TEDxCharleston Announces Speaker Line Up For 2014 Conference

The organizers of TEDxCharleston have announced the speaker line up for this year's event. Scheduled for Apr. 8, 2014, the theme is Ripple Effect, and the speakers were chosen for their ideas that are designed to create a lasting, ongoing ripple effect in areas such as the environment, education, parenting, philanthropy, technology, arts, healthcare and more.

TEDxCharleston is operated under a license from TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, the local independently produced event is an all-day immersion experience at the intersection of science, art, performance and business.

"We are thrilled to announce these speakers," said Edith Howle, curator of TEDxCharleston, in a release. "We know there are many unheard voices in the Charleston area and all of these speakers have an idea worth sharing. Our goal for this event was to gather inspiring people with diverse ideas that can have exponential impact on our community and our world. It's clear that with a line up like this, we've done just that. We all look forward to their talks and to being moved and motivated."

Teresa Bruce, a one-time Olympic hopeful turned memoirist and screenwriter -- and former Ogilvy PR executive -- will emcee the event. She was a featured speaker at TEDxCharleston 2013. The TEDxCharleston 2014 speakers and entertainers include:

• Lisa Abernathy, 2014 Artist: An acupuncturist, herbalist, and papercut artist, inspired by Chinese medicine and Southern storytelling, who creates work that emphasizes the parallels between human emotions and the natural landscape.
• Annex Dance Company: A classical modern dance company with an edge, that supports and promotes all the arts through performance, collaboration, education and outreach.
• Laura Ball: A music director, composer, vocalist, collaborative pianist, teacher and performer, who founded and serves as creative director of the UNED!TED Interdisciplinary Arts Concert Series.
• Jill Siegal Chalsty: A filmmaker, writer, and award-winning expert in conflict resolution, who founded Community for Education Foundation, and has brought its Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program to millions of students.
• Heather Collins, Ph.D.: A cognitive neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and biostatistician, passionate about communicating science to the public.
• Ronald Daise: An author, performing artist, former Chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, and current Vice President for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens, where he presents the "Gullah Geechee Program Series."
• Derreck Kayongo: Founder of the Global Soap Project, a child refugee who grew up to be an innovative leader for international, social change, and was named a CNN Hero in 2011.
• Hunter Legerton: An Academic Magnet High School student whose love for the natural environment and sustainable engineering has led him to design a cutting-edge, modular green roof.
• Vince Musi: An award-winning photographer for National Geographic and numerous other international magazines, whose wit, expansive knowledge, and reverence for the history of photography make him a popular teacher and emcee.
• Ben Navarro: Founder and CEO of Sherman Financial Group, whose philanthropic venture, Meeting Street Academy, provides college-prep education to under-resourced students in South Carolina.
• Kate Nevin: A portfolio manager and arts-spaces creator, who founded Enough Pie, a nonprofit that supports creative placemaking and community development.
• Edward O'Bryan, M.D.: An emergency medicine doctor, who cofounded the Palmetto Medical Initiative, a global nonprofit that provides sustainable healthcare to those in need.
• Jorge Roig: A law professor, attorney, and writer, whose scholarship centers on emerging technologies' impact on "speech" under the First Amendment.
• Andrew Roskill: A serial entrepreneur and a digital community advocate, who is founder and CEO of BiblioLabs, a software and media company focused on helping libraries provide cool and engaging digital products.
• Taiko Charleston: A dynamic musical art form, grounded in core aspects of the martial arts, dance and percussion, and infused with intensity, precision, strength, and a sense of celebration.
• Greg Tavares: A comedic actor, director, educator, author, and co-founder of Theatre 99.
• Graham Whorley: A singer, songwriter, instrumental virtuoso, and looping maestro, whose music touches upon universal themes of love, life, and hard-knock lessons learned along the way.
• John Wilson: A championship-winning soccer player on the Charleston Battery, and an advocate for the importance of fun, play, and passion in work and life.
• Louis Yuhasz: Crusader against childhood obesity, who founded and executive-directs the nonprofit, Louie's Kids.

TEDxCharleston will take place on April 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St., Charleston. Lunch and a reception are included. Individual tickets are $65 through March 1 and $80 after that. Up to 350 tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis and may be purchased at www.tedxcharleston.org.

Videos from the 2013 TEDxCharleston event are online at www.tedxcharleston.org/2013-speakers.