Leadership training is a billion-dollar industry, yet organizations are filled with frustrated leaders and disengaged teams. Why? Because most leadership training creates more tension and resentment than growth. Jim Koetting is a leadership advisor, mentor, and consultant who challenges how we think about leadership development. Having built businesses and mentored leaders who raised millions and saved billions, he faced a hard truth: most leadership training doesn’t work—it creates tension and resentment. It fails to address the real issues holding leaders back. With 40 years as a musician, Jim sees leadership like mastering an instrument—you can’t learn it in a weekend seminar. Authentic leadership is practiced daily, forged through adversity, and grounded in self-awareness. He draws on his journey—losing everything at 50, rebuilding from nothing, and 35 years of sobriety—to reveal the hidden struggles today’s leaders face: distraction, addiction, and mental fitness. Through storytelling and hard-won wisdom, Jim helps leaders see what’s missing—and how to finally get it right. His mission? To liberate leaders from illusion and transform the way they lead. 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

The Future of Work, US, and Everything! What if the greatest upgrade you could make isn’t to your phone, your home, or your career—but to your own self?In this thought-provoking TEDx, Dr. Yazan Hijazi challenges us to see beyond the noise of rapid technological disruption and climate crisis, and instead ignite a system-wide transformation that begins within. Drawing from his journey across science, entrepreneurship, and global leadership, Yazan unpacks why old mental maps fail us in a world remade by AI, complexity, and uncertainty.Blending stories, science, and radical questions, he reveals three essential dimensions and five timeless human skills that empower us not just to adapt, but to flourish. From self-awareness to co-creation with AI, Yazan makes the case that the future of work—and the future of us—demands a wisdom rooted in love, humility, and interdependence.Ready to upgrade what matters most—your humanity? Watch now and begin your own transformation.#FutureOfWork #InnerCompass #TEDx #AI #SelfLeadership #HumanPotential #PurposeDriven #SelfInnovation Yazan Hijazi is an engineer by training and a disruptor by calling, with a passion for innovation, systems, and reimagining what it means to be human in a changing world. With a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and 25+ years of global experience, he’s been a scientist, professor, executive, and venture builder. Yazan’s work has earned recognition from the U.S. government for breakthroughs in nanomagnetics and space sensors, alongside internationally cited research.Today, he is a Partner at hea Global and Director of CORE@HTU, an incubator-accelerator that has catalyzed $20M+ in startup support. He also serves on the Board of CRDF Global and teaches as a Visiting Professor at IE Business School. Fluent in Arabic, English, Italian, and Spanish, he holds certifications in Human-Centered Design, NLP, and Leadership Development. Yazan works at the intersection of systems transformation and leadership—always asking better questions. 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

Moorea Friedmann, a class of 2026 student at Riverdale Country School, shares her experience in supporting young people who have been struggling with mental health. Through her podcast, she has helped thousands of young people feel safe and empowered. Moorea Friedmann is a teenage mental health advocate and podcast host committed to supporting others through vulnerability, compassion, and connection. Drawing from her personal experience with an eating disorder, Moorea launched her podcast to offer teens a raw and relatable space to explore topics like anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and the everyday challenges of growing up. Additionally, Moorea has hosted mental health events at Riverdale Country School to spark supportive conversations on wellness in her school community. Through honest conversations and meaningful dialogue, she fosters connection, healing, and hope, always reminding others that you are not alone. 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

Dr. Eric Solomon shares his insights and strategies for how to use tools like AI to help us remember that the future does not have to be won by machines, it can and will be won by those who get better at being human. Dr. Eric Solomon has spent over 25 years pushing the boundaries of how humans, brands, and machines make sense of the world—and each other. With a PhD in cognitive science and executive leadership roles at YouTube, Spotify, Google, Instagram, and Bonobos, Eric's career spans the worlds of psychology, technology, and storytelling. Today, as Founder and CEO of The Human OS™, he helps leaders face the single biggest question of our time: How do we stay fully human in a world run by machines? His work and ideas have been featured in Entrepreneur, Psychology Today, California Management Review, and AdWeek. 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

Vien Valencia explores artivism—the powerful intersection of art and activism—as a tool for connection, remembrance, and resistance. Drawing from personal experiences of displacement and a lifelong search for belonging, Vien shares the story of how art became a space to question systems, preserve memory, and spark collective action.Through the Tinipak River Archive, Vien works alongside the Dumagat Remontado community, whose ancestral lands are threatened by the construction of the Kaliwa Dam. More than an artistic initiative, this project documents material and emotional histories of the river, transforming art into a vessel for advocacy and solidarity. Vien’s talk invites the audience to reflect on how creativity can be used to confront injustice, amplify marginalized voices, and build new paths forward, especially at pivotal turning points in society.At the heart of Vien's message is a simple, urgent truth: the right to space is the right to dignity. And through art, we find the courage to protect that right for ourselves and for others. Vien Valencia centers his practice on the act of recording spaces, conditions, and situations that resist documentation. His work explores how people shape their spaces and how spaces, in turn, shape them. He has immersed himself in local communities, creating drawings, photographs, and materials that reject traditional methods of archiving. In 2023, Valencia received the Ateneo Art Award, followed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award in 2024. 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 TEDx talk "Digital Nomads: Work With Freedom and Fulfillment," the UP alumna highlights his initial struggles with traditional employment, including career rejections and dissatisfaction. Mikee’s personal narrative ultimately focuses on his pursuit of self-created ventures, like a clothing brand and becoming a full-time content creator, driven by a desire for ownership and creative fulfillment rather than stability or a typical corporate path. The talk also touches upon the skepticism from family regarding these unconventional careers, which eventually gives way to understanding as the speaker finds success on their own terms. Mikee Reyes is a former basketball player, now a podcaster and social media content creator. After his time playing basketball for the University of the Philippines, Mikee ventured into a variety of professional fields. He is currently the host of Tito Thoughts, where he offers insights on a wide range of topics, including career development, stress management, and sports. In addition to this, he is the founder of Diin, a clothing brand specializing in versatile and minimalist streetwear. 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