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).

Zoom
Zoom
Nashville, Tennessee, 37211
United States

Anamika Dutta

Researcher, Podcaster, Spoken Word Artist & Writer

Anamika is an alumna of the University of Mumbai. Her podcast, Spoken Word by Anamika, where she performs spoken word, focuses on healing through poetry and storytelling; it's currently available on more than twenty platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Pandora. Anamika believes in turning bad experiences into life lessons; a constant learner, she always thrives on being creatively active. She's an avid reader and traveler as well.

Anthony Peterson

TEDx Speaker | Educator | Consultant | Presenter Facilitator | Instructor | Editor | Writer

Anthony has lived, studied, written about, and taught about cultural, racial, and other diverse realities throughout his life. Since 2004 he has led diversity workshops in corporate, academic, and community settings. His education in psychology, religion, and culture inform his perspective. As a consultant, he has welcomed clients such as the American Dental Association and Dallas Children’s Theatre. Anthony’s diversity discussions took a personal turn in 2014, when he began documenting conversations with his white grandchildren regarding race. He hopes that those conversations serve as an invitation for others to tell their own racial stories. He served as panel moderator on Religious Inclusion in the Workplace for the Global Inclusion Online Forum based in Dubai, UAE. Since 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd murder, Anthony has led race listening conversations for a variety of organizations to help process the cultural, historical, societal, and personal moment.

Carol-Lynne Quinn

High-Performance Vocal Coach, Vocal Producer, Professional Singer & Vocal Health and Strength Training Specialist

Carol-Lynne Quinn has the pleasure of working with badass JUNO award-winning artists, major label artists, actors, speakers, and awesome humans who are beginning their vocal journey. Her focus is combining Athletic Voice Science and Soulful Connection. Data Meets Soul. She utilizes voice science technique that focuses on vocal health, vocal rehabilitation, vocal strengthening, range expansion, lung expansion, and more. She is the creator of ROAR. An accessible platform that gives you access to vocal training programs, vocal workout challenges, live masterclasses, and many other resources focused on athletic voice science, soulful connection, vocal empowerment, and community. She currently coaches over 150 humans throughout North America, coaches for Canada’s Music Incubator, the JUNO Awards Master Class, National Music Centre of Canada, and lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Christa Kirby

Licensed Creative Arts Therapist | Global Leadership Educator | Learning Evangelist

Christa Kirby is VP of Talent Development and Leadership Practice Director at Corporate Education Group. For more than 20 years, she has been designing and delivering impactful learning experiences to companies, nonprofits, and NGOs all over the world. Throughout this time, Christa has played a pivotal role in conflict- and post-conflict zone initiatives focused on peace-building, trauma and recovery, and civil society development. A Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and global leadership educator, she is especially interested in exploring the confluence between adversity, creativity, and personal growth. Over the course of 16 trips to Afghanistan, Christa has collaborated on programs targeted at eradicating violence against women and girls; eliminating child marriage; and supporting the Rule of Law. Her work has also taken her across North America, throughout Western and Northern Europe, and to countries including Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Estonia, Ethiopia, India, and Singapore.

Cody Kelly

Husband, Minister, Human Rights Advocate & Corporate Professional

Cody Kelly is a husband, minister, human rights advocate, and corporate professional that is dedicated to bringing about organizational evolution in the form of process, culture, and services. Cody graduated from Loyola University of Chicago in 2011 where he received his BA. He then was accepted into Law School but decided to take an alternate route into the MBA program through Keller Graduate School of Management. He graduated from Keller in 2017 with an MBA and a 3.8 GPA. He serves professionally in the Senior Account Executive role at CareerBuilder. His personal life is dedicated to the needs of the Englewood community on Chicago’s south side through his local church- Freedom Temple COGIC. He is actively engaged in ministry, urban mentorship, and initiatives through his local church. He believes that equality and equity will only come about when the love for the human spirit and experience is understood, appreciated, celebrated, and united with faith.

