A Recap of TEDxBerkeley 2022 • We Weblog The World

Every year, I return with pleasure as a co-curator and producer of TEDxBerkeley, now in its twelfth yr. This yr, the theme was Kaleidoscope and the audio system talks mirror it in some distinctive means. Let’s check out a few of this yr’s audio system, all of whom introduced on the celebrated Zellerbach Corridor stage in Berkeley, California.

TEDxBerkeley staff on stage…

Cole Cuchna: The Energy of Listening. Musicians know that the artwork of listening is not only listening to the noise that fills an area but in addition the vacancy or silence between the noise, or if within the case of an instrument, between the notes being performed. I realized this after I moved from piano to guitar, the latter of which I may by no means fairly grasp. I additionally realized this in dancing (what we do after we aren’t stepping to a beat) and qigong and tai chi masters perceive this as properly. It comes all the way down to the artwork of listening. 

A passionate musician, Cole gave a chat on the facility of actually listening which permits magic to unfold, permitting us to consider the world another way. 

Cole Cuchna

His background: Cole studied classical composition on the College of Music at Sacramento State College, the place he graduated with honors and founding father of Dissect, a podcast that fused his teenage love for modern music with the educational evaluation expertise he realized in faculty. Every season analyzes the music, lyrics, and which means of a single album, with every episode devoted to a single music. After two seasons publishing independently, Cole joined Spotify and since then, Dissect was named a high podcast by numerous main media retailers.

Fyodor Urnov: Imagining CRISPR Cures.So what’s CRISPR, you ask? Consider it as a family of DNA sequences discovered within the genomes of prokaryotic organisms like archaea and micro organism for instance and it’s getting used as a “gene modifying software” to alter how ailments might be cured by altering the DNA. Utilizing CRISPR-based genome and epigenome modifying, his discuss was to get us all to rethink illness, particularly uncommon ailments and the way new developments with CRISPR and past, might be applied to deliver options to those that really feel there isn’t a hope or analysis/organizations listening to their ailments and doable cures. Fyodor’s discuss empowered us to decide to remedy for the small proportion of people that might have uncommon ailments and because of this, have misplaced hope.

His background: He’s Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology on the UC Berkeley and Director at its Revolutionary Genomics Institute, the place he leads the Middle for Translational Genomics and directs the Expertise & Translation division. As a pioneer within the area of therapeutic genome modifying, his analysis focuses on advancing genome modifying expertise and pushing the boundaries of how it may be utilized to resolve real-world biomedical issues. At Sangamo Therapeutics, Fyodor and his staff, demonstrated the primary use of native gene modifying in human cells and coined the time period “genome modifying.” Fyodor then led collaborative groups to determine at-scale functions of genome modifying for human somatic cell genetics and mannequin animal and crop reverse genetics.

Nina Davuluri: The Price of Magnificence from a Miss America. Should you’re a lady studying this and over the age of 40, you’ll resonate with a lot that Nina has to say concerning the pressures placed on you as a lady rising up within the 1960’s by means of the 1980’s, from conventional promoting to direct pressures in tutorial and social life. Add colour to being a lady throughout that point, and Nina’s challenges, particularly when you’ve moved into the general public eye and in her case, a really public eye as Miss America. She tells her personal story on stage, sharing many uncooked and weak moments and the impression it had on her emotional well being.

As I appeared round, I noticed teary eyes within the viewers and felt my very own for after we can shed the pores and skin of how others wish to understand us and even venture us to be, then we are able to stand in our purest type and permit our inner spirit to shine. Nina’s spirit shone brightly as she delivered the viewers such a profound present on April 9. It actually was a robust and riveting discuss that broke by means of the falsities and masks so many ladies have hid behind for a lot of their lives.

Her background: Nina is an acclaimed filmmaker, activist, actor, entrepreneur, and the primary South Asian to win Miss America. Her most up-to-date enterprise combines the community she has cultivated, her love for advocacy, and disrupting world magnificence requirements by producing her new documentary: COMPLEXion. Raised in a tradition delicate to pores and skin tones, Nina was hyper-aware of the pores and skin lightening business and the way it dramatically influences magnificence requirements, so she sought to redefine magnificence requirements by spearheading a marketing campaign towards colorism. This led to her sitting on the L’oreal Range & Inclusion Advisory Board. Nina has additionally labored with main expertise firms to additional their girls in STEM (Science, Expertise, Engineering, and Math) initiatives.

Nina Davuluri

Dr. Shamini Jain:We’re Wired to Heal Every Different: The Science of Interconnection. Her riveting discuss challenges reductionist considering by bringing the newest advancements in science, psychology and peer-reviewed analysis along with what they‘ve realized from her work on the Consciousness and Therapeutic Initiative (CHI), to point out simply how wired we’re, not simply to attach with one another however heal as properly. Put one other means, we’re a lot extra highly effective than we predict we’re and have the capacity to heal ourselves and others each emotionally and bodily.

Personally, we’ve seen this primary hand in our personal work, however to have information to again up what the traditional sages throughout cultures have taught and subscribed to for 1000’s of years, is a lesson for conventional drugs to do what it at all times ought to: problem, dig deeper for higher solutions and transfer past materialist views into world that deserves extra funding, assist and credibility. 

Dr. Shamini Jain

Her background:  She serves humanity as a psychologist, scientist, and social entrepreneur. Shamini is the founder and CEO of the Consciousness and Therapeutic Initiative (CHI), a nonprofit collaborative accelerator that connects scientists, well being practitioners, educators, and artists to assist lead humanity to heal ourselves which is the subject of her greatest promoting bookay: Therapeutic Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Way forward for Well being. She additionally serves as adjunct school at UC San Diego, the place she is an lively member of the UC San Diego Middle for Integrative Drugs’s Analysis Committee.

Dr. Julia Schaletzky: Overcharged and Underserved – Blind Spots in Healthcare. It is a private sizzling matter for me largely as a result of I’ve not solely skilled the atrocities as a affected person of the damaged healthcare system, however as a result of I additionally expertise the alternative — precise care with out worrying about going bankrupt for a easy process from dwelling in Europe.

Her discuss was exactly on that juxtaposition, utilizing an instance of 1 affected person to underline the problem: a easy process for a leg an infection which a easy antibiotic may have mounted ended up leading to a medical invoice half her annual wage. She ended with options, asking us to not be complacent however lively individuals in not succumbing to the present established order.

Her background: Julia is as interdisciplinary biomedical scientist and entrepreneur who’s lively each the non-public sector and academia, who’s keen on world public well being, well being fairness, and the governance of processes that find yourself influencing who will get care and who doesn’t. She is the Govt Director of the Middle for Rising and Uncared for Illnesses on the College of California, Berkeley, in addition to of the Drug Discovery Middle and Immunotherapy and Vaccine Analysis Initiative. She focuses on interdisciplinary approaches and public/non-public partnership for the invention and growth of latest therapies and instruments, notably for unmet medical wants. She has obtained NIH-funded grants to assist underrepresented minorities and girls in STEM within the U.S. and runs a program in Uganda to construct native analysis capability.

Dr. Julia Schaletzky

Nyesha Arrington: Id, Via the Lens of a Chef. After we consider meals, we frequently affiliate the visible memory of it and the style with a robust emotional expertise. Examples embody a singular dish you ate for the primary time out of the country, the consolation you felt out of your mom’s do-it-yourself recipe or a platter you shared with buddies at an vital anniversary or birthday.

Nyesha introduced all of it again to id by means of a myriad of fascinating methods, using examples from her personal life, beginning together with her first expertise with meals as a baby: her Korean grandmother on one facet and her American southern grandmother on the opposite facet. Not each youngster will get the chance to have such range at such a younger age and these reminiscences formed how she seen the world, her personal id and what she in the end wove into her personal recipes as a well-known chef.

Her background: She is an award successful chef and culinary artistic with an infinite ardour for the way components and custom deliver cultures collectively. She touts her earliest gig as sous chef to her Korean grandmother, as a robust and memorable means that she was in a position to follow her culinary arts at such an early age. Arrington has labored beneath Joël Robuchon at L’Atelier and The Mansion, was a fan favourite on Prime Chef Season 12 and went on to win Knife Struggle and Chef Hunter tv competitions. She is a steward of native produce, a meals waste warrior, was named a previous Zagat 30 beneath 30 honoree and above all, a culinary artist.

Coss Marte: The Energy of Untapped Expertise. For thus lengthy, humanity has stereotyped prisoners right into a class of undesirables, which places an ignorant blanket over everybody who stands behind bars. It hasn’t been established order for humanity to contemplate in any other case, by no means mind these in roles who may assist prisoners discover hope and switch their stay round.

Marte’s message is daring and robust as he has immediately demonstrated from his personal private experiences. He asserts that there’s a lot untapped expertise that when nurtured, is usually a proud examples to others, each inside and outdoors the prison system.

His background: He was ringleader of a multi-million greenback drug operation, a time wherein he was additionally overweight and warned by his doctor that if he didn’t change his life-style, he was heading towards dying. Confronted with this grim prognosis, Coss began to get in form utilizing the instruments he had — hellos prison cell and his personal physique weight. Within six months, he misplaced 70 kilos and replicated his profitable system of physique weight workouts with 20 different inmates. This led to the launch of CONBODY, a jail fashion bootcamp that gained over 70,000+ shoppers and has employed 50+ previously incarcerated people to show health lessons. Coss is now co-founder of Second Likelihood Studios, a non-profit which trains and helps make use of previously incarcerated people to turn into specialists in audio engineering, video manufacturing, and podcasting.

Brian Swimme: The Third Story of the Universe. This discuss was about one thing Brian refers to because the Noosphere, which a lot of you will have doubtless not heard of. I actually hadn’t earlier than listening to his first run by means of throughout our TEDxBerkeley rehearsals. As Brian describes in his discuss, “Opinions vary from the concept the noosphere is just an interconnected community of computer systems all the best way to the radical notion that the noosphere is an entity, a brand new type of world organism.” Amongst different examples, he makes use of the construction of the James Webb Area Telescope because the noosphere in motion as an impartial entity.

Brian Swimme

His background: Brian is a Director of the nonprofit, Third Story at Human Vitality and a professor on the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program, the place he often teaches and speaks on quite a lot of matters associated to the universe, gravitational dynamics and past. His published work contains the favored YouTube video sequence, The Story of the Noosphere, written with Monica DeRaspe-Bolles, The Universe is a Inexperienced Dragon, The Universe Story written with Thomas Berry, The Hidden Coronary heart of the Cosmos, and The Journey of the Universe written with Mary Evelyn Tucker. Swimme teamed with Tucker and David Kennard to provide “Journey of the Universe,” an Emmy-winning movie launched in 2011.

Alexandr Wang: Why AI Will By no means Substitute People. Drawing upon his background at MIT, which mixed each math and IT, his discuss was targeted on synthetic intelligence (AI) which aimed to deal with among the fears that so many individuals have across the notion that AI will ultimately change people. From sci-fi movie scary situations to actual examples of robots replacing jobs once occupied by human beings, every of us has their very own threshold of accepting 0AI into our future lives. He cited examples of why he feels it should by no means be the case.

Alexandr Wang

His background: Alex is the founding father of Scale whereas at MIT, the place he studied mathematics and pc science, he found the potential of AI, which led to founding an organization dedicated to crconsuming long-term AI methods by offering highly effective AI information and instruments. He acknowledged that he may speed up firms’ talents to deploy AI by combining a machine learning-powered information labeling system with human perception to make sure fashions are educated on high-quality, trusted datasets. The identical firm has grown to a $7 billion valuation, serving tons of of shoppers throughout a number of industries.

