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).

College of Central Florida
3001 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL
Ocala, Florida, 34474
United States

Daniel Gentry

Work Life Balance Coach

Dan Gentry is the Chief Life Architect at Third Power Performance, a company focused on helping high achievers maximize their potential while maintaining life balance. He takes his 30 years of experience in software and systems development, adds in 20 years of management experience from small businesses up to Fortune 10 companies, mixes in a lifetime of the study of self-improvement, and finally adds a large pinch of humor to create remarkable experiences for his audiences.

Dr. India White

Leadership Coach, Author

Dr. India White is a life coach, author, national educational consultant, entrepreneur, mentor, and licensed minister. Audiences learn from her hardships and triumphs in life. As a formerly homeless student, she was kicked out of the house on Christmas Eve at the age of 16. India is a 3-time graduate from the University of Florida majoring in math and Ed. Leadership, and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Administration. She was named Teacher of the Year in two counties while publishing 38+ books and was a 2022 Gators 40 Under 40 Honoree. She has held positions as a math teacher, Assistant Principal, National Ed Consultant, and co-author for Big Ideas Learning. Dr. White has presented for the National Council for Teachers in Mathematics (NCTM), and the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE). As a member of these organizations, India has been privileged to work with leaders in legislation, the department of education, and various organizations.

Dr. Kinga Mnich

Mindset Strategist - Community Connector

Dr. Kinga Mnich is an award-winning international social psychologist, educator, and speaker, specializing in emotions, positive psychology, bio-hacking, and gender. Her work solves the myths of emotions by breaking down the complexity of social and cultural concepts tied up inside emotions. Through her extraordinary research, she brings new ways of understanding how we can use emotions to be who we want to be, create impact, and flourish in life (and business). With over 12 years of experience and hundreds of clients, she has developed The Ziva Way method. This method combines social and positive psychology with strategy and mindfulness techniques to help clients create the life and career they desire.

Dr. Sonal Patel

Physician - Healthcare Innovator - Author

Sonal Patel is a board-certified pediatrician, neonatologist, and breastfeeding specialist. Born in Lucknow, India, her family moved to Omaha, Nebraska when she was 9. She attended Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, from 1995-1999. She studied medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center graduating in 2003. She did her pediatric training at LSU in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thereafter, she pursued neonatology starting at LSU and finishing at Tufts University in Boston. She moved to Denver in 2009 and joined Denver Health as a Neonatologist. Through her professional and personal experiences, she noticed the gaps in postpartum care in Colorado. In 2017, she founded NayaCare: Newborn Speciality Clinic at Your Doorstep. She has been a guest on several podcasts and featured on local Denver 7News and 9News. Her articles on the 4th trimester and maternal mortality have been published in many journals. She debuted her first non-fiction book, The Doctor and Her Black Bag.

Elgin Carelock

Business Strategist - Relationship Builder

Elgin Carelock is the CEO of re-View Business Strategies, where he specializes in helping clients develop long-term growth and sustainability through building strong relationships between leadership, management, employees, and customers. Elgin has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an MBA with a specialty in marketing. Coupled with more than 20 years of retail and corporate management, Elgin understands the importance of being able to communicate with a diversity of people and honed these skills while working in a high-engagement customer service center that served more than 19 million visitors per year. As a serial entrepreneur, Elgin is acutely aware of the challenges small businesses face when entering a new market or expanding market share. Therefore, he has dedicated the last ten years to coaching individuals and companies on the importance of creating value for customers by considering their needs first.

Elizabeth Judith

Courage Coach

Elizabeth’s personal journey from wuss to watch-out-world has led to her becoming a courage coach, public speaker, actor, and the creator of the loving discipline method – a powerful, yet gentle approach to self-discipline and self-mastery. Her greatest passion is helping others cultivate the courage and loving discipline to live a beautiful life.

Ingrid Harb

DEI Leader - Community Builder

Ingrid is an International speaker and founder of two globally recognized organizations, the Women Ambassadors Forum and NOTA Inclusion. She also identifies as a #MexicanAmerican. Throughout her upbringing, neither country accepted her wholeheartedly, deciding she was always “too much” of one culture and not enough of the other. This limiting belief didn’t stop Ingrid, and she relays the message that it shouldn’t stop you either. Only 28 Ingrid has raised 500k+ funds, partnered with over 50 Fortune 500 Companies to help produce intersectional experiences and training that promote Inclusive Workplaces, and has led over 40+ global forums and local forums that have reached women from over 135 countries. She is currently developing online global (DE&I) certificates with the University of South Florida focused on Cross-Cultural Leadership. Her agency Nota Inclusion continues to grow, supporting DE&I departments of companies like L’Oreal, Edelman Financial Engines, and Walker and Dunlop.