Derick Grant

Author, Public Speaker, Transformational Mindset Coach, & Former Harlem Globetrotter

Derick Grant is a Former Professional Athlete, Public Speaker, Transformational Mindset Coach & Author. His passion and purpose are to help people in life. He was fortunate to travel to 70 countries playing 8 years for the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. He is the CEO of Results Leadership Development Inc, a Transformational Life Coaching Firm. He changes lives from the inside-out. From working with world-class athletes, and in his own life, he has found the only thing that separates the good from the great is their mindset. He believes We all have the potential, but few know how to tap into their full potential of an “I can do anything” mindset. He is on a mission for the rest of his time here on this earth to teach young people, how to live out their lives with a smile on their face without having to try and please the world. Diving inward through meditation, mindfulness, and self-reflection so they can see who they are, but more importantly who they are not.

Domonique Townsend

I’m Domonique Townsend, a working mom of four and an engineer. I decided to combine my corporate experience as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a leader in money-saving initiatives with my passion to position working moms for success. I did this by founding We Optimize Work! The goal of We Optimize Work is to support working moms in pursuing their personal aspirations without downshifting in their careers. I applied principles that I used to solve the most complex problems in business and modeled them into a framework to meet both the personal and professional needs of the working mom. We Optimize Work offers framework and strategy services to working moms, mom CEOs, and business owners/companies interested in positioning working moms for success. We’ve also created Work Life Success, a membership community for ambitious working mothers and mom CEOs.

Dr. Alka Patel

Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Portfolio GP, Health and Lifestyle Coach, Founder, Director & CEO

Dr. Alka Patel is the Founder of Lifestyle First® and the Creator of The L.I.F.E.S.T.Y.L.E. First Method®. She is changing the way we define health in an unprecedented way. She amplifies health as a skill and an asset so that inspired individuals and bold businesses can create compassionate lifestyle changes for happy, healthy living and connected workplace wellness. One of her greatest passions is to empower and equip individuals and organizations to connect to their DNA – Discover, Notice and Activate who they are, what they want, and where they are going. Her mission is: to sow the seeds of lifestyle medicine into everyday conversations, to embed the roots of health into daily living, to create a canopy of self-care across communities, and to flourish on the fruits of connectivity. Her approach to health is centered on the knowledge that much disease is preventable, reversible, and reducible and that health lies in self-care and self-compassion and in valuing lifestyle first.

Elle Benson

Elle Benson is the Director of Capacity Building for the Alliance for Better Nonprofits (ABN), East Tennessee’s nonprofit resource center. She oversees the educational development and consulting practices at ABN. Elle brought ten years of nonprofit and business consulting experience into assisting in the creation of ABN. Her nonprofit experience includes fundraising, nonprofit program development, nonprofit and corporate marketing, human resources, board governance, and strategic planning. She holds a certification in board governance from BoardSource, a global network advancing board governance practices. She also has a certificate in group facilitation. She earned a business degree from the Haslam College of Business, and she completed her MBA in leadership and organizational change at Tiffin University. As passion projects, she has successfully published two books “Cultivate Your Happiness: Mama-To-Be” and “Cultivating Calmness in Children” both focused on making mindfulness adaptable to everyday life (available at www.cultivateyourhappiness.co). She currently teaches nonprofit management for the University of Tennessee Non-Credit Programs. Elle enjoys being involved in the community, having served on eight nonprofit boards. She is currently serving on boards and committees for the Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee, Friends of Literacy, United Way of Greater Knoxville, and Young Professionals of Knoxville.

Janet Cobb, CFRE, CNP

Strategy and Fundraising Coach, Author & Consultant

Janet Cobb is a white, cis-gender, woman in her late 50s who has traveled this world long enough and far enough to know that there are lots of ways to do life – and she respects and defends each person’s choice to figure out their own path. She’s spent most of hers challenging the status quo, taking less than traditional paths, and seeking to simply go about doing good. Janet’s search has led her into and out of a Catholic convent and seven years living in Asia, into marriage and motherhood in an inter-racial family with three children, into more than 20 years as a high school teacher and administrator, and most recently into coaching more than 300 small and early-stage nonprofits in strategy, communications, and fundraising, from her home base in Chicago. Janet is a national speaker and published author who enjoys cooking, biking, jigsaw puzzles, gardening, and ongoing home repair projects.

