2021 EVENT

Streaming on August 25th and 26th, the third component of our Humanity triptych: “Humanity: The Repatriation.” We have been ripped apart from one another in every way in the last year: by disease, economics, race, politics, and beyond. Through “Humanity: The Repatriation,” TEDxWrigleyville will showcase the return home that 2021 represents. That return takes many forms and shapes, but at its core is re-connection we all longed for throughout 2020.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Ziegler

Elizabeth “Betsy” Ziegler
“Activating Our Global Brain”
A lifelong problem solver and CEO of 1871 (the number 1 ranked private tech incubator in the world), Betsy is joins TEDxWrigleyville to explore with us all the ways in which math can be used to democratize idea generation and activate our global brain.
Read Full Bio

Bradley Ross Nardick

Bradley Ross Nardick
“We Are the Open Door”
The president of The Bazaar, Inc. and passionate inclusion activist demonstrates how inclusion creates a virtuous cycle for companies, the people involved in them, and the communities they touch. We are grateful to present this important talk in the most accessible manner possible, thanks to Ms. Shelly Engstrom-Kestel, the sign language interpreter standing behind him.
Read Full Bio

Eileen Favorite

Eileen Favorite
“Can You Love the Art While Hating the Artist”
A renowned novelist and literature professor, whose works have been translated into six languages and revered globally, Eileen spent the last 20 years asking how the biographical details of an artist’s life influence our attitude toward their work. In this talk, she presents a nuanced, inquisitive, and inclusive analysis of cancel culture.
Read Full Bio

Clarisol Duque

Clarisol Duque
“An American Dream of Home”
Prior to being named the State Director for United States Senator Dick Durbin, she served as Sen. Durbin’s Chief of Staff for 21 years, during which time she served, in many ways, as the genesis of the Dream Act. Clarisol, who has frequently been “in the room where it happens,” joins us to discuss what it is to be American.

Cosette Nazon-Wilburn & Nicolaus David Wilburn

Cosette Nazon-Wilburn & Nicolaus David Wilburn
“The Marriage of Peace and Love”
An African-Native American wellness coach started driving for Uber to model peace and demonstrate his belief that all humans can be each other’s medicine; While his wife, a humanitarian and the CEO of the LUV Institute, utilizes public art and collective healing methods to mend the hearts of entire communities. The two work in tandem, as micro and macro should, to positively impact the world and inspiring us to do the same.

Hari M Osofsky

Hari M. Osofsky
“Innovation Through Inclusion”
The Dean of Northwestern Pritzker Law School and a recognized leader in legal technology, teaches us that even in critical moments when decisive leadership is key, we develop better solutions when we include insights from people with relevant expertise.

Jeni Britton

Jeni Britton
“A Love Letter To Future Entrepreneurs”
The genius behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and widely recognized as one of the most creative people in business today, Jeni joins us to explore the transformative power of entrepreneurial creativity, curiosity, and culinary innovation.
Read Full Bio

Dr. Keneeshia Willaims

Dr. Keneeshia Williams
“The Prosperity of Investment: A Journey From Murder Witness to Trauma Surgeon”
The life of this acclaimed trauma surgeon from Englewood spans from seeing people shot to digging bullets out of them in the ER. She uses her life experience and medical expertise to offer non-divisive, proven solutions to gun violence in America.
Read Full Bio

Manny Mendoza

Manny Mendoza
“How Legal Cannabis Can Heal and Regenerate Our Communities”
Chicago’s most famous south side cannabis chef joins us to discuss how and why we, as a society, should use legal cannabis to heal and regenerate the communities most affected by the war on drugs.
Read Full Bio

Dr. Jay Kumar

Dr. Jay Kumar
“How to Heal America’s Traumatized Brain”
What do America, as a nation, and the human brain, as an organ, have in common? This happiness expert and brain science researcher uses our understanding of the human brain suffering complex PTSD to reveal the trauma of America as a nation and offer solutions for healing our democracy.
Read Full Bio

Miranda Gonzalez

Miranda Gonzalez
“The Fear of Decolonization”
Is the arts world, still very much ruled by the old guard, ready for decolonizing? This artistic director and DEI consultant inspires the arts world to rethink its past, present, and future, by revealing that decolonizing the arts sector first begins with decolonizing our individual selves.
Read Full Bio