Dr. Laura Esserman: WISDOM: Assuring Tomorrow is Higher than As we speak. Her discuss struck an emotional chord for me. Why? As a result of like numerous girls, we’ve all been touched by breast most cancers and though it was nearer for me (my grandmother and mom), we‘ve all doubtless misplaced somebody to or been one step faraway from the impression of breast most cancers. Esserman asserts that we’ve been utilizing outdated strategies for screening which not like different developments on this planet (from the iPhone and automobiles to journey reserving and past), merely hasn’t developed, therefore her title.

WISDOM stands for its true definition but in addition for a Knowledge Examine, which assessments a personalised method to breast most cancers screening in 100,000 girls, which she inspired girls to hitch. The examine helps to maneuver the needle ahead to the present century, permitting us to actually display in a means that’s distinctive to every girl, relatively than dumping us into the identical buckets. She makes use of easy however profound examples throughout industries to exemplify her level, whereas asking us to assist transfer a brand new mind-set ahead. In different for change to occur, a PUSH must occur on either side, in any other case we are able to by no means be empowered to be lively individuals in our therapeutic course of.

Her background: Laura is a health care provider and internationally-recognized visionary whose work is all about revolutionizing breast most cancers screening. She serves as Director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Middle, the place her work is dedicated to growing new, more practical methods to take care of and empower breast most cancers sufferers throughout therapy. She led the creation of the University of California Breast Well being Community, a studying system designed to combine medical care and analysis because it follows 150,000 girls from screening by means of therapy and outcomes. Her breast most cancers work spans a spectrum from fundamental science to public coverage points and the impression of each on the supply of medical care, empowering sufferers to turn into companions in their very own well being care.

Grace Gu: From Nature to AIs: Higher Supplies for Higher Lives. This discuss woke me as much as something I don’t consider in my each day life and fairly frankly, except you’re in the sphere of fabric sciences, its unlikely in your radar both. Grace Gu is dedicated to constructing a greater, extra sustainable world by means of supplies discovery and manufacturing and makes use of AI and different improvements to do it.

Her discuss began out with a easy bridge, utilizing it for example of one thing that requires a severe consideration of “materials” for it must be sturdy sufficient to be secure sufficient to face up to 1000’s of kilos over a few years. There are numerous different supplies we don’t take into consideration, similar to what goes right into a tooth filling or an implant. Grace pointed to nature as a means for us to study however then moved onto AI as a option to advance the needle in highly effective methods, together with past our present realm of linear considering.    

Her background: Grace serves as a professor ​​at UC Berkeley and leads the Gu Analysis Lab which goals to create supplies with customizable properties and functionalities throughout a large spectrum of functions, together with light-weight aerospace buildings, resilient biomedical gadgets, and versatile bioinspired actuators. Gu and her staff attempt to facilitate a path for on-demand supplies fabrication on this ever-expanding world by means of smarter, extra sustainable, and accessible 3D-printing strategies pushed by synthetic intelligence. Gu obtained her PhD and MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Michigan. She has obtained numerous awards and was named one in all MIT Expertise Evaluate 35 Innovators beneath 35 within the class of Pioneer.

Ien Chi: Cease Making an attempt to Change Your self. Ien takes us on a journey of his life and touches upon psychological well being as properly and his challenges of his life as an entrepreneur and by no means feeling as if he was sufficient. This goes again to the frequent phrase in some religious circles: self-love, it begins right here. After we are consistently attempting to alter ourselves to satisfy the wants of others round us — to belong, to be accepted, to really feel cherished — we’re in consistently turmoil as a result of hardly ever from that place, are we within the current second.

After we are within the current second, we cease trying on the world by means of “what if’s” or “if solely I used to be like this or may very well be like this” and we merely settle for life for what it’s, in all of its stunning and various valleys. From that place comes acceptance and self-love. There’s no have to exert effort on altering ourselves or altering others, for with it solely comes struggling.

His background: Ien is Chief Artistic of Mindset, a venture-backed wellness platform at DIVE Studios geared toward revealing the deeper humanity of celebrities by means of extra weak audio-based storytelling. He’s the previous Artistic Director of Jubilee, the place he led the staff to make a few of YouTube‘s extra standard reveals similar to Center Floor, Spectrum, Odd Man Out, and Versus 1 – which have collectively garnered 1B+ views.

