quality ingredients crafted from scratch. Nong came to Portland in 2003 with two suitcases and $70 to pursue her dream. After honing her skills at local Thai restaurants, such as Pok Pok, Nong opened Nong’s Khao Man Gai food cart in 2009 and quickly received substantial international attention and critical acclaim.
D’Wayne Edwards
D’Wayne was the Footwear Design Director of Nike’s JORDAN Brand. Over the course of his 25-year career, D’Wayne received numerous design awards, was granted over 30 patents, and designed over 500 styles for some of today’s premiere athletes, such as Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony and Michael Jordan. In 2010, D’Wayne decided to start a new chapter in his career and founded the first academy in the U.S. dedicated to footwear design, PENSOLE.
G Cody QJ Goldberg
Born and raised in Marin County, California, Cody is convinced that the secret to building a better world for all is building better playgrounds. Cody and his wife April live in Portland with their daughters Harper and Lennon. Due to eight-yearold Harper’s unique needs, the couple launched “Harper’s Playground,” a passion project that has spurred a movement to design and build the city’s first inclusive playground, one that adapts to the needs of children of all abilities.
– yogi berra
– lou reed If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.
When I record an album I’m trying to get as close as possible to that perfect moment.
Frank moore
Tough as nails, gentle as a poet and determined as a badger, 91-year old Frank loves fly fishing. Even during his World War II service, he paid attention to the rivers he and his fellow troops crossed in war-torn towns. Since then, he has focused on conservation and fishing. He and his wife of 70+ years, Jeanne, built and were the long-time proprietors of the world-renowned Steamboat Inn along the North Umpqua River. Frank was inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in 2010 and is featured in the critically acclaimed documentary Mending The Line.
Jackson Gariety
Jackson is a computer programmer, struggling idealist and Portland native. Inspired by visionaries like Bret Victor, he left high school to find ways to use computers to teach people to think. In the past year, Jackson started a high school class to teach coding, helped develop companies in TechStars, and began selling shares in himself. Today, he is working on a thesis that shows how programming can be an art form.
lisa sedlar
Lisa has worked in the restaurant and natural foods industries for over 25 years. She was the CEO of New Seasons Market and worked as the Director of Purchasing for Whole Foods Market in the Midwest. In 2013, she founded Green Zebra Grocery in Portland. Committed to transparency, through open-book financials and sustainability, by curating local community partnerships, Green Zebra makes trustworthy groceries easier to find.
We are incredibly thankful to Henry V for the creative vision and production of our world class stage design you see today.
The honeycomb is a masterpiece of engineering. It is absolutely perfect in economizing labor and wax.
– Charles Darwin
Governor John Kitzhaber
Governor John Kitzhaber is the longest-serving governor in Oregon’s history and one of the country’s most respected minds in health care policy. The son of two Eugene-area educators, Governor Kitzhaber was raised with a public service ethic, respect for education, and a strong connection to Oregon state’s natural heritage and bounty. Before entering politics in the late 1970s, he was an emergency room physician, where he developed an acute interest in improving the health and livelihoods of all Oregonians no matter where they live.
James Keller
James is a designer who enjoys blurring the lines between physical and digital experiences. After leading Wieden+Kennedy’s digital strategy team, she left to co-found Small Society, a mobile agency that created the first wave of native mobile apps for Starbucks, Zipcar and Amazon. In 2012, Small Society was acquired by WalmartLabs. Today, James continues to help define the next generation of mobile retail experiences.
Zalika Gardner
Zalika is the co-founder and Director of Learning for KairosPDX Early Learning Center. After teaching in Los Angeles Public Schools, Zalika spent 13 years at the Catlin Gabel School and two years teaching and consulting for the Opal School at the Portland Children’s Museum. Zalika is currently a school improvement specialist for Portland Public Schools. She has a passion for child development, literacy and historical perspectives, having spent the last 10 years facilitating a variety of equity experiences for children, families and educators.
To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.
– Walt Whitman
practice does not make perfect. only perfect practice makes perfect.
– Vince lombardi
andy revkin
Andy Revkin has written about environmental sustainability for more than three decades, from the Amazon to the White House to the North Pole, mainly for The New York Times.Time magazine recently named his DotEarth blog one of the top 25 blogs of 2013. Revkin has won the top awards in science journalism multiple times, along with a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is as Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding at Pace University.
aaron Draplin
Born from the loins of the proud Midwest, Aaron grew up on a steady stream of Legos, Star Wars, family trips, drawing, skateboarding and snowboarding. After making a name for himself as art director for Snowboarder magazine and Portland design firm Cinco, Aaron stepped out on his own in 2004 to start The Draplin Design Company. Since then, he has rolled up his sleeves for brands ranging from Burton Snowboards to President Obama. Aaron proudly calls Portland home.
