Theme: The Revolution will be livestreamed

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).

Bramble
Online
Monticello, Arkansas, AR
United States

Debs Walker

Ex-prisoner advocate

7More founders Josh and Debs Walker have worked in low-income areas in Houston, TX with the homeless and addicted since 2005. Through this work they encountered many formerly incarcerated men and women. Their harrowing stories revealed a breakdown in support that begins the moment they leave prison, and hinders their chances of reintegration. Since 2016, the 7More team has connected with over 20,000 men and women at the prison gate, resourcing their reintegration and giving them “a fair chance to get back in society.”

Déjà Rollins

Activist and Communication Scholar

Déjà Rollins is a Dallas, Texas native, whose professional experience in broadcast media laid the foundation for her doctoral studies in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois. Her research centers on mediated communication and technology with an emphasis on its effect on race, culture and identity formation.

Josh Walker

Ex-prisoner advocate

7More founders Josh and Debs Walker have worked in low-income areas in Houston, TX with the homeless and addicted since 2005. Through this work they encountered many formerly incarcerated men and women. Their harrowing stories revealed a breakdown in support that begins the moment they leave prison, and hinders their chances of reintegration. Since 2016, the 7More team has connected with over 20,000 men and women at the prison gate, resourcing their reintegration and giving them “a fair chance to get back in society.”

Karen Kelsky

Academic culture expert

Karen Kelsky is the Founder and CEO of The Professor Is In, which provides advice and consulting services on the academic job search and all elements of the academic and post-academic career. She speaks nationally and internationally on topics related to Ph.D. professionalization, and is a weekly columnist at Chronicle Vitae. As the creator of the Sexual Harassment in the Academy Survey and the #MeTooPhD hashtag, Karen speaks nationally on issues of sexual assault in the academy, with a focus on empowering victims and training people in leadership. She is a former tenured professor and department head at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Oregon. Her latest book is The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job (Random House 2015).

Yasmin Benoit

Asexuality activist and model

Yasmin Benoit is a fashion model, writer, activist, and Masters graduate based in Berkshire, England. At 18, she began modelling with the goal of diversifying the fashion industry and became one of the UK's most prominent Black alternative models. In late 2017, she publicly came out as aromantic-asexual and became an unlikely face for those communities. She focuses on raising awareness for asexuality and aromanticism, and dispelling misconceptions about the identities.