With just one day to go before TEDxMidAtlantic 2011, we’re putting the final preparations in place for what’s shaping up to be a day to remember. Because we’re aiming to completely fill the day with amazing moments, we also need you to be prepared. Here’s what you need to know:
Come Rested
It’s going to be a packed day from sunrise to sunset with only a couple breaks for coffee and lunch. Youʼll be sorry if you miss something because you were too tired to stay focused or awake. Let the day wash over you and take it all in. You’ll be glad you did. Bring a pen and take some notes. See what happens.
Dress Comfortable
Like we said, it’s a long day. Casual attire is absolutely appropriate and encouraged.
The Theater Will be Completely Full
Pretend it’s a Southwest flight. Please arrive early to secure a seat and also be sure to fill in every last seat. Make lots of friends. Sit in a few different places. You will find that your fellow TEDx peers are wonderful people. Don’t be shy, introduce yourself!
Leave Your Computer in the Car
We know this is a tough one. But for the sake of the live audience (and the video team that will be recording TEDxMidAtlantic), we ask that you not use your computers, cell phones, cameras, recording devices, etc. in the auditorium unless you are sitting in the balcony. The clicking of computer keys and glow from your phone is not pleasant to other attendees. If you do wish to Tweet an amazing insight at some point during the day, turn down the brightness of your phone and use the event hashtag: #TEDxMid.
Your Arrival on October 29 – Don’t Print a Ticket
You must check in with registration upon arrival and retrieve your name badge (no printed tickets required, we already have your name!). You cannot give someone else your ticket, since we won’t have a badge for them.
TEDxMidAtlantic is designed as an all-day experience, so plan to stay all day. Please plan to arrive as early as 7:30AM. The closest Metro station is Gallery Place – Chinatown. Everyone should be in their seats at 8:30AM. The program will begin at 8:45AM, and because we are filming, no one will be admitted into the theater after 8:55AM; viewing will be restricted to a video feed in the lobby until the next break at 10:30AM.
This day is about exploration – meeting new people, hearing new ideas, experiencing the unexpected. There will be elements that will move you, make you think, bring you to tears, give you chills, make you laugh, and perhaps even offend you. Youʼll love some of it, and might hate some of it. But to have any reaction, youʼve first got to show up on time. Transportation and parking details can be found here.
Breakfast, Lunch and Coffee
If you arrive early enough, you will have time to grab some fruit and coffee before TEDxMidAtlantic begins promptly at 8:45am. We will have two coffee and tea breaks throughout the day, along with a longer break for lunch, which is being provided thanks to the gracious TEDxMidAtlantic sponsors.
Know people who are interested in TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 but can’t make the event? Tell them to tune in to our free live stream at: http://tedxmidatlantic.com/live
Any Questions? Ask Us!
If you need something, just ask us. Our staff and volunteers will be easy to spot with TEDxMidAtlantic t-shirts and are here to help. We’re also reachable via e-mail.
We are excited to announce that joining us this year at TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 will be a number of cast members from HBO’s critically acclaimed series “The Wire”, including: Michael K Williams (Omar Little), Sonja Sohn (Detective Kima Greggs), Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow), as well as Donnie Andrews, who was the basis for Omar’s character. Full bios here
Award-winning PBS journalist Judy Woodruff will be hosting a conversation with the cast of The Wire, as we explore the issues of our forgotten and ignored inner-city communities.
“When you have no jobs and there is no future, and the only factory that opens up where you live is a $2 million a day drug trade in your city that is offering employment down on the corner, you’re basically consigning those kids to that,” says The Wire creator David Simon. “There’s one America that is functional, and there is another America that hasn’t been functional for a long time. And the two of them are going their separate ways.”
The Wire remains the most highly-regarded and compelling urban drama of our time. Through complex characters and storylines, The Wire has defined and created our collective understanding of how multiple systems (drug economy; criminal justice; education; media; politics) ensnare our youth and limit opportunities for achievement in spite of our best efforts to save them; or the best intentions of all the individuals that surround them.
As The Wire came to a close, we elected the first black President. And yet amidst the fragile state of our economy and fractured partisan politics, we are seeing alarming levels of poverty and unemployment among the African American community. Black unemployment is virtually twice that of white unemployment. Underemployment is 3 times as high. Black youth unemployment is at 46%. So called “Wire” communities still abound. What is to be done? How can we facilitate change?
PBS Need to Know recently highlighted the work of Donnie Andrews and his community initiative, Why Murder. NRP’s Scott Simon traveled to Baltimore to walk the streets with David Simon and interview some of the young men on their stoops. Watch it now:
Sonja Sohn and other cast members of The Wire founded ReWired for Change (RWFC) in 2009. This nonprofit organization works to empower at risk youth, families, and communities through education, media and social advocacy, inter-generational programs, and street-based interventions. In 2010, RWFC established The Village House where community, staff and consultants carry out the organization’s mission — by offering community support and programming at no charge to youth, adult, and senior residents in East Baltimore’s Oliver Community.
