DNA test kits have both reunited and torn apart families. At age 53, I discovered that the Dad who raised me is not my biological father and that I am half Ashkenazi Jew. Maria shares 5 important pieces of advice for before and after you take a DNA test, including an overview of common legal issues.Maria Leonard Olsen is an attorney, author and podcaster (Becoming Your Best Version). Her book, 50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life, helped thousands thrive. Her next book is Before and After the DNA Test: A Comprehensive Guide to Privacy, Medical, Legal and Personal Concerns in the World of Consumer DNA Testing (Bloomsbury 2026). Maria graduated from UVA School of Law. She has written for The Washington Post, AARP and more. She spoke at TEDx CUNY on “Turning Life’s Challenges into a Force for Good,” and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Learn more: MariaLeonardOlsen.com.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

[1:26 am, 27/3/2026] Chandrshekar PR Agency: This talk challenges the common belief that studying abroad is only for the wealthy.Through real stories like Akshay, who pursued an MBA in Ireland with a limited budget, and Maaz, who studied in Hungary and went on to play for the national cricket team, the talk highlights how students from ordinary backgrounds can achieve global success.It explains how scholarships, affordable destinations, part-time work opportunities, and the right guidance make international education more accessible than ever.Blending these journeys with his own story, Asslam Shaikh emphasizes that the real barrier is not money, but mindset — and that with the right guidance, students can overcome financial limitations and build a future beyond borders. [1:33 am, 27/3/2026] Chandrshekar PR Agency: Bio Asslam Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of Aliff, an edtech-driven study abroad consulting company having 85+ centers across India, Kuwait & Ghana. With over 15 years of experience, he has guided more than 32,000 students to pursue education across 19 countries.Coming from a background where financial limitations shaped career choices, he is driven by a simple mission — “We bring study abroad within the common man’s reach.” Through his work, he helps students overcome barriers of cost, marks and awareness to build global futures.He holds an Executive MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai & continues to work closely with institutions and student communities to expand access to international education. Asslam Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of Aliff, an edtech-driven study abroad consulting company having 85+ centers across India, Kuwait & Ghana. With over 15 years of experience, he has guided more than 32,000 students to pursue education across 19 countries.Coming from a background where financial limitations shaped career choices, he is driven by a simple mission — “We bring study abroad within the common man’s reach.” Through his work, he helps students overcome barriers of cost, marks and awareness to build global futures.He holds an Executive MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai & continues to work closely with institutions and student communities to expand access to international 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

In her TEDxEnsley Avenue ED talk, “Effective Community Engagement Using CBPR,” Kimberly M. Speights explores how generations of racial inequity have shaped the experiences of many communities of color, particularly Black communities. She explains that these inequities have not disappeared over time but have instead evolved, requiring new approaches to address them. Through the lens of Community Based Participatory Research, she highlights the importance of culturally grounded strategies, authentic partnerships, and community driven solutions that place the voices and lived experiences of the community at the center of change. Her message calls for engagement that is not imposed from the outside but built collaboratively with the people most impacted. Kimberly W. Speights is a dedicated advocate committed to uplifting underserved and marginalized communities. Driven by a passion for equity, she works tirelessly to promote access to quality healthcare and comprehensive education for all. Through her fearless advocacy in health communications and efforts to address systemic disparities, Kimberly continues to champion initiatives that foster a more just, inclusive, and empowered society. 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

Everything on the International Space Station arrives from Earth. Astronauts can't just pop out to the store for supplies. A Mars mission would entail a trip of three to five years, with no on-demand resupply. One key to unlocking long-haul space missions is to disrupt this reliance on supply chains as we know them and create self-sustaining life support systems. Researcher Jessica Snyder looks for answers to this challenge in a surprising place: a tide pool in Antarctica, where organisms sustain a full food web from local sunlight and resources alone. She's applying the same principle to systems design for deep space, building up from the microbes and turning cargo into code. Step into a future "astropharmacy" where bioengineering innovation allows astronauts to download and produce medicine on demand. Jessica Snyder is a scientist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science and a researcher affiliated with NASA Ames Research Center, where she has served as Synthetic Biology Task Lead on the NASA Academic Mission Services contract. She holds a PhD in biofabrication from Drexel University, where her doctoral research focused on 3D-printed liver tissue models for space medicine applications in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center. She co-founded Odyssey SpaceWorks, which built and launched an automated biological research facility in low Earth orbit in 2023, and she is a core contributor to the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts-funded Astropharmacy project. She has published in Frontiers in Space Technologies and the NASA Technical Reports Server, and has conducted fieldwork with Quixote Expeditions in Antarctica's South Shetland Islands. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at Santa Clara 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

What do allergies, insurance rates, and Boston Marathon qualifying times have in common? It turns out, these are all climate stories. While the effects of climate change are already being felt, fewer than a third of Americans report hearing about climate change in the media in any given week. After 25 years of observing rapid ocean warming, Andrew Pershing saw the disconnect between measurable realities and public discourse. He left his research career to focus fully on science communications built around a simple insight: people will engage with climate change when it shows up in something they already care about. By quantifying effects as local and personal, it starts conversations. The central obstacle between the solutions we have and the scale we need is public will, so let's talk about it. Andrew Pershing is Chief Program Officer and Director of Attribution Science at Climate Central, where he develops tools to quantify how climate change affects daily weather conditions. He holds a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University and a BS in aquatic biology from Brown University. He previously served as Chief Scientific Officer of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, where he headed the Climate Change Ecology Lab and led one of the first scientific investigations of a marine heat wave in US waters. His work has been published in Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Runner's World. 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

Regina warns that self-criticism undermines confidence. She encourages meeting awkward moments with humor, not harshness. By moving past embarrassment without self-blame, she shows that self-compassion builds real confidence and a healthier self-image. Regina Bartlett is the author of the book Food, