Alanna Mitchell

author, journalist, environmentalist

Why you should listen to her: Alanna Mitchell has looked far deeper into our oceans than any James Cameron film epic. An award-winning Canadian journalist and author, Mitchell writes about science and social trends. Mitchell's most recent book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis is an award-winning international bestseller that examines the premise that Earth would survive without terra firma, b

Frank Robinson

professor, dean, communicator

Why you should listen to him: If you ever see an ad for a theatre production of There's A Heifer in Your Tank, you can bet that University of Alberta's Dean of Students and professor of animal science, Frank Robinson is behind the hijinks.

A past winner of a 3M Award and one of Canada's 10 best teachers, Robinson created There's A Heifer in Your Tank as a tool for students to present their learning in a v

Janice Tanton

artist, full time human being

Why you should listen to her: Janice Tanton is an artist in the broadest sense of the word. Painter, actor, musician, filmmaker and graphic designer, the common thread that binds her art is a devotion to human beings and connecting cultures and people of different backgrounds. Her work with has helped promote awareness of native cultures and traditions in Canada.

An Alumna of Distinction of Durham College

John Reilly

judge, politician

Why you should listen to him: John Reilly grew up on the bench. At age 30, Reilly he was the youngest Provincial Court Judge ever appointed in Alberta. His years on the bench proved to be formative years. He presided over courts in Canmore, Banff, and Cochrane, and it was in Cochrane that he had his eyes opened to the inequities faced by aboriginal people in our justice system.

A maverick spirit, Reilly ordered an

Marcello Di Cintio

writer, wrestler

Why you should listen to him: Acclaimed author Marcello Di Cintio finds it fascinating that in a high-tech and borderless world, societies still erect crude barriers out of wire, stone and steel. In the Shadow of the Wall is a book to be published in 2012 about walls, fences and other hard barriers – and the people who live in their shadows. His work probes the sort of societies walls create and what they tell us a

Mark Blundell

systems thinker, motorcycle enthusiast

Why you should listen to him: The challenges we face requires people who make sense of the world in different ways. Mark does so by taking things apart and putting them back together.

His approach to life is to study, experiment and figure things out. His playground is the community at T.J.'S CYCLE in Calgary. Here he builds custom motorbikes using his background as a machinist. He applies human

Mark Durieux

sociologist, social entrepreneur

Why you should listen to him: We live in a world where we face challenges of a kind and scale never before imagined. It's that kind of thinking that inspires Mark Durieux's life work as a professor in Calgary where he teaches and speaks about the sociology of compassion and social entrepreneurship. Durieux explores our modern, complex, and curious times from the perspective of our social relations with ea

Mat Wilkins

musician, songwriter

Mat Wilkins is a young Calgary musician who literally struck a chord with us at TEDxCalgary. His music explores many issues, his talent is undeniable, and he was a most welcome interlude in the middle of a very packed schedule of talks. Thanks to Mat for rising to the challenge of bringing people back in each of our sessions, and deepest apologies to him for the sound issues in his last set!

Visit Mat's.....

Satya Das

journalist, author, policy analyst

Why you should listen to him: Does sustainability and prosperity make sense in our world? Satya Brata Das says not only does it make sense, they go hand in hand, advancing both the common wealth and common good.

Das has been shaping public opinion in Western Canada for decades as an award winning journalist, author and policy analyst. Founder and Principal of Cambridge Strategies Inc. in Edmonton, Da

Walter Hossli

community leader, poverty fighter, passionate and award winning gardener

Why you should listen to him: Walter Hossli knows what it means and takes to settle in a new country. A Swiss immigrant, Hossli sought a new life in Alberta in 1976 where he applied his trade as a draftsman. Inspired to become more involved in his community, he studied social work and began helping new immigrants to acquire the skills, knowledge and capital needed to suc