Sept. 28, 2017 – Twelve leaders in the world of transportation from across the United States and abroad will gather in Wilmington, Delaware for the October 17, 2017 TEDxWilmingtonSalon, perhaps the first TEDxSalon in the world dedicated exclusively to exploring transportation.

The theme of the Salon is, “Who’s in the Driver’s Seat? The Transformation of Transportation.” The event is being supported by AAA Mid-Atlantic, headquartered in Wilmington.

“We received speaker applications from dozens of the leading voices in the transportation industry, research, and technology,” said Ajit Mathew George, organizer and executive producer of TEDxWilmington. “I am excited about the ideas that will be explored by the engineers, innovators, CEOs, experts, and government officials we have invited to speak on October 17.”

“AAA wants to generate thought-provoking ideas and conversations about the transformation of transportation.  Because we know many people want to watch and listen from many parts of the world, we are providing a Livestream of the event and have already heard from places like departments of transportation about setting up viewing areas to watch the event unfold live,” said Cathy Rossi, Vice President of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “These talks are intended to stimulate thinking about rapidly-developing transportation technology and how these advancements are – and will be – affecting consumers in the near and longer term. It will be a practical and realistic look at the evolution of transportation and its implications for our vehicles, our infrastructure, and our lives.”

Information about registration to attend the event in Wilmington as well as accessing the Livestream can be found at http://www.tedxwilmington.com/events/transportation/

Speakers at the TEDxWilmingtonSalon “Who’s in the Driver’s? the Transformation of Transportation” include:

• Maureen Ohlhausen, Washington D.C., Acting Chair, Federal Trade Commission
• Anya Babbitt, Michigan, Founder and CEO of SPLT
• David Silver, California, Leader of the Self-Driving Car program at Udacity
• Jennifer Cohan, Delaware, Secretary of Transportation, State of Delaware
• Tom Dingus, Virginia, Professor of Engineering, Director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)
• Elan Nyer, Israel, Director of Business Development at Nexar
• Andreas Mai, Michigan, Innovation Leader at Keolis North America, former Director of Smart Connected Vehicles with Cisco
• John Ellis, Illinois, Ellis & Associates, Former Global Technologist of Ford Motor Company’s Connected Car Business
• David Woessner, Maryland, General Manager of Local Motors
• Lauren Smith, Washington DC, Policy Counsel and Director of the Connected Cars Project at the Future of Privacy Forum
• James Koenig, New York, Co-chair of Fenwick & West LLP’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice
• John Nielsen, Florida, Managing Director of AAA National’s Automotive Engineering Team