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TEDxLaSierraUniversity is back May 8, 2026
Every TEDxLaSierraUniversity event has a theme. Our theme for our upcoming event is "True Possible," a search for and revelation of undiscovered ideas and worlds that go on behind the scenes and beneath the surface. Our speaker team has been curating ideas that will inspire our audience, tap into their curiosity with a visit behind the scenes about how things work, or reveal powerful examples of new approaches towards impact in our community. Since 2014, our event themes have been building towards this moment.
Each of our events feature a diverse range of talks and topics, but all are unified by the theme for our event. Our one-day conference experience on May 8 will divide our talks and activities into three sessions, each with a subtheme (1) Behind-the-Scenes, (2) Beneath the Surface, (3) Revelation. Get excited - this one is going to be epic!
Check-in for ticketed attendees will begin at 8am on Friday May 8 in the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University, and our welcome and first session will begin at 9:15am.
This Event is Sold Out!
Our organizing team at TEDxLaSierraU has been hard at work behind the scenes to make our upcoming event our best yet, and our community has responded. We are officially sold out for this event. Check-in and refreshments for our ticketed attendees will open at 8am on May 8, in the Tom & Vi Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University. Open seating in our Troesh Conference Center will begin at 9am.
Thank you to our incredible local community who have been part of our journey and continuing thematic story since 2014!
Event Day Info Tickets, Parking, Preparing
Where is the event? What time should I show up?
TEDxLaSierraUniversity's True Possible one-day conference event will take place inside of the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University. The main entrance to the university is located at 4500 Riverwalk Pkwy, Riverside California 92505. The friendly staff in the security kiosk at the front entrance of the university will also be happy to direct you to the correct location. See our map for venue and free parking information. Check-in starts at 8am (get your badge, swag bag, program booklet, and t-shirt!), and our first session of talks will begin at 9:15am with a welcome to our attendees. The full day includes three sessions of multiple live talks (with lunch in-between session two and session three), and we will conclude the day by about 4:00pm.
- 8:00am - 9:00am --Check-in, Morning Refreshments, Swag Bags
- 9:00 - 9:15 – Conference Center doors open for Session 1 open seating
- 9:15 - 10:30 – First Session of Talks (Lloyd Trueblood, Amber Jones, Bob Marshall)
- 10:30 - 10:45 – Short Break
- 10:45 - 12:15 – Second Session of Talks (Mo Shirmohammadi, Mia Ginaé Watkins, Stephanie Cheng)
- 12:15 - 2pm – Lunch (Chilito's Taco Bar, Horchatas, Gelato, Conversation!) and Lunch Breakout Sessions (grab your lunch and head over to one of our breakout rooms) you can stay in and/or rotate through:
- College and Careers Discussion - Join the La Sierra U team in room 235 (2nd Floor) for a conversation on the latest tools and tracks in preparing for college and beyond.
- Women Change Everything! - Join the women of student group FoundHers in room 236 (2nd Floor) for conversation and networking.
- Idea Pitches - Join the High Schoolers of Sacramento Adventist Academy in room 201 (2nd Floor) to celebrate and discuss new ideas and the ideation process!
- Learn and Play Chess! - Join a group of our Freshmen business students in room 105 (1st Floor) for a fun experience in chess and strategy. No experience required!
- Play with Typewriters! - Join the team from TypeWriter Muse in our Innovation Lab Makerspace (Room 112 on the 1st Floor) for a hands-on session with rare typewriters and conversation about the creative process.
- 2:00 - 3:30 - Final Session of Talks + Closing Message (Marcus Norris + a performance, Sophia Garcia, Amanda Beer)
- 3:30pm - Hugs, Cheers, Heading Home (or spending an extra hour on the beautiful campus to avoid getting back on the freeway just yet!)
Do I need to register to attend?
Yes, this is a ticketed event that requires registration before May 8, and we are now sold out. On the day of the event, check-in at the venue will open starting at 8am. Registered attendees will receive a conference badge for session access and lunch, and a tote bag of exclusive TEDxLaSierraUniversity swag. If you are attending as part of a special group, such as a local high school group joining us for the day, check with our team (or your teacher/employer) for information about group check-in.
Who is the audience for this event? Is it university-only?
Our TEDxLaSierraUniversity team hosts TED-licensed TEDx events at the venue location of La Sierra University in Riverside, California. Our live audience largely comes from the Inland Empire and surrounding areas of Southern California, and reflects our diverse community. We recommend this event for anyone ages 14 and up who is interested in hearing from local voices and ideas they may not have heard before. This is not a university-managed event, university administrators do not choose the theme or speakers, and it is not designed for a sole internal audience of its faculty and students. Our planning team, speakers, and live audience come from all over our local community. All talks taking place at the event will be recorded on-stage in front of our live audience and uploaded about a month later to TED and its global community.
What do I wear?
Casual to business-casual is perfectly appropriate for an event like this (and choose comfortable shoes!). The day will include three sessions of talks in our main conference center space, breaks to engage and network in our atrium lounge space, an outdoor space with food vendors serving lunch, and optional engagement in classroom spaces for workshops/activities during the lunch break. And if you want to wear your event t-shirt right away, you will receive it during check-in at the start of the day!
Ideas Change Everything! Speaking at TEDxLaSierraUniversity
Our call for speakers response form is now closed, but our team encourages you to review the guidelines information below as you consider applying for future TEDxLaSierraU conferences.
Speaking at TEDxLaSierraUniversity
TED recommends to our organizing team that it’s actually not the person we should be searching for, but the person’s idea or innovation. This is a great way to decipher between a TEDx speaker, and an interesting person with an “okay” idea. What will the audience walk away knowing – that this person exists, or a new idea? For example, if you were to describe a potential talk to a stranger and say more about the speaker (“this lady who runs that local charity,” “this guy who made this film”) than a specific idea, that's a clue that you need to go back to that speaker and find their idea, not their identity.
So, what ideas are we looking for?
- We look for new ideas that originate in our local community but are widely relatable
- We look for ideas that need to be defended – not something self-evident, but an interesting argument, perhaps with an antagonist.
- We look for an idea the TED world hasn't heard before (In other words, not a copy of a TED Talk you like!).
- We look for ideas that change perceptions (e.g., a scientific discovery that changes how you think about frogs).
If you are interested in speaking at a TEDxLaSierraUniversity event, it is highly recommended that, before applying, you review the resources and guidelines outlined here, content rules here, and in particular download and view the speaker guide here. If you plan to deliver a talk on a scientific topic, please review TED's science standards for speakers.
As you complete our speaker response form, please know that a local voice with an idea worth spreading is preferred by our speaker committee over professional speakers seeking a new venue for a message they share regularly. And demonstrating that you are willing to take the time to understand our theme and goals to help us better understand the authentic you who is interested in this opportunity will have an important impact on our consideration.
TEDx Program
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxLaSierraUniversity, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxLaSierraUniversity event, TEDTalks content and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized. Learn more about the global TEDx program at https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/tedx-program
TEDx, x = independently organized event
This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED. For information about the global TEDx program, click here.
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