Jared Sheehan

CEO of PwrdBy

Jared has been working in the social and environmental innovation space for over a decade. Jared is the co-founder of PwrdBy, a social impact incubator that has built a diverse portfolio of products including greenhouse gas calculators, telehealth solutions, overdose prevention tools, and hydro-economic scenario visualizations. He is also the Director at Water Foundry Advisors, a water sustainability strategy firm that works with multinationals, startups, and governments to solve the issues of water. Jared is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and has built numerous successful products in partnership with clients. Jared is a contributing author to NonProfitPRO, Technology Association of Grantmakers, and LA Tech4Good. Jared sits on the board for the Youth Business Alliance and LA Tech4Good. Jared graduated Summa Cum Laude from Miami University with a double major in Accounting and Environmental Science.

Justine Mastin

Justine Mastin, MA, LMFT, LADC, E-RYT 200, YACEP is a therapist, yogi, podcaster, author, educator, and full-time rabble-rouser. As the owner/founder of Blue Box Counseling and Wellness in Minneapolis, MN Justine specializes in working with clients who self-identify as being outside the mainstream—such as those in the geek, secular, and LGBTQIA+ communities. As an adjunct faculty member at Saint Mary’s University of MN Justine loves to work with future therapists exploring how to find their authentic voice and to question the status quo of therapy culture. Justine literally co-wrote the book on Therapeutic Fanfiction—Starship Therapise: Using Therapeutic Fanfiction to Rewrite Your Life—and has contributed to numerous other books on pop culture and psychology. Justine regularly blogs about the healing power of fandom for Psychology Today and psychotherapy.net. Outside of the “office,” Justine is the captain/co-host of the Starship Therapise podcast and appears at pop culture conventions around the country (and virtually) teaching yoga and speaking on fandom wellness topics. Justine takes a holistic approach to healing: mind, body, and fandom. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @mindbodyfandom.

Kenna Barrett, Ph.D.

Kenna Barrett is an accomplished non-profit leader. She writes and lectures on developing your personal style as a fundraiser, learning from fear and social anxiety, and philanthropy and social justice. Kenna brings a hands-on, practical approach to her lectures on non-profit leadership and resource development. She seeks to demystify the process of asking for money through the use of experiential opportunities such as structured role-plays, exploring the empirical literature on consumer behavior, storytelling, and personal insight. After serving in leadership fundraising roles at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities, Kenna is now the director of development for the American Pediatric Medical Association (APMA) and the APMA Educational Foundation in Bethesda, MD. Kenna holds a BA from Wellesley College, an MA from the University of California-San Diego, and Ph.D. (English) from the University of Rhode Island.

Laneice McGee

Cofounder of Big, Beautiful & Blessed, Mindset Coach & Author

Laneice McGee, currently serves as the District Director for the Department of Workforce Development at the W.O.W (Waukesha, Ozaukee & Washington County) District. She looks at her career as an opportunity to support others (both staff and customers) as they discover their goals and purpose through work. She has her bachelor's degree in arts in Sociology from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and continuing the road by attaining a Master of Science in the field of Human Services from Springfield College. Laneice is the co-founder of Big, Beautiful & Blessed. Laneice is on the board of The Generosity Project and The Yesterday's Negro League Baseball Players Foundation (YNLBP). Laneice feels that it is not just about creating a name but creating an impact. Living life to reach others. In her words, “People look for the light at the end of the tunnel, not realizing they are the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Leah Juliett

Writer, Speaker, Organizer & Activist

Leah Juliett (they/them) is an award-winning writer, speaker, organizer, and activist from Connecticut. Leah is the Founder and Executive Director of March Against Revenge Porn, an international 501(c)3 advocacy nonprofit combating tech-based sexual abuse, known commonly as "revenge porn", through global organizing, media advocacy, victim support services, legislative action, national protest marches, and a legal defense fund. Leah is a 2020 L'Oreal Paris Woman of Worth, 2018 Glamour Magazine College Woman of the Year, recipient of the Rising Star Award from GLAAD and the Accelerating Acceptance Grant from Delta Air Lines. Leah graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2018 with a BA in Political Science and is currently pursuing an MA in Social Justice and Community Organizing from Prescott College. Leah has discussed social justice on press outlets like NBC, CNN, BBC, MTV, BuzzFeed, Teen Vogue, Huff Post, TEDx, Seventeen, and Glamour Magazine.

