We train scientists to advance knowledge and make exciting discoveries but not how to talk about their work to the public. In this TEDx talk, I share personal stories from my ‘science swear jar’ to reveal hard won lessons and explore what happens when communication is missing from graduate and medical education. This is a conversation about the limits we’ve built around science and what emerges when those limits are challenged. Aimee Bernard is a PhD immunologist with expertise in medical education and science communication. Through her work training graduate students and medical trainees, she has seen firsthand how often scientists are expected to communicate clearly without ever being taught how. She leads and contributes to science communication initiatives that help researchers translate complex ideas into clear language for public, clinical, and policy audiences. Drawing on years of teaching, mentoring, and real world experience, her work focuses on making science more human, accessible, and impactful. In this TEDx talk, she brings an insider perspective on why communication training is an essential part of scientific education. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

When survivors and survivor-led organizations are underfunded, entire communities stay in survival mode, but when we truly listen and invest, survivors don’t just survive, they thrive. Megan K. Manigault is the Founder and Executive Director of I AM VOICES, Inc., a Charleston-based nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services for survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. A survivor herself, Megan has transformed lived experience into leadership, advocacy, and program design that empowers women and youth to reclaim their voices. She has served on multiple state task forces and coalitions, advancing survivor-centered policies across South Carolina. As an independent researcher and consultant, Megan has developed advocacy briefs, public reports, and training materials centering girls, youth, and marginalized communities. She also serves as a Lead Researcher/Trainer with Armar Training and Consulting, presenting on survivor-centered practices, equity, and leadership development. Her work bridges story, research, and systems change to ensure survivors are not only heard but resourced to thrive. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Nearly 80% of students take Algebra 2 in the United States, but less than 35% of students take those skills to pass Calculus for their collegiate degrees. What about all of the other students who don’t use those Algebra 2 skills? Or have been told they’re bad at math? In this talk, Benji advocates for a new approach to math education. My name is Benji Billman, and I’ve been teaching high school and middle school mathematics for over 17 years. I’ve taught every class from 6th grade math, through Pre-Calculus. My whole life, I’ve been good at math, because it comes naturally to me. My job is helping students see math the way I see it. My goal is to find math that excites and empowers students. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

What happens when we start outsourcing our thinking to AI before we've even formed an opinion? Tyler Cobbs explores the danger of over-reliance on artificial intelligence and offers a practical framework for using AI as a genuine collaborator rather than a replacement for thought. Tyler Cobbs is the founder of GoAssistantly, a Savannah-based digital marketing and web design studio focused on helping small businesses grow with clarity, creativity, and integrity. Having supported more than 150 small businesses across the Lowcountry, he is a frequent guest speaker, podcast guest, and workshop host known for helping entrepreneurs navigate emerging technology with confidence. He also serves on the board of Heroes for Hallie Grace and is an active advocate through Chatham Savannah Citizen Advocacy. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

What if the leaders we celebrate are actually the ones holding their organizations back? Steve Curran spent 23 years in the U.S. Navy, discovering that real leadership has nothing to do with being the strongest person in the room and everything to do with building people who will eventually surpass you. Steve Curran is the CEO of Khaki Consulting, where he works with growth-minded founders and leadership teams who look successful on paper but feel trapped because everything still depends on them. A retired Navy Chief, he trained leaders for high-stakes operations and now challenges a deeply held cultural belief that great leadership is about personal achievement rather than multiplying others. He lives in Savannah and is fiercely proud of his family and unapologetically devoted to the Philadelphia Eagles. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

