TEDx Returns to New Vic

Human trafficking, veteran affairs, social justice, and the ocean are among the subject matter at this year’s TEDx event in Santa Barbara. Held on Veterans Day (Sat., Nov. 11) at the New Vic (33 W. Victoria St.), with a live simulcast hosted by Impact Hub Downtown (1117 State St.), the evening’s most timely speaker will be William Rodriguez, a veteran who will talk “about the lack of a cohesive mental-affairs policy for returning soldiers,” according to Mark Sylvester, who, alongside his wife, Kymberlee Weil, has cocurated Santa Barbara’s annual TEDx events since 2010. The veterans theme will also be covered by speaker Andy Carroll, creator of the Legacy Project (which recently became The Center for American War Letters at Chapman University), which for the past 20 years has collected more than 100,000 letters written by service members, dating from the American Revolution to recent conflicts in the Middle East.

On human trafficking, curators have brought in Megan Riker-Rheinschild, the Victim-Witness Assistance Program Director for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, October 3. Visit tedxsantabarbara.com for more information.