Zuriel Oduwole: Elevating Your Palms Excessive. As a younger entrepreneur and advocate, Zuriel is just not a newcomer to a stage since she has been asking robust questions and talking to luminaries since a baby. Her voice has been an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of women, girls and households, around the globe and Zuriel’s discuss was easy, not advanced, which is likely one of the issues that made it so compelling. What number of of you bear in mind sitting in a classroom, a seminar, a lecture or perhaps a social setting, however have been afraid to voice your reality?

Maybe you didn’t have the boldness to even ask a query, which is exactly what she asserts is important in an effort to transfer you from feeling insignificant to the actually highly effective particular person that you’re. Put one other means, all of us deserve a voice and we’re all good sufficient (and worthy sufficient) to warrant a spot on any stage, nevertheless massive or small. Merely elevating your hand excessive is pivotal to getting there, for it crosses us over an vital bridge: the one which stands between the invisibles and the visibles. What’s going to you select?

Her background: Zuriel is named the world’s youngest filmmaker, however much more identified for her worldwide growth work and advocacy for ladies’ training in Africa. On the age of 10, she was listed amongst 33 girls who had modified the world by ELLE Journal. Oduwole has met with over 30 world leaders to deal with International Social Improvement and Training Challenges, has spoken in 19 international locations concerning the energy of training and addressed COP23 delegates in Bonn, demonstrating the confluence between local weather change and training. When she is just not advocating for ladies’ training, she teaches a filmmaking class for unemployed younger girls, a program she has now delivered in Ghana, Ethiopia, Mexico, Côte D’Ivoire, and Namibia.

Poulomi Saha: Indian Spirituality on the Coronary heart of Early America. Not everybody might notice that Indian Spirituality is deeply rooted in American society and that is the place her discuss took us: to the guts of it. She factors to examples in American historical past together with the fascination in Indian spirituality by early presidents similar to Thomas Jefferson.

Her background: Poulomi is a professor at UC Berkeley and a scholar of postcolonial research, ethnic American literature, and important concept, she has carried out analysis that span eastward and ahead from the late nineteenth century decline of British colonial rule within the Indian Ocean by means of to the Pacific and the rise of American world energy and home race relations within the twentieth century. Her e book, Fascination: America’s “Hindu” Cults considers the attract and scandal of Indian spirituality in America. She writes and teaches about gender, sexuality, race, and empire.

Performers have been equally highly effective.  Let’s begin with the one who shook up all the viewers and received everybody up dancing and singing together with his electrical character and vibrant vitality. Ace Patterson, also referred to as Name Me Ace, is a Billboard-charting hip-hop artist, music tech skilled and artistic entrepreneur who challenges the established order. His music covers a myriad of sociocultural matters drawn from his personal life experiences, together with: the necessity for range and fairness within the office, psychological well being struggles, the first-generation immigrant’s dilemma, the challenges of constructing generational wealth, persevering by means of intense adversity, and extra. I LOVED his efficiency as he took us all on a various rollercoaster from participatory experiences to disappointment, anger, humility, wrestle and humor all in beneath fifteen minutes. Enuf stated: Wow is the end line.

Name Me Ace launched his debut album, Airplane Mode (2019), which debuted #3 on the iTunes Prime 40 US Hip-Hop Album and #50 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Gross sales charts. In June 2020, Ace launched Working From House: Prolonged and donated 100% of the proceeds (over $10,000) in the direction of combating the criminalization of Black and Brown communities within the USA. Bravo bravo!

We additionally had a compelling dance efficiency from the AFX Dance troupe which was based by Ping Quach, Geoffrey Chen, and Rosemary Hua to present dancers a chance to study and take part in dance tradition and be a part of an ongoing group. Their title AFX displays their three pillars—Aspirations, Household, Expertise—and their philosophy of making a household setting for dancers to construct up the boldness and assist to achieve new heights.

