TEDxChicago

💥 Big news, Chicago!💥 Meg Whitty, Ecosystem Innovator, will be joining us live on stage to talk about the future of global sustainability 🌎✈️ at TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human on Friday, September 26th at Harris Theater for Music and Dance 🎤 Meg Whitty is a proven strategist, team-builder and communicator with 17+ years of experience spanning the corporate, tech start-up and government sectors.🏙️📡🏛️ She currently serves as the Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Marketing at LanzaJet, Inc., a global leader in sustainable fuels technology and the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.✈️♻️  Meg is at the forefront of decarbonizing the aviation sector with cutting-edge fuel technologies⛽️ and believes that advancing global sustainability isn’t just a technological challenge, it’s a human one that brings economic opportunity to our rural communities, cities, and future generations.” 🌎💡 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ 📸 by @michelemariekw #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #SustainableTravel #BuildingCoalitions #PowerofFarmers

📣 Interesting in learning about the future of work and how to take networking to the next level? 📣 Then join us as we welcome Nisaini Rexach, Connectivity Conductor, to the stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎤 Nisaini Rexach, also known as The Empowerment Enabler, is a visionary leader whose career is marked by a series of strategic initiatives that have catalyzed digital transformation, community engagement, connectivity, and strategic foresight. 🚀⚡️ As a Digital Transformation Dynamo, Rexach has been at the forefront of  integrating cutting-edge technologies into business processes. 💡💻📈 She believes that by learning to invest in your social wealth, your network underwrites your next opportunity. 🔮⏭️ 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ 📸 by @michelemariekw #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #FutureofWork #YourNextJob #InvestinginOthers

📸 From behind the lens to the center of our stage- @beloveful is bringing a new perspective to TEDxChicago! 📸 We're pleased to announce that Tony Menias, Photodocumentarian, will join us on stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎤 Tony Menias's love of capturing life around him started the day his father handed him his first camera at age seven.📷 From medical school, to missions all across the globe for the impoverished, his photography has always been a guiding light in finding love and beauty in the simplest things. ❤️🌅 Today, he has been recognized by National Geographic, held multiple exhibitions, and won an Award for Excellence from the Conception Global Art Collective.🎨 With a keen eye for detail and an unwavering commitment to authenticity, Tony's photography portrays the beauty and chaos of life in equal measure.☯️💥Tony believes that photography is a powerful tool in promoting empathy and understanding between people, and he hopes to inspire others to explore the world and embrace different cultures. 🌎❤️🤝 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ 📸 by @michelemariekw #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #IntentionalTravel #TheArtofNoticing #Empathy

🥁 Attention, please!🥁 We’re honored to share that Dr. Heather Zheng, Computer Scientist, will be joining us LIVE on stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎤 Dr. Heather Zheng is the Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago and co-director of the SAND Lab (Security, Algorithms, Networking and Data) alongside Prof. Ben Y. Zhao. 💻🛜 🔐 Recently, her work on protecting human creatives from unethical data exploration received the USENIX Internet Defense Prize, the Chicago Innovation Award, a special mention in TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023, and the Community Impact Award from the Concept Art Association in 2024.🏆🎖️ Zheng believes that invisible modifications to our digital content can shield us from AI exploitation while rebalancing power dynamics and creating incentives for ethical AI development, empowering individuals to shape technology's future instead of being shaped by it.🔮🔋💡 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ 📸 by @michelemariekw #TedXChicago #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #EthicalAI #ProtectingOurPrivacy #HumanIdentity

📢 Breaking news, TEDx fans! 📢 Dr. David Awschalom, Engineer and Quantum Scientist will be joining us on stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎤 Dr. David Awschalom is an experimental physicist and pioneer in quantum technology.🔬💡He is the University of Chicago’s Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Physics, a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, and founding director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, an intellectual hub advancing quantum information science research, workforce development and the quantum economy in collaboration with leading universities, national laboratories and more than 50 partner organizations. ✨🧬⚡️ He believes that by thinking small we can change the world in big and unpredictable ways, but to do so we must bring everyone along to realize America’s quantum future.🔮🌍 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #FutureofWork #Chicagosworkforce #Quantumsimpact

🌟Hey Chicago, get ready to think, feel and laugh out loud! 🤣 We’re excited to share that Comedian and Creator Natasha Pearl Hansen (@nphcomedy) will be speaking live on stage at TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎭🌟 Natasha Pearl Hansen is a comedian, creator, and entrepreneur who turns life’s detours into unforgettable stories. Her comedy career began at Second City Chicago in 2006, where she wrote, directed, and performed in dozens of shows before finding her voice in stand-up in 2010. 🎤🎬 Since then, she’s toured internationally, performed at major festivals, and been featured on Hulu, Comedy Central, Prime Video, Apple TV, and Netflix is a Joke Radio. Natasha’s work blends humor, vulnerability, and human connection—reminding us that even life’s sharpest twists can leave us laughing.😆❤️🎤   🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #TheFutureisHuman #Comedian #Connections

🎉 Get excited, Chicago! 🎉 We are thrilled to share that Dr. Hareder McDowell, Ph.D, Community Psychologist, is bringing her unapologetic and sizzling insights to the stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th 🎤 Dr. Hareder McDowell, affectionately known as Dr. Mac, is a bestselling author, speaker and researcher from the south side of Chicago. She is on a mission to turn taboo into truth, showing how effective communication around sex and intimacy can lead to better relationships, better sex, long lasting marriages and friendships. ❤️🥰 Dr. Mac made history as Chicago’s first community psychologist in government, serving as Assistant City Treasurer, where she directs financial empowerment initiatives. Today, she thrives on promoting her message of communication being the prevention to any prescription and offers methods in confidence, grace and style. 😊🌠 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #SelfConnection #PsychologyofIntimacy #Relationships

🚨Huge news alert!🚨Dr. Hossein Zargartalebi, Scientific Innovator in Precision Medicine, will be speaking live on stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th. 📣 You don't want to miss this! 📣 Dr. Hossein Zargartalebi is a biotech innovator and entrepreneur developing next-generation wearable and implantable biosensors that monitor protein biomarkers in real time, inside the body. His work enables continuous tracking of inflammation, diabetes, heart failure, and other chronic conditions — opening the door to earlier diagnosis, personalized treatment, and adaptive care. 🧬💊 He is currently spearheading a breakthrough in biosensing technology that has the potential to unleash the next era of disease detection, prevention, and real-time monitoring — transforming healthcare, advancing research, and saving millions of lives.❤️🌎💡 🎟️ Tickets are on sale NOW at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #TheFutureisHuman #PrecisionMedicine #ScienceInnovation

💥Get ready Chicago!💥 We’re excited to announce that Professor Wendy Freedman, Astronomer and Observational Cosmologist, will be joining us on stage for TedxChicago 2025: The Future is Human at Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Friday, September 26th! 🎤 Professor Wendy Freedman is one of ten University Professors appointed by the president of the University of Chicago. Her current research focuses on increasing the accuracy of measurements of the universe’s expansion rate and testing for potential new fundamental early-universe physics. 🔭✨☄️ She believes if we are able to leverage the most powerful and novel approaches to measure the expansion of our universe, we can finally resolve the Hubble Tension, and unleash humanity's next frontier of cosmic discovery.💡🪐 🎟️ Tickets go on sale on Friday, July 25th at TEDxChicago.com and the link in our bio.🚨Get yours before they sell out! 🚨🎟️ #TedXChicago #TedXChicago2025 #Chicago #TheFutureisHuman #Astronomy #Stargazing

We asked AI to write our 2025 theme announcement… And you could say it wasn't exactly what we were looking for. So we took a different route. A more human one. Because while there's a time and place for AI, we believe the real force shaping tomorrow is us. Our connection, imagination, laughter, dignity, and care. That’s why the theme for TEDxChicago 2025 is: The Future is Human. This is our love letter to Chicago. And we can’t wait to share it with you. ❤️ #TEDxChicago #TEDxChicago2025 #TheFutureIsHuman #ChicagoEvents