Program Speakers A-Z
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Sheikha Al Mayassa Founder, Doha Film Institute |
Sheikha Al Mayassa is the young and progressive force behind Qatar's mission to become the Middle East's foremost destination for the arts and culture. |
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Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Madeleine Albright Former US Secretary of State |
Since leaving office as US Secretary of State in 2001, Madeleine Albright has continued her distinguished career in foreign affairs as a businesswoman, political adviser and professor. |
Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Rufus Griscom + Alisa Volkman Website co-founders |
Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman co-founded Babble, a website for parents. He’s the CEO, she’s the VP of sales strategy and brand development, and they have three sons. |
Session 4: Duets Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:15 – 1:00 |
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Kiran Bedi Corrections pioneer |
Kiran Bedi was one of India's top cops -- tough, innovative and committed to social change. Now retired from the national police force, Bedi runs two NGOs that benefit rural and urban poor. |
Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Johanna Blakley Media maven |
Johanna Blakley studies the impact of mass media and entertainment on our world. |
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Short talks Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Cynthia Breazeal Roboticist |
At MIT, Cynthia Breazeal and her team are building robots with social intelligence that communicate and learn the same way people do. |
Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Amber Case Cyborg Anthropologist |
Amber Case studies the symbiotic interactions between humans and machines -- and considers how our values and culture are being shaped by living lives increasingly mediated by high technology. |
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Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Caroline Casey Advocate for disabled people |
First, Caroline Casey put Ireland on the accessibility map. Now she's changing the global social landscape for people with disabilities. |
Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Liza Donnelly Cartoonist |
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace. |
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Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Dr. Hawa Abdi + Dr. Deqo Mohamed Somali doctors who treat women refugees |
Dr. Hawa Abdi and her daughters, Dr. Deqo Mohamed and Dr. Amina Mohamed, treat Somali refugee women and children, often for free. |
Session 4: Duets Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:15 – 1:00 |
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Fiona Eberts Alternative medicine expert |
Fiona Eberts studies the field of complementary and alternative medicine, with a focus on solutions and therapies that could be useful in countries with limited access to expensive Western drugs. |
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Short talks Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Mona Eltahawy Columnist |
Mona Eltahawy writes on Arab and Muslim issues for news outlets around the world. |
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Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Eve Ensler Playwright, activist |
Eve Ensler created the ground-breaking "Vagina Monologues," whose success propelled her to found V-Day -- a movement to end violence against women and girls everywhere. |
Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Joan Halifax Author, Zen priest |
Known for her compassionate work with the terminally ill, Joan Halifax is a driving force of socially engaged Buddhism. |
Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Suheir Hammad Poet, playwright |
In her poems and plays, Suheir Hammad blends the stories and sounds of her Palestinian-American heritage with the vibrant language of Brooklyn to create a passionately modern voice. |
Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Sejal Hathi Social entrepreneur |
Sejal Hathi’s nonprofit, Girls Helping Girls, has helped train and mentor more than 30,000 girls to launch their own entrepreneurial projects. |
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Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Arianna Huffington Journalist |
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of thirteen books. She is the co-host of “Left, Right & Center,” a political roundtable radio program. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo Poet, recording artist |
A poet, singer and songwriter, TED Fellow Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo explores the potential of human creativity. |
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Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Beverly + Dereck Joubert Conservationists, filmmakers |
Documentary filmmakers Beverly and Dereck Joubert have worked to conserve wildlife for more than 25 years. As National Geographic Explorers in Residence, the couple influences public policy and perceptions. |
Session 4: Duets Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:15 – 1:00 |
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Donna Karan Fashion designer, health-care activist |
Fashion designer Donna Karan dresses the modern everywoman in smart, luxuriously simple clothes. She uses her professional visibility for social good, as in her urban zen effort to provide integrated care for cancer patients. |
Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Angelique Kidjo Musician, Activist |
With an impassioned and joyful voice, Angélique Kidjo delights audiences around the globe with her music–and speaks out in support of the well-being of women and children. |
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Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Naomi Klein Author, Activist |
In her latest work, Naomi Klein wonders: What makes our culture so prone to the reckless high-stakes gamble, and why are women so frequently called upon to clean up the mess? |
Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Heather Knight Roboticist |
Heather Knight runs Marilyn Monrobot, which creates socially intelligent robot performances and sensor-based electronic art. (and she helped build the amazing Rube Goldberg machine for OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass.") |
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Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Sia Nyama Koroma First Lady of Sierra Leone |
Together, Sia Nyama Koroma of Sierra Leone and Madame Callista Mutharika of Malawi want to turn the world’s attention to the health of mothers. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Yang Lan Media mogul, TV host |
Yang Lan is often called “the Oprah of China.” The chair of a multiplatform business empire, Yang is pioneering more-open means of communication in the communist nation. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Jacklyne Mantaine Lemeria + Lemeria Ole Leperes Maasai father and daughter |
At 14, Jacklyne Mantaine Lemeria ran away from an arranged marriage in her Maasai community. Returning to her village this year, she and her father, Lemeria Ole Leperes, have reached a new understanding. |
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Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Elizabeth Lesser Writer, healer |
For more than three decades, Elizabeth Lesser has worked with leading figures in the field of healing self and society. |
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Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Stephen Lewis Global health advocate |
Stephen Lewis advocates for the victims of Africa’s HIV/AIDS pandemic, and believes that gender lies at the heart of the problem—and the solution. |
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Session 6: Crescendo Wed Dec 8, 2010 5:30 – 7:15 |
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Elizabeth Lindsey Explorer, ethnographer |
Elizabeth Lindsey is a fellow of the National Geographic Society. Her mission: to keep ancestral voices alive by recording indigenous wisdom and traditions. |
Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Courtney E. Martin Blogger, Internet entrepreneur |
Courtney E. Martin chronicles -- and encourages -- the current generation of young activists and feminists. She's an editor at Feministing.com and the author of "Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists." |
Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Morley Singer-songwriter |
Composer, singer and producer Morley breathes sensuality into activism with her worldly lyrical stance. |
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Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Madame Callista Mutharika First Lady of Malawi |
Together, Sia Nyama Koroma of Sierra Leone and Madame Callista Mutharika of Malawi want to turn the world’s attention to the health of mothers. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Annet Namayanja Bean breeder |
Annet Namayanja has created two new kinds of field beans well-suited to the growing conditions in Uganda. |
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Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Shirin Neshat Iranian visual artist |
Shirin Neshat has lived much of her life outside her native Iran. Her photographs and films offer a glimpse of the cultural, religious and political realities that shape the identities of Muslim women worldwide. |
Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Jacqueline Novogratz Philanthropist |
Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. In her new book, The Blue Sweater, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid. |
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Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Asphalt Orchestra Orchestra |
The NYC-based Asphalt Orchestra redefines and re-contextualizes music from the concert halls, rock stages and jazz clubs of the world and brings it to new international audiences in ways never before experienced. |
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Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Kate Orff Landscape architect |
Kate Orff asks us to rethink “landscape”—to use urban greenspaces and blue spaces in fresh ways to mediate between humankind and nature. |
Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Sally Osberg Champion of social entrepreneurs |
As president of the Skoll Foundation, Sally Osberg identifies the brightest new social enterprises and lends much-needed support to innovative problem-solvers. |
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Short talks Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House |
Nancy Pelosi is in her second term as Speaker of the House of Representatives, having been elected in 2007 as the first woman in American history to serve as Speaker of the House. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez 9/11 mothers |
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue. |
Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Heather + Tony Podesta Lobbyists, art collectors |