J Flow

Metaverse Enthusiast

As a metaverse creator, his journey includes identifying early trends as an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and futurist, and this has now led to him being a metaverse thought leader and host of Rise of the Metaverse living in Puerto Rico with his family. J Flow helped launch a primary school in a remote village in Maguindanao, Philippines. The school is dedicated to his 98-year-old grandmother Su Hsiang who has been his inspiration for his TEDx talk "The Power of the Double Heart".

Joy Zedler

Nonprofit Founder - Hope Dealer

Joy Zedler is the founder and executive director of The Pearl Project, a nonprofit that educates, encourages, and equips foster/ adoptive/kinship families and professionals who serve them. She has a Master's in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and is currently pursuing a Masters's in Marriage and Family Therapy. As a foster-turned-adoptive mom, she knows first-hand the effects of trauma and the power of trauma- informed practices to transform a family. She loves sharing hope, healing, and practical tools and is on a mission to help vulnerable children (and their caregivers) know their value.

Mary Kingston Roche

Educator - Advocate - Entrepreneur

Mary is a mother, educator, advocate, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner. A native of Massachusetts, she moved across the country to begin her career as a teacher in Oakland, CA where she discovered her love for working with youth. She later served on her local school board and volunteered with middle and high school youth to ensure they had access to and opportunity for a great education. After receiving her Master of Public Policy from Duke University, she has served for the last twelve years as an advocate for children, securing policies and funding from the federal to local levels that improve children's and families’ well-being and quality of education. She works as Senior Director of Policy for the Institute for Educational Leadership, a national nonprofit that gives everyone equal access to a great education and career and that prepares leaders to change policies and practices toward these goals. She has two children, ages 5 and 3, who model insatiable curiosity every day.

Michael Angelo Caruso

Speaking Coach - International Keynote

Michael teaches people how to be better speakers and presenters, so they can help more people and amp up their careers. He utilizes his unique background in the technology sector and a separate career in the entertainment business to deliver keynote speeches that feel like a combination of your best teacher and your favorite comedian. He has spoken on five continents and in 49 of the 50 states. He can make anyone a better communicator. Caruso is the founder and President of Edison House, an international consulting firm specializing in corporate and personal improvement. Edison House clients include Hallmark, Bank of America, Verizon Wireless, Rayovac, Citgo, Nissan, and the United States Navy. Michael has authored Work Hacks and the audiobook, Dear Michael Angelo -- A Father’s Life Letters to His Son. He also has an online speaker coaching masterclass titled, Present Like a Pro. A lifetime Rotarian, Michael loves giving back. He is a lifetime Rotarian and enjoys giving back.

Nazma Khan

Social Activist - Empowerment Leader

Growing up in New York City as a Muslim immigrant, Nazma Khan faced constant discrimination due to her hijab (head covering). After 9/11, her discrimination took on a new height. In 2013, she started a global movement called ‘World Hijab Day’ to fight discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice against women in hijab. In 2017, World Hijab Day Organization became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Under her leadership, participants from over 150 countries take part in World Hijab Day on February 1st every year. Her work is commemorated in both public and private sectors including but not limited to educational institutions, religious institutions, the business sector, the healthcare sector, and the political sector. WHD Ambassadors from over 23 countries under her supervision work hard to accomplish her mission in fighting hijabophobia through awareness, education, and empowerment. Her work has been recognized by NY State Senate and by the House of Representatives of the Philippines.

Renee Williams

Master Instuctor - CEO - Trainer

Renee Williams began training in Tang Soo Do in 1991. After opening a martial arts school, it became more important than ever to study child development, personal growth, psychology, and wellness in order to create the best program possible for the students at the school. Martial art is an excellent tool to build confidence in children. However, after some observation and conversation, there was a pattern during adolescence where even the most advanced students were becoming aware of how others perceived them and might find themselves struggling to like and believe in themselves. This talk was designed for those incredible humans who need to train their thoughts to be an ally.

Wesam Shahed

Prosecutor - Civil Rights Advocate

Wesam Shahed is a first-generation Palestinian-American from Chicago, Illinois. He serves as an Assistant State’s Attorney at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO), the second-largest prosecutor’s office in the US. Wesam has not only been recognized as one of the most promising young talents in the CCSAO, but he has also been internationally recognized in the Arab American Foundation’s “30 Under 30.” Wesam’s involvement ranges far beyond his day job, as he was the Finance Chairmen for the first Muslim and Palestinian American to be nominated by the Democratic Party into Illinois’s House Legislature in June 2022. At only 24, Wesam earned his B.A. in Pre-Law: Business Management from Loyola University Chicago and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Michigan State University College of Law. Wesam holds executive leadership positions for the Arab American Bar Association, the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, the Arab American Democratic Club, and the Chicago Palestinian Film Festival.

Zach West

Attorney

Zach West grew up in South Florida. He studied English and then law at UF, and has since made Gainesville his home. He enjoys reading, baking bread, and spending time with his family. As a personal injury lawyer, Zach helps those who have been hurt by the carelessness of others. Zach is also excellent at creating limericks.