TEDxABQ 2026 — Reframe
TEDxABQ 2026
REFRAME

The way you see everything is about to change. Join us at the Albuquerque Railyards for a full day of ideas, art, and conversations that challenge the way you think about the world — and yourself.

Date August 29, 2026
Doors 10 AM
Programming 11 AM – 5 PM
Venue Albuquerque Railyards

Early bird pricing ends August 1st — save over 20%

Speakers
19
Ideas worth spreading
Expected Attendees
600+
Curious minds
VIP After Party
Evening
Speakers + community
The Venue

A BUILDING
THAT'S ALREADY
A REFRAME

We're taking over the Albuquerque Railyards — one of the city's most iconic spaces — and filling every corner with ideas worth spreading. This isn't a conference. It's a happening.

THE FLUE SHOP

The newly renovated main stage. Where the big talks happen and ideas land.

THE BLACKSMITH SHOP

Immersive experiences, exhibits, and programming in a raw industrial space.

THE COURTYARD

Where the city comes out to play. Pop-up interviews, food, and open air.

Food Trucks Pop-up Interviews Pickleball Rock 101 Fashion Bookstore Curious Engagements VIP After Party
The Speakers

19 VOICES.
19 REFRAMES.

Each speaker arrives with a reframe — of health, identity, justice, science, creativity, and what it means to be human.


Science
Aman Priyadarshi Kumar

NASA-funded solar physics researcher who will change the way you think about that star you've been ignoring your whole life.

Reframing how we look at the sun.

Economic Development
Bryce Kennedy

How does a piece of merchandise transform a community's identity — and what does it have to do with the future of space?

Reframing space from a destination to an economy.

Technology
Justin Zebell

Forget surveys. AI and facial recognition are quietly revolutionizing how we understand audience experience.

Reframing how we measure engagement.

Health / Personal Story
Terrie Call

Reclaiming your health isn't just physical — it's the most direct path to reclaiming who you are.

Reframing identity as something you can take back.

Education
Anastasia Zagrai

A young person teaching other young people that STEM isn't for someone else — it's for them, right now, wherever they are.

Reframing who gets to be a STEM role model.

Health / Social
Mary Beth Lindsey

Sexual violence isn't a women's issue waiting for women to solve it. It's a men's issue — and it's time men stepped up.

Reframing sexual assault as everyone's responsibility.

Personal Story / Humor
Eddie Tafoya

Failure is funny. Failure is human. And failure might be the most honest thing we have in common.

Reframing failure as connection.

Social / Gender
Christina Joymon

An Air Force engineer with a simple, radical idea: stop putting boys ahead of girls and start walking beside them.

Reframing gender equality from institutional to cultural.

Healthcare
Jen McDowell

What if healing from trauma isn't about going back to who you were — but integrating who you've become?

Reframing trauma recovery from restoration to integration.

Personal Story
Natasha Schwarzwald

A radical approach to love: drop your expectations entirely, and replace them with something more powerful.

Reframing relationships from expectations to appreciation.

Social Reform
Angel Garcia

The skills forged inside a gang and prison system — leadership, strategy, resilience — are exactly what communities need. Who decided otherwise?

Reframing a criminal record from life sentence to leadership training.

Science & Art
Samantha Schwann

You don't need an ocean to explore one. From the desert, a scientist ventures into the twilight zone — and brings us with her.

Reframing ocean exploration: no coastline required.

Economic Dev / Social
Jonathan Sakura

Gaming has always been about community. A brick-and-mortar shop in Albuquerque is proving it — one controller at a time.

Reframing gaming from isolation to connection.

Personal Story
Jaime Campbell

A schizophrenia diagnosis is a label. But a label is not a person. It's time we learned to see the difference.

Reframing disability: a complete person with an incomplete label.

Art
Saleema Ishq

Writing a psychological thriller taught her that the quirks she'd been editing out were actually the source material for her best work.

Reframing your limitations as your greatest creative resource.

Personal Story
Elizabeth Garland

Introversion isn't stage fright — it's a superpower. And for performers, learning that changes everything.

