April 9, 2016
Portland.
Mountains, forests, rivers, feed our wild side.
Pioneering tech companies, entrepreneurs, artists, fuel our creative spirit.
But the landscape is shifting.
We can sit back, watch it change, or we can be active participants in making it better.
This place gives us so much. How can we give back to it?
Elias Cairo
Nadya Okamoto
Joey Harrington
Intisar Abioto
Israel Bayer
Maurice Conti
Rex Burkholder
Portland
Bobbi
Tylor Neist & Bridgetown
Rose City Trombones
Tracy Oseran
Timber Jim Serrill
Thaniya Keereepart
Mara Zepeda
Samuel Hulick
Renny Gleeson
A Call to Action
Wonderland:
The Give Backpack A-Z Action Checklist
University of Oregon
Regence
Tripwire
Henry V Nike
Oregonian Media Group
Instrument
Premier Press
Stephouse Wireless
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Timberline
Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.
Linda Smith, 2015
9:00a–10:30a
Session One
Elias Cairo
Nadya Okamoto
Israel Bayer
Mara Zepeda & Samuel Hulick
Tylor Neist & Bridgetown Orchestra
20-minute break
10:50a–12:00p
Session Two
Timber Jim Serrill
Rose City Trombones
Intisar Abioto
Tracy Oseran
90-minute lunch
Gregory Gourdet, 2015
Agenda
1:30p–3:00p
Session Three
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
Rex Burkholder
Thaniya Keereepart
Joey Harrington
30-minute break
3:30p–4:30p
Session Four
Radiation City
Maurice Conti
Bobbi MacKenzie
Renny Gleeson
Happy Hour in the Park until 6p
Special thanks to Fuller Events, Beam Suntory Spirits, Rogue Ales & Gran Moraine.
Speakers
Elias Cairo
Nadya Okamoto
Joey Harrington
Intisar Abioto
Israel Bayer
Maurice Conti
Rex Burkholder
Tracy Oseran
Timber Jim Serrill
Thaniya Keereepart
Mara Zepeda
Samuel Hulick
Renny Gleeson
Elias Cairo
Elias grew up in a very Greek family in a Mormon community in Utah. They taught him to make everything from liquor to glue. A former vegan hardcore music lover and semi-pro snowboarder, Elias has survived avalanches, bandits and full electrocution by a stove. He learned the hard art of Swiss cuisine under the jagermeister of a mountain village. He guided Portland’s DIY food culture via the charcuterie think tank Olympia Provisions, where he doubles as co-owner and “head salumist.” His cookbook, Olympia Provisions, earned national acclaim in the Wall Street Journal and is a New York Times Best Seller.
Favorite TED Talk
How to make a profit while making a difference
Audrey Choi Hero My Mother
Chunky or smooth peanut butter Chunky. I love the crunch.
Favorite Portland restaurant Davenport
Pet peeve Entitlement
Favorite movie
Torn between Dumb & Dumber or The Godfather
Karaoke go-to Lawyers, Guns and Money by Warren Zevon
Beatles or Rolling Stones
Beatles
Nadya Okamoto
Nadya is a high school senior and honors student at Catlin Gabel. She founded Camions of Care after her family experienced a degree of homelessness, during which she discovered the unaddressed need of menstrual hygiene among poor and homeless women. Her nonprofit is dedicated to helping women who can’t afford menstrual products so that they can achieve their full potential. She is also Youth Director of Social Venture Partners Youth, and serves on the Women’s Foundation of Oregon board. When she is not advocating for natural needs and women’s empowerment, she loves to snowboard and listen to Whitney Houston.
Favorite TED Talk
A girl who demanded school Kakenya Ntaiya
Hero
My Mom
Where would you go in a time machine August 26, 1970, Women’s Strike for Equality in NYC
Favorite Portland restaurant
Luc Lac
Under your bed right now
Boxes of yarn and knitting needles
Desert island playlist
Queen, Norah Jones, Seal, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Mt. Hood
Pet peeve
People eating, sliding metal utensils against their teeth
Joey Harrington
Joey played quarterback for the University of Oregon and earned a spot among Heisman Trophy finalists in 2001. After a career in the NFL, he returned home to dedicate himself to supporting education for in-state youth. His nonprofit, the Harrington Family Foundation, has raised over $1M for Oregon student scholarships.
In 2014, Harrington announced the Oregon Community Quarterback Scholarship — a four-year scholarship supporting high school students who have shown community leadership abilities but may need help reaching their potential. His commitment to family and community is an example of balance and his down-to-earth Portland roots. He’s even an accomplished jazz pianist.