Find out more about ReWired for Change by watching this video:
Jamie Hector founded Moving Mountains, which caters to youth ages 11 to 21, providing youth services utilizing youth prevention best practices. This includes engagement techniques such as drama, vocal and dance training, professional celebrity mentor-ship in the arts, introduction to filming, editing and broadcasting, and producing phenomenal theater productions with strong positive messages. By holding the youth to a high standard on every level they become vested in the success they accomplish.
Michael Kenneth Williams has received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and currently portrays Chalky White on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Michael was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a performer by dancing professionally at age 22. Barack Obama cited The Wire as his favorite television show, and called Omar Little his favorite character.
Michael Kenneth Williams has received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and currently portrays Chalky White on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Michael was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a performer by dancing professionally at age 22. He quickly developed a reputation for original and innovative choreography.
After numerous appearances in music videos, Michael decided to seriously pursue acting by studying theatre. He participated in several productions of the La’ MaMA Theatre Company, the prestigious National Black Theatre Company and the Theater for a New Generation directed by Mel Williams. In 2008, then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama cited The Wire as his favorite television show, and called Omar Little his favorite character. About Omar, Obama said, “That’s not an endorsement. He’s not my favorite person, but he’s a fascinating character…he’s the toughest, baddest guy on the show.”
Now in ABC’s “Body of Proof”, Sonja Sohn first came to wide industry attention in “Slam,” the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner which she starred in and co-wrote. After that Sohn worked primarily in studio films, including Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing out the Dead” and John Singleton’s “Shaft,” until landing the role of Kima Greggs in HBO’s Emmy-nominated series, “The Wire.”
Born in Virginia, Sonja Sohn first came to wide industry attention in “Slam,” the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner which she starred in and co-wrote. After that Sohn worked primarily in studio films, including Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing out the Dead” and John Singleton’s “Shaft,” until landing the role of Kima Greggs in HBO’s Emmy-nominated series, “The Wire.” In the last few years she has recurred on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” “Cold Case” and appeared in “The Good Wife.”
Sohn is also heavily involved in political activism. Sonja Sohn and other cast members of The Wire founded ReWired for Change (RWFC) in 2009. This nonprofit organization works to empower at risk youth, families, and communities through education, media and social advocacy, inter-generational programs, and street-based interventions. In 2010, RWFC established The Village House where community, staff and consultants carry out the organization’s mission — by offering community support and programming at no charge to youth, adult, and senior residents in East Baltimore’s Oliver Community. RWFC focuses on community building by offering The Village House as space for residents to come together to bond, support and nurture one another through intergenerational program offerings and workshops and developing their own initiatives.
Jamie Hector is best known for his roles of Marlo Stanfield on HBO’s critically acclaimed series THE WIRE, or for Benjamin Knox Washington on NBC’s HEROES. In Max Payne, Jamie plays another “bad guy” as Lincoln DeNeuf. Although Jamie has a knack for landing the villain roles on the small and big screens, one of his favorite roles is the one he plays as founder of Moving Mountains, which services inner city youth.
Jamie Hector is best known for his roles of Marlo Stanfield on HBO’s critically acclaimed series THE WIRE, or for Benjamin Knox Washington on NBC’s HEROES. In Max Payne, Jamie plays another “bad guy” as Lincoln DeNeuf. Although Jamie has a knack for landing the villain roles on the small and big screens, he says that one of his favorite roles is the one he plays as founder of Moving Mountains Inc., a 501c3 that services inner city youth.
Jamie began acting while in high school when he auditioned for a Community Theater Co. He gave an award winning performance even then. While in college Jamie continued to book roles on TV and films. After graduating he went on to study at the Lee Strausberg Theater Institute Jamie attributes a defining moment in his career to the short film five deep breaths. With Jamie in the lead role of Bannie, the film went on to be an OFFICIAL SELECTION of the Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca and IFP Film Festivals; where it accumulated 16 awards.
Gbenga Akinnagbe is best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO original series The Wire. In 2007, Gbenga appeared in the film The Savages with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which was released by Sony in June 2009.He is currently starring as Kelly Slater, a new nurse in the 3rd Season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.
Gbenga Akinnagbe is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO original series The Wire. In 2007, Gbenga appeared in the film The Savages with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which was released by Sony in June 2009.He is currently starring as Kelly Slater, a new nurse in the 3rd Season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.
Larry “Donnie” Andrews is the real life inspiration for the character Omar on HBO’s The Wire. Donnie saw his first dead body, lynched and hanging from a tree in North Carolina, when he was four years old. As an armed robber, he swapped holding up bars for a more lucrative and dangerous occupation: robbing drug dealers. In 1986, aged 32, he committed his first and only murder.
