TEDxDetroit Celebrates Sweet 16; Announces Speakers

TEDxDetroit, the electrifying annual event that brings together the brightest minds in Michigan, is back for its 16th year on September 18 at Wayne State Field House. This year's event promises to be bigger and bolder, showcasing cutting-edge ideas and featuring a dynamic lineup of speakers who are reshaping the future of their fields. Tickets are on sale now for this must-attend event.

TEDxDetroit welcomes thousands of attendees from around the region for a one-day celebration of storytelling and the human experience. The TEDx format features inspiring, short talks from dozens of creative minds all designed to spark fresh thinking and collaborations.

“Michigan is a hub for creativity and innovation with more engineers, more artists, and more entrepreneurs dreaming up the future,” said Charlie Wollborg, curator of TEDxDetroit. “This whole day is designed to spark all of us to put our ideas into action.”

Previous TEDxDetroit events have highlighted flying cars, medical innovations, and groundbreaking technologies alongside a host of poets, performers, and community leaders. This eclectic mix of speakers and performers is something only seen at TEDxDetroit.

“TEDxDetroit has celebrated the hallmarks of forward progress: ideation, innovation, and inspiration for 15 years,” said Terry Bean, TEDxDetroit Executive Producer. “After every event I think ‘there's no way it can get better than this,’ and I'm looking forward to being proven wrong once again on September 18.”

Confirmed speakers for this year include:

• Steve Acho - Technology Staffing Professional & Speaker
• Charity - Artist, Singer & Songwriter
• Jen Brace - Chief Futurist, Ford Motor Company
• Al Bettis - Singer, Songwriter & Speaker
• Crystal Brown - CEO & Co-Founder, CircNova Biotechnology
• Zachery Dereniowski - Content Creator, Onefluent (MDMOTIVATOR)
• Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi - Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Jennifer Dukarski - Shareholder, Attorney & Engineer, Butzel
• Darrick Ervin II - Comedian, Okay To Laugh & Mortgage Banker
• Tim Finkel - Comedian & Educator, Cengage Learning
• Joel Fluent Greene - Poet, Author & Event Producer
• Kimberley Hanke - Founder & CEO, Elm Park Labs
• Nikunj Jain - Cleantech Founder, Thought Labs
• Neil Jones - Video Game Developer & Founder, Aerial Knight
• Tom Kuntzleman - Assistant Professor of Teaching - Chemistry, Wayne State University ("Tommy Technetium")
• Chris Lambert - Founder & CEO, Life Remodeled
• Dana Lowell - CEO & Co-Founder, LilyPad Labs
• Imani Ma'at - Dancer, Artist, Filmmaker & Educator, Flip the Switch 529
• Bethany Mach - Chief Operations Officer, Spacely
• José Maldonado - Founder & CEO, Pink Teddy AR
• Brandon Martin - Founder, Reaction Technologies
• Scott Monty - Speaker & Communications Strategist, Scott Monty Strategies
• Anna Przybylski - Content Creator & Author, "Keep it Up, Cutie" (@akprzy)
• Michelle Red - Ad Exec & World Traveler, Multicultural Musings
• Randy Roberts - Founder, Auraloids
• Nick Seluk - Author & Illustrator, The Awkward Yeti
• George Tait - Storyteller, Mentalist & Deception Expert, Mind Tapped Productions
• Elizabeth Toye - Educator, DPS
• Joshua Wilde - Magician & Owner, The Wunderground Magic Shop
• Asim Williams - Technology Leader & Educator, Ahdeah Labs & Google Code Next

Another interesting facet of the event is TEDxLabs, showcasing homegrown tech, art, and small businesses. It’s part business expo, part art gallery, and part science fair. Attendees can demo new tech, sample local cuisine, buy from local artisans, and meet the speakers in between sessions during TEDxDetroit.

“TEDxLabs is a vibrant ecosystem where AI, immersive technologies, and human creativity collide, sparking innovation. It's a testament to the power of the diverse minds in our community,” said Anu Gopalakrishnan, TEDxDetroit Labs Director and Executive Producer. “The energy is pretty contagious when you see these ideas interweave, creating a tapestry of new startups that's nothing short of magical."

Tickets for TEDxDetroit 2024 are now on sale at TEDxDetroit.com.

About TEDxDetroit:

TEDxDetroit is one of the oldest and largest TEDx events in the world. Started in 2009, the independently organized event has featured more than 250 doctors, filmmakers, educators, engineers, poets, and game changers hailing from Detroit and The Great Lakes State. TEDxDetroit will feature a full day of talks, performances, and hands-on, interactive labs, all designed to foster collaboration and inspire creativity. Attendees can expect to immerse themselves in an experience unlike any other. Follow TEDxDetroit on Twitter(@TEDxDetroit), Facebook (facebook.com/TEDxDetroit), and LinkedIn.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED Conferences, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organised TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of TED Talks are published to TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; The Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TED Translators Program, which crowdsources the subtitling of TED Talks so that big ideas can spread across languages and borders; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also offers TED@Work a program that reimagines TED Talks for workplace learning. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala and How to Be a Better Human.