Step inside the TED Fellows community

Curriculum Development, Education, Facilitation, Fundraising, Job Skills Development, K-12 communication, Marketing, Pitching, Program Development, Public Speaking, Teaching, Writing

2021

United States

Louisiana State University; Delgado Community College

Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T) is an education non-profit organization focused on recruiting and training men of color to become teachers, particularly Black men. Founded by Larry Irvin, BE2T aims to address the lack of representation of Black male educators in public schools. Through innovative programming, mentorship, and paid fellowships, BE2T is increasing the number of Black male teachers in classrooms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The organization's approach includes character development, masculinity discussions, and professional skills training to create well-rounded educators. BE2T has placed 174 men in classrooms and is expanding its reach to other cities. The organization's work has been recognized and supported by various initiatives, including receiving grants from the Jrue & Lauren Social Impact Fund. Additionally, BE2T actively participates in events like the Universities of Louisiana Black Male Summit to engage with young Black men and emphasize their crucial role in education. Through its efforts, BE2T is striving to empower Black men to become impactful educators and role models for the next generation. // Louisiana State University; Delgado Community College // The mission of Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T) is to generate a pipeline of incredible teachers who mirror success for their students. BE2T has a proven solution to the intersectional local crises of inequitable student outcomes by race, significant teacher shortages, and the under-representation of men of color in teaching. We are transforming the face of K-12 classrooms by opening pathways for Black men to become excellent teachers through our unique approach to recruiting, developing, and retaining teachers of color. By identifying potential educators as early as possible, BE2T broadens and deepens the teacher pipeline. Evidence on teacher turnover, especially for teachers of color, indicates that schools often struggle to create climates of equity to adequately support teachers of color. Black teachers are resigning at twice the rate of their white colleagues, in part due to the fatigue of racism and inequity. When schools invest in a culture of equity, they're better able to retain Black educators. At BE2T, we are creating a world in which the demographics of educators reflect those of the students they serve, Black men thrive as teachers, and Black students thrive in our K-12 schools with excellent teachers who reflect their identity. At BE2T, Black men become teachers through one of three pathways: (1) a three-year Pre-Teaching Fellowship for college students, (2) a one-year Change Track program for college graduates and career changers, and (3) our work with partner schools to build a culture of equity that allows for the recruitment and retention of educators of color. // Larry Irvin is the founder of Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the representation of Black male educators in public schools. Through innovative programming, mentorship, and paid fellowships, BE2T has successfully placed 174 men in classrooms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The organization's approach includes character development, masculinity discussions, and professional skills training to create well-rounded educators. BE2T's work has been recognized and supported by initiatives like the Jrue & Lauren Social Impact Fund, and the organization actively engages with young Black men through events like the Universities of Louisiana Black Male Summit. By empowering Black men to become impactful educators and role models, BE2T is making significant strides in addressing the under-representation of men of color in the teaching profession and fostering a more diverse and inclusive educational environment. // Education innovator // Larry Irvin is the chief executive officer for Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T), where he ensures the overall vision and culture for BE2T and is the chief fundraiser. Larry is the creator and mastermind of ‘The Cipher’, which is BE2T’s in-house personal and professional development space. Prior to this role, Larry was a former teacher and high-school football coach. Larry has become a member of the Andover Breadloaf Teacher Network and also currently Pahara NextGen Fellow. A New Orleans, Louisiana native, Larry earned his associate’s degree in journalism and media arts from Delgado Community College followed by earning his bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a concentration in rhetorical theory and public address from Louisiana State University. Larry is a 2016 Camelback fellow and is also a member of the WKKF Kellogg Leadership Network. Educational attainment was always a point of emphasis for Larry growing up. Raised by an early childhood educator, Larry’s mother spent 23 years as a teacher for the Jefferson Parish Head Start program. Larry was most inspired by his mother’s perpetual benevolence, which extended from the classroom deep into the community, and Larry continues to adopt those same values through his work. // TED Fellow and education innovator Larry Irvin envisions a world where every child can see themselves reflected in their teachers. With his team at Brothers Empowered to Teach, Irvin is providing pathways to careers in education for Black men, who currently make up less than three percent of all teachers in the US -- offering training, personal and professional development and job placement. He shares how their holistic, people-centered approach is changing education. // Larry Irvin is the founder of Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the representation of Black male educators in public schools. Through innovative programming, mentorship, and paid fellowships, BE2T has successfully placed 174 men in classrooms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The organization's approach includes character development, masculinity discussions, and professional skills training to create well-rounded educators. BE2T's work has been recognized and supported by initiatives like the Jrue & Lauren Social Impact Fund, and the organization actively engages with young Black men through events like the Universities of Louisiana Black Male Summit. By empowering Black men to become impactful educators and role models, BE2T is making significant strides in addressing the under-representation of men of color in the teaching profession and fostering a more diverse and inclusive educational environment. // Education innovator // program development, education, writing, cities, pedagogy, job skills training, curriculum development, inequity, fundraising, pitching, racism, teachers, facilitation, public speaking, marketing, children, teacher development, k-12, communication, development // Los Angeles|USA|New Orleans|New York|California|United States|Louisiana|Baton Rouge

Los Angeles|USA|New Orleans|New York|California|United States|Louisiana|Baton Rouge