Favorite TED Talk
Still deciding…
Hero
My Parents
Greatest fear
It used to be failure. Then I did that and it’s not so bad. Now it’s a fear of not being able to identify, change and adapt.
Favorite Portland restaurant
Ox
Favorite mountain in Oregon Mt. Washington
Make one change in the world
I’d either solve all past, present and future problems in the Middle East. Or make peanut butter calorie free.
Pet peeve
Bikers who don’t stop at stop signs and stop lights.
Karaoke go-to
Eye of the Tiger. It’s my son’s favorite song right now.
Most embarrassing moment
I didn’t realize my fly was down for the majority of my first date with my wife.
Intisar Abioto
Intisar is a photographer, writer and dancer dedicated to telling real stories about people of the African Diaspora. She moved to Portland in 2010 with her family of women creatives. They created a 200,000-mile arts expedition based on the children’s book, The People Could Fly, centered on the tangible reality of the mythic flying African. Intisar traveled the state photographing black Oregonians for the Urban League of Portland report State of Black Oregon 2015. Last winter, Travel Portland released her zine Black Portlands. Her ongoing photo essay and blog The Black Portlanders focuses on Portland’s people of diverse African descent.
Favorite TED Talk
The danger of a single story
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hero
My parents. My sisters. My family.
Favorite Portland restaurant
Samurai Blue
If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you
Janelle Monae
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Chunky
Desert island playlist
Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson, Prince
Pet peeve
White supremacy in all its fallacy
Must read
The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton
Surprised to know about you
I do not know how to drive
Israel Bayer
Israel fights to give a voice to those who cannot afford free speech by focusing his efforts into the street newspaper movement. He is an award-winning housing advocate, journalist, poet, painter and photographer with over 15 years of experience in street newspapers. Israel currently serves as the Executive Director of Street Roots, a weekly street newspaper in Portland that serves to cover issues that impact the low-income and homeless residents of the city. He also worked for Real Change, a street newspaper based in Seattle. Israel also served the movement nationally as a part of the North American Street Newspaper Association.
Favorite TED Talk
Building US-China relations by banjo Abigail Washburn
Hero My Mother
Under my bed right now A cat
Favorite Portland restaurant Chen’s Good Taste
Greatest fear Rattlesnakes
Make one change in the world
Ending modern-day homelessness in America
Pet peeve Judgmental people
Favorite movie of all time Cradle Will Rock
Beatles or Rolling Stones
Rolling Stones. Street Fighting Man!
Maurice Conti
Maurice is a designer, futurist and innovator. He is the Director of Strategic Innovation at Autodesk and has worked with startups, government agencies, renowned artists and corporations to explore what the future might hold for them, and design solutions to get them there. As leader of Autodesk’s Applied Research Lab, he focuses on advanced robotics, applied machine learning and sea level rise. He has circled the globe and was honored for his bravery by the US, New Zealand and the United Nations for saving the lives of three shipwrecked sailors. Maurice lives in Muir Beach, CA, where he serves as a volunteer firefighter.
Favorite TED Talk
Beats that defy boxes
Reggie Watts
Where would you go in a time machine
Renaissance Europe
Under my bed right now
Steampunk and Star Trek costumes
Favorite Portland restaurant
Laurelhurst Market
Must read
Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age
Make one change in the world
Increase everyone’s vision to a generation out
Favorite movie
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (and David Lynch’s Dune)
Beatles or Rolling Stones
Prince
Rex Burkholder
Rex helped start Portland’s cycling revolution by founding the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. He leads Outdoor School for All Oregon, a campaign to get kids learning outside. He co-founded the Coalition for a Livable Future, uniting over 100 local NGOs. He served on Metro Council for 12 years, helping reform transportation policy and climate change integration at all levels of Oregon government. He served on Rail~Volution and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and is a Global Ambassador for Ciclovia, a movement reclaiming cities from the automobile. His book, The Activist’s Toolkit, helps activists globally to be more effective locally. He blogs at gettingto2100.org.
Favorite TED Talk
The next one...
Where would you go in a time machine
Back to when my boys were young
If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you
Ron Howard as Opie
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Chunky
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Zigzag
Make one change in the world
Use war budgets for schools and healthcare
Pet peeve
Americans’ ignorance of history
Beatles or Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Tracy Oseran
Tracy saw that massive quantities of food are wasted every day in Portland while citizens, including children, go to sleep hungry. This is what drove her in 2006 to found Urban Gleaners, a food-rescue company that sources surplus food and delivers it to organizations that feed the hungry. No stranger to food distribution, she previously owned a catering company in Los Angeles and made and sold packaged food in local grocery stores. Her passion for food and interest in community activism was a natural combination that led into the fight against hunger.
