Theme: Making Waves

Waves are anywhere and everywhere – from sound waves, to ocean waves, to light waves…and the one thing that they have in common is that once they arrive, their impact shakes their surroundings… and everything around them is no longer the same. We recognize that the Lowcountry is brimming with eclectic, innovative, and impactful ideas. This year we want to celebrate the movers and shakers, those who won’t stand still and who create real change in their communities. They’re making waves. Let’s make waves with them…and make our lowcountry, and our world, a better place.

TEDxHiltonHead will celebrate ideas worth spreading that will highlight members of the Lowcountry community who are “making waves” on March 14, 2020. The format includes a suite of short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances that are idea-focused, and cover a wide range of subjects to foster learning, inspiration and wonder – and provoke conversations that matter.

Hilton Head Health
14 Valencia Road
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 29928
United States

Dr. Chloe Carmichael

Licensed Psychologist

Dr. Chloe Carmichael, Ph.D, is a licensed clinical psychologist, known as Dr. Chloe. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Long Island University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree and departmental honors in psychology from Columbia University in New York. Dr. Chloe heads a successful private practice which serves more than 1,000 patients in Manhattan. Dr. Chloe focuses primarily on stress and anxiety management, and relationship issues, as well as career coaching. She is a member in good standing of the American Psychological Association and the National Register of Health Psychologists, an elite membership for psychologists with the highest standards of education and board scores. She is regularly featured on national TV media and print media. She is currently under contract with Macmillan Publishers Ltd. She is also a member of the Women's Health Advisory Board.

Janet Porter

Senior Advisor, Stroudwater Associates

Janet Porter has 40 years of experience as a hospital administrator, teacher, association executive, consultant, and public health leader. She joined Stroudwater Associates in 2012 and serves as a strategy, operational and leadership development consultant to healthcare organizations. Janet has been in executive roles with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the University of North Carolina, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Janet Porter currently serves on the boards of Ohio State University, the OSU Wexner Medical Center, the High Value Healthcare Collaborative, the Foster McGaw Committee of the American Hospital Association, Hilton Head Hospital, Beaufort County Library and as Chair of Hospice Care of the Lowcountry.

Michelle Meissen

Founder, Palmetto Ocean Conservancy

Raised by naturalists to respect the land and sea, Michelle Meissen spent her formative years exploring nature and learning how vital preservation is. An avid diver, Meissen still remembers her first encounter with a shark, and how much her life changed in that moment. Right then, she didn’t see a dangerous creature staring back at her, but another living creature who needed her protection. Her true purpose revealed itself that day. She founded Palmetto Ocean Conservancy with the goal of raising awareness and spearheading conservation efforts in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, encouraging area businesses to end single-use plastics and leading educational workshops for youths.

Ovie Mughelli

NFL Pro Bowler | Medical Consultant ECOATHLE

Ovie Mughelli played 9 years in the NFL as a starting Pro Bowl fullback for the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens and is considered one of the best fullbacks in the NFL. Yet his life experience of having two premature children made him realize that there was more to life than money and fame – including the air quality in his hometown. Motivated to be part of the solution, he took action – and today, as the Founder and President of the Ovie Mughelli Foundation, is the only NFL player in history to also have an environmental foundation.

Rex Gale

Idea Challenge Submission TEDxHiltonHead Organizer

Tony Wartko

Director of Facilities Services and Sustainability at The Sea Pines Resort

Tony leads Sea Pines’ multi-pronged sustainability initiatives such as HVAC unit water re-use from condensate. Under Tony’s direction, the resort sorts, bales on site and sells plastic, aluminum, and cardboard. Over sixty tons of food waste were processed in 2018 using composting, dehydration, and vermi-culture, including six tons of oyster shells and six tons of coffee grounds. These efforts diverted 609 tons of solid waste (48 percent of the resort’s waste stream) from the landfill and reduced trash hauling costs over 20 percent. Their three golf courses are Audubon and Golf Environmental Organization certified; their RBC Heritage Foundation Golf Tournament was GEO certified as a sustainable event. Currently they are testing glass recycling by grinding and using it as base material for sidewalks, etc.

Tyler Crispen

America’s Favorite Houseguest + Co-owner and operator of jewelry company Naut & Chain

Born & raised in Ohio, former Hilton Head Island beach lifeguard turned TV personality, Tyler Crispen, appeared on season 20 of Big Brother on CBS where he would go on to place runner-up, be voted as “America’s Favorite Houseguest”, and meet girlfriend Angela Rummans,(a Hilton Head Island native). Today Tyler is the co-owner and operator of jewelry company Naut & Chain alongside Angela, as well as a social media influencer, and world traveler. Through youth turmoil and lack of ambition or purpose, Tyler has time and time again chosen the path most resistance, to launch himself towards goals that would seem to be impossible. The biggest in which would ultimately lead back to the place that started his seismic path in the first place, Hilton Head Island.