Lisa Chmiola, MS, CFRE

Chief Fablanthropist at Fablanthropy, LLC

Lisa M. Chmiola has nearly 20 years of philanthropic development experience. She has served in major and planned giving roles in education (public and private) and religious institutions, following initial career experience in event-based philanthropy. An AFP Master Trainer since 2014, Lisa has presented at four AFP International Conferences, and a variety of AFP and other industry association regional conferences, chapter meetings, and webinars. She also serves as an adjunct instructor in Rice University’s Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. Lisa also is an active volunteer, serving on the board of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, on the Association of Fundraising Professionals New Orleans chapter board and the U.S. Government Relations Committee for AFP Global, as a sustaining member of the Junior League, and a graduate of Leadership Houston. Additionally, she has co-authored several pieces for AFP’s Advancing Philanthropy magazine.

Marjorie Herrera Lewis

Author, Journalist & Professor

Marjorie is the author of When the Men Were Gone (Morrow/HarperCollins, Fall 2018), a novel based on the true story of a woman who coached football in Brownwood, Texas during World War II. She is also co-editor of SportsDay Bound (second edition, Abilene Christian University Press, Fall 2018), a collection of sports stories published by The Dallas Morning News. Marjorie knew early on that she wanted to be a sportswriter. After several years at small newspapers, at age twenty-seven, she began working at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Two years later, she was a beat writer--working with veteran beat reporter David Moore--for the Dallas Cowboys. Marjorie later joined The Dallas Morning News sportswriting staff. Throughout her career, Marjorie covered college and professional sports, including the Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks, as well as tennis and golf. She also covered the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and several college bowl games.

Megan Holt, Ph.D.

Executive Director of One Book One New Orleans and the Words & Music Literary Festival.

Megan Holt, Ph.D. is an advocate for adult literacy, working to ensure that all those who want to read are able to do so. She is also an adjunct instructor at Tulane University. Megan received a B.A. in English and Spanish from the University of Alabama in 2003 and a Ph.D. in English/Comparative Literature from Tulane University in 2013. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. Her interview “I Know My Ancestors Are Happy” was published in Walking Raddy: The Baby Dolls of New Orleans (University of Mississippi, 2018). Her husband, Jermaine Smith, and their sons, Jefferson and Abel, inspire her work to make New Orleans a more literate city.

Meghan Greene

Meghan is a former nonprofit Executive Director, currently working as a fundraising professional. She has served in many positions in nonprofits, including case management, volunteer management, development, and communications. Meghan’s favorite causes include education, the arts, and empowering women and girls. As a self-taught musician with a passion for creative ideas and trying new things, Meghan understands the value of tenacity in the face of failure.

Patty Mohler, MS, LMHC

Speaker, Author, Consultant & Therapist

Patty Mohler, MS, LMHC helps individuals, families, and businesses understand and overcome contemporary interpersonal communications challenges to build long-lasting, deep, and meaningful relationships with people. An unwavering belief drives Patty's work that everyone can design and create the life they were meant to live regardless of the challenges around them. Patty captivates audiences through positive energy, humor, and a holistic approach to wellness of mind and body and inspires purposeful connections and communications. Patty's workshops and retreats are designed for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together and celebrate the joy and meaning of our shared human experiences. Author of the best selling book, Renew and Restore: How to Communicate, Connect, and Celebrate Your Best Self, Patty is a specialist in cultivating effective communication to build long-lasting, deep, and meaningful (personal and professional) relationships.

Rachel Duval

Interdisciplinary Artist, Master Speaker Coach & Educator

Rachel Rocky Duval is a performance poet and has toured the USA and Europe performing her unique brand of musical storytelling. A sought-after consultant, Ms. Duval works with industry leaders, C-suite executives, and corporations doing presentation training for professionals in a variety of fields. Ms. Duval is a professional classical singer and has performed at The Met Opera Guild, The Glimmerglass Festival, The Apollo Theatre, and in hundreds of venues worldwide.