Favorite TED Talk
We need to talk about an injustice
Bryan Stevenson Hero
Gloria Steinem
Favorite Portland restaurant
Sweedeedee
Where would you go in a time machine
Big Sur in the 60s
Greatest fear
Donald Trump
Desert island playlist
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, The Band, Joni Mitchell
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Mt. Hood
Make one change in the world
Reverse climate change
Timber Jim Serrill
Director of Love and Celebration for the MLS Champion Portland Timbers, Jim ditched college to rappel over treetops for the Forest Service. He began chainsawing victory slabs from logs after goals at Timbers matches in 1978 and did so until 2008. Jim has a passion for first aid and has trained hundreds in first aid and CPR. The tragic death of his daughter in 2004 led him back to work on trimming trees on power lines. A cancer survivor, Jim is now retired and volunteers his time with organizations all over the region. He has a heart the size of a lion.
Favorite TED Talk
Changing the world one playground at time
G Cody QJ Goldberg
Hero My Dad
Favorite Portland restaurant
Buster’s BBQ
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Chunky
Greatest fear Evil
Karaoke go-to What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
Favorite mountain in Oregon Mt. Jefferson
Make one change in the world
That people would put love first
Thaniya Keereepart
Thaniya’s passion lies at the intersection of humancomputer interaction, design and behavioral economics. She runs the business of TED on apps — strategic direction, investment, product management, growth and operations. Thaniya joined TED in early 2010, creating the product development team and leading mobile development. Her cross-disciplinary team of managers, designers and researchers work side by side with engineers within the larger technology group. She’s won numerous awards, including a Peabody, Adobe MAX, Webby, and the National Design Award. Prior to TED she was a data engineer, front-end engineer and user experience designer for many Fortune 500 companies and startups.
Favorite TED Talk
How great leaders inspire action
Simon Sinek
Desert island playlist
Death Cab for Cutie, David Bowie, Beatles, Bob Marley, Tupac
Pet peeve
Poor kerning. Comic Sans.
Hero
Al Gore
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Smooth
Favorite movie
The Fast and Furious. All of them. I love bad movies.
Karaoke go-to
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Most embarrassing moment
I once accidentally set off the fire alarm for the entire subway station in Osaka. It was a big station.
Mara Zepeda
Mara is the co-founder and CEO of Switchboard, which strengthens communities by helping its members to help one another. She is also a calligrapher, has designed hundreds of custom tattoos and teaches workshops internationally. Mara draws on artist collectives, architecture, urban planning and grassroots organizing when designing online spaces.
Favorite TED Talk
The art of asking Amanda Palmer
Hero
Anaïs Nin
Favorite Portland restaurant
Nong’s Khao Man Gai
Where would you go in a time machine
Renaissance Italy
Desert island playlist
Leonard Cohen, J.S. Bach, Jordi Savall, Billie Holliday, Serge Gainsbourg
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Broken Top
Pet peeve Pessimism
Must read
The Gift by Lewis Hyde
Samuel Hulick
Samuel is the author of The Elements of User Onboarding. He has combined user experience (UX) savvy and a cat-like curiosity for measuring UX impact to become an expert in onboarding. His approach is shaped by over a decade of web experience, theories taken from behavioral psychology, video game design and filmmaking.
Favorite TED Talk
Do schools kill productivity? Sir Ken Robinson
Hero
Buckminster Fuller
Favorite Portland restaurant Screen Door
If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you Daniel Day Lewis
Desert island playlist
Bob Dylan, Blue Sky Black Death, Wu Tang Clan, MF DOOM, Beethoven
Favorite mountain in Oregon Crater Lake
Pet peeve Wastefulness
Must read Ulysses by James Joyce
Renny Gleeson
Renny is a geek who’s worked in the startup and interactive marketing space since 1994. He leads interactive strategy globally for Wieden+Kennedy. He is the co-founder and leader of W+K’s Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE), a technology business accelerator positioned at the intersection of startups and brands. Renny has presented on the stage at “Big TED” as well as TEDxPortland multiple times. As an original board member, speaker coach and chief advisor to TEDxPortland, his contributions make him a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to making each year’s event feel cohesive and impactful.
Favorite TED Talk My stroke of insight Jill Bolte Taylor Hero Linus Torvalds
Favorite Portland restaurant Burgerville
Where would you go in a time machine The American Revolution
Under your bed right now Books. And more books.