Live Performance, New Media - Video Artist, hybrid artist

2013, 2011

United States

Transmedia director // LARS JAN is a director, artist, designer, writer. He is the artistic director of Early Morning Opera, a multi-disciplinary art lab based in Los Angeles that specializes in live performance. Lars has made genre-bending artworks about TED talks, suicide bombers, Laika the Soviet space dog, land art, a downed fighter pilot, and the impossibility of outsiders ever knowing the relationship that two people have together. He has created an image-ballet with two Steadicam operators, choreographed seven women in burqas, and wrangled one giant panda with iPads for paws. Lars studied Bunraku-style puppetry outside Kyoto for a year and taught physical performance at Kabul University’s fledgling theatre department. As a Princeton Atelier Fellow, he recorded elder women in rural Ukraine singing in a vanishing polyphonic style. His original performance and installation works have been seen at The Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC), Sundance Film Festival (UT), Symphony Space (NYC), PianoSpheres (LA), REDCAT (LA), The Kirk Douglas Theatre (LA), and The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. Recently he has created new work while a resident fellow at The MacDowell Colony, EMPAC, The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Princeton University’s Atelier Program, and Kabul University. Lars is the recipient of the 2008 Sherwood Award, granted by Center Theatre Group to an innovative theatre artist in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and CalArts. His new performance installation HOLOSCENES — a triptych of massive aquariums inhabited by performers — explores the evolution of human endurance and habitual behavior in the context of natural catastrophe, particularly through the lens of mythic, contemporary and coming deluge. www.EarlyMorningOpera.com // LARS JAN is a director, writer, visual artist, and the founding artistic director of EARLY MORNING OPERA (EMO), a genre-bending performance + art lab whose works explore emerging technologies, live audiences, and unclassifiable experience. His works have been presented by The Whitney Museum, Sundance Film Festival, BAM Next Wave Festival, the Istanbul Modern, and Toronto Nuit Blanche Festival among many others. In June 2017, EMO’s public performance & installation, HOLOSCENES, will be exhibited in Times Square. Jan is the son of émigrés from Afghanistan and Poland and is a TED Senior Fellow. // LARS JAN is a director, writer, visual artist, and the founding artistic director of EARLY MORNING OPERA (EMO), a genre-bending performance + art lab whose works explore emerging technologies, live audiences, and unclassifiable experience. His works have been presented by The Whitney Museum, Sundance Film Festival, BAM Next Wave Festival, the Istanbul Modern, and Toronto Nuit Blanche Festival among many others. In June 2017, EMO’s public performance & installation, HOLOSCENES, will be exhibited in Times Square. Jan is the son of émigrés from Afghanistan and Poland and is a TED Senior Fellow. // Transmedia director // technology, live performance, hybrid artist, rural, land, new media - video artist, women // California|Los Angeles|United States|USA

California|Los Angeles|United States|USA

Art, Photogaphy, Storytelling

2015

United States

Visual artist + photographer // I am an artist primarily working with photography to explore issues around environmental justice, family and communal history, and private/public space, often blurring the lines between self-portraiture and documentary. My work has a deep concern for the mother/ daughter relationship. Relentlessly documenting encounters with Grandma Ruby (b.1925-2009), Mom (b.1959) and myself (b.1982) enables me to break unspoken intergenerational cycles. We are wrestling with internalized life experiences, perceptions of our-selves and familial personas developed by sociopolitical baggage. All of my photographs are created in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a historical steel mill town from America’s Industrial period. It is home of Andrew Carnegie’s first Steel Mill, The Edgar Thomson Works, (which still functions today). Grandma Ruby, Mom and myself grew up in significantly different social and economic climates in Braddock. Grandma Ruby witnessed Braddock’s prosperous days of Department stores, theaters and restaurants. Mom witnessed the steel mills close and white flight to suburban developments. I witnessed the War on Drugs decimate my family and community. Between our three generations we not only witnessed, we experienced and internalized the end of industrialization and rise of gentrification. Lately I have created photographs and videos that address class inequity, access to health care, and environmental racism. Grandma Ruby died from pancreatic cancer and diabetes, Mom currently suffers from an unknown neurological disorder and cancer and I was diagnosed with lupus fourteen years ago. The underpinning element in my photographs is the collaborative process between my mother and myself. Mom is co-author, artist and subject. She turns the camera on me to document us. I am also the subject and content of the work. This work is not solely social documentary. These are psychological portraits of the identity of the body and how surrounding outside space shapes and forms it physically. I view Grandma Ruby, Mom and myself as one entity. There is an intergenerational transference of our identities existing in the history of Braddock Pennsylvania. // LaToya Ruby Frazier’s artistic practice spans a range of media, including photography, video, performance, installation art and books, and centers on the nexus of social justice, cultural change, and commentary on the American experience. In various interconnected bodies of work, Frazier uses collaborative storytelling with the people who appear in her artwork to address topics of industrialism, rust belt revitalization, environmental justice, access to healthcare, access to clean water, workers’ rights, human rights, family, and communal history. This builds on her commitment to the legacy of 1930s social documentary work and 1960s and ’70s conceptual photography that address urgent social and political issues of everyday life. Frazier’s work has been the subject of many solo exhibitions at institutions in the US and Europe and her work is held in numerous public collections. LaToya Ruby Frazier is a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship recipient. In 2024 The Museum of Modern Art will exhibit the largest survey on her artwork and practice May 12, 2024 - September 07, 2024. // Artist and TED Fellow LaToya Ruby Frazier spent five months living in Flint, Michigan, documenting the lives of those affected by the city's water crisis for her photo essay "Flint is Family." As the crisis dragged on, she realized it was going to take more than a series of photos to bring relief. In this inspiring, surprising talk, she shares the creative lengths she went to in order to bring free, clean water to the people of Flint. // For the last 12 years, artist and TED Fellow LaToya Ruby Frazier has photographed friends, neighbors and family in Braddock, Pennsylvania. But though the steel town has lately been hailed as a posterchild of "rustbelt revitalization," Frazier's pictures tell a different story, of the real impact of inequality and environmental toxicity. In this short, powerful talk, the TED Fellow shares a deeply personal glimpse of an often-unseen world. // LaToya Ruby Frazier’s artistic practice spans a range of media, including photography, video, performance, installation art and books, and centers on the nexus of social justice, cultural change, and commentary on the American experience. In various interconnected bodies of work, Frazier uses collaborative storytelling with the people who appear in her artwork to address topics of industrialism, rust belt revitalization, environmental justice, access to healthcare, access to clean water, workers’ rights, human rights, family, and communal history. This builds on her commitment to the legacy of 1930s social documentary work and 1960s and ’70s conceptual photography that address urgent social and political issues of everyday life. Frazier’s work has been the subject of many solo exhibitions at institutions in the US and Europe and her work is held in numerous public collections. LaToya Ruby Frazier is a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship recipient. In 2024 The Museum of Modern Art will exhibit the largest survey on her artwork and practice May 12, 2024 - September 07, 2024. // Visual artist + photographer // water crisis, water, flight, storytelling, environmental racism, art, inequity, photogaphy, human rights, rights, environmental justice, justice, toxic substances, war, racism, documentary, social justice, steel, clean water, industrial, inequality // Alexandria|Virginia|United States|USA

Alexandria|Virginia|United States|USA

Art, Photography, journalism

2014

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Photographer // A Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer whose work focuses on women, literacy and education reform in the Arab world. She is also the co-founder of the RAWIYA collective, a photography cooperative of female photographers from the Middle East. // Laura Boushnak is a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer based in Sarajevo. Her work mainly focuses on the Arab world, looking at issues that she finds stem from her own personal experience of gender, education, and aftermath of war. After receiving a degree in Sociology from the Lebanese University in Beirut in 1999, Boushnak infused her interest in social issues with her passion for the visual arts and began her career as a photographer for the Associated Press in Lebanon. She then went on to work with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) at its Middle East hub in Cyprus and its headquarters in Paris. During this nine-year span, Boushnak’s experience included covering hard news in conflict zones such as the war in Iraq and the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. As of 2008, she has been working as an independent photographer, commissioned for editorial assignments by the New York Times and other publications, while also giving more of her time to her long-term personal projects in the Middle East. Boushnak’s main focus has been on her on-going projects, “I Read I Write” and “Survivor.” The former revolving around Arab women’s education and literacy, while the latter highlights the aftermath of war and its impact on individuals long after the fighting has ended. Both projects have received honorable awards and recognition including: the first Getty Images/ lean-in editorial grant, The Terry O’neil Photography Award in the UK, and two honorable mentions in the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award. Her work has been part of public and private collections, which include the British Museum, and has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, such as the Birmingham Museum in the UK, the Sharjah Art Museum in the UAE, and The Arp Museum Bahnhof Ralandseck in Germany. Boushnak is a TED fellow and has been invited to give talks in different parts of the world, including two separate TED talks in 2014 and 2016, where she shared the stories behind her “I Read I Write” and “Survivor” projects to a worldwide audience. She is the co-founder of RAWIYA, the first photo collective in the Middle East. // The destruction of war doesn't stop when the fighting is over. Photographer and TED Fellow Laura Boushnak shares a powerful photo essay about the survivors of cluster bombs, people who encountered these deadly submunitions years after the end of conflict. With her haunting photos, Boushnak asks those who still produce and condone the use of these weapons to abandon them. // In some parts of the world, half of the women lack basic reading and writing skills. The reasons vary, but in many cases, literacy isn't valued by fathers, husbands, even mothers. Photographer and TED Fellow Laura Boushnak traveled to countries including Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia to highlight brave women -- schoolgirls, political activists, 60-year-old moms -- who are fighting the statistics. // Laura Boushnak is a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer based in Sarajevo. Her work mainly focuses on the Arab world, looking at issues that she finds stem from her own personal experience of gender, education, and aftermath of war. After receiving a degree in Sociology from the Lebanese University in Beirut in 1999, Boushnak infused her interest in social issues with her passion for the visual arts and began her career as a photographer for the Associated Press in Lebanon. She then went on to work with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) at its Middle East hub in Cyprus and its headquarters in Paris. During this nine-year span, Boushnak’s experience included covering hard news in conflict zones such as the war in Iraq and the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. As of 2008, she has been working as an independent photographer, commissioned for editorial assignments by the New York Times and other publications, while also giving more of her time to her long-term personal projects in the Middle East. Boushnak’s main focus has been on her on-going projects, “I Read I Write” and “Survivor.” The former revolving around Arab women’s education and literacy, while the latter highlights the aftermath of war and its impact on individuals long after the fighting has ended. Both projects have received honorable awards and recognition including: the first Getty Images/ lean-in editorial grant, The Terry O’neil Photography Award in the UK, and two honorable mentions in the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award. Her work has been part of public and private collections, which include the British Museum, and has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, such as the Birmingham Museum in the UK, the Sharjah Art Museum in the UAE, and The Arp Museum Bahnhof Ralandseck in Germany. Boushnak is a TED fellow and has been invited to give talks in different parts of the world, including two separate TED talks in 2014 and 2016, where she shared the stories behind her “I Read I Write” and “Survivor” projects to a worldwide audience. She is the co-founder of RAWIYA, the first photo collective in the Middle East. // Photographer // activism, photography, education, gender, journalism, war, women, art, stem // Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Sarajevo|Bosnia and Herzegovina

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Sarajevo|Bosnia and Herzegovina

Agriculture, Bioinformatics / Computational Biology, Crop health, Data analytics, Food security, Genomics, High-performance computing, Local community development, Phylogenetics, Public speaking, Scientific Writing, Smallholder farming, Supercomputing, Whiteflies

2015

United States

The Cassava Virus Action Project is a collaborative effort using genomics and supercomputing to combat cassava pathogens, particularly in East Africa. The project aims to diagnose crop health quickly, empower local communities, and minimize the spread of viruses transmitted by whiteflies. Through partnerships with various government agencies and international collaborations, the team conducts research, training, and fieldwork to enhance agricultural sustainability and resilience. The project has been recognized for its innovative approach and has received awards and media coverage for its impactful work in the field of genomics and agriculture. // The organization's website is protected by Cloudflare to prevent malicious bot access to email addresses displayed on the page. Users are required to enable Javascript in their browsers to decode the email addresses. Cloudflare offers performance and security services for websites. // People need food. Not a single person on this planet should be hungry or malnourished. // Laura Boykin Okalebo is a leading figure in the Cassava Virus Action Project, a groundbreaking initiative that leverages genomics and supercomputing to combat cassava pathogens in East Africa. Through innovative approaches, the project focuses on rapid crop health diagnosis, community empowerment, and the prevention of virus transmission by whiteflies. Collaborating with government agencies and international partners, Laura's work encompasses research, training, and on-the-ground efforts to bolster agricultural sustainability and resilience in the region. Her contributions have garnered recognition for their significant impact on the intersection of genomics, agriculture, and community development. // Computational biologist // Biologist who is using genomics and computation to tackle food security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically invasive whiteflies’ devastation of cassava, a food staple in many countries. // Dr. Laura Boykin Okalebo is TED Senior Fellow, Gifted Citizen and a computational biologist who uses genomics and supercomputing to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa control whiteflies and viruses, which have caused devastation of local cassava crops. Her research team uses genetic data to understand the virus and whitefly’s evolution. Boykin Okalebo also works to equip African scientists with a greater knowledge of genomics and high-performance computing skills to tackle future insect outbreaks. Boykin Okalebo completed her PhD in Biology at the University of New Mexico while working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Theoretical Biology and Biophysics group. She was invited to present her lab’s research on whiteflies at the United Nations Solution Summit in New York City for the signing of the Sustainable Development Goals to end extreme poverty by 2030. The team’s latest work to bring portable DNA sequencing to east African farmers has been featured on CNN, BBC World News, BBC Swahili, BBC Technology News, and the TED Fellows Ideas Blog. // Nearly 800 million people worldwide depend on cassava for survival -- but this critical food source is under attack by entirely preventable viruses, says computational biologist and TED Senior Fellow Laura Boykin. She takes us to the farms in East Africa where she's working with a diverse team of scientists to help farmers keep their crops healthy using a portable DNA lab and mini supercomputer that can identify viruses in hours, instead of months. // Laura Boykin Okalebo is a leading figure in the Cassava Virus Action Project, a groundbreaking initiative that leverages genomics and supercomputing to combat cassava pathogens in East Africa. Through innovative approaches, the project focuses on rapid crop health diagnosis, community empowerment, and the prevention of virus transmission by whiteflies. Collaborating with government agencies and international partners, Laura's work encompasses research, training, and on-the-ground efforts to bolster agricultural sustainability and resilience in the region. Her contributions have garnered recognition for their significant impact on the intersection of genomics, agriculture, and community development. // Computational biologist // technology, public speaking , genomics , food security, bioinformatics , phylogenetics , scientific writing , data, job skills training, next-generation sequencing , sustainable development goals, research, agriculture, resilience, insects, data and analytics, bioinformatics, sustainable development , farming, farmers, genomics, whiteflies, phylogenetics, smallholder, high-performance computing project management , bioinformatics / computational biology, cross-cultural leadership, supercomputing, crop health, food, poverty, crops, local communities, government, scientific writing, data analytics // Uganda|Gaithersburg|Maryland|USA|Tanzania|United States|Kenya

Uganda|Gaithersburg|Maryland|USA|Tanzania|United States|Kenya

Politics, Title IX, civil rights, education, litigation, policy

2018

United States

L.L. Dunn Law Firm, PLLC; University of Maryland Baltimore; University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Practitioner Teacher Program

Laura L. Dunn, J.D., is a nationally recognized civil and victims rights lawyer specializing in Title IX campus sexual assault cases. With decades of experience, Dunn serves as an expert witness and consultant on high-profile cases, advocating for victims and whistleblowers. She has received numerous accolades and recognitions for her work, including the U.S. Department of Justice Special Courage Award and a TED Fellowship. Dunn is also a published legal scholar and offers training and presentations on campus sexual assault, victims' rights, Title IX, and related topics. Through her firm, L.L. Dunn Law Firm, she continues to advance victims' rights and accountability in cases of sexual violence and misconduct. // Accomplished and dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience as a lawyer and social entrepreneur. Contributor to team success through advanced skills in litigation, policy, and media. Comfortable adapting to change, identifying creative solutions to unexpected problems, and committed to continuous improvement, and building a collaborative team environment. // L.L. Dunn Law Firm, PLLC; University of Maryland Baltimore; University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Practitioner Teacher Program // Laura Dunn is an accomplished professional with over a decade of experience as a lawyer and social entrepreneur. With expertise in litigation, policy, and media, she has been a valuable contributor to team success. Laura excels in adapting to change, problem-solving, and fostering a collaborative team environment. Committed to continuous improvement, she brings a wealth of experience to her work. // Increasing the prospect of justice for survivors of campus sexual violence // Laura L. Dunn, J.D., is a highly respected civil and victims' rights lawyer renowned for her specialization in Title IX campus sexual assault cases. With extensive experience spanning decades, Dunn is sought after as an expert witness and consultant in high-profile cases, advocating passionately for victims and whistleblowers. Her notable achievements include receiving prestigious awards such as the U.S. Department of Justice Special Courage Award and a TED Fellowship. Dunn is also a published legal scholar and conducts training sessions and presentations on critical issues like campus sexual assault, victims' rights, and Title IX. Through her firm, L.L. Dunn Law Firm, she continues to champion victims' rights and promote accountability in cases of sexual violence and misconduct, significantly contributing to increasing the prospect of justice for survivors of campus sexual violence. // Victims' rights attorney // Laura L. Dunn, Esq., advances victims' rights through select legislative and policy efforts as well as direct representation of survivors in campus, criminal and civil systems at the L.L. Dunn Law Firm, PLLC. As a nationally-recognized victim-turned-victims’ rights attorney and social entrepreneur, her work has been featured by National Public Radio, PEOPLE Magazine, Forbes, the National Law Journal, the New York Times, and many more. Dunn is a published legal scholar, an adjunct at Maryland Law, a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and its Criminal Justice Section's Task Force on College Due Process, a liaison to the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code on Sexual Assault and its Student Sexual Misconduct Project, an accomplished litigator who helped win the first-ever recognition of a federal victim-advocate privilege, and an expert witness and consultant on various campus-based gender violence lawsuits nationwide. Dunn has trained countless campus community members, advocates and attorneys on Title IX and the Clery through the Federal Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges, the College Republican National Committee, the Democratic Attorneys General Association, the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, Harvard Law, Stanford University, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Texas Municipal Police Association, the Arkansas Bar Association, the National Association of Victim Rights Attorneys, and many more. While a student at Maryland Law, Dunn interned at the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, and worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She also worked with Congress to pass the 2013 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and developed its implementing regulations under the Clery Act through the U.S. Department of Education, which she also worked with on the Obama-era Title IX guidance. For this advocacy, Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy have publicly recognized Dunn. Upon graduation, Dunn founded the survivor-led and DC-based legal organization, SurvJustice. It is still the only national nonprofit representing victims of campus sexual violence in hearings across the country. For her work, Dunn has received a 2015 Echoing Green Global Fellowship, the 2016 Benjamin Cardin Public Service Award, the 2017 Special Courage Award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime, and a 2018 TED Fellowship, along with other honors and recognitions over the years. // To make accountability the norm after gender violence in the United States, we need to change tactics, says victims' rights attorney and TED Fellow Laura L. Dunn. Instead of going institution by institution, fighting for reform, we need to go to the Constitution and finally pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which would require states to address gender inequality and violence. By ushering in sweeping change, Dunn says, "our legal system can become a system of justice, and #MeToo can finally become 'no more.'" // Laura L. Dunn, J.D., is a highly respected civil and victims' rights lawyer renowned for her specialization in Title IX campus sexual assault cases. With extensive experience spanning decades, Dunn is sought after as an expert witness and consultant in high-profile cases, advocating passionately for victims and whistleblowers. Her notable achievements include receiving prestigious awards such as the U.S. Department of Justice Special Courage Award and a TED Fellowship. Dunn is also a published legal scholar and conducts training sessions and presentations on critical issues like campus sexual assault, victims' rights, and Title IX. Through her firm, L.L. Dunn Law Firm, she continues to champion victims' rights and promote accountability in cases of sexual violence and misconduct, significantly contributing to increasing the prospect of justice for survivors of campus sexual violence. // Victims' rights attorney // advocate, violence, gender based violence, education, victim rights, job skills training, gender inequality, attorney, survivor, research, design, title ix, rights, legislation, volunteerism, policy, women, public policy, gender, advocacy, politics, civil rights, litigation, inequality, law, campus sexual assault, victim, accountability, justice // Washington, D.C.|USA|New York|Washington|United States

Washington, D.C.|USA|New York|Washington|United States

2016

United States

Biomedical entrepreneur // Laura Indolfi is an Italian biomedical entrepreneur, TED Fellow 2016 and co-founder and CEO of PanTher Therapeutics, a start up spun out from Harvard and MIT that provides superior technologies for revolutionizing the treatment of inoperable locally advanced solid tumors. Prior to this she served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the MGH Cancer Center and as a research associate in the Harvard-MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. Laura has broad professional experiences and interests ranging from biomedical engineering, to entrepreneurship and outreaching initiative to promote science. Her scientific expertise covers a broad range of therapeutic areas (cardio, cancer, inflammation, regenerative medicine) and approaches (drug delivery, cell therapy, implanted devices). Together with her strong technical background, she has hands-on business managerial know-hows developed during her biomedical business training at Sloan and Harvard Business Schools and interactions with consulting firms. She strongly believes in the power of outreaching initiatives to promote research awareness and foster the public audience’s discovery of the beauty of science. In 2014 the line of clothes Cytocouture, created in collaboration with Colombian designer Carlos Villamil and inspired by her cell-therapy research, won the global competition Descience. Laura holds a MS/BS degree in materials science and engineering and a PhD in biomaterials from the University “Federico II” of Naples in Italy. Upon graduation, she joined the Harvard-MIT Division of Health, Science and Technology, working on several projects spanning from devices for local drug delivery to tissue engineering approaches for cell therapies. // Anyone who has lost a loved one to pancreatic cancer knows the devastating speed with which it can affect an otherwise healthy person. TED Fellow and biomedical entrepreneur Laura Indolfi is developing a revolutionary way to treat this complex and lethal disease: a drug delivery device that acts as a cage at the site of a tumor, preventing it from spreading and delivering medicine only where it's needed. "We are hoping that one day we can make pancreatic cancer a curable disease," she says. // Laura Indolfi is an Italian biomedical entrepreneur, TED Fellow 2016 and co-founder and CEO of PanTher Therapeutics, a start up spun out from Harvard and MIT that provides superior technologies for revolutionizing the treatment of inoperable locally advanced solid tumors. Prior to this she served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the MGH Cancer Center and as a research associate in the Harvard-MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. Laura has broad professional experiences and interests ranging from biomedical engineering, to entrepreneurship and outreaching initiative to promote science. Her scientific expertise covers a broad range of therapeutic areas (cardio, cancer, inflammation, regenerative medicine) and approaches (drug delivery, cell therapy, implanted devices). Together with her strong technical background, she has hands-on business managerial know-hows developed during her biomedical business training at Sloan and Harvard Business Schools and interactions with consulting firms. She strongly believes in the power of outreaching initiatives to promote research awareness and foster the public audience’s discovery of the beauty of science. In 2014 the line of clothes Cytocouture, created in collaboration with Colombian designer Carlos Villamil and inspired by her cell-therapy research, won the global competition Descience. Laura holds a MS/BS degree in materials science and engineering and a PhD in biomaterials from the University “Federico II” of Naples in Italy. Upon graduation, she joined the Harvard-MIT Division of Health, Science and Technology, working on several projects spanning from devices for local drug delivery to tissue engineering approaches for cell therapies. // Biomedical entrepreneur // technology, regenerative, research, clothes, science, entrepreneurship, disease, apparel, job skills training, materials science, biomaterials // Boston|Massachusetts|United States|USA

Boston|Massachusetts|United States|USA

Anthropology of Science & Technology, Books, History of Science, Interdisciplinarity, Journalism, Medical Education, Medicine, Mental Health (Care), Performance, Resilience, Writing

2012

United States

Writer, secular chaplain-in-training // I'm a writer and a historian of science. Right now I'm working on a book about mental illness in the nonhuman world and what it means about us. I'm also finishing up my PhD at MIT. I've spent the last few years traveling around the world doing my research...which means hanging out with elephants in Thailand and friendly gray whales in Baja, Mexico. I'm also interested in emergent technologies, occupying planet earth, freeing Leonard Peltier, and slashing our defense budget. And I do a lot of work with artists. // Laurel Braitman PhD is a New York Times bestselling author, Director of Writing and Storytelling at Stanford School of Medicine's Medical Arts and Humanities Program and the founder of Writing Medicine, the global community of writing healthcare professionals. Since March 2020, Laurel has helped over 10,000 healthcare workers tell their own stories and those of their patients. Her own writing is on the subjects of mental health, resilience, the natural sciences, and more. She is author of the memoir “What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey from loss to love” (Simon & Schuster 2023) which Publisher’s Weekly called “perfect for anyone seeking to heal a broken heart.” Her first book, “Animal Madness: Inside their minds”, was a NYT bestseller and has been translated into seven languages. Laurel’s work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Wired and other publications. She is a Senior TED Fellow. Laurel splits her time between remote Alaska where her husband runs a 113 year old salmon cannery and her family's commercial citrus and avocado ranch in Southern CA. // Health care workers are under more stress than ever before. How can they protect their mental health while handling new and complex pressures? TED Fellow Laurel Braitman shows how writing and sharing personal stories helps physicians, nurses, medical students and other health professionals connect more meaningfully with themselves and others -- and make their emotional well-being a priority. // Behind those funny animal videos, sometimes, are oddly human-like problems. Laurel Braitman studies non-human animals who exhibit signs of mental health issues -- from compulsive bears to self-destructive rats to monkeys with unlikely friends. Braitman asks what we as humans can learn from watching animals cope with depression, sadness and other all-too-human problems. // Laurel Braitman PhD is a New York Times bestselling author, Director of Writing and Storytelling at Stanford School of Medicine's Medical Arts and Humanities Program and the founder of Writing Medicine, the global community of writing healthcare professionals. Since March 2020, Laurel has helped over 10,000 healthcare workers tell their own stories and those of their patients. Her own writing is on the subjects of mental health, resilience, the natural sciences, and more. She is author of the memoir “What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey from loss to love” (Simon & Schuster 2023) which Publisher’s Weekly called “perfect for anyone seeking to heal a broken heart.” Her first book, “Animal Madness: Inside their minds”, was a NYT bestseller and has been translated into seven languages. Laurel’s work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Wired and other publications. She is a Senior TED Fellow. Laurel splits her time between remote Alaska where her husband runs a 113 year old salmon cannery and her family's commercial citrus and avocado ranch in Southern CA. // Writer, secular chaplain-in-training // research, technology, books, resilience, medical education, science, education, performance, journalism, writing, mental health (care), history of science, anthropology of science & technology, medicine, workers, interdisciplinarity // California|United States|San Francisco|USA

California|United States|San Francisco|USA

Biodiversity, Data, Education, Evolution, Fish, Fossils, Freshwater ecology, Marine biology, Mass extinction events, Museums, Oceans, Paleontology, Research, Science, Science communication, Species protection, Universities

2019, 2017

Japan

University of Chicago; University of Pennsylvania; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

Lauren Sallan is an American academic and paleobiologist known for her work in macroevolution. She is the head of the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and previously held a position at the University of Pennsylvania. Sallan utilizes big data analytics to study macroevolution, focusing on palaeoichthyology. Her research has delved into the evolution of vertebrates, particularly during critical stages like the End-Devonian extinction and the Hangenberg event. Sallan has been recognized as a TED Senior Fellow and has delivered multiple TED talks on evolution and mass extinctions. She has compiled a comprehensive database of fish fossils spanning millions of years, shedding light on the early evolution of vertebrates and the factors influencing species formation rates. // The Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University investigates how environmental change, global events, ecological interactions, and key traits have shaped biodiversity over long timescales. They focus on determining the origins of major vertebrate groups, particularly fishes, and key ecosystems, such as marine and freshwater environments. The unit conducts computational analyses of biodiversity databases, spanning from local to global scales and from the present day to the last 600 million years. They also study morphological biodiversity at the species level using various scientific approaches. The research areas include understanding how crises and opportunities have influenced fish biodiversity, the origins of major animal groups, and the impacts of mass extinctions and global crises. The unit's work sheds light on the evolutionary history of vertebrates and the interactions between vertebrates and invertebrates, providing insights into the long-term consequences of environmental changes. // Lauren Sallan is an ichthyologist and paleontologist investigating how environmental change, global events, ecological interactions and key traits shaped biodiversity on timescales outside human observation (macroevolution). Her lab seeks to determine the origins of major vertebrate groups (particularly fishes) and key ecosystems (particularly marine and freshwater) as well as understand how species respond to big challenges – living or environmental, regional or global, gradual or sudden. Lauren is the head of the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) an innovative research university that fully supports ideas-driven science. Lauren is building a international team of cross-disciplinary scientists to investigate the evolution of the oceans and the origins of fish biodiversity. Prior to joining OIST, Lauren was the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She was one of 10 people selected from a global applicant pool to became a TED Fellow in 2017, and she became a TED Senior Fellow in 2019. Her TED Talks on surviving mass extinction and the evolution of life have received almost 3 million views. Lauren's research has been published in high-profile venues such as Science, Nature, PNAS, and Current Biology. It has also been featured by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, the BBC, Forbes, the New Scientist, the Discovery Channel, and the recent popular science book 'The Ends of the World' by Peter Brannen (Harper Collins). // Head of the Macroevolution Unit // Head of the Marine Macroevolution Unit // Incoming Head, Marine Macroevolution Unit // Incoming Head, Marine Macroevolution Unit // University of Chicago; University of Pennsylvania; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) // Lauren Sallan is an accomplished ichthyologist and paleontologist specializing in macroevolution, focusing on how environmental changes, global events, and ecological interactions have influenced biodiversity over extended timescales. As the head of the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), she leads a diverse team of international scientists in exploring the origins of vertebrate groups, particularly fishes, and major ecosystems in marine and freshwater environments. Prior to her current role, Lauren held a prestigious position as the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has been recognized as a TED Fellow and TED Senior Fellow for her impactful research. Her work, featured in renowned scientific journals and mainstream media outlets, sheds light on the evolution of life in response to significant challenges, both environmental and biological. // I am trying to understand the origins and structure of modern marine biodiversity, why some fish species thrive and others fail in the face of environmental and ecological challenges, and how and why our own ancestors, the earliest vertebrates and fishes, first evolved into familiar forms. // Lauren Sallan is an esteemed paleobiologist and ichthyologist renowned for her expertise in macroevolution. Leading the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, she delves into the evolution of vertebrates, with a particular focus on palaeoichthyology. Sallan's research employs big data analytics to unravel the impacts of environmental changes and global events on biodiversity, especially in fish species. Her work sheds light on the origins of major vertebrate groups, such as fishes, and key ecosystems in marine and freshwater environments. Through her comprehensive database of fish fossils, Sallan provides valuable insights into the early evolution of vertebrates and the factors influencing species formation rates. // Paleobiologist // Paleobiologist using the vast fossil record as a deep time database to explore how mass extinctions, environmental change and shifting ecologies impact biodiversity. // Lauren Sallan is a paleobiologist using cross-disciplinary data analytics and methods to gain insight into the underpinnings of ocean biodiversity and how ecology and evolution operate at scales unobservable by humans (macroevolution). Lauren uses the vast fossil record of fishes as a deep time database, mining to find out why some species persist and diversify while others die off. She has used these methods to discover the lost, largest, 'sixth' mass extinction of vertebrates, reveal how fish heads changed first during their rise to dominance, and show how invasive predators can shift prey evolution at global scales. In Summer 2022, Lauren will become the full-time head of the new Marine Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) an innovative research university that fully supports ideas-driven science. There she will build a international team of cross-disciplinary scientists to investigate the evolution of the oceans and the origins of fish biodiversity. Lauren is currently the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, became a TED Fellow in 2017 and a TED Senior Fellow in 2019. Her research has been published in high-profile venues such as Science, Nature, PNAS, and Current Biology. It has also been featured by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, the BBC, Forbes, the New Scientist, the Discovery Channel, and the recent popular science book 'The Ends of the World' by Peter Brannen (Harper Collins). Her TED Talks on surviving mass extinction and the evolution of life have received almost 3 million views. // In this hilarious, whirlwind tour of the last four billion years of evolution, paleontologist and TED Fellow Lauren Sallan introduces us to some of the wildly diverse animals that roamed the prehistoric planet (from sharks with wings to galloping crocodiles and long-necked rhinos) and shows why paleontology is about way more than dinosaurs. // Congratulations! By being here, alive, you are one of history's winners -- the culmination of a success story four billion years in the making. The other 99 percent of species who have ever lived on earth are dead -- killed by fire, flood, asteroids, ice, heat and the cold math of natural selection. How did we get so lucky, and will we continue to win? In this short, funny talk, paleobiologist and TED Fellow Lauren Sallan shares insights on how your ancestors' survival through mass extinction made you who you are today. // Lauren Sallan is an esteemed paleobiologist and ichthyologist renowned for her expertise in macroevolution. Leading the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, she delves into the evolution of vertebrates, with a particular focus on palaeoichthyology. Sallan's research employs big data analytics to unravel the impacts of environmental changes and global events on biodiversity, especially in fish species. Her work sheds light on the origins of major vertebrate groups, such as fishes, and key ecosystems in marine and freshwater environments. Through her comprehensive database of fish fossils, Sallan provides valuable insights into the early evolution of vertebrates and the factors influencing species formation rates. // Paleobiologist // technology, freshwater, ecology, paleontology, marine, education, fish, biodiversity, ocean, fire, scicomm, extinction, data, rhinos, evolution, research, data and analytics, marine biology, species, floods, interdisciplinary studies, mining, oceans, education and outreach, museums, universities, big data, nature, science, mass extinction, ecosystem, fossils, marine ecology // Okinawa|Japan|Onna