Patricia Frazier

Jellystone Robinson-Frazier

“Divorcing Loneliness and the Dangers of Performing”
A black trans lesbian and eldest sibling from the south side of Chicago with a B.A. in community organizing from the accredited university of their granny’s house. They have held many roles, including Chicago and National Youth Poet Laureate, and join TEDxWrigleyville to discuss the joys and challenges of self-expression.
Read Full Bio

Shelton Banks

Shelton Banks
“Reworking the Wage Gap”
From a low-income neighborhood in the south side of the Windy City, a.k.a. City of Broad Shoulders and deep-dish pizza, Shelton has turned a blue-collar hustle into a white collar hoodie. This brilliant CEO of Rework Training discusses how to rework the wage gap and empower overlooked communities by infusing philanthropy into business development.
Read Full Bio

Catherine Mysliwiec
“How to Heal America’s Traumatized Brain”
A Communication Studies major at Chapman University, Catherine joins us to discuss America’s unspoken, unhealed ancestral trauma over identity and belonging ㄧ a trauma which has both spurred social movements throughout American history and has also been commonly erased, revised, and otherwise unintegrated in America’s collective consciousness.
Read Full Bio

K. F. Jacques
“We’ll Never Give Up”
Read Full Bio

Mathilda Edge
National Anthem
Read Full Bio

Melissa Duprey
Master of Ceremonies
Read Full Bio

Zeeba Kruse
“Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

Pierce Kruse
“Kids Revealing Joy”

AUGUST 25TH

TEDx Intro Video
Shermin Kruse: Intro
Melissa Duprey: Intro

–  Mathilda Edge: National Anthem
1. Patricia Frazier: “Divorcing Loneliness and the Dangers of Performing”
2. Eileen Favorite: “Can You Love the Art While Hating the Artist”
–   K.F. Jacques: “We’ll Never Give Up”
3. Nicolaus David Wilburn & Cosette Nazon-Wilburn: “The Marriage of Peace and Love”
4. Hari M. Osofsky: “Innovation Through Inclusion”
–   Pierce Kruse: “Kids Revealing Joy”
5. Jeni Britton: “A Love Letter To Future Entrepreneurs”
6. Dr. Keneeshia Williams: “The Prosperity of Investment: A Journey From Murder Witness to Trauma Surgeon”
–  Zeeba Kruse: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
7. Dr. Jay Kumar: “How to Heal America’s Traumatized Brain”

Shermin Kruse: Closing Remarks

AUGUST 26TH

TEDx Intro Video
Shermin Kruse: Intro
Melissa Duprey: Intro

–  Mathilda Edge: National Anthem
1. Elizabeth “Betsy” Ziegler: “Activating Our Global Brain”
–   K.F. Jacques: “We’ll Never Give Up”
2.
Shelton Banks: “Reworking the Wage Gap”
–   TACO Reel
3. Miranda Gonzalez: “The Fear of Decolonization”
–   Pierce Kruse: “Kids Revealing Joy”
4.
Manny Mendoza: “How Legal Cannabis can Heal and Regenerate our Communities”
–   Reinventability Reel
5.
Bradley Ross Nardick: “We Are the Open Door”
–   Addison and Clark Reel
–  Zeeba Kruse: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
6. Clarison Duque
: “An American Dream of Home”

Shermin Kruse: Closing Remarks

PERFORMANCES

“We’ll Never Give Up”

TEDxWrigleyville presents the brilliant and multi-faceted opera and rap music recording artist K.F. Jacques in an original composition, music video, and fashion installment in collaboration with AKIRA Chicago. Fueled with an anti-hate message, KF will remind us all to never give up, despite the prejudice and disparity we face in the world. TEDxWrigleyville is honored to join voices with those standing in solidarity with equality and peace. 

“National Anthem”

Well, it just wouldn’t be right to begin an event that’s filmed in the iconic Wrigley Field with anything other than the national anthem. Lucky for us, the brilliant Mathilda Edge joins us, representing another iconic Chicago institution, the Lyric Opera House, as one of their remarkably talented dramatic sopranos. 

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame”

Zeeba Kruse is a budding poet, movie-maker, scientist, writer, and singer. Since we come to you from not just any ballpark, but the iconic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, Zeeba joins us to sing the very traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!”

“Kids Revealing Joy”

TEDxWrigleyville celebrates Humanity’s Repatriation – our return home. But how did our cutest population, our young children, get through the pandemic isolation of 2020? The charismatic speaker and brilliant chess player, Pierce Kruse, interviews a few of those kids to show us all that sometimes, even in the darkest times, joy is found in the smallest of moments.

HELP US STAY IN TOUCH