What if your personal data is shaping your life in ways you never agreed to? Cybersecurity architect Catherine "Cat" Karow pulls back the curtain on the hidden data broker economy and reveals how America’s surveillance-commerce system monetizes manipulation at scale. #TEDxSarasota Catherine “Cat” Karow is a cybersecurity architect and founder of ZoraSafe. She began her career in public education IT before leading identity and access management for the University of Florida’s HiPerGator supercomputer, building its restricted data onboarding process as it scaled into one of the top five supercomputers in the world. An early Hack The Box beta cohort member - back when access required exploitation - she later led technical initiatives for Apple, the Department of Transportation, and the White House. After scammers targeted her mother using legally purchased personal data, Cat turned her focus to investigating the data broker industry. Her forthcoming book, SOLD: The Hidden Industry That Sells Your Data - and Shapes Your Life, explores how America’s surveillance-commerce system was constructed - and who it leaves exposed. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Crys Matthews won't ask you to ‘feel’ hopeful. She puts hope in your hands as something you can use. In a performance built around two original songs, she makes a quiet, forceful case: hope isn't a mood, it's a practice — and singing out together is how you rehearse speaking out when it counts.She invokes John Lewis, draws on ancestors who dreamed of freedom from inside slavery, and turns a roomful of strangers into a single voice."Remember, hate gets tired — keep that steel in your spine." Don't just watch this one. Sing it back. A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An award-winning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. She is made for these times.Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation adds, her gift is a "reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." In her own words, Matthews says her mission is: "to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice." Her new album is an embodiment of and a testament to that mission.When Matthews attended a panel at Folk Alliance International in February of 2024, she heard a Scottish Folk artist inquire as to how many record labels pursue what the artist referred to as "music from my tradition," four words that intrigued Matthews. "I loved the idea of that. It seems like the best way to talk about music: what is your tradition, who are your people, what is the fabric of you?"A daughter of the South by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, and the self-proclaimed poster child of intersectionality, Matthews is boldly answering those questions on her new album aptly titled Reclamation.Recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Emporium Studios, Reclamation was produced by Levi Lowry (co-writer of Zac Brown Band's hit song Colder Weather). The project features her partner on and off stage Heather Mae, her friends and fellow singer-songwriters Kyshona, Melody Walker, and Chris Housman, and some of the best musicians in Music City like Megan Coleman, Megan Elizabeth McCormick, Ellen Angelico, Ryan Madora, Jen Gunderman, and Michael Majett."This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Everyone knows the story of Rosa Parks: tired feet, a single refusal, a bus boycott that sprang up overnight and a Supreme Court that set things right. Elizabeth Houston says nearly all of that is wrong — and that the way it's wrong has a name. Not misinformation or disinformation, but malinformation: true facts arranged to mislead.The clean, one-woman myth of Montgomery, she argues, quietly erases the years of organizing, the names you were never taught, and the unglamorous case that actually desegregated the buses — and in doing so it teaches us exactly the wrong lesson about how change happens.That lesson matters to her right now. Houston left her federal job this year after the mass firings hit her household, and she carries a phrase a stranger handed her in a White House security line: "the sun will rise again." Her bet is that the sun rises not on heroes and magical moments, but on ordinary people doing small things, persistently, over a long time — the part of every movement that gets edited out of the story.So the question the talk leaves you with is uncomfortable and personal: if movements are built by the many and not the one, what's your small, persistent thing? Houston, three generations removed from slavery and now reaching an audience of millions, has decided what hers is. The talk is an invitation to decide yours. Elizabeth Booker Houston is a Memphis, Tennessee native who now calls Washington, D.C. home. She has performed at venues such as DC Improv and Magooby's Joke House, and worked with comedic legends such as D.L. Hughley and Tony Woods. When Elizabeth is not on stage, you can find her making witty political and social commentary on Instagram and TikTok where she has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and tens of millions of views. She also cohosts the podcast "2 Lawyers, 1 Ex-Con," and her clever and hilarious podcast cohosts, Jasmine Burton and Justo, will be featured at this standup comedy show!In her own words: "I’m Elizabeth Booker Houston, JD, MPH. I’m a lawyer, scientist, comedian, content creator, mom, and wife living in the DC metro area by way of Memphis, Tennessee." This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Step right up for a fascinating look at what the circus can teach us about identity, reinvention, and breaking society’s expectations. Entertainment historian Betsy Golden Kellem explores the surprising cultural impact of the nineteenth century circus and why “running away with the circus” may be more relevant than ever. #TEDxSarasota Betsy Golden Kellem is a scholar of the unusual. She is the author of Jumping Through Hoops: Performing Gender in the Nineteenth Century Circus, and her entertainment history work has appeared in venues including The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, The Public Domain Review, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, and Slate. Betsy is an Emmy and Telly award winner for her Showman’s Shorts video series on P. T. Barnum and writes on pop culture for JSTOR Daily and history.com. If you ask nicely, she will juggle knives for you. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Former NFL linebacker Shaquem Griffin shares his journey from being told certain dreams were impossible to building a life defined by resilience, belonging, and impact. In this powerful talk, he challenges us to rethink how support systems are designed and how belief can transform potential into achievement. #TEDxSarasota Shaquem Griffin, the first one-handed former NFL linebacker in history, played four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins before retiring in 2022. Now a sought-after motivational speaker, he has inspired D1 Power 4 programs, pro teams, Fortune 500 companies, and more, around the world. He serves as an Advisor for a Venture Capitol, BIG12 Alumni Counsel Member, and startup advisor. Co-founder of Consumer Launch Pad and Y.O.U. Adapt, he is also an award-winning athlete, author of Inseparable, and creator of The Locker Room Playbook Curriculum. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx