TEDxUMDearborn,

About the event

TEDxUMDearborn is a 5-hour event being hosted by the TEDxUMDearborn organization. Our goal is to bring people from the local community together to give them inspiration about what our non-profit organization is hoping to achieve; spreading ideas by building a clearinghouse of free knowledge and allowing them to engage with ideas and each other. We want to provoke discussion about the different topics we wish to bring into TEDxUMDearborn 2023 and raise awareness among our college community.

Here is the list of speakers that we have curated for TEDxUMDearborn 2023:
1. Roop Raj
An evening anchor at Fox 2 News, he will be talking about the power of the underdog and why being the underdog helps teach character, strength, and resilience. He will enlighten the audience on how underdogs learn how to cope, adapt and challenge convention in a way that others don’t, and can be leaders, organizations and even cities. He will enlighten the audience on how to bring the power of the underdog instead of trying to suppress it, because as a kid with a speech issue growing up and other challenges, he learned how to use those challenges as gifts rather than roadblocks.
 

2. Pamela Aronson
Professor of Sociology and Affiliate in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, her talk will examine the profound transformations happening in both public and private arenas of gender relations and draw critical attention to the simultaneous and potent challenges that have risen in response. In particular, she will talk about how the power of survivors' “voice” in the #MeToo era suggests that change is created not only in the media and among celebrities, but on the ground, in people’s everyday lives. She will also touch on how gender revolution has led to a culture in which people of all genders increasingly reject abuses of power in interpersonal relationships and transformations in discourses surrounding sexual consent, harassment and assault, although also vigorously contested, are creating gendered social and cultural change at both the political and personal levels.

3. L. Lynn Haliburton
She is a UMD alumnus who will be speaking about homelessness. As a teenager, she and her mother stayed in a homeless shelter after a domestic violence situation. While attending UMD, there were a few nights she slept in her car as she didn't have the support of family. Loans, the housing referral dept and Patty in the Co-op department made sure she got what she needed to get a roof over her head and income. She completed her degree at UMD, after 8 years. Now, serving as the Board Secretary for the Homeless Action Network of Detroit, her passion is helping the homeless. The organization uses data to make funding decisions regarding homeless programs and has reduced the number of homeless in Detroit by 50% in the last 10 years. There are some great programs making a difference, but there are still a lot of people that are one check or incident away from being homeless.
 

4. Jeanie Chang
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. As an accomplished international speaker, Jeanie provides keynotes and offers workshops for corporations, community organizations, and colleges addressing the intersectionality of mental health and identity, DEIB and psychological safety, as well as talking about topics such as burnout, resilience, mindfulness, stress, and mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. In her speech, she will mainly talk about how the storytelling and depth of character development in K-Dramas provide invaluable mental health lessons which can promote much-needed conversations surrounding mental health. She will also touch on the rise in Anti-Asian hate, increased racist incidents, and tragic shootings and killings around the country, and how she believes K-Dramas can be a means of coping and healing through stories evoking emotions and relatable identity narratives across all generations.

5. Florence Tan
She is NASA’s Deputy Chief Technologist and will be delivering a talk centering STEM education, the latest technological advancements and how they bring an impact to the community.

6. Stephen Juncaj
A senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, he is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a major in Digital Marketing. He is the Head Coach of Esports for Detroit Catholic Central High School and the President of 26 Rising, a professional esports team. He will be presenting a short introduction into the realm of professional e-sports and the ways players and organizations make millions off it.

Why should you sponsor?

We believe that our speakers’ expertise and experience in their respective fields shall also spark inspiration among the college community aside from showering them with an abundance of new knowledge. 
 

With that being said, we are currently in need of sponsors for our event as our student organization is not funded by the university. We are really hoping to get some funding for our event as we would like to present a truly TED-like experience for the attendees of our event. Additionally, as we will also be promoting this event to outsiders, we believe that we will be raising the name of our university in the eyes of the public. Therefore, we hope to present a well-done event to make our college community proud.

Jaishree Jaikumar

I am the Vice President of TEDxUMDearborn for the 2022/23 term. I was previously the marketing director and diligently contributed to the success of the TEDxUMDearborn event held last year. Our team is hoping to achieve bigger goals with this year'sTEDx event by raising the grandeur and scale of the event for a more pleasant experience for the audience, and for that, we require some sponsorship.

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