Wired Magazine Executive Editor Thomas Goetz, Amgen Scientist Scott Patterson, Neuro Researcher and Author Mark Robert Waldman

The first-ever TEDxConejo Conference, a one-day locally organized gathering of renowned thinkers and doers produced in association with the Conejo Valley Unified School District, will bring a diverse line-up of speakers to the Scherr Forum at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center on March 27th.  A limited number of tickets are still available.

The conference is built on the model and under license from the TED Conference, an annual gathering of some of the worldʼs most fascinating and influential people. This local edition, brings together some of the leading minds in the area to share ideas, insight and discussion. The program features talks, ranging in length from 3 to 18 minutes, and conversation breaks where audience members and speakers have the opportunity to talk and exchange ideas. In addition to the internationally recognized presenters, the organizers have identified several outstanding area students who will speak or perform.

The daylong program is organized around the theme, “Whatʼs The Big Idea,” and is divided into three sessions: “Thinking,” “Doing,” and “Seeing.” Topics to be covered include the neuroscience of beliefs, innovations and discoveries in medicine and healthcare, the principles of meaningful enterprise, new ideas in education, effective communication, microfinance, human perception and music.

Thomas Goetz is the executive editor of Wired Magazine and author of the new book, The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in The New Era of Personalized Medicine. His writing on science and medicine has appeared in the Best American Science Writing and Technology anthologies. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, his work has also appeared in The New York Times op-ed page and in The New York Times Magazine. He holds masterʼs degrees in American literature and public health.

Dr. Scott Patterson is the executive director of Medical Sciences at Amgen Inc. He is well known in the field of protein chemistry and is one of the pioneers in the field of proteomics. At Amgen, he leads the Molecular Sciences department with primary responsibility for application of biomarkers across all research studies. He received his Ph.D. and B.Sc from the University of Queensland, where he held positions of increasing responsibility culminating in that of senior research officer. Patterson is also a former faculty member of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York.

Mark Robert Waldman is Associate Fellow at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania and Adjunct Faculty at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is a therapist, co-author of ten books, including Born to Believe and How God Changes Your Brain (both written with Dr. Andrew Newberg, M.D.), and the founding editor of Transpersonal Review. He lectures throughout the country on neuroscience, religion and spirituality and conducts research with numerous religious and secular groups. His work has been featured in dozens of newspapers, magazines and on syndicated radio programs.

A Press Conference will be held to announce the complete speaker line-up and beposted at the TEDxConejo website, www.tedxconejo.com.

About the Conference

Big ideas will fill the Scherr Forum at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on March 27th, when TEDxConejo brings together some of the most interesting and interested people in our community for a day of talks, entertainment and conversation.

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You cannot miss the 25th Annual Great Race of Agoura Hills! The Great Race is one of the largest running events in Southern California!  This year's event takes place on Saturday, March 27th, at Chumash Park, 5550 Medea Valley Drive, Agoura Hills.

This silver anniversary event will be the largest and best in the history of the Great Race!  As always, there will be a huge variety of run/walks for EVERYONE (from nationally competitive runners to casual fun-runners to walkers), including:

• Cheseboro Half Marathon: This 13.1 mile run is mostly on trails in Cheseboro Canyon, with a final descent down Kanan Road to the finish.  I've run this several times and can say it is challenging, beautiful and fun. This popular race usually sells out at 1,500!!
• Pacific Half Marathon: This additional 13.1 road race was added last year. The race starts at Paramount Ranch in Agoura and ends at Chumash Park (a shuttle brings you back to the start). This race is also capped at 1,500 runners/walkers.
• Old Agoura 10K: This 6.2 mile run is a fairly challenging run through the residential areas of Old Agoura. I have run this several times in the past and it was a lot of fun.  There are some rolling hills on this course, so train accordingly! Limited to 1,500.
• Deena Kastor 5K: This 3.1 miler's namesake is 1991 Agoura High graduate Deena Kastor....2004 Olympic Marathon Bronze Medalist, American Record Holder in the marathon, half marathon, 10 miles, 8K and more (also winner of the London Marathon, Chicago Marathon, etc.). Join 1,499 others to run this flat/downhill course!
• Kids 1 Mile: Up to 500 kids ages 6 to 12 will enjoy this pancake flat fun run in the neighborhood surrounding Chumash Park.
• Family Fun Run/Walk 1 Mile: Same flat course as the Kids 1 Mile. Limited to 1,000.

The Great Race "goodie bag" is always GREAT, but greater than EVER this year! Up to 7.000 people will receive HUGE commemorative medals with ribbons specific to their event. All half marathon, 10K, 5K and Kids 1 Mile participants will get drawstring backpacks for their goodie bags. Special running hats and bib belts will be distributed to up to 5,000 and 4,000 participants, respectively.

The post race event at Chumash Park will have dozens of vendors and will be a major party! In fact, you will be hard pressed to find a better post-race party around here.

Don't wait as you may miss out! Learn more and sign up NOW by visiting www.greatraceofagoura.com.

Here at Conejo Valley Guide we have a special place in our heart for Easter fun! The bunnies of the Conejo Valley and surrounding Ventura County areas are planning ahead to make this Easter memorable.

We have the Germans to thank for the Easter Bunny concept, which came about in the 1500s. Hares and bunnies are signs of fertility and eggs signify rebirth. The Germans brought Easter traditions to America and it wasn't until after the Civil War that Easter became widely celebrated. Now we celebrate by gorging ourselves on candy! Yeah!!!

Mar 12th to Apr 3rd: Easter Bunny at Simi Valley Town Center

Mar 13th to Apr 3rd: Easter Bunny at Pacific View Mall in Ventura

Mar 13th to Apr 3rd: Easter Bunny at The Oaks Mall Thousand Oaks

Sat, March 27th: Conejo Recreation & Park District Spring Eggstravaganza Thousand Oaks

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BUY TICKETS NOW AT www.tedxconejo.com

TEDxConejo Facebook Page