UTC offers a TED Talk event on Saturday - Oct. 25

photo Exterior of the Fine Arts Center on UTC campus.

Ten speakers have been slated for the first TEDxUTChattanooga, an independent program modeled on the TED Talks series of "ideas worth spreading" in the fields of technology, entertainment and design (TED). The UTC gathering, set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, in the Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St., is designed to inspire deep discussion and connection in a small group setting.

Cost is $45 for general admission, $25 for UTC students. Visit http://tedxutchattanooga.com to sign up.

SPEAKERS

• Nathan Adams, poet and cultural reformer from Evensville, Tenn. "Mastered to Master: Restoring the Power of Words," a challenge from Adams, who is dyslexic, on the importance of thinking well.

• Kevin Bate, muralist and curator of the McCallie Walls Project. "McCallie Walls Mural Project: The World's First Drive Through Gallery," about the power of public art.

• Victoria M. Bryan, instructor at Cleveland State Community College. "Higher Education in Prison: What's Next for Chattanooga's Incarcerated Population," about the Nashville-based Tennessee Higher Education Initiative aiming to bring for-credit college education to incarcerated individuals.

• James Chapman, entrepreneur-in-residence at Causeway and founder of Change-N-Go. "Create a Culture of Selflessness," about how Chattanooga can maximize overall talent by becoming one neighborhood, one community.

• Hill Craddock, professor of biological and environmental sciences at UTC and director of the Chattanooga Chestnut Tree Project. "The Return of the Chestnut: A Tree Crop Archetype," about efforts to overcome the 1904 pandemic that devastated the American chestnut population.

• Marcus Ellsworth, president of Tennessee Valley Pride and host of Wide Open Floor at Barking Legs Theater. "Art as Activism - How Can Art Become a Road Map for Progress?," using examples of creative output from world history and Chattanooga today.

• Jason Michaels, "The CardShark" of Nashville. "You Can Do the Impossible, Too - What Would the World Look Like if You Could Do the Impossible?," a personal story of overcoming the debilitating neurological disorder Tourette's syndrome to become an international award-winning entertainer.

• Lyn Miles, professor of anthropology at UTC and director of Project Chantek. "Chantek, the First Orangutan Person," about the need for special protection and culture-based sanctuaries for enculturated apes.

• Lesley Scearce, president and CEO of On Point-Direction for Life of Chattanooga. "A Failure of Imagination? Changing the Conversation about Chattanooga's Youth," advocating giving youth a voice in the decisions that affect them.

• Kim White, president and CEO of River City Co. in Chattanooga. "Now What ... in the Life of Our City?," about Chattanooga's 30-year history of reinvention and citizen engagement and what's next on the horizon.

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