Larry “Donnie” Andrews is the real life inspiration for the character Omar on HBO’s The Wire. Donnie saw his first dead body, lynched and hanging from a tree in North Carolina, when he was four years old. At 10, he watched from behind the washing machines in a Baltimore laundromat as an old man was bludgeoned to death for 15 cents. Physically abused by his mother, enticed by a life of crime, he earned his first long stretch in jail when he was 19. As an armed robber, he swapped holding up bars for a more lucrative and dangerous occupation: robbing drug dealers. In 1986, aged 32, he committed his first and only murder, a shooting carried out at the behest of a local drug lord.
Between his 16th birthday and his murder conviction 16 years later, Andrews was arrested 19 times. He spent six years in jail for armed robbery, another two and a half years for daytime housebreaking. His fights with prison guards meant he spent most of that time in solitary confinement. On the outside, like Omar, he preferred to work alone.
“When I was coming up, one of the biggest drug dealers in the city would always tell me a real man stands alone. I felt better working by myself. I only had a couple of friends who I was comfortable hustling with. They’d have to know anything I was going to do just by a look; when you’re robbing people, it’s gotta be perfect.”
Also like Omar, Andrews’s victims were fellow drug dealers. “I might get two or three hundred dollars robbing a bar, but from a drug dealer I could get two or three hundred thousand. I told Fran [his wife] about a time I went to rob a stash house and they wouldn’t open the door. I yelled: ‘If I’ve gotta come in there, something bad’s gonna happen.’ The window opened and they threw the drugs out. Fran saw the same thing on The Wire and she called David and said: ‘So Omar is Donnie?!’”
He had a moral code, of sorts. “I would never mess with women… [and] I wouldn’t give kids drugs. That’s how the game got messed up: you’ve got mothers, grandmothers, children of five or six trying to sell you drugs now.” Beneath Andrews’s violent veneer, there was a conscience lurking. But it was only pricked when he finally killed a man.
Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS. For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN. After returning to the NewsHour in 2007 as a senior correspondent, she now co-anchors PBS NewsHour. She is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television.
Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS. After returning to the NewsHour in 2007 as a senior correspondent, she now regularly co-anchors the newly redesigned PBS NewsHour.
For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, anchoring the weekday political program, “Inside Politics.” Woodruff also played a central role in the network’s political coverage and other major news stories.
At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS’ award-winning weekly documentary series, “Frontline with Judy Woodruff.”
In 2011, Woodruff was the principal reporter for the PBS documentary “Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime.”
In 2007, Woodruff completed an extensive project on the views of young Americans called “Generation Next: Speak Up. Be Heard.” Two hour-long documentaries aired on many PBS stations in January and September, 2007, along with a series of reports on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR and in USA Today.
In addition, she anchors a monthly program for Bloomberg Television, “Conversations with Judy Woodruff.” Through fall 2006, Judy was a visiting professor at Duke University’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, teaching a weekly seminar course on media and politics. In the fall of 2005, she was a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, where she led a study group for students on contemporary issues in journalism.
At NBC News, Woodruff served as White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982. For one year after that she served as NBC’s Today Show chief Washington correspondent. She wrote the book, This is Judy Woodruff at the White House, published in 1982 by Addison-Wesley.
Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging women in communication industries worldwide. She serves on the boards of trustee of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum, and the Urban Institute. She also serves as a member of The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the board of the National Museum of American History. Woodruff is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.
Judy Woodruff is the recent recipient of the Cine Lifetime Achievement award, a Duke Distinguished Alumni award, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television, the University of Southern California Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, among others.
We are honored to announce that Vint Cerf, known as the “Father of the Internet”, and Dr. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have joined our speaker lineup for TEDxMidAtlantic 2011.
Tickets for TEDxMidAtlantic 2011, taking place October 29 at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, DC, are almost sold out so register now!
Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Vinton G. Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. Cerf has served as vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google since October 2005. In this role, he is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies to support the development of advanced, Internet-based products and services.
Dr. Jane Lubchenco has been the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator of NOAA since 2009. Nominated by President Obama in December 2008 as part of his “Science Team,” she is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist by training, with expertise in oceans, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being.
The first batch of speakers has been announced for TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 and early bird pricing ends Wednesday! Register now to join this amazing line-up of world-class presenters and performers on October 29, 8am-6pm, at the Sydney Harman Hall in Washington DC!
A native of Spain, José Andrés is chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, and is responsible for Washington’s popular and award-winning dining concepts Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, America Eats Tavern and the critically-acclaimed minibar by josé andrés. José was named Outstanding Chef of the Year at the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards.
