TEDxChicago 2025: The Future is Human

Dr. David Awschalom – Quantum scientist and engineer and Director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, demonstrating how thinking small can unlock big change and shape America’s quantum future.

Professor Wendy Freedman – Astronomer and Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, pursuing a novel approach to resolve how we measure the expansion of the universe to unleash humanity’s next frontier of cosmic discovery.

Dr. Hareder McDowell – Community psychologist and Assistant City Treasurer of Chicago, reshaping how we communicate about intimacy and self-worth to dismantle the the walls of loneliness and foster rich connections, leading to more authentic and fulfilling lives.

Dr. Hossein Zargartalebi – Scientific innovator and NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, developing protein biosensors, unleashing the next era in disease detection, prevention, and monitoring.

Tony Menias – National Geographic recognized photodocumentarian reveals a shared human rhythm, uncovering the deep connections that transcend our differences.

Meg Whitty – Sustainable aviation leader and LanzaJet Vice President, 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.

Natasha Pearl Hansen – Comedian, creator, and community architect, harnessing the power of humor and storytelling, particularly in navigating life’s inevitable hardships like heartbreak and loss, to foster resilient communities.

Nisaini Rexach – Microsoft leader and empowerment enabler, championing the power of investing in your social wealth to create your next opportunity.

Dr. Heather Zheng – Computer scientist and Neubauer Professor at the University of Chicago, pioneering invisible safeguards to empower individuals to shape technology’s future instead of being shaped by it.

Nikki Lynette - Nikki Lynette is a Chicago-born multidisciplinary artist and mental health advocate who fuses music, theater, film, and visual art into bold, genre-defying work. A punk-influenced performer and suicide survivor, Nikki uses storytelling to spark healing and conversation. Her acclaimed musical Get Out Alive—a raw, immersive exploration of mental illness—is in development and her follow-up project, the documusical Happy Songs About Unhappy Things, has screened at nine festivals and is being developed into a feature-length film. Both projects are fiscally sponsored by Producer hub.

Nikki is an ambassador and board member of NAMI Chicago and previously gave a TEDx Talk at Princeton University about the role punk culture played in her recovery. Her music has been featured in Netflix, Hulu, and Showtime shows, and she continues to break ground as an artist creating social impact through storytelling.

Red Clay Dance Company - Red Clay Dance, Chicago’s premier Afro-contemporary dance company, is an award-winning ensemble of versatile and dynamic dance Artivists that tour and perform locally, nationally, and internationally. The company is the brainchild of Vershawn Sanders-Ward, the institutions’ Founding Artistic Director & CEO.

Red Clay Dance is committed to taking its signature “Artivism in Motion” from the stage into learning environments, with community engagement serving as a vital part of its creative process and village-building work. Over its 17-year history, the company has toured and performed at venues such as the Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, The Harris Theater for Music & Dance, Dance Center of Columbia College, the DuSable Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, The Painted Bride, Joyce Soho, and the National Theater of Uganda.

Daniel Schlosberg, Pianist - GRAMMY-nominated pianist Daniel Schlosberg leads a kaleidoscopic musical life. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in numerous concerts and was a featured soloist in subscription performances of Messiaen’s “Trois Petites Liturgies.”

He has a passion for contemporary music, having collaborated with Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and was a founding member of Yarn/Wire.

Schlosberg’s release with soprano Laura Strickling, 40@40, reached #1 on the Billboard charts and received a GRAMMY nomination. Other recent projects include Mahler/Zemlinsky: Symphony No 6 (arr. 4-hands) at the National Gallery of Art, DC, and Ravinia, and appearances at Bargemusic in Brooklyn. He is based in Chicago and is on faculty at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana), where he is also advisor to the student Table Tennis Club.