March 24, 2025
Get tickets now to hear enlightening 2025 TEDxSIUC speakers
CARBONDALE, Ill. — TEDxSIUC, an independently organized event featuring live TED-style talks, is happening at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on March 29, and tickets are available for purchase online now. The event focusing on ideas worth spreading will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. in the ballrooms of the SIU Student Center, 1255 Lincoln Drive.
Enlightening and diverse speakers
The 2025 talks will feature an eclectic group of speakers, sharing diverse perspectives, knowledge and insights on a wide range of topics:
- Elizabeth Strusz, a mission-driven entrepreneur, hairstylist and author. Strusz’s presentation, “How to Self-Advocate,” will focus on self-advocacy, finding your voice and embracing your true potential to be heard and understood.
- Anne Heaton, singer-songwriter and teaching artist who has been featured on NPR, at Lilith Fair and the Sundance Film Festival as well as on stage with artists including Jewel and Sarah McLachlan. The mother of two daughters, she will present “Why Teaching Teens Songwriting can make the World a Better Place.”
- Dorissa White, lifestyle and breaking news reporter for KMBC9 News in Kansas City, Missouri. She launched her career as an NPR radio host at WSIU in Carbondale before moving to New York City, where she went on to work at NY1 and Bronxnet Television, covering presidential elections and numerous high-profile stories. She will present “Breaking the News Doesn’t Mean Breaking Your Personality’”
- Antonio “Dean” Cantu, dean of the College of Health, Education and Human Sciences at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. An SIU alumnus and former Army intelligence officer, he has more than 30 years of experience in professional education at the high school and university levels. He will present “Requiem: Death’s Guide to Life.”
- Portia Taylor, an advocate for families affected by the incarceration of a loved one. Taylor grew up with a passion for service and social justice, sparked by her father’s incarceration when she was just 6 years old and witnessing her single mother’s tireless efforts to support her and a younger brother. An SIU alumna, she’ll present “Beyond Bars: Advocating for the Forgotten Families of Incarceration.”
- Julian Howard II, a disabled Army combat veteran with more than 14 years of service who is CEO of Howard’s Inland Logistics LLC. He has expertise in communications, transportation, health care and technology. He will highlight his story and more in “Change and the Struggles of Adjustment.”
- Chris Egelston, a magician whose love of magic began at the age of 6. By 15, he had booked his first professional show. He later added messages about reading and good character traits to his presentations, branching out to become a corporate entertainer and keynote speaker. A double alumnus of SIU, he’ll share his story and message in “Unlocking Entrepreneurial Magic.”
- Todd Duermyer, a cinematographer/creative video producer at SIU who, with his wife, Kristena, adopted two children through the foster care system. In “Redefining Strength: Lifting Up Dads Through Involved Fatherhood,” he will share his story about becoming a father and an advocate for men’s mental health and fathers being involved in their children’s lives.
Purchase tickets now
Tickets are available online now for $15 plus a nominal handling fee. SIU students receive a special rate of $7 plus handling fees by entering the code Student25. Seating is limited. Ticket sales end March 28 or when sold out.
For more information, contact the Office of Student Engagement at 618-453-5714 or email TEDx@siu.edu.
Evoking change
A committee comprising about a dozen students and staff who are dedicated to bringing about positive change on campus, in the region and beyond have organized TEDxSIUC. Learn more about them on the TEDxSIUC website.
The event emcee is Jeff McGoy, a double alumnus of SIU with more than two decades of experience as a motivational speaker. He energizes his audiences with his enthusiasm and inspires them to enhance their self-awareness and empowerment.
Sponsors include SIU’s School of Journalism and Advertising, the Office of Student Engagement, Student Programming Council, SIU Undergraduate Student Government and SIU Graduate and Professional Student Council.