TEDx event at City Winery to discuss gender inclusivity, mental health and other topics

This spring, City Winery is hosting series of TED talks on an array of topics, including agriculture, sex positivity and mental health advocacy. 

The TEDx event – dubbed TEDxDilworthPark, though it doesn't take place at the park – is happening Saturday, May 11 from noon to 3 p.m. The 12 speakers range from Lauren Cristella, the CEO of the government watchdog group Committee of Seventy, to Ssanyu Lukoma, a 19-year-old Howard University student who founded a nonprofit that strives to get children to read more diverse literature.

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Organizer Charles Black said it will be a great opportunity for people to network and share insights. 

"It's going to be a day of very different ideas, very different perspectives," Black said. "The TED slogan is 'Ideas worth sharing,' so we are going to challenge people with ideas that maybe they haven't heard about, challenge their perspectives. Hopefully, it's just a really nice way to meet different people who are involved in a variety of fields, from the arts to health care to advocacy to government."

Tickets cost $60 and go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 10 at TEDxDilworthPark.com. There are 100 tickets are available, Black said. 

The speakers were selected from a group of 75 people who auditioned for the event, Black said. Their sessions will be recorded and available on the global TED website in the weeks after the event. 

The speakers and their presentations are:

• Nicole Bailey-Williams: "Lessons in Letters"
• Maybe Burke: "Replacing Gender Inclusive with Gender Expansive"
• Lauren Cristella: "The Cure for Political Overwhelm" 
• Lyndsey Getty: "The Overthinking Myth" 
• Adaeze Iloeje-Udeogalanya: "How Embracing Cultural Identity is Key to Unlocking Your Success in STEM"
• Ssanyu Lukoma: "Eradicating the Paradox with Intergenerational Inspiration"
• Theo Major: "Harmony Within the Hustle"
• Tina Neal: "North Star Parenting — Navigating Gender With Your Child"
• David Sylvester: "The Hug Effect" 
• Michael Twinning: "Change Your World and Your Life With Climate Smart Food"
• Brian Tucker: "Whatever Happened to Calvin?"
• Najya Williams: "The Pulsing in our Spirits and in our Blood" 

The TEDx event is sponsored by Fractured Atlas. Its name include Dilworth Park because hosts are required to add a location when throwing an event, and the organizers thought Dilworth Park was the closet landmark, Black said. 

Black said he hopes TEDxDilworth Park can become an annual event, and inspire others. He previously has hosted TEDx events in Central Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, The University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University also hosted TEDx events in the last year. 

"There's a lot of interest, not just for people who want to speak but people who want to come and hear," Black said. "So I really hope this is something that we can build up not just for my event, but for events across the Philly area."

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