Heather and Tony Podesta wield serious influence in America. Beyond being plugged-in DC lobbyists, the power couple owns one of the country’s most important contemporary art collections. |
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Session 4: Duets Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:15 – 1:00 |
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Tony Porter Educator, A Call to Men |
Tony Porter is an educator and activist who is internationally recognized for his effort to end violence against women. |
Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Deborah Rhodes Physician, cancer researcher |
Deborah Rhodes is an expert at managing breast-cancer risk. The director of the Mayo Clinic’s Executive Health Program is now testing a gamma camera that can see tumors that get missed by mammography. |
Session 3: Composers Wed Dec 8, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 |
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Judith Rodin Philanthropist |
As President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Judith Rodin supports and shapes innovations to ensure that more people can access globalization’s benefits and strengthen resilience to risks, affirming the Foundation’s pioneering philanthropic mission since 1913 to “promote the well-being” of humanity. |
Short talks Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Hanna Rosin Journalist |
Hanna Rosin isn’t afraid to shine a skeptical spotlight on people’s cherished ideals, whether it’s politically correct dogma or the conservative Christian agenda. |
Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Hans Rosling Global health expert; data visionary |
In Hans Rosling’s hands, data sings. Global trends in health and economics come to vivid life. And the big picture of global development—with some surprisingly good news—snaps into sharp focus. |
Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Sheryl Sandberg COO, Facebook |
As the COO at the helm of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg juggles the tasks of monetizing the world’s largest social networking site while keeping its users happy and engaged. |
Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of Liberia |
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is president of Liberia (and the first modern, and currently the only elected, female head of state in Africa). The Economist called her "the best president the country has ever had." |
Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Halla Tomasdottir Change agent, financial services |
Halla Tomasdottir, co-founder of Audur Capital financial services, has been instrumental in rebuilding Iceland’s economy since its collapse in 2008. Her passion is releasing the incredible economic potential of women’s ways of doing business. |
Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Bernice Johnson and Toshi Reagon Musicians; mother and daughter |
Bernice Johnson Reagon, a legendary musician and scholar of history, is also the mother of Toshi Reagon, guitarist, singer and producer. Collaboratively and separately, they make gorgeous, conscious music. |
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Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Ahn Trio Piano trio |
With cello, piano and violin, sisters Maria, Lucia and Angella Ahn are constantly redefining the art and architecture of chamber music. |
Music + performance Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Ted Turner Media entrepreneur, philanthropist |
You may know him as the guy who started CNN. But Ted Turner, who once gave $1 billion to the UN, also ranks among the world’s most influential philanthropists. |
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Session 1: Overture Tues Dec 7, 2010 2:30 – 4:15 |
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Penelope Jagessar Chaffer + Tyrone Hayes Documentary flmmaker and scientist subject |
Penelope Jagessar Chaffer made the film "Toxic Baby," about environmental toxins; scientist Tyrone Hayes provided some visceral and shocking research. |
Session 4: Duets Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:15 – 1:00 |
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Jody Williams Nobel peace laureate |
Jody Williams won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to eradicate landmines. Now she’s teaming up with five other female peace laureates to empower women to fight violence, injustice and inequality. |
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Session 5: Harmony and Discord Wed Dec 8, 2010 2:45 – 4:30 |
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Lisa Witter Marketer |
Lisa Witter is the Chief Strategy Officer of Fenton PR and author of "The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World and How to Reach Them." |
Short talks Wed Dec 8, 2010 11:00 – 11:00 |
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Citizen journalists of World Pulse Citizen journalists from around the world |
Seated from left, Sunita Basnet, Nepal; Jacqueline Patino, Bolivia; and Malayapinas, the Philippines are part of Worldpulse, a network of women citizen journalists from every region of the world. Founder, standing in photo, is Jensine Larsen. |
BONUS Session: Voices at the Table Tues Dec 7, 2010 8:00 – 10:00 |
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Lauren Zalaznick Media executive |
After wholly revamping the Bravo Network, media trendsetter Lauren Zalaznick is inventing fresh ways for NBC Universal to reach coveted new audiences across multiple media. |
Session 2: Life's Symphony Tues Dec 7, 2010 5:15 – 7:00 |
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