WNC president among speakers set for TEDx Carson City

CARSON CITY, Nev. — TEDx is coming back to town, and the theme for this year's Carson City event is “Square One.”

“We feel like everything is really complicated right now in society and it's important to get back to basics and take a fresh look at everything,” said Gina Lopez Hill, executive director, Brewery Arts Center, which puts on the event.

On March 29, a series of 14 or 15 speakers and performers will take the stage at the BAC's Maizie Harris Jesse Black Box Theater and expound on the theme through talks or performances lasting no longer than 18 minutes each.

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The all-day event also features a continental breakfast and lunch, when attendees will get a chance to mingle with the speakers.

The 2019 Carson City TEDx — standing for technology, entertainment and design — will feature a former National Hockey League player, a circus performer, and the new president of Western Nevada College, among others:

• Vincent Solis, WNC president, has worked in higher education for more than 25 years, and has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology, a Master of Science in psychology, and a doctorate in bilingual education.

• Clint Malarchuk, born in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada and a Minden resident, played professional hockey, and is remembered for an accident in which his throat was cut while tending goal for the Buffalo Sabres. He almost died on the ice and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, and attempted suicide. Since then, he has written two books and become a mental health advocate.

• Lozia Louisa Lopez has performed with Reno's Le Cirque Vagabond and the Asylum Sideshow Revue and teaches aerial skills at Carson City's Yaple's Ballroom.

Other TEDx presenters include Jim Brady, a retired IBM executive with 42 patents; recording and touring music artist Ian Moore, who's also president and co-founder of Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare; and comedienne Kat Simmons, who lives in Carson Valley and has performed at The Improv, Catch A Rising Star, on the Comedy Channel, Fox's Comedy Tonight, and Candid Camera.

Go here for a complete list of speakers and to purchase tickets, which start at $100.

TEDx Carson City will also be broadcast live on the website and Facebook, and a video of it will be posted at ted.com about six weeks after the event.

“I've been to big TED events and I prefer the smaller ones. I feel like you get more out of it as an audience member,” said Hill. “We're all here to support the speakers and provide a loving environment necessary for the ideas to flourish.”