If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you Daniel Craig or Samuel L. Jackson
Pet peeve Wet towels on the floor
Favorite movie of all time
This Is Spinal Tap
Radiation City
Portland Gay Men's Chorus
Bobbi MacKenzie
Tylor Neist & Bridgetown Orchestra
Rose City Trombones
Radiation City
One of Portland’s most promising young acts with critical acclaim from the UK's The Guardian, Rolling Stone and Time, this multi-instrumentalist group is known for its ability to cleverly mix sonic influences ranging from 60s orchestral music to modern dream pop. Proudly from the Rose City, they just dropped their third album, Synesthetica — a new soundscape that explores multisensory experience as commonplace; where feelings and definitions blend and melt, and surreality becomes reality.
Favorite TED Talk
Beats that defy boxes
Reggie Watts
Greatest fear
Public speaking
Favorite Portland retaurant
Original Hotcake and Steak House
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Smooth
Desert island playlist
Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ennio Morricone, The Beach Boys
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Steens
Pet peeve
Bad drivers
Favorite movie of all time
Lost in Translation
Portland Gay Men's Chorus
The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus is comprised of over 150 singers and 250 volunteers on a mission to expand, redefine and perfect the choral art through eclectic performances that honor and uplift the gay community and affirm the worth of all people. Founded in 1980, the chorus is the fourth oldest gay-identified chorus in the country. While being a gay men’s chorus, PGMC welcomes singers of all genders and sexual orientations. Last year, to celebrate its 35th anniversary, PGMC embarked on an eight-city tour throughout Oregon and Washington in support of LGBT youth organizations, HIV/AIDS support services, and food banks within these communities.
Favorite TED Talk
Are you human?
Ze Frank Hero
Óscar Romero
Favorite Portland restaurant
HK Cafe
Where would you go in a time machine April 13, 1742, Dublin, Ireland for the premiere of Handel's Messiah
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Chunky
Desert island playlist
Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, The Carpenters, ABBA, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Mt. Hood
Pet peeve
Littering
Bobbi MacKenzie
11-year-old Bobbi earned national attention singing
The Star-Spangled Banner for the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and the San Francisco 49ers. Bobbi’s voice and presence caught the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who hand-picked her to star as Tomika in School of Rock: The Musical on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre. The actress and songstress has also worked and recorded with Grammy award-winning producer Rob Cavallo on the original cast recording for School of Rock: The Musical. She would later be asked to represent the musical in Broadway at the White House hosted by Michelle Obama.
Favorite TED Talk
Too many to choose from!
Hero
God and my little sister Madison
Favorite Portland restaurant Bamboo Sushi
Under your bed right now Stuffed animals
Desert island playlist
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Ariana Grande and Whitney Houston
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Mt. Hood
Pet peeve
When I get my hands dirty and I can’t wash them immediately
Must read
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Tylor Neist & Bridgetown Orchestra
Tylor Neist & Bridgetown Orchestra use their music to create transformative experiences. They bring a unique perspective to their classical roots by bridging multiple creative disciplines with original works. Using music, theater, dance, poetry, projections and interactive installations, this unconventional orchestra creates one-of-a-kind experiences that encourage audiences to connect to something deeper. Their most recent work, Overview Effect, by composer and artistic director Tylor Neist, takes fellow explorers on a theatrical and musical journey through the cosmos to explore the link between our inner and outer worlds.
Favorite TED Talk
Do schools kill creativity?
Sir Ken Robinson
Hero
Edgar Mitchell
Favorite Portland restaurant
Jake’s Grill
Where would you go in a time machine I’d probably do a Bill and Ted circuit
If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you
Jim Carrey
Desert island playlist
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok, Stravinsky
Favorite mountain in Oregon
Mt. Bachelor
Make one change in the world
Bring music education back to schools
Rose City Trombones
Rose City Trombones is a group of passionate musicians dedicated to showcasing the majestic trombone. Its goal is to provide both concerts and educational outreach to unravel the mysteries of this shiny instrument. The members’ musical pedigrees include well-established music organizations across the Northwest and music schools around the country.
Favorite TED Talk
A choir as big as the Internet
Eric Whitacre
Hero
Music teachers
Favorite Portland restaurant
Blossoming Lotus
Where would you go in a time machine
To the patent office
Chunky or smooth peanut butter
Chunky
Desert island playlist
Bobby McFerrin, Johannes Brahms, John Williams, Billy Joel, James Taylor
Favorite mountain in Oregon Wallowas
Pet peeve
Technology displacing face-to-face interaction
Inspired by “Big TED,”
TEDxPortland 2016 introduces interstitial videos to compliment our run of show for the first time.
Thank you to the creative film-making community for its time and talent. And to the leadership at Regence — this would not have been possible without you.
The History of TED
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 and 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 of CEOs, scientists, creatives and 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.
Regina Ellis, 2015
The History of TEDx
TEDx is part of a revolution in global education made possible by local organizers wanting to engage their communities. Established in 2009, over 15,100 TEDx events have been organized worldwide. Every week, in over 135 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 crossfertilize 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.