Ballet Folklorico Reflejos de Mexico, known as “Reflejos”, additionally graced us with their expertise. They’re a Mexican folklorico dance group that promotes cultural range at UC Berkeley and within the larger San Francisco/Bay space. Their purpose is to teach others about Mexican and Latino tradition by means of music, artwork, and dance.

The Fei Tian Dancers gave us a wholly completely different dance fashion. They’re the one and solely Chinese language dance staff at UC Berkeley. As a Registered Scholar Group, they purpose to deliver extra consciousness of Chinese language classical and ethnic cultures to the larger group and of their artwork, they incorporate classical, ethnic and fashionable Chinese language dances into its repertoire by means of a mix of unique choreography and conventional works.

[email protected] carried out 4 items for us as properly. They’ve carried out fashionable works by composers within the Bay Space similar to Michael Nicholas, Daniel Leo, and Anica Galindo. I used to be amused to listen to Mama Mia, my first time listening to it by 4 cellists. I’ve to confess, I actually did wish to stand up and dance and I sensed others round me who wished to do the identical.

Lastly, let’s not neglect voice. I‘ve at all times been a fan of a cappella and thrilled that every yr, we‘ve at all times had an a cappella group efficiency. This yr, the honors went to Drawn to Scale, an all gender a cappella group based at UC Berkeley.

In fact, this unbelievable occasion isn’t doable with no staff and I used to be so proud to see how properly our TEDxBerkeley pupil staff did this yr. It was a monumental and built-in effort that makes our occasions shine yr after yr. Keep in mind too, that this was our first stay occasion since they pandemic restrictions have lifted. All I can say is bravo bravo bravo! Be certain to not miss subsequent yr’s occasion — we’ll be posting hyperlinks to the speaker’s talks as soon as the movies have been processed.

The Speaker Dinner

Under is a shot taken of our casual speaker dinner the place we introduced audio system with a token of our thanks, which included artistic portraits accomplished by artist Jeremy Sutton who is thought for his mixture of mixing conventional inventive strategies with the digital world. He’s additionally the creator of Fractal Design Painter Artistic Strategies and the Painter 4 Video Coaching Sequence.

Nina Davuluri receives presents at speaker dinner

Sonali, Renee, Shamini, Jeremy on the speaker dinner

Nyesha Arrington on the speaker dinner with the curators and Jeremy

Dr. Laura Esserman and Jeremy Sutton

Behind the Scenes

Now, let’s take a look behind the scenes…

Coss Marte at rehearsal

Sonali and Amisha, co-curators on stage

Grace Wu and Sonali Loomba throughout rehearsal

Speaker dinner: Sonali Loomba, Amisha Wadhwa, Renee Blodgett, Grace Wu, Jeremy Sutton (from L to R)

Encouragement and follow earlier than efficiency…

2022 Co-Curators & Producers: Amisha Wadhwa, Renee Blodgett and Sonali Loomba (from L to R)

Founder

Renee Blodgett is the founding father of We Weblog the World. The location combines the magic of a web-based tradition and journey journal with a worldwide weblog community and has contributors from each continent on this planet. Having lived in 10 international locations and explored almost 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural range.

She can be the CEO and founding father of Magic Sauce Media, a brand new media providers consultancy targeted on viral advertising and marketing, social media, branding, occasions and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped firms from 12 international locations get traction out there. Recognized for her world and natural method to product and company launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an lively consumer of social media, she helps shoppers navigate digital waters from around the globe. Renee has been running a blog for over 16 years and often writes on her private weblog Down the Avenue, Huffington Put up, BlogHer, We Weblog the World and different websites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Journal and is listed as a brand new media influencer and sport changer on varied websites and books on the brand new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed because the sixth most influential girl in social media by Forbes Journal on a Prime 20 Listing.

Her ardour for artwork, storytelling and pictures led to the launch of Magic Sauce Images, which is a visible extension of her writing, the results of which has led to producing six picture books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.

Renee can be the co-founder of Touring Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to different international locations to share and study from friends, governments, companies, and most of the people in an effort to educate, share, consider, and promote revolutionary applied sciences.