Rachel Pedersen

Social Media Marketer, Consultant, Storytelling Authority, & Worldwide Viral Sensation

Also known as “The Queen of Social Media”, Rachel Pedersen is the Founder & CEO of an award-winning social media marketing agency, The Viral Touch, and the Founder & CEO of Social Media United. Rachel is a top social media marketer and consultant, worldwide viral sensation, leading authority on story-telling through social media and Facebook ads. Rachel’s journey began in 2016 while working in her 9-5 (actually, it was an 8-5) day job. Within 6 months she replaced her income and built a clientele that she loved working with. Rachel is also a mother to 3 beautiful children and wife to her supportive husband!

Rossina Gil, MSOD, MAIS

Leadership & Organization Development Practitioner

Rossina Gil is a Leadership & Organization Development Practitioner who specializes in Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) executive coaching and Cross-Cultural Management. She has consulted over 3,800 executives in Executive Leadership. Rossina holds a Master of Science in Organization Development from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management (Malibu, CA), with practical application in Lyon, France; Monterrey, Mexico; and Beijing, China. She also holds a Master of Arts in International Studies with an emphasis in Foreign Policy from the Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Politics and Economics (Claremont, CA), where she serves as a Guest Lecturer. She received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Communications, a B.A. in Spanish, and a minor in Business Administration from Pacific Union College (Napa Valley, California). She is the author of The Corporate Looking Glass: Using Culture for Your Competitive Advantage

Stephanie Jones-Benton

Stephanie Jones is a seasoned real estate agent, marketing expert, and firm believer in women’s empowerment, but you may also know her as an HGTV House Hunters Realtor. Her Book, Boss Lady Real Estate Agent: Show Up, Stand Out, and Rule the Market (Like a Girl) is a best seller in multiple categories on Amazon. Stephanie started out in the world of entertainment, and she often credits her superior marketing skills to the time that she spent auditioning and traveling the world as a performer on luxury cruise lines. Upon returning from one such cruise, a New Jersey-based realtor offered her a job, and just like that, she was swept up into the world of real estate. After taking a few years to learn the ropes in both residential and commercial sales, she traded in her part-time entertainment jobs for a full dive into being a Boss Lady real estate agent. She wanted more and decided it was time to share her knowledge with other women who wanted to continue to grow their business against the odds. Stephanie now specializes in helping her fellow female counterparts excel in the world of real estate, by teaching them her unconventional approach to finding clients and closing sales. She believes women deserve to be treated as equals in the male-driven world of real estate. She loves being a part of her clients’ lives, whether it is to help them find their perfect dream home or build their wealth. Her passion for facilitating the success of others is what pushes her to go above and beyond for her clients.

Syed Arfeen, MD, MBA

Physician & Healthcare Consultant

Syed Arfeen, MD, MBA is a physician and healthcare consultant based in the USA. He has 10+ years of clinical experience as a frontline physician in parallel with 5+ years of management experience behind the scenes, always seeking to improve patient outcomes.

Taylor Shanklin

Speaker, Podcast Host & Growth Strategist

Taylor is a speaker, podcast host, and marketing innovator in the nonprofit sector. In her nonprofit career, she has helped hundreds of organizations build and grow online giving programs. She consults non-profit organizations in her work with Firefly Partners, where she leads the Growth team. Taylor is also the founder and CEO of Barlele, a brand and growth strategy firm that helps businesses grow through great storytelling and strategic branding. Taylor is the founder, producer, and host of the Soar podcast - a podcast dedicated to helping people live and work happier by tapping into focus and passion to achieve growth. Taylor lives in the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, two kids, and a lot of nature. She enjoys skiing, hiking, and taking in as much fresh air as possible.

Willie Cobb, MDiv, DMin

Motivational Speaker, Educator & Chaplain

Dr. Cobb is a consultant that brings permanent and revolutionary change to individuals and organizations. The kind of change that promotes a healthy work environment and that will help your community bring about growth and prosperity. A Motivational Speaker, Educator, and Chaplain who engages others through a Ministry of Hospitality, welcoming everyone from where they are, and inviting them into the community. He focuses on leadership development, self-regulation, and compassion.