Okinawa|Japan|Onna

Acting - Film & Stage, Dance Choreography and Instruction, Perfomance, Poetry (Spoken and Written), Radio & Television, Youth & Leadership development, singing - a cappella

2015

United States

Poet // Award-winning slam poet, exploring issues of gender, identity and community, who founded Vocal Revolutionaries, a volunteer-run organization focused on empowering African youth. // LEE MOKOBE is the Founder and Creative Director. Mokobe is a black transqueer poet hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. His work focuses on human rights, LGBTQIA experiences and african history. He is an international award-winning slam poet with a BNV Championship under his belt. A three time TED and TEDx speaker and 2015 Youngest TED Fellow. Mokobe has performed all over the world included at the Barclay's Center, The LGBT Center, LA YouTube Space and Vidcon. His work has been featured by The Fader, Al Jazeera, New York Public Library, Philly.com, Ideas.Ted, Soulpancake media, OkayAfrica and Leeway Foundation. He has also performed alongside and for Sunni Patterson, Talib Kweli, Chance The Rapper, Mos Def, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sarah Kay and so many more. His work has graced the stages of the National Museum of African American History and Culture as part of a special LGBTQ+ installation where he was the first transgender person to perform and speak on trans people in Africa. He also trail blazed as the first transgender person to be featured in Converse's Forever global campaign. And also featured as a prominent African non-binary leader in Beyonce Knowles And Gucci's Chime for Change as part of The Future is Fluid Campaign. Lee has worked with various non-profit organisations in the United States, especially in youth development. In the teaching artist, advisor and media content creator capacity. He is also well known for teaching workshops over Skype for various youth organisations and schools across the world. Mokobe is currently studying at the University of Cape Town. // "I was the mystery of an anatomy, a question asked but not answered," says poet Lee Mokobe, a TED Fellow, in this gripping and poetic exploration of identity and transition. It's a thoughtful reflection on bodies, and the meanings poured into them. // LEE MOKOBE is the Founder and Creative Director. Mokobe is a black transqueer poet hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. His work focuses on human rights, LGBTQIA experiences and african history. He is an international award-winning slam poet with a BNV Championship under his belt. A three time TED and TEDx speaker and 2015 Youngest TED Fellow. Mokobe has performed all over the world included at the Barclay's Center, The LGBT Center, LA YouTube Space and Vidcon. His work has been featured by The Fader, Al Jazeera, New York Public Library, Philly.com, Ideas.Ted, Soulpancake media, OkayAfrica and Leeway Foundation. He has also performed alongside and for Sunni Patterson, Talib Kweli, Chance The Rapper, Mos Def, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sarah Kay and so many more. His work has graced the stages of the National Museum of African American History and Culture as part of a special LGBTQ+ installation where he was the first transgender person to perform and speak on trans people in Africa. He also trail blazed as the first transgender person to be featured in Converse's Forever global campaign. And also featured as a prominent African non-binary leader in Beyonce Knowles And Gucci's Chime for Change as part of The Future is Fluid Campaign. Lee has worked with various non-profit organisations in the United States, especially in youth development. In the teaching artist, advisor and media content creator capacity. He is also well known for teaching workshops over Skype for various youth organisations and schools across the world. Mokobe is currently studying at the University of Cape Town. // Poet // perfomance, acting - film & stage, gender identity, human rights, gender, youth, rights, radio & television, singing - a cappella, dance choreography and instruction, poetry (spoken and written), campaigns, youth & leadership development // Pennsylvania|Philadelphia|United States|USA

Pennsylvania|Philadelphia|United States|USA

Indigenous culture, Non-instrument wayfinding, Ocean conservation, Traditional navigation

2024

United States

Non- Profit, Social entrepreneurship

2009

United States

2019

United States

Biotech entrepreneur // Computational biologist and founder of ReviveMed, a biotech company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence for drug discovery and treatment of metabolic diseases. // Experienced computational biologist and entrepreneur with a Ph.D. from MIT. Founder and CEO at ReviveMed, an award-winning, AI-driven drug discovery platform using metabolomics. // Many diseases are driven by metabolites -- small molecules in your body like fat, glucose and cholesterol -- but we don't know exactly what they are or how they work. Biotech entrepreneur and TED Fellow Leila Pirhaji shares her plan to build an AI-based network to characterize metabolite patterns, better understand how disease develops -- and discover more effective treatments. // Experienced computational biologist and entrepreneur with a Ph.D. from MIT. Founder and CEO at ReviveMed, an award-winning, AI-driven drug discovery platform using metabolomics. // Biotech entrepreneur // biotech, disease, artificial intelligence // Massachusetts|Cambridge|United States|USA

Massachusetts|Cambridge|United States|USA

biophotonics, medical imaging, optical imaging

2021

United States

Washington University in St. Louis; Harbin Institute of Technology; Caltech; Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering

The organization focuses on advancing medical imaging technology, specifically in the field of photoacoustic imaging. They have developed innovative techniques such as Single-Impulse Panoramic Photoacoustic Computed Tomography (SIP-PACT), which offers high-resolution imaging for diagnosing diseases like cancer and understanding brain functions. Their research includes integrating photoswitchable phytochrome probes with photoacoustic tomography to achieve high sensitivity and multiscale imaging. They have also worked on PACT-guided microrobots for targeted navigation in intestines and photoacoustic microscopy for high-speed, high-resolution imaging of biological samples. The organization's work aims to revolutionize medical imaging by utilizing light to probe molecules directly, providing functional, metabolic, anatomical, histological, and molecular information in a safe and efficient manner. // PhD Degree // Washington University in St. Louis; Harbin Institute of Technology; Caltech; Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering // Developing a new and effective skin disease diagnosis methodology for all populations regardless of skin color. This can address the inequity of dark-skinned patients who are often late or misdiagnosed for their dermatological disease. // Lei Li is a leading expert in advancing medical imaging technology, particularly in the field of photoacoustic imaging. Their innovative techniques, such as Single-Impulse Panoramic Photoacoustic Computed Tomography (SIP-PACT), have significantly contributed to high-resolution imaging for diagnosing diseases like cancer and understanding brain functions. Lei Li's research involves integrating photoswitchable phytochrome probes with photoacoustic tomography to achieve high sensitivity and multiscale imaging. They have also pioneered work on PACT-guided microrobots for targeted navigation in intestines and developed photoacoustic microscopy for high-speed, high-resolution imaging of biological samples. Lei Li's contributions aim to revolutionize medical imaging by utilizing light to directly probe molecules, offering comprehensive information in a safe and efficient manner. // Medical imaging innovator // Lei Li is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Medical Engineering at Caltech. In 2019, he obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Caltech. His overarching research goal is to develop new medical imaging technology that uses light to visualize brain functions and cancer progression. Toward this goal, he has developed advanced photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT)—an imaging modality that combines light and sound for deep-tissue imaging—to non-invasively visualize wholebody dynamics, study brain functions, detect tumor growth and metastasis, and navigate microrobots inside the body. He also shapes the benchtop system towards a wearable device. These works enable wide-range applications in neuroscience, cancer research, and clinical translation. He is now combining light, sound and artificial intelligence to detect early-stage cancer and better understand the brain. // Could we use the energy from light and sound to detect disease? TED Fellow Lei Li shares the exciting promise of photoacoustic imaging: an affordable, painless and accurate method of converting light into sound in order to create high-resolution images of what's going on inside our bodies. From early detection of breast cancer to steering medicine-delivering micro-robots, learn how this cutting-edge technology could open up a new world of possibility when it comes to seeing, tracking and diagnosing disease. // Lei Li is a leading expert in advancing medical imaging technology, particularly in the field of photoacoustic imaging. Their innovative techniques, such as Single-Impulse Panoramic Photoacoustic Computed Tomography (SIP-PACT), have significantly contributed to high-resolution imaging for diagnosing diseases like cancer and understanding brain functions. Lei Li's research involves integrating photoswitchable phytochrome probes with photoacoustic tomography to achieve high sensitivity and multiscale imaging. They have also pioneered work on PACT-guided microrobots for targeted navigation in intestines and developed photoacoustic microscopy for high-speed, high-resolution imaging of biological samples. Lei Li's contributions aim to revolutionize medical imaging by utilizing light to directly probe molecules, offering comprehensive information in a safe and efficient manner. // Medical imaging innovator // technology, research, inequity, optical imaging, data analysis, wearables, medical imaging, affordable, bioinformatics, electrical engineering, biophotonics, digital health, data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, disease // Texas|USA|Houston|California|United States|Pasadena

Texas|USA|Houston|California|United States|Pasadena

Education Marketing and Communications, Entrepreneur educator, Venture Capital / Seed Financing

2009

India

Educator // Founder and director of Going to School, a creative nonprofit trust that makes magical movies, books and radio for children and young people in India. I've lived in India for 14 years, and I'm honored to say that we are reaching 300,000 children with the most beautiful entrepreneurial skills books we could have ever created. Designing a program to work today, in Government Secondary Schools in India, reaching children at scale to teach skills has been a challenge, but it's working. Our movies are on air nationwide and our risk capital fund provides up to $10,000 for young people who live in poverty to start businesses that they define - businesses that solve problems where they live, generate income and create jobs. Be! is a model for emerging market economies, to keep kids in school to learn skills, to provide capital to the poorest young people to create jobs and big movies to win massive public support. We'd like to take Be! to countries in Africa and South America next. // Lisa Heydlauff is the founder & director of Going to School, a creative non-profit trust based in New Delhi that makes media (movies, books, radio) for children to make education relevant to children’s lives and most importantly, lots of fun. Going to School’s journey began with the publication of the children’s book Going to School in India, a celebration of what school can be – from going to school in a tent in the middle of a mud desert, to going to school in the dark with solar lanterns. 500,000 mini books were distributed to Government schools and over 65 million children saw Going to School movies on National Geographic and POGO. Both the books and movies have won international awards. Most recently, Going to School created Girl Stars, 15 movies, books and radio episodes that create icons out of everyday women and girls who have changed their lives by completing their education. Extraordinary tales of ordinary girls, from Anita the Beekeeper to Kiran the Junkyard Dealer, Girl Stars was supported by UNICEF and has been aired on Doordarshan reaching 700 million people. Girl Stars stories have also been incorporated in textbooks that will reach 10 million children. Lisa grew up in England, Canada and the USA, and now calls India home. Going to School was inspired Oliver, age 7, who asked Lisa, his teacher, “What is it like to go to school in India?” Lisa promised that if she ever got the chance, she would find out. Going to School is currently hard at work on their next project, Be! an Entrepreneur – a multimedia project to inspire millions of young people from low income groups to choose to become entrepreneurs and to create businesses that solve the social, economic and environmental problems they face in their lives. // Lisa Heydlauff is the founder & director of Going to School, a creative non-profit trust based in New Delhi that makes media (movies, books, radio) for children to make education relevant to children’s lives and most importantly, lots of fun. Going to School’s journey began with the publication of the children’s book Going to School in India, a celebration of what school can be – from going to school in a tent in the middle of a mud desert, to going to school in the dark with solar lanterns. 500,000 mini books were distributed to Government schools and over 65 million children saw Going to School movies on National Geographic and POGO. Both the books and movies have won international awards. Most recently, Going to School created Girl Stars, 15 movies, books and radio episodes that create icons out of everyday women and girls who have changed their lives by completing their education. Extraordinary tales of ordinary girls, from Anita the Beekeeper to Kiran the Junkyard Dealer, Girl Stars was supported by UNICEF and has been aired on Doordarshan reaching 700 million people. Girl Stars stories have also been incorporated in textbooks that will reach 10 million children. Lisa grew up in England, Canada and the USA, and now calls India home. Going to School was inspired Oliver, age 7, who asked Lisa, his teacher, “What is it like to go to school in India?” Lisa promised that if she ever got the chance, she would find out. Going to School is currently hard at work on their next project, Be! an Entrepreneur – a multimedia project to inspire millions of young people from low income groups to choose to become entrepreneurs and to create businesses that solve the social, economic and environmental problems they face in their lives. // Educator // education marketing and communications, desert, education, entrepreneurship, jobs, finance, environmental policy and advocacy, policy, women, low income, advocacy, teachers, solar, children, girls, entrepreneur educator, bees, poverty, government, communication, income, venture capital / seed financing // India|New Delhi|Delhi

India|New Delhi|Delhi