Past TEDx event
TEDxUSC Salon
This independently organized TEDx event brings the community together to share ideas worth spreading.
Speakers
Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.
Aaron Abunu
Artist
Aaron Abunu was born in Fort Worth, Texas to two Eritrean Refugees. In childhood, he discovered a love for art & engineering living with my craftsmen family. Aaron moved to Los Angeles in 2019 to pursue my Architecture Degree at USC. In the last few years, he's gotten involved in a lot of sustainable coursework, community art events, and local fundraising work. Now Aaron leading the Emotion House art installation and working toward an art & architecture career.
William Higbie
Documentary Filmmaker
William is an award-winning documentarian, event producer, and digital media strategist based in NYC. A 2023 graduate of the University of Southern California, he focused on equitable and inclusive storytelling through film and American political history. While at USC, he co-designed and scaled an art-driven community alongside Aaron Abunu, growing “Art Nights” from 15 to more than 50 attendees per event by emphasizing consistency, accessibility, and social incentives. Across nine gatherings, they invited student artists to lead collaborative, low-stakes projects, from finger painting and papier-mâché to theatrical performance, reframing art as a tool for connection and collective ownership. In 2024, William served as an Advance Crowd Lead for the Harris–Walz national campaign, supporting 40 events across 16 cities and helping welcome more than 100,000 attendees, and he later contributed to rallies and live-streaming efforts for the Zohran Mamdani campaign for Mayor of New York City.