Commandments
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.
Show us the real you. Share your passions, your dreams … and also your fears. Be vulnerable. Speak of failure as well as success.
Aaron Draplin, 2014
Make the complex plain. Don’t try to dazzle intellectually. Don’t speak in abstractions. Explain. Give examples. Tell stories. Be specific.
Connect with people’s emotions. Make us laugh. Make us cry.
Don’t flaunt your ego. Don’t boast. It’s the surest way to switch everyone off.
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 the stage.
Feel free to comment on other speakers’ talks, to praise or to criticize. Controversy energizes. Enthusiastic endorsement is powerful.
Don’t read your talk. Notes are fine. But if the choice is between reading or rambling, then read.
End your talk on time. Doing otherwise steals time from the people that follow you. We won’t allow it.
Rehearse your talk in front of a trusted friend … for timing, for clarity, for impact.
A Look Back
Welcome to our sixth annual event.
We received our first TEDx license in 2009 and it took us 14 months to pull off our first event at the Portland Armory. We grew to the Portland Art Museum and have since landed at the Keller Auditorium. Our 60+ member organizing team works year round on this experience to deliver ideas worth spreading to 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.
Karen Gaffney, 2015
2011 2012 2013
Greg Bell
Jim Riswold
Dr. Brian Druker
Tinker Hatfield
Bobbie Conner
Elliot Mainzer
PHAME
On The Rocks
Mark Edlen
Scott Kveton
School of Rock
Thomas Lauderdale
Spencer Beebe
Karen Brooks
Storm Large
Mia Birk
John Jay
Thomas Brown
Dr. Jessica Green
Gavin Davison
David Terry
Portland Youth Philharmonic
Bassima Mroue
Hideshi Hamaguchi
John Waller & Ben Canales
Joe Whitworth
Kate Davis
Sahar Alnouri
Rose City Trombones
Ward Cunningham
Gene Sandoval
Dr. Aithan Shapira
Jeb Corliss
Sam Adams
2014 2015
Aaron Draplin
Andrew Revkin
G Cody QJ Goldberg
Zalika Gardner
Eric Giler
Nong Poonsukwattana
Jackson Gariety
Al James
Macklemore
Zach King
Isaiah Holt
D’Wayne Edwards
James Keller
Frank Moore
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Lisa Sedlar
Jon Wexler
Vidya Spandana
Karen Gaffney
The von Trapps
G Douglas Bundy
Linda Smith
Jacob Miller & The Bridge City Crooners
Fawn Weaver
Benji Wagner
Gregory Gourdet
Con Bro Chill
Dr. Cameron Smith
Jenna Nicholas
Dr. Kent Thornburg
Regina Ellis
Asia Greene
Brian Grant
Mike Thelin
Jonathan Krisel
Tom Brokaw
Naomi Pomeroy
Kate Bingaman-Burt
The Royal Blues
Dr. Laurie Marker
Ben Huh
Guido Rahr
Kimberly Howard
Brian Faherty
Di-Ann Eisnor
Denver
Amber Starks
Dr. Daniel Wilson
Speech
Renny Gleeson
Rose City Trombones
Harper’s Playground Concept Design, Courtesy of Girvin Associates, Inc.
Where are they now?
G Cody QJ Goldberg
In April 2014, G Cody QJ Goldberg took the TEDxPortland stage to deliver a Talk about how play is perfect. He shared his personal journey and outlined how it led him to create the nonprofit, Harper’s Playground. Since then, he’s been invited to share his story at keynotes across the country. His Talk was also one of the first from Portland to be selected for inclusion by “Big TED.” More importantly, the idea he shared has spread far and wide. Harper’s Playground has four projects now underway — two in Portland (Gateway Park in NE and Couch Park in NW), one in Salem Hospital and Owen’s Playground in Bainbridge Island, WA. Cody’s dedicated staff and board are also creating a how-to manual and a children’s storybook, which should both be completed by fall 2016. Harper’s Playground continues to make this a more inclusive world, one playground at a time.
Where are they now?
G
Douglas Bundy
G Douglas Bundy took the stage at TEDxPortland in May 2015 to say that the world needs more kid-made things. He shared a vision for education focused on developing creativity in kids and solving real problems with purpose. He reminded us of the transformative power of turning an idea into something real. Then another amazing thing happened. Immediately following the Talk, he was approached by attendees from last year’s experience, and an idea worth sharing became a conversation worth having. Over the ensuing months, G and fellow revolutionaries from the Beaverton School District Future Ready team hatched a plan to take this idea further. They commandeered a retired school bus and transformed it into a mobile makerspace and inspiration studio. It’s packed with kid-friendly electronics, 3D printers, duct tape, Stumptown coffee and most importantly, ideas. The FutureBus will inspire tens of thousands of kids and grown-up kids to dream it, make it and share it with the world, starting tomorrow.
