TEDx
Ideas worth spreading
University of Illinois
Bringing life-changing ideas to the University of Illinois since 2012.
Brought to you by students, TEDxUIUC brings speakers from across disciplines to spark curiosity, conversation, and action.
Meet Our Speakers
Discover the brilliant minds taking the TEDxUIUC stage. Each speaker brings unique insight, passion, and innovation.
Paige Taylor
Social Media Influencer
Paige Taylor is a social media influencer with over 7 million followers across social platforms. Known for her relatable, comedic approach to personal growth and modern life, Paige has built a devoted audience by sharing unfiltered perspectives on authenticity, self discovery, and navigating culture in real time.
Ernest Crim III
Educator & Cultural Specialist
Ernest Crim III is an Emmy-nominated public educator, modern-day griot, and cultural competency specialist. A former public school history teacher, he is now a speaker, author, and CEO of Crim's Cultural Consulting, where he helps schools, organizations, and communities bridge cultural divides through overlooked historical narratives.
Leonora LaPeter Anton
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist
Leonora LaPeter Anton is a freelance writer based in St. Petersburg. For 36 years, she wrote narrative and investigative stories at five Southeastern U.S. newspapers, including for 23 years at the Tampa Bay Times. She graduated in 1986 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism.
Paul Rudolph
Musician & Composer
Paul Rudolph is a musician, composer, instrument builder, and works for Sesame Street as vocal music director, editor and composer. He works with the cast and guest celebrities on digital content, outreach projects and live performances.
Join TEDxUIUC
Meet the Team
We're a team of passionate students dedicated to bringing TED's mission of "Ideas Worth Spreading" to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Executive Board
Darby Elo
President
Political Science & Spanish
Darby joined TEDx because she believes listening to others and engaging with new ideas helps us better understand the world around us.
Claire Yung
Director of Curation
Psychology & Sociology
She joined TEDx because she believes everyone has a story worth sharing and wanted to meet new people.
Michelle Park
Director of Event Planning
Media and Cinema Studies
Michelle joined because she wanted to create opportunities for people to share their own stories and passions with the world!
Claire Skowron
Director of Logistics
Chemistry & Statistics
Claire wanted to facilitate this great exchange of information between our world and our campus.
Cale Workman
Director of Membership
Economics, CS Minor
Cale joined TEDx to utilize and refine his professional communication skills!
Ella Ko
Director of Marketing
Marketing & Information Systems
Ella joined TEDxUIUC because she wanted to help bring different perspectives and ideas to the UIUC community.
Daniel Minkov
Director of Technology & Production
Finance & Accounting
Daniel joined TEDxUIUC to help bring untold, overlooked, and interesting stories to light.
