Why you should listen

Helen Walters is the head of media and curation at TED, where she has the privilege of overseeing the work of an absurdly talented group of people to bring the sharpest minds to the TED stage -- and then distribute their ideas around the world.

Walters first attended TED in Monterey in 2008. Back then, she came as a journalist, reporting on the ideas and speakers as the editor of innovation and design at BusinessWeek. Later, she helped to write and produce TED's own coverage of the conference. Later still, in 2013, she went all in and joined the organization full-time, first as the ideas editor, launching and running TED's ideas blog, then as editorial director, working to help translate stage talks into wildly successful online videos, and now helping speakers at all major TED events. She also serves as a member of TED's leadership team.

In her previous life as a writer and editor, she wrote about everything from high technology to low culture, including writing one book on experimental animation and three books (yes, really) on T-shirt graphics. She still likes nothing more than talking to interesting people about the ideas and passions that fuel them, and that's why she argues that hers is essentially the best job in the world.

More news and ideas from Helen Walters

Live from TED2024

Explorers: Notes on Session 8 of TED2024

April 18, 2024

From redefining the boundaries of artificial intelligence to unraveling the mysteries of the human genome, Session 8 of TED2024 inspired us to reimagine our relationship with technology and its impact on society. This session’s explorers offered profound insights into the intersection of technology and human experience — and envisioned a future where innovation fosters greater […]

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News

Impact: A day of talks in partnership with DWEN

March 11, 2021

Everything you do boils down to impact. Whether personal or professional, you build, design and imagine in pursuit of creating lasting change for the wider world. So, how do you make it happen? At TED Salon: Impact, a virtual event presented by TED and Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), four speakers and one performer explored […]

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Live from TED2019

Connection: Notes from Session 10 of TED2019

April 19, 2019

Sometimes it feels like the world is fraying. Like our long-hold truths turn out, in an instant, to be figments of the imagination. Amid this turmoil, how can we strengthen connection, create more fulfilling lives? Speakers from Session 10 offer a range of provocative answers. The event: Talks from TED2019, Session 10: Connection, hosted by […]

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