Isaiah Holt
A Portland native, Isaiah became involved with gangs as a young man. During a confrontation during which he feared for his and his friend’s life, Isaiah was shot—and shot another youth. Isaiah recovered from his own gun wounds, but served seven years in the Oregon State Penitentiary for his crime. He was offered early parole for good behavior but decided to carry out his full term because he had not completed a rigorous training program to become a licensed electrician. Isaiah’s story is one of second chances and turning your life around.
– leonard Cohen you can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
– John Wooden
Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.
Eric Giler
Eric heads WiTricity, a startup with a product directly out of science fiction: wireless electricity beamed from a base station to an electrical device. Prior to WiTricity, Eric was the Chairman and CEO of Groove Mobile, a mobile music commerce platform company, and founded Brooktrout Inc., a telecom software and hardware provider. He was granted eight patents, a BS from Carnegie-Mellon and a Master’s from Harvard Business School.
Zach King
Zach is a filmmaker, born and raised in Portland. He started his film journey at age seven when his parents gave him a camera at a wedding. After being rejected from film school, he started the YouTube channel “FinalCutKing,” where he posted video editing tutorials. Zach has garnered more than 400,000 subscribers to his channel. In September 2013, he launched a Vine account based around his “magic” editing and has grown an audience of nearly 1 million fans.
al James
Al James is a songwriter and singer, born and raised in Oregon. He writes and records simple, but honest songs with his band Dolorean in the vein of Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson and Gene Clark. His albums have been covered and reviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent and NPR’s Fresh Air. He has also collaborated with songwriter Bob Desper in support of the re-issue of his 70s folk masterpiece “New Sounds.”
oregon ballet Theatre
Founded in 1989, Oregon Ballet Theatre is the state’s largest full-time professional ballet company. OBT’s mission is to inspire an enduring passion and appreciation for the unique art form of dance through artistic excellence, thrilling live performances, innovative choreography and exceptional educational programs. The nationally and internationally acclaimed Oregon Ballet Theatre is recognized for its dynamic approach to both classical and contemporary ballet.
rose City Trombones
Rose City Trombones is a group of passionate musicians dedicated to showcasing the majestic trombone. Their goal is to provide both concerts and educational outreach to unravel the mysteries of the shiny instrument. The members’ musical pedigree includes well-established music organizations across the Northwest and music schools around the country.
Good bread and good butter go together. They are one of the perfect marriages in gastronomy.
– James beard
love hard when there is love to be
had. because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.
– bob marley
Jacob miller & The bridge City Crooners
Jacob Miller & The Bridge City Crooners bill their music as West Coast ragtime, jazz, and blues and, though you can hear all of these influences, there’s also a strong undercurrent of youthful abandon. It is the kind of wild joy from the American road (or rails) that filled the gas tank of Woody Guthrie’s dreams and kept him rolling down the highway.
blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper was founded in 2000 by a group of Pacific northwest natives who played around Portland to skeleton crowds and gave away an impressive stream of garage recordings for years. Since then, they have released a handful of albums, played colossal festivals, been on network TV, toured all over the Western world and worked with the likes of Wilco and Belle & Sebastian. Even more, they have become the band they had always dreamed they would be.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
– Winston Churchill
Established in 1984, TED is an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design —three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists —is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono. But, TED is about much more than famous names. It is about passion, laughter, beauty, ingenuity and ideas capable of changing the world.
TEDx is part of a revolution in global education, made possible by local organizers wanting to engage their communities. Established in 2009, over 9000 TEDx events have been put on worldwide. Every week, in over 150 countries, people are coming together to pursue ideas worth spreading. Three words: Ideas. Worth. Spreading. We seek to build partnerships that will surface, promote and support great ideas. The concept is simple: create an immersive environment where prominent local organizations, thought leaders, and key enablers from vastly different fields can cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places. This foundation of partners, speakers, and influencers forms the basis of the community we are trying to build in Portland and beyond.
Welcome to our fourth installment. We received our first TEDx license in 2009 and it took us 14 months to circle the wagons with our first event at the Armory. We grew to the Portland Art Museum and have since landed at the Keller Auditorium. Our 50+ volunteer team works year round on this experience to deliver ideas worth spreading for the Rose City and beyond. Our team goals center on speaker quality and content, premium event management, partner appreciation, and inspiring Portland to think, and do.
