New York, NY – The School of Engineering and Computing Sciences at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) presents TEDxNYIT: Persistence and Community on April 21. Internationally known subject matter experts will deliver engaging personal narratives about perseverance, pushing boundaries and breaking barriers in order to help build thriving communities.

The event, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, April 21, at NYIT’s building at 16 W. 61st St. in Manhattan, will feature a combination of live speakers and TED Talk videos to spark conversation and connections. Live speakers will include:

• Brian Rashid, International Speaker; CEO, A Life in Shorts
• Christopher M. Schroeder, Founder, Next Billion Ventures (NBV); Author, Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East
• Joanne Wilson, Angel Investor, Gotham Gal Ventures; Blogger; Host, Positively Gotham Gal Podcast
• Michael Silva, President and CEO, ArchonOne
• Nora Poggi, Director and Producer, She Started It
• Tracy Chadwell, Founding Partner, 1843 Capital
• Fereshteh Forough, Founder and CEO, Code to Inspire
• Dorothéa Bozicolona-Volpe, Principal and Founder, Social Espionage

"To successfully build a sustainable future, we need thought leaders who are willing to open new doors and expand the realm of what's possible," said Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., dean, NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. "These types of discussions inspire all of us to be change agents and make a difference in our communities."

TED conferences, which focus on Technology, Entertainment and Design, offer speakers who "give the talk of their lives" in 18 minutes or less. These talks are shared globally on the group's website. Created in the spirit of TED's mission of "ideas worth spreading," TEDx programs are designed to give communities, organizations, and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialog through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

For more information about this event, visit nyit.edu/tedx.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Monica Lewinsky, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a "wish," or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

About New York Tech

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in more than 50 fields of study, including computer science, data, and cybersecurity; biology and biomedical studies; architecture and design; engineering; health professions and medicine; IT and digital technologies; management; communications and marketing; education and counseling; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education, New York Tech welcomes more than 9,000 students worldwide. The university has campuses in New York City (Manhattan) and Long Island (Old Westbury), New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world.

New York Tech embraces its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, give all qualified students access to opportunity, and support research and scholarship that benefit the larger world. More than 100,000 New York Tech alumni comprise an engaged network of doers, makers, and innovators prepared change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future.

Media Contact

Kim Tucker
PR Strategist
516.686.4013
kimberly.tucker@nyit.edu