This month's theme is: WHY? We have asked local speakers to ask some provocative questions that will challenge the status quo.

Join TEDxSantaMonica for a salon-style event as we explore how local Santa Monica people are transforming the community and inspiring others.

The doors open at 6pm for cocktails, appetizers and networking, with the formal program commencing at 6.45pm.

Please take advantage of the pre and post-event networking time to meet new people, discuss theme topics or reunite with friends. Event ends at 9:30pm.

Please note that we have moved to a larger venue: the William Turner Gallery, Bergamot Station.

Download the TEDxSantaMonica iPhone App for the latest information.

Dr. Ken Catchpole - Director/Researcher

Dr Ken Catchpole is a research psychologist and human factors practitioner. He began research in healthcare in 2003, examining the mechanisms of teamwork and safety in surgery, and developing interventions to improve performance, while taking a semi-ethnographic approach to understanding the complex nature of safety, quality and human error in healthcare. After two and a half years based at the UK’s foremost children’s hospital, followed by six years at the University of Oxford, he joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in August 2011. Through popular and scientific articles, keynote addresses, and media coverage, most notably work with the Ferrari motor racing team and in surgical care, he has sought to engage a worldwide audience in the evaluation and improvement of safety and quality in healthcare. www.safersurgery.co.uk

Kiel Johnson

Kiel Johnson’s drawings and sculptures tell tales; layered narratives speak of his travels and adventures through everyday life. His works become a springboard for metaphorical investigations of the world he inhabits. Although both factual fictions and absurd scenarios, they are ultimately testaments to observation that force us to question the concrete and truthful. What at first might appear safe and secure will be, upon further inspection, very precarious. www.kieljohnson.com

Andrew McGregor

Andrew asks "Why do we get to hear of conflicts in some parts of the world, and not others?" Andrew McGregor is the founder of The Tiziano Project, a non-profit that teaches citizen journalism to locals in conflict zones and neglected parts of the world such as Rwanda, Somalia, DR Congo, Iraq, slums of Kenya, Israel, and South Central LA. To support Tiziano he is also a comic book publisher, film festival co-founder, chessboxing champion, filmmaker, and photojournalist. www.tizianoproject.org

Kurt Schwengel

Kurt has been teaching Kindergarten at Franklin Elementary since 1996 and insists that he "isn't going anywhere cause Kindergarten is where all the fun is!"  Kurt is an NBC Crystal Apple Award winning teacher and travels the country presenting his original Kindergarten curriculum entitled "Rock and Roll Kindergarten".  Kurt was born and raised in Santa Monica attending Madison Elementary, John Adams Middle School, Samohi and then went on to play baseball for UCLA.  He then received both a Masters Degree in Education and an MBA from Pepperdine University in 1995.  Kurt's passion for Kindergarten will certainly stir up some old memories in you.  www.rockandrollkindergarten.com

Cheryl Hunter

Cheryl Hunter comes at her work with a multi-pronged approach, having merged seemingly-divergent careers around one idea: that a simple story, well told and presented, has tremendous potential to educate, entertain and impact people.  Cheryl is an educator, author, speaker and high-performance coach who has personally coached and led personal development seminars for over 86,000 people since 1995.  Simultaneously, Cheryl has had a career in the entertainment industry spanning two decades, working as a television and feature film writer/producer—under contract with HBO, Paramount Pictures, CBS and NBC.  She's also written and acted in solo plays that she's toured nationally. Cheryl will be sharing a personal story about having been abducted as a teenager, and asking, "Why is it that we obsess over the things we can't change, rather than the things we can?" http://CherylHunter.com  

TEDxSantaMonica is operated under a license from TED to bring TED-like events to the Santa Monica community. In compliance with TED guidelines, the goal is to create a forum for community members to gather, mingle, network, discuss, inspire and promote change. By purchasing a ticket and attending a TEDxSantaMonica event, you are agreeing to this statement:

"I understand that those who attend TEDx events do so in a spirit of curiosity, open-mindedness, respect and tolerance, thereby enabling constructive conversation and allowing guests and TEDx speakers to be more open than they might otherwise be. I confirm that I will honor these values."

TEDxSantaMonica cannot include participants who fail to uphold this policy of openness, tolerance and support.

The TED ticketing policy is: all sales are final. If you find that you are unable to attend an event after purchasing a ticket, please post a message on the TEDxSantaMonica Facebook Group to find a potential purchaser. www.facebook.com/tedxsantamonica

For information on future events, visit: www.TEDxSantaMonica.com