On January 21, the second TEDxNatick opened at Natick High School in front of a packed auditorium. Co-curators Rosemary Driscoll and Steve Gullans greeted the audience with a summary of what to expect. “TEDxNatick is a local event,” Gullans stated. “You are now all TEDsters.” Driscoll thanked the corporate supporters of TEDxNatick, starting with MathWorks as lead sponsor. Henry Lewis of Natick, a student at the Rivers School, started the event with a piano jazz medley. Kathle

The TEDxNatick organizing committee announced today that Billboard chart-topping recording artist and critically acclaimed actor Chris Mann will appear at TEDxNatick on January 21. Chris Mann rose to fame as Christina Aguilera’s finalist on NBC’s The Voice. Since then, his debut albums, “Roads” and “Constellation,” hit #1 on the Billboard and Amazon Charts, he starred in his own PBS television special: A Mann For All Seasons and recently closed his critically acclaimed role a

Rudy Tanzi, PhD, a Harvard professor, author and neuroscientist, will take center stage at TEDxNatick 2017 on January 21. Rudy is the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He has co-discovered many genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Rudy has published nearly 500 research papers and has received the highest awards in his field. He was named to the 2015 list of TIME100 Most Influential People in the World. With Deepak Chopra he

Ned Brooks will take center stage at TEDxNatick 2017 on January 21. Ned is a retired businessman, avid sailor and newly-minted grandfather who recently started a nonprofit foundation. He never imagined that a simple idea would change his life and the lives of others. An all-volunteer, community-driven initiative, TEDxNatick brings together 800 community members, civic leaders, business leaders, technologists, artists, educators, and other professionals for a full day of thoug

Monika Weber PhD, Physicist and Startup CEO, will take center stage at TEDxNatick 2017 on January 21. Monika is an entrepreneur and inventor who founded Fluid-Screen, Inc. based on her PhD research at Yale to develop a simple life saving device. Monika was honored with the Grand Prize in the NASA Create the Future Design Contest and her company won the Gold Prize in MassChallenge, the largest startup accelerator in the world. An all-volunteer, community-driven initiative, TED

Alan J. Plattus, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at Yale University, will take center stage at TEDxNatick 2017 on January 21. Alan teaches architectural history and theory, urban history and design, and directs the school’s China Studio. He founded and directs the Yale Urban Design Workshop, a community design center that undertakes complex community-based planning projects throughout the world, at scales ranging from the neighborhood to the region, in response to pro

In the Boston Globe's Up Close column, reporter Cindy Cantrell profiles Kathleen Tullie, a speaker at TEDxNatick on January 21, 2017. A Natick resident, Kathleen has built BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) from a local to a national nonprofit organization addressing childhood inactivity and obesity. For the full article, click here. An all-volunteer, community-driven initiative, TEDxNatick brings together 800 community members, civic leaders, business leaders, technologists, art

Natick High School sophomore Maeve Sheehy will take center state at TEDxNatick on January 21. Maeve is an honors student, athlete, and advocate for those with disabilities. When not busy with school, she enjoys horseback riding, coaching for Strivers Running Club and reading. #MaeveSheehy #Speakers #TEDxNatick2017

Brain scientist, engineer, and professor, Caterina Stamoulis PhD will take center stage at TEDxNatick on January 21. Caterina, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, uses novel computational technologies to study neural networks in the brains of infants and children. Having trained in engineering and applied physics (underwater acoustics) at MIT, she applies big data approaches inspired by the physical sciences to understand the organization of

Attorney and social justice advocate Adam Foss will take center state at TEDxNatick on January 21. Adam is a former Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of Suffolk County. The Root, an acclaimed news source, named him one of the 100 most influential black Americans of 2016. In 2015 he was recognized among the 40 most up-and-coming lawyers in the U.S. by National Law Journal. In 2013 the Massachusetts Bar Association voted Adam Prosecutor of the Year. Adam is a