Dream big. Strive to create the best talk you have ever given. Reveal something never seen before. Do something the audience will remember forever. Share an idea that could change the world.
Commandments
Show us the real you. Share your passions, your dreams ... and also your fears. Be vulnerable. Speak of failure as well as success.
Connect with people’s emotions. Make us laugh! Make us cry!
Feel free to comment on other speakers’ talks, to praise or to criticize. Controversy energizes! Enthusiastic endorsement is powerful!
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Don’t flaunt your ego. Don’t boast. It’s the surest way to switch everyone off.
Make the complex plain. Don’t try to dazzle intellectually. Don’t speak in abstractions. Explain! Give examples. Tell stories. Be specific.
Rehearse your talk in front of a trusted friend ... for timing, for clarity, for impact.
Don’t read your talk. Notes are fine. But if the choice is between reading or rambling, then read!
No selling from the stage! Unless we have specifically asked you to, do not talk about your company or organization. And don’t even think about pitching your products or services or asking for funding from stage.
End your talk on time. Doing otherwise is to steal time from the people that follow you. We won’t allow it.
Many Thanks
TEDxPortland identified 20 organizations and schools to receive 10 complimentary tickets to today’s event. With thanks to the TEDxPortland PERFECT Art Show we were able to recognize and reward the work of our local organizations and schools by offering these free tickets.
We welcome the following groups:
With thanks to our organizing coordinators: molly mcCluskey and allen Hardin
Willamette University
University of Oregon
University
OHSU
University of Portland
Portland State University
Lewis & Clark College
Portland Community College
Catlin Gabel
Lincoln High School
The perfect art show
our Team
In the TED spirit of ideas worth spreading and our 2014 PERFECT theme, 18 Portland artists were commissioned to create symbolic pieces of art to be auctioned off in the name of merit based ticket scholarships to today’s event. Today, 200 people are able to attend free of charge because of the art proceeds. The exhibit debuted on April 3, 2014 at One Grand Gallery on 1000 E. Burnside and will be on display through the month of April. Please drop by for a visit, we would love to see you! The following artists/designers donated their time and talent:
sincere thanks to our selfless, talented curators: Jordan mendezChan & molly Georgetta.
Aaron Rogosin
Aaron draplin
Adam Friedman
Berto Legendary
Betsy Walton
Greg Lamarche
Jesse Raker
Jim Riswold
Joel Colley
Jordan Domont
Jose Cabaco
Justin Morris
Keith Carter
Lawrence Atoigue
Matthew Vu
Mike Friolo
Nathan Vanhook
Olivia Storm
Ricky Sosa
Ryan Bubnis
The Lost Cause
Tomas Valladres
Trygve Faste
Christopher DeGaetano
board of Directors:
Paul Anthony, Susan Hoffman, Renny Gleeson, Mark Starkey & David Rae
licensee: Paul Anthony
Chief Curator & Executive
producer: David Rae
leadership Team:
Clare Ryan, Jessica Sinn & Peter Achterman
speaker Coaching Committee:
Seth Walker, Renny Gleeson, Peter Achterman, Clare Ryan,
Paul Anthony, Cathey Armillas, Mark Starkey, Kirsten Birkeland & David Rae
performance logistics: Jessica Sinn
Creative & Digital Craft: Instrument
Design:
Jake Hollomon, Daniel Westling, Jeffrey Baratta & Dan Rohr
social media & Interactive: Victor Nguyen-Long & Alex Wang
Volunteer management: Molly McCluskey
Community partnerships & Ticket Giveaway: Allen Hardin & Molly McCluskey
Keller park Expo: Jillian Porten & Team FEAST
Event management: Mason Davis
art show: Jordan Mendez-Chan & Molly Georgetta
partner night appreciation: Madeline Wigen, Whitney Stanford & Sophie Williams
TEDxyouth@portland mentorship: Benjamin Chait
Creative Digital Content: John Waller & Ben Canales
Filmmaking: Andy Best
Videography & post production: Mario Soriano & The Hue
For First believing In us: Michael Doherty
We are very grateful to the staff of Portland5 and Keller Auditorium. Your precision and professionalism has taken us to new heights, thank you.
A very special thank you to the additional 30+ volunteers working today to pull this amazing event together.
Thank you for joining us, listening to new ideas and (hopefully) spreading them elsewhere. That’s what this is all about. We hope you were inspired today, maybe even transformed. It’s up to us to make our ideas a reality. To act, not just dream. That alone will change the Rose City and beyond.