Jean Case is an actively engaged philanthropist who, together with her husband Steve Case, created the Case Foundation in 1997 In addition to her role as CEO of the Case Foundation, Jean has served in two appointed roles leading strategic public-private efforts, including chair of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. In 2011, Jean was named Philanthropist of the Year.
Avi Rubin is Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University and Technical Director of the JHU Information Security Institute. Avi’s primary research area is Computer Security, and his latest research focuses on security for electronic medical records. Avi is credited for bringing to light vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines. In 2006 he published a book on his experiences since this event.
Dr. Jane Rigby is an Astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She serves as Deputy Operations Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope. As a user of the Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra, and Herschel space observatories, and the Keck and Magellan observatories on Earth, her research focuses on two subjects: black holes in the centers of galaxies, and galaxies that rapidly forming new stars.
Dr. Arun Majumdar became the first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), the country’s only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development, in October 2009. Dr. Majumdar also currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary. Dr. Majumdar helped shape several strategic initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy storage.
Luis von Ahn is an entrepreneur and an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the founder of reCAPTCHA, which was sold to Google. Luis is working on Duolingo, which aims to coordinate millions of people to translate the Web into every major language. In 2011, Foreign Policy Magazine named him the most influential intellectual of Latin America and Spain.
Ping Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City. Chong is internationally recognized as a director, writer, and multi-disciplinary artist, and is considered a seminal figure in Asian American theatre and the Asian American arts movement.
Paula Apsell got her start in broadcasting at WGBH Boston and in 1975 joined NOVA, a science documentary series that has set the standard for science programming on television. Today, NOVA is the most popular science series on American television and online. Under Apsell’s leadership, NOVA has won every major broadcasting award, including the Emmy; the Peabody; and the AAAS Science Journalism award.
Stowe is an internationally recognized authority on social tools and their impact on media, business, and society. He is best known for his commentary on the social revolution, and his research on work media, social business, the social web, publicy, social cognition, networked identity, and the future of work. Stowe is at work on a new book about the rise of a socially augmented world.
Rebecca Renard is being hailed as a library education innovator. She works in the DC Public Library and has won two national awards recently. Rebecca is also the force behind creating the #youth202 community and a podcast, all manned and hosted by DC students. She created a nationally-recognized library program to educate the youth about homelessness, called “Your Story Has A Home Here”.
Duncan Watts is a principal research scientist at Yahoo! Research, where he directs the Human Social Dynamics group. He is also an adjunct senior research fellow at Columbia University, and an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute and Nuffield College, Oxford. His research on social networks and collective dynamics has appeared in a wide range of journals, including Nature and Science.
Dante Chinni is the director of Patchwork Nation, a project funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. Based in Washington, D.C., he has been covering politics and the media for more than 10 years. Chinni has worked as a reporter-researcher at Newsweek and a senior associate at the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH is a pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist with a masters in public health from Johns Hopkins. He’s been called “The Doctor of the Future” and one of the “Top Ten Most Creative People in Healthcare” by Fast Company. Esquire Magazine included him in 2009′s “Best and Brightest: Radicals and Rebels Who Are Changing the World” issue.
Since 1993, Danielle Brian has been the Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), a nonprofit government watchdog organization. She frequently testifies before Congress, and often appears in major national media. Under Ms. Brian’s direction, POGO has conducted numerous investigations that have resulted in major public policy reforms.
Preparation for TEDxMidAtlantic 2011, to be held October 29, 2011 at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, DC, is well underway and registration for the event is now open to the public. Building upon successful events in 2009 and 2010, TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
The day-long event will feature an impressive lineup of speakers such as renowned chef and culinary innovator Jose Andres, philanthropist and Case Foundation CEO Jean Case, information security expert and Johns Hopkins researcher Avi Rubin, NPR’s Andy Carvin, technology and sociology researcher Zeynep Tufekci, along with many others to be announced soon!
Our existence is defined through our experience of place: our place on Earth, in the universe, in culture, and in time. Understanding place is critical to the spread of knowledge, ideas and to progress. From the smallest sub-atomic particles to cities, to galaxies and undersea mountain ranges, everything has a place. TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 celebrates and explores place, mobility, context, and locality – and humanity's ongoing desire to achieve a sense of place.
Jamie Hector founded 
Michael K Williams, 
Sonja Sohn, 
Jamie Hector, 
Gbenga Akinnagbe, 
Donnie Andrews, 
Host: Judy Woodruff 
Vint Cerf, 
Jane Lubchenco, 
José Andrés, 
Jean Case, 
Avi Rubin, 
Jane Rigby, 
Arun Majumdar, 
Luis von Ahn, 
Ping Chong, 
Paula Apsell, 
Stowe Boyd, 
Rebecca Renard, 
Duncan Watts, 
Dante Chinni, 
Jay Parkinson, 
Danielle Brian, 
