Mark Hurd, CEO of Oracle Corporation, to deliver TEDx talk

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From cyber security to human trafficking to food safety to Sandy Hook, Wake Forest’s 5th annual TEDxWakeForestU speakers will address various safety and security issues on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 12 to 4 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

Mark Hurd is the chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation. With over 30 years of technology industry leadership, Hurd directs corporate strategy for the IT giant, and is a member of the company’s board of directors. His work in the IT space has gained him recognition from prominent business publications including Forbes, Fortune, Business 2.0, Barron’s and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Additional TEDx speakers include:

Nicole Hockley, founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing gun-related deaths due to crime, suicide and accidental discharge, and encouraging and supporting solutions that create safer, healthier homes, schools and communities in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy of 2012.

Bradley Myles, the executive director and CEO of The Polaris Project, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization spearheading the fight to combat and prevent modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Myles is regarded as one of the leading advocates in the anti-human trafficking field and has played an instrumental role in furthering Polaris’ national programs to keep victims at the center and leverage data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate.

Katrena Perou is the chief program officer at Urban Arts Partnership, a nonprofit organization that works to advance the intellectual, social and artistic development of underprivileged public school students. Urban Arts’ arts-integrated education programs help close the achievement gap and give young people the skills they need for the future. Perou brings years of nonprofit leadership and education development experience to her role at Urban Arts, and her work in the field has been recognized nationally.

A complete list of the eight speakers is available on the Wake Forest Tedx website here.

The TEDx program allows individuals to organize community events which advance TED’s mission of providing the public with “ideas worth spreading” — powerful conversations that spark lively debate and help produce innovative solutions to some of life’s most begging questions. Speakers are limited to 18 minutes.

Tickets for TEDxWakeForestU 2016 are available online. Tickets are free for Wake Forest University students, faculty and staff. General public tickets are $15. All attendees must have a ticket to attend.

Learn more about TEDxWakeForestU 2016 on Wake Forest’s TEDx website, TEDxWakeForestU Facebook or @TEDxWakeForestU.