Reframing introversion from liability to strength.

Healthcare
Dr. David Soul

What if medicine asked not just what's wrong with you, but why — and looked east for the answer?

Reframing medical practice through curiosity and eastern medicine.

Personal Story
Kim Black

The "good girl" persona is one of the most quietly suffocating identities a woman can wear. What happens when she takes it off?

Reframing self-authenticity as the most radical act of all.

Healthcare & AI
Dr. Sageline LaBaze

AI in medicine doesn't have to mean treating illness after it strikes. What if we used it to stop illness before it starts?

Reframing AI in healthcare from treatment to prevention.

Tickets

CHOOSE YOUR
EXPERIENCE

Full day access to all talks, exhibits, the bookstore, food trucks, and every curious engagement we've cooked up.

Ends Aug 1
Early Bird
$70
Save over 20%
  • All talks + programming
  • All exhibits and experiences
  • Bookstore access
  • Food trucks
  • Full day (10 AM – 5 PM)
Get Early Bird Ticket

Price increases Aug 1

Regular
General
$95
 
  • All talks + programming
  • All exhibits and experiences
  • Bookstore access
  • Food trucks
  • Full day (10 AM – 5 PM)
Get General Ticket

Available through event day

Student pricing available.
We believe ideas belong to everyone. Reach out to your student coordinator for access to student tickets.
$40

YOU COULD KEEP SEEING THE WORLD THE WAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE.

Or you could show up on August 29th and let it surprise you.

Get Your Tickets Now

TEDxABQ 2026  ·  August 29  ·  Doors 10 AM  ·  Albuquerque Railyards

TEDxABQ is a volunteer-powered movement inspired by the global TED mission. Encompassing the greater Albuquerque, NM metro area, it aims to fulfill its mission as a  dynamic platform that unites diverse thinkers and doers across the region. 

TEDxABQ invites Albuquerque into a playground for curiosity, where diverse ideas collide and charge our city’s future.

We want to create a thriving ABQ+ where ideas, creativity, and collaboration fuel innovation and transformation.

We do this by celebrating curiosity as a journey, and inviting our community along for the ride! —fostering an inclusive space (everyone’s welcome!) where diverse thinkers connect, explore, and share powerful ideas that create ripples of local and global change.

Our Team

Since its inception in 2010, TEDxABQ has always been a volunteer-driven organization. Our volunteers do everything from speaker selection, event coordination and volunteer management to marketing, fundraising, and graphic design.

OrganiXers

Alex Andrego Adams

Alex Andrego Adams

Lead OrganiXer, Curator, & President of Curiosity, Inc.
Meghan Pickard

Meghan Pickard

Lead OrganiXer, Curator, & Vice-President of Curiosity, Inc.
Lisa Heldt

Lisa Heldt

OrganiXer & Treasurer Extraordinaire
Nando Betancur

Nando Betancur

OrganiXer & Investment Lead
Miranda Andrego

Miranda Andrego

OrganiXer & Chronicles Keeper
Dovya Friedman

Dovya Friedman

OrganiXer & Brand Strategist
Angie VanArsdale

Angie VanArsdale

OrganiXer & Volunteer Cultivator
Nina Martinez

Nina Martinez

OrganiXer & Community Connector
John-Mark Collins

John-Mark Collins

OrganiXer & Creative Lead
John Grassham

John Grassham

OrganiXer & Connector
Kalina Schulz

Kalina Schulz

OrganiXer & Connector
Jonathan Perno

Jonathan Perno

OrganiXer & Chef

AdviXers

Tim Nisly

Tim Nisly

AdviXer
Bill Meador

Bill Meador

Advixer
Amanda Bergamo

Amanda Bergamo

AdviXer
Curiosity.
Connection.
Catalyst.
TEDxABQ is committed to collaboration and partnership with our own New Mexico community. YOU are our speakers. You are our volunteers. YOU are our connectors. YOU are our supporters. I think you can tell, we can’t do it without YOU.

Partners & Affiliations

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.)

Address

PO Box 26231 
Albuquerque, NM 87125