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).

Jessie Ball duPont Center
40 E Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Second Floor
Jacksonville, Florida, 32202
United States

Desmond Meade

President and Executive Director of FRRC

Desmond Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually become the President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, a graduate of Florida International University College of Law, and a winner of the MacArthur Genius Award. As President and Executive Director of FRRC, which is recognized for its work on voting and criminal justice reform issues, Desmond led the FRRC to a historic victory in 2018 with the successful passage of Amendment 4, a grassroots citizen’s initiative that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. Amendment 4 represented the single largest expansion of voting rights in the United States in half a century.

Hope McMath

Cultural Leader, Educator, Artist, Curator, and Activist

Hope McMath is a cultural leader, educator, artist, curator, and activist whose knowledge of, and passion for, the arts is matched by a strong commitment to effecting positive change. She’s founder of Yellow House, an organization that sits at the intersection of art, social justice, and community care. Hope is a facilitator and curator with Humanities in Medicine at Mayo Clinic and maintains an active studio art practice. Her work, including her long career at the Cummer Museum, has been recognized nationally by organizations including the Kennedy Center, American Art Museum Association, and Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.

Ramon Perez

AI Technology Executive

An AI technology executive and military veteran, Ramon Perez founded Digital Democracy Project to address systemic problems in our electoral system that result in hyper-partisanship and widespread voter alienation. He believes that, to achieve better outcomes, we must use technology to give greater control directly to voters.

Will Brown

Reporter

Will Brown is a native Floridian whose curiosity about politics and policy started as a 7-year-old observer of the 1992 presidential election. He is a journalist and photographer who has worked for publications in Florida and Texas. He has earned awards for breaking news and social media. In 2020, he contributed photographs for WFSU News/Health News Florida’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and Why Children Became the Fastest Growing Group Under Florida’s Baker Act.” He has earned journalism degrees from Florida A&M and the University of South Florida.