A Call to Action
An A-Z guide
A
is for Animals
Did you know?
Portlanders adopted 11,000 animals last year.
is for Bicycle B
Ride your bike across one of Portland’s many bridges.
Want to do more?
Go to a cycling event hosted by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, or drop-in on Bike Farm and learn how to take care of your wheels. Remember to watch Mia Birk’s Talk from 2011, Pedaling towards a healthier planet.
C
is for Culinary
Cherish some of Portland’s trendsetting restaurants like
Gregory Gourdet’s Departure or Elias Cairo’s Olympia Provisions.
Watch Chef Nong Poonsukwattana’s Talk from 2014, First give, then receive. Want more?
D is for Dancing
Go see any of Portland’s amazing dance acts.
Need some suggestions?
Oregon Ballet Theatre, NW Dance Project or Con Bro Chill
E is for Education
Read a book with a child.
Did you know?
Support others who teach kids like KairosPDX Early Learning Center. Watch Zalika Gardner’s Talk from 2014, Listening differently.
is for Food F
Help Urban Gleaners by picking up or delivering donated food to feed the hungry.
Did you know?
92,000 children depend on emergency food banks each month in Oregon.
is for Geek Out G
Drop off some used electronics to Free Geek and turn your old laptop into a gateway to information for someone else.
H
is for Hiking
Take a hike through the 70 miles of wonderland that is Forest Park.
I is for Island
Head to Sauvie Island and pick some fresh, organic produce or flowers.
is for Jobs J
Ask your employer to “ban the box” on job applications asking for a criminal record and take the Fair Chance Hiring Pledge.
Volunteer with Community Partners Reinvestment Project. Remember to watch Isaiah Holt’s Talk from 2014, The company you keep. Want to do more?
is for Kindness K
Do something kind for a stranger. Pay it forward.
Did you know?
The Give Backpack is a vessel for good.
L is for Local
Support local purveyors at the Portland Saturday Market.
M is for Mushrooms
Go mushroom foraging with an expert.
Did you know?
The Pacific Northwest is home to over 32 species of edible fungi.
is for Neighbors
Knock on a new neighbor’s door.
Want to do more?
Throw a block party in your neighborhood.
Ois for Outdoors
Experience the outdoors by taking a trip to the Coast.
Want to do more?
Support outdoor education by backing Outdoor School for All. Watch The People’s Coast by Uncage the Soul before exploring.
P is for Play
Channel your inner child and go play in one of Portland’s 200+ public parks.
Want to do more?
Help all children play, regardless of disabilities, and volunteer with Harper’s Playground to create all-inclusive playgrounds.
Q is for Queer
Attend events and
performances
that uplift the LGBTQ
community.
Go see Portland Gay Men’s Chorus or QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival or volunteer with New Avenues for Youth: SMYRC and help with queer and transgender youth. Want to do more?
is for Run R
Go run and explore our beautiful city.
Want to do more?
Participate in the second-annual Paint the Town TED run around the Willamette River on June 23.
is for Sunshine S
See the Timbers play and celebrate life by singing You Are My Sunshine with the Timbers Army.
T is for Theater
See a play, musical or concert at an incredible Portland’5 venue like the Keller Auditorium.
Take in a PHAME performance and be moved by their extraordinary show. Want to do more?
U is for Understanding
Pick up a Street Roots newspaper and give a voice to social change.
is for Vineyards
Visit one of the many vineyards in the Columbia River Gorge or the Willamette Valley.
Want more?
Visit Gran Moraine for a beautiful wine country experience.
is for Wonder W
Help spread wonder by taking a child to OMSI or the Portland Children’s Museum.
X is for Exposed
Experience the World Naked Bike Ride and see how exposed an urban cyclist
can be.
7.2% of Portland commuters, or 17,000 people go to work by bike. This is the highest percentage of bike commuters in the country. Did you know?
Y is for Yoga
Be present with yourself and your surroundings by taking a yoga class.
Want to do more?
Take yoga to the next level and checkout a YAS class in The Pearl.
Zoo Z
The Give Backpack
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, every attendee will be outfitted with a Give Backpack filled with items donated by our generous partners. These gifts can be given away to make this place a bit more wonderful in some way. If we all feel inspired enough by today’s event, we can all act, and the power of these ideas will live on far beyond TEDxPortland 2016.
Take this page with you as you
A-Z Action Checklist
Visit an animal shelter.
Bike across a Portland bridge.
