Dr. Amy Tudor, a death doula and scholar of Thanatology, explores the persistence of ghost stories in Western culture. Drawing from hospital bedside experiences and uncanny moments in daily life, she examines what these stories might really reveal about us—and what we might be haunted by within ourselves.Amy Tudor holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities (focus in Thanatology) and an MFA in Creative Writing, as well as a certification as an End-of-Life Doula. Her research includes death and photography, end-of-life ritual practices, and identity issues in facial injury patients, the latter of which she studied as a Visiting Academic Fellow at The University of Oxford. Dr. Tudor is the author of two collections of poetry – A Book of Birds (2008) and Studies in Extinction (2016) – and is also a published essayist, short story writer, and lyricist. She teaches in the Department of Focused Inquiry at Virginia Commonwealth University.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

This TED talk challenges the conventional idea of legacy as something that exists only after you're gone. Instead, it redefines legacy as a living, breathing impact you create every day. By sharing stories and insights, the talk reveals how you can design your legacy through daily actions, mindset shifts, and intentional decisions. It highlights that waiting to be remembered is a mistake -true legacy is about becoming the person you are proud of while you're still alive. Tom Kelly is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur who helps mission-driven leaders scale their impact with systems—not stress. He founded CharityAuctionsToday, a platform that’s helped over 50,000 nonprofits raise $1B+. As host of The Million Dollar Nonprofit podcast and author of the book by the same name, Tom teaches nonprofits and entrepreneurs how to leverage automation, AI, and bold action to grow without burning out. 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 a change in taste or smell could be the first sign of something much bigger? In this talk, Dr. Paule Joseph shares the personal story of her mother-in-law’s legendary cooking and how subtle shifts in flavor revealed early signs of dementia—showing how our senses hold powerful clues about brain health. Blending science and story, she reveals why paying attention to smell loss can help us protect memory, health, and connection.? Website: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paule_Valery_Joseph ? Instagram: @Dr_PauleJoseph ? LinkedIn: Dr. Paule Valery Joseph ? X/Twitter: @Dr_paulevj #BrainHealth #SmellLoss #DementiaAwareness #SensoryScience #TEDx #TEDxCincinnati #TEDxtalk Dr. Paule Valery Joseph is a nurse scientist, Guggenheim Fellow, and 2025 Presidential Leadership Scholar whose work explores how smell and taste shape health, disease memory, and human connection. A 2024 TED Fellow, her TED fellows film/talk Why Smell Matters More Than You Think introduced global audiences to the overlooked power of scent. She has since expanded that vision in her TEDx talk, Clues in Our Senses: Smell Loss and Brain Health, where she shares the story of her mother-in-law’s cooking and how subtle changes in taste and smell signaled the early stages of dementia. A nurse practitioner and leading chemosensory researcher, Dr. Joseph has led studies on how sensory changes are linked to obesity, alcohol use, and neurological disease. She holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where she trained at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. https://www.ted.com/speakers/paule_joseph 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

In his recent book, The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President, Edward F. O’Keefe contends that perhaps the most masculine president in the American memory is actually the product of unsung and extraordinary women. O’Keefe, who serves as the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, reintroduces five women lost to history who were critical to TR’s success: his mother, two sisters, and two wives. In his TEDx Fargo talk, O’Keefe focuses on Bamie and Conie, respectively TR’s elder and younger sister. One, according to her contemporaries, could have been president were she born a man. The other was essentially TR’s co-governor of New York State — yet neither is broadly known today. Come to hear about Theodore Roosevelt and the secret power of sisters — and think about how the thread of family, those who have picked you up and pushed you forward, have changed the trajectory of your life. Edward F. O’Keefe was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota (go Rough Riders!) He is currently the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Previously, he spent two decades in broadcast and digital media at ABC News, CNN, and NowThis, during which time he received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work with Anthony Bourdain, two Webby Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award for ABC’s coverage of 9/11. A former fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, he graduated with honors from Georgetown University. 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

In this joint talk, the presidents of NDSU and UND step beyond the traditional rivalry to highlight how North Dakota’s two research universities are working together to serve the state. From workforce development to groundbreaking research and statewide outreach, this presentation reveals how collaboration—not competition—is strengthening North Dakota’s future. David Cook is the 15th president of North Dakota State University. Joining NDSU in May 2022, his leadership focuses on the university’s strategies to enhance enrollment and invest in student retention and success, prioritize NDSU’s R-1 Carnegie classification status for research, invest in the well-being of the NDSU community, strengthen a culture of diversity, inclusion and respect, and embrace NDSU’s critical role as a land-grant university. He currently serves on the board of directors for the following organizations: Ag Products Utilization Commission, Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber, Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp., Red River Valley Fair, Research and Technology Park, Research Foundation, Sanford Medical Center Fargo, State Board of Agricultural Research and Education, as well as the NDSU Foundation Executive Governing Board (ex-officio).Andrew P. Armacost began his tenure as the University of North Dakota’s 13th President on June 1, 2020. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, retiring in the rank of Brigadier General in 2019. As UND’s President, Armacost has led the campus to national recognition, including the 2021 Larry Abernathy Award from the International Town Gown Association and the 2022 ACE/Fidelity Investments Transformation Award from the American Council on Education. In 2021, UND became the first university in the nation to be designated as a member of the U.S. Space Force’s University Partnership Program, and in 2025, UND was designated as a "Carnegie R1" institution, placing it among the top research universities in the nation. 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