About TEDxTumon
TEDxTumon is an independently organized TEDx event held in Tumon, Guam, a crossroads of cultures, economies, and ideas in the Pacific.
We bring together thinkers, creators, researchers, and community leaders to share ideas worth spreading, locally rooted and globally resonant.
About Tumon
Tumon is the heart of Guam’s visitor economy and a meeting point between island life and the world beyond.
It is the village shaped by movement, exchange, and adaptation.
CJ Urquico
I’m an artist and designer, a marketer and storyteller, an educator and entrepreneur, a parent, and a business leader who loves turning raw ideas into real-world outcomes. For three decades I’ve worked across art, branding, and digital innovation, leading creative teams that translate authentic stories into guest experience magic by blending data, design, and heart. I’ve also taught web design and animation at Guam Community College, mentoring island creatives who are now thriving around the world.
Outside of work, I build projects that serve families. When the pandemic hit, I wrote and illustrated Coping with COVID When You’re a Kid to help children and parents navigate uncertainty with hope and humor. Today, I serve on the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army Guam Corps, helping build partnerships and fundraising drives that support at-risk families and people facing substance-use challenges. Whether I’m shaping a brand narrative, producing content, or organizing neighborhood relief, my through-line stays the same: connect people and possibilities, and leave every project and every community kinder, smarter, and more resilient.
I’m passionate about uplifting Guam through storytelling, creativity, and evidence-based advocacy that protects families and strengthens our island community. I believe that in the flood, the infodemic of misinformation, we don’t have to choose between love and science, and our children deserve both. My TED story lives at that intersection. I grew up in Manila, raised by a resourceful grandmother who survived World War II and did everything she could to protect me, even when that protection meant I missed critical vaccinations. As a child, I survived polio, measles, and mumps. Decades later, as a father, artist, and community advocate, I found myself confronting a modern threat to families everywhere: the infodemic. My TEDx talk, “When Love Distrusts Science,” blends lived experience with global public-health data to explore how misinformation spreads, how it harms, and how love can unintentionally lead us astray.
My mission is simple and deeply personal: help families understand that we don’t have to choose between love and science. Our children deserve both.
About Jeddou
I am an athlete, entrepreneur, musician, producer, promoter, and writer editor.
I’m STRAIGHTUPJED, a Guam-based songwriter, producer, singer, radio host, emcee, and DJ with over a decade of experience in the music industry.
In 2021, I was credited as a songwriter on TWICE’s album Formula of Love: O+T=<3. In 2023, I was credited as a songwriter and featured artist on Maoli’s Music Overload album on the hit song “Lemon With My Tito.”
Over the years, I’ve opened for E-40, MadeinTYO, PnB Rock, Jhené Aiko, JNR Choi, Fat Joe, and Tinashe.
Before music became my full-time lane, basketball shaped me. I represented Guam twice on the Guam Junior National Basketball Team, played in 2011, and served as team captain in 2014.
From 7,251 miles away and 14 hours in the future, I stepped onto the TED Sports stage to share what it means to chase big dreams from a small island: Guam.
To many, Guam is a postcard paradise or a military outpost. To me, it’s home, and it’s also where world-class athletes are built. We compete not only against opponents, but against geography, limited funding, and the odds that come with being overlooked.
I reflected on my own journey, representing Guam twice on the Junior National Team, including once as captain, and the moment I walked away when the costs outweighed the returns. But my story isn’t about giving up. It’s about showing up.
That’s how I redefine the numbers game. Even from the middle of the Pacific, we carry home with us, play with pride, and give 110%, no matter the distance.
Jed’s TEDSports Indianapolis talk is coming soon.