Experience Portland food culture.
See a dance performance.
Read a book with a child.
Help feed the hungry through Urban Gleaners.
Donate used electronics to Free Geek.
Hike through Forest Park.
Get fresh produce at Sauvie Island.
Ask your employer to “ban the box” on job applications.
Do something kind for a stranger.
Shop locally at the Portland Saturday Market.
Go mushroom hunting.
Knock on a new neighbor’s door.
Take a trip out to the Coast.
Play in a public park.
Take part in an LGBTQ event.
Go run and explore our beautiful city.
Sing with the Timbers Army.
Go to a theater.
Gain understanding by reading Street Roots
Visit a vineyard.
Visit a museum.
Experience the World Naked Bike Ride.
Take a yoga class.
Visit the Oregon Zoo.
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Our Community
45+ partners graciously give their time, services and resources to make this event possible. Special thanks go to our Presenting, Platinum and featured partners who go above and beyond.
University of Oregon
Regence
Tripwire
Henry V
Nike
Oregonian Media Group
Instrument
Premier Press
Stephouse Wireless
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Timberline
Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.
“Life engenders life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
Presenting Partner
SARAH BERNHARDT
“A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.”
JOHN LOCKE
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.”
STEPHEN HAWKING 105 Platinum Partner
Photo Credit: Rob Etzel Rob has been an employee at Tripwire for 15 years. He’s also a professional photographer and native Oregonian inspired by the beauty of Pacific Northwest landscapes.
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
LEWIS CARROLL
We are incredibly thankful to Henry V for the creative vision and production of our world-class stage design you see today.
Platinum Partner
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
E.E. CUMMINGS
“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing anything for anybody.”
MALCOM BANE
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
MAHATMA GANDHI
STEPHOUSE’S WIFI NETWORK BY THE NUMBERS
37,000,000: Unique social media impressions for TEDxPortland 2015.
7,000: Feet of ethernet cable needed to outfit the Keller Auditorium with WiFi.
1,800: Devices that accessed the TEDxPortland WiFi network in 2015.
100: Gigabytes of data transferred by last year’s attendees (equal to streaming 100 HD movies).
70: Hours required to install this year’s WiFi network.
30: Enterprise-grade, high-capacity wireless access points installed for today’s event.
1: TEDxPortland’s rank among social media trends in North America three years running.
“We believe that TEDxPortland is the most educational and inspirational day of the year. We feel honored and humbled to be a partner providing dedicated WiFi at the Keller Auditorium. For us, this job is like our Super Bowl — it is the biggest, most technical event execution for our team. We love to support ideas worth spreading.”
TYLER BOOTH, PRESIDENT – STEPHOUSE NETWORKS
Stumptown Coffee Roasters has been a proud partner of TEDxPortland since its inception in 2011.
Creative Collaborator
Last October, a 30-person TEDxPortland organizing team traveled up to Silcox Hut for an offsite retreat to dream, dare and design the theme of Year Six. At 7,000 feet, the air was thin and we had a clear, inspired vision of what Wonderland could mean to Portlanders.
We’d like to extend special thanks to Sally Kohnstamm and the folks at Timberline Lodge for making this trip possible. As the Milky Way lit our evening, we felt like we could touch the stars while envisioning a brighter Wonderland. Creative Collaborator
“Always remember your analog self in this digital world.”
