Breakfast with Strangers: Courtney Dillard at TEDxSalem

Courtney has been curious about strangers for as long as she can remember. She has traveled extensively both in the United States and abroad, making an effort to strike up conversations with those around her in order to learn more about cultures very different from her own. Teaching in the field of Communications at Willamette University, Courtney finds herself frequently imploring her students to get out of their Facebook bubbles and take a look at the world around them. Originally from Florida, Courtney has been living in Portland and working in Salem for over a decade. Creating and deploying innovative random acts of kindness is her major hobby. She sees her honeymoon adventure, Breakfast with Strangers: 50 Meals across America, with her husband Matt as her best idea yet. Her favorite breakfast is Matt's homemade backyard chicken truffled eggs, served in their kitchen.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)