5 Speakers to See at TEDxBreckenridge This Weekend

On the last day of her senior year in high school, Ashlie Weisel found a note inside her locker. The message scrawled on it thanked Weisel for her positivity. The writer, a painfully shy fellow student, had been struggling with suicidal thoughts; Weisel’s enduring friendliness convinced him not to take his own life their sophomore year.

When the Frisco mom shared this story with her mountain community during the 2020 TEDxBreckenridge virtually (because, COVID), she made a ripple effect. Her talk received more than 4,000 views. Weisel’s message? Human connection matters.

Now in its fifth year, volunteer-run TEDxBreckenridge is hosting an evening of 12 multidisciplinary in-person presentations on Saturday, February 15, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge. Speakers will lean into the theme “Metamorphosis” with a shared goal of sparking conversation.

Giving a stage to some of the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders, and teachers, the cultural phenomenon TED was born in 1984 out of American architect and graphic designer Richard Saul Wurman’s one-off tech, entertainment, and design conference.

The first TED Talks—free audio and video podcast content from the TED stage—were posted online on June 27, 2006. By September, they had reached more than one million views. Today, TED events and conferences take place worldwide. “We’ve created this event with the intention to offer collaborative interactions and mind-opening curation, unique to our mountain locale,” says TEDxBreckenridge executive director Jill Marek.

And, Marek says, the event is a fantastic après-ski or date night option for folks trekking to the mountains for the holiday weekend.

5 Speakers You Shouldn’t Miss at TEDxBreckenridge

1. Keila Perez Lopez

Occupation: Summit High School student
Talk: A poem, “We Are Stories”
From the program: “Through poetry, she finds a voice to share the complexities of her immigrant experience, hoping to shift perspectives and humanize the label often placed on those like her. Perez Lopez’s poem ‘We Are Stories’ offers a raw and honest portrayal of her metamorphosis, weaving personal and collective narratives of sacrifice, hope, and identity.”

2. Patrick Murphy

Occupation: Director of hospitality for Rootstalk and Radicato
Talk: The deeper joy of a career in hospitality
From the program: “Patrick believes that hospitality is a noble profession that creates numerous opportunities for connection and acts of kindness in a career. Restaurants can be more than a place to eat. They can be a place to explore humanity, create new relationships, and serve as a space to set aside the stresses of everyday life for a few moments.”

3. Philip Wolf

Occupation: Founder of Cultivating Spirits
Talk: The butterfly effect of plant medicine
From the program: “[Wolf] spent 12 years in Summit County pioneering the first cannabis hospitality company in the U.S. [He] revolutionized cannabis hospitality and is now taking cannabis consumption to a deeper level by educating people on the highest expression of the plant, which is to explore one’s consciousness and somatics, as well as hospitality.”

4. Lauren Panasewicz

Occupation: Engineer and adaptive skiing instructor
Talk: The power of mobility
From the program: “Panasewicz is a passionate advocate for mobility, access to healthcare, and community connection. In her TEDx talk, [she] explores the power of mobility, focusing on how access to assistive devices can change lives and communities around the world.”

5. Drew Petersen

Occupation: Professional skier and documentarian
Talk: The strength in asking for help
From the program: “[Drew Petersen] blends his athletic adventures with his storytelling as a writer, filmmaker, and speaker. His newest film, Feel It All, chronicles running the Leadville 100, one of the most iconic 100-mile ultramarathons in the world, through the peaks he has skied surrounding the course and the deep mental health goal that drives him to pursue both audacious athletic goals and a full life.

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TEDxBreckenridge takes place Saturday, February 15 from 5–9 p.m. at Riverwalk Center. Tickets are $50–$75 and can be purchased online. Use Code TEDXFRIENDS for 10 percent off.