BRIAN FAHERTY, SCHOOLHOUSE FOUNDER
A proud sponsor and alumnus of TEDxPortland
Board of Directors
Paul Anthony, Susan Hoffman, Renny Gleeson, Mark Starkey & David Rae
Advisory Team
Greg Bell, Karen Brooks, Stephen Marc Beaudoin, Al
James, Gene Sandoval & G Cody
QJ Goldberg
Licensee, Chief Curator & Host
David Rae
Leadership Team
Clare Ryan, Peter Achterman, Allen Hardin & Sophie Williams
Speaker Coaching Committee
Seth Walker, Renny Gleeson, Peter Achterman, Clare Ryan, Paul Anthony, Cathey Armillas, Kirsten Birkeland, Amy Wolff, Allen Hardin & David Rae
Creative & Digital
Instrument
Agency Executive Producer & Team Captain of #CRUSH
Megan Hughes
Creative Campaign & Book Design
Jordan Egstad
Strategy
Ravi Mongia & Bri Heu
Writers
Roberto Curtis & Zech Bard
Creative Direction
Steve Denekas
Website Development & Interactive
Scot Mortimer & John Brown
Campaign Creative
Photography
Ryan Garber
Illustration
Sheri Smith
Video Director
Truen Pence
Photography Directors
Ryan Garber & Shane McElroy
Video Producer
Olesya Moseyko
Music Composers
Evan Gütt, Steve Denekas & Ryan Peterson
Video Editor
Shane McElroy
TEDxPortland Studio Design Team
Daniel Westling, Jordan
Aftanas, Peter Adels, Michael Noe, Annatova Goodman, Kyle Fordham, Rad Smith & Jake
Holloman
Stage Design
Henry V
Back Stage Management
Really BIG Video – PJ &
Maria Harvey
PR & Communications
Kasia Hall
Social Media & Interactive
Kelsey Knecht
Volunteer Management
Molly McCluskey & Ben Ford
Keller Park Expo
Fuller Events – Christina & Tyler “King Kong” Fuller
Team Apparel & Signature Shoes
Peter Achterman, Adam
Welliver, Gemo Wong, Hyder Graphics & Nike
Performance Logistics
Clare Ryan
Our Team
Partner Night Appreciation
Molly McCluskey, Sophie Williams & Kelsey Nealeigh
Irving St. Kitchen Speaker Dinner
Pam Lloyd, Kelsey Nealeigh, Rosemary Stafford, Schoolhouse Electric Supply Co. & Client Joy
TEDxYouth @ Portland Mentorship University of Oregon, Matt Roberts, Allen Hardin, Benjamin Chait, Jordan Aftanas, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Really Big Video & Nike
6K Run Committee
Delaney Elliott, Sophie Williams, Collin Gilbert & Phillip Kirkland
6K Run Partners –June 23, 2016
Fuller Events, OMSI, The Great Society, Pinnacle Exhibits, Athlete Path, Rogue, KIND, Red Bull, LED LENSER, Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers, Postano & Really BIG Video
Legal Lisa Poplawski & Lane Powell
Accounting
Candace Clement & EY
Official Media Partner / LiveStream
Oregonian Media Group & OregonLive.com
Keller WiFi Install Stephouse Networks
Keller Green Room
Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.
Art Direction & Copy
Michael Noe
Videography & Post Production
Mario Soriano & Victory
Photography
Jenn Byrne, Seth Ian, Alex Wang & Victory
Creative Workspace
WeWork & 503
For First Believing In Us
Michael Doherty
We are very grateful to the staff of Portland’5 and Keller Auditorium. Your precision and professionalism continue to take us to new heights.
Our Volunteers
On behalf of 60+ passionate Portlanders who organize this event, we thank you for coming today and appreciate your commitment to spreading ideas in the Rose City and beyond.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
MARGARET MEAD
Advisory Team
The TEDxPortland Advisory Team is comprised of past speakers and performers who give us guidance, support and constructive feedback. They are our North Star. Special thanks go out to our following alumni:
Karen Brooks, speaker 2011
Gene Sandoval, speaker 2012
Greg Bell, speaker 2011
Al James, performer 2014
Stephen Marc Beaudoin, performer 2011
G Cody QJ Goldberg, speaker 2014
Photographers
Andy Best
Andy lives a nomadic lifestyle, using his camper as a mobile base camp to chase peaks and backcountry. He captures moments that evoke something within himself and his audience. Though always shooting, Andy never forgets to put down the camera and enjoy the fresh air.
www.andy.best
Intisar Abioto
Intisar’s portrait photography focuses on the diverse people of the African Diaspora. Read her full bio within the speaker section of the book.
www.intisarabioto.com
Special thanks go out to our Photography Partners who graciously donated their time, talent and portfolios to the creative development of our Wonderland theme. We featured their works throughout this event book, our website and the entire campaign. Andy, Intisar, Brian and Rob — thank you for gifting our attendees with your perspectives.
Brian Pemberton
Brian specializes in natural and urban landscapes. He loves the roar of waterfalls, the rhythmic crash of ocean waves and the quiet calm of night photography. He gravitates toward long exposures and is always on the lookout for small details that carry a big impact.
www.brianpembertonphotography.com
Rob Etzel
Rob is an Oregon native who has lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of his life. He is inspired by the landscapes that surround him. Majestic mountains, beautiful coastlines, high plains and deserts, and some of the world’s most bountiful farmland are his muses.
www.robetzel.com
Tom Brokaw, 2013
Kate Bingaman-Burt, 2013
Macklemore, 2014
Frank Moore, 2014
Thank you for joining us today.
The TED experience of listening to new ideas and spreading them elsewhere is what this is all about. We hope you were inspired today, maybe even transformed. We live in a wonderful place, we can sit back and watch the Rose City change or we can be active participants in making it better. Our collective voice and action is the heart and soul of Portland.
TEDxPortland Year Six is dedicated in loving memory to
May 8, 2014 – January 21, 2016
Otis Benedict Case