Reading, Writing, and Reflecting

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. They maintain a must visit website featuring inspired talks from leading thought leaders.   Local TED groups (designated by TEDx) organize and hold their own events following the spirit of TED’s mission.   This past weekend, I had the good fortune to attend TEDxBerkeley’s conference– Engaging the World,  at the UC Berkeley campus.

The list of speakers:

Chip Conley is the founder and executive chairman of Joie de Vivre, California’s largest boutique hotel company consisting of over 40 award-winning hotels, spas and restaurants.

Jason R. Atwood is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley and the director of Ethiopia ConnectED, an education initiative inspired by TEDster Sugata Mitra’s research on self-organized learning environments.

David Rose is a product designer, technology visionary, and serial entrepreneur. Currently David is Chief Executive Officer at Vitality, a company reinventing medication packaging with wireless technology.

Marti Spiegelman, MFA is a training professional, mentor, speaker, and founder and host of Awakening Value™: Shamanic Technologies of Consciousness and Success on the VoiceAmerica™ Web Radio Network.

Erin Keown Ganju is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Room to Read, an organization that seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in the developing world by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

Bryan Alvarez is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, researching brain-based and cognitive mechanisms of a unique form of sensory-blending called synesthesia, which he also experiences.

Lopa Brunjes is a biochar pioneer, passionate sustainability advocate, and visionary businesswoman. Lopa currently serves as Executive VP of Biochar Engineering Corp, a small Colorado company defining the leading edge of the burgeoning biochar industry.

Walter Hood is a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design Department. His studio, Hood Design, has been engaged in architectural commissions, urban design, art installations, and research since 1992.

Robert Fuller, former president of Oberlin College and author of Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank, coined the term “rankism” and is a leader in the worldwide quest for human dignity.

Gopi Kallayil is a Group Product Marketing Manager at Google supporting the marketing of the Company’s flagship advertising product, AdWords, in the Americas and Asia Pacific. He supports the company’s go-to market strategy and adoption of Google search advertising products.

Shore Slocum conducts Speakers Boot Camps and has inspired tens of thousands annually with his sincere caring, powerful energy, deep wisdom, and his passion in the belief that we are all meant to create a life of fulfillment and meaning.

David Silverman is an animator and was involved with the animated TV series The Simpsons from the very beginning, where he animated all of the original Simpsons Tracy Ullman shorts and went on to serve as director of animation for several years.

Anat Baniel is the founder of the Anat Baniel Method(sm) and the director of the ABM Center in Marin County, California, where she and her colleagues teach professional training programs, workshops and see private clients.

It was an enjoyable afternoon of learning and inspiration.  I live-tweeted the event (until my phone battery ran out).  Here are my tweets and others highlighting some of the nuggets of wisdom imparted from the speakers.

For, a detailed write up of all of the events, see this recap.

A great day of learning.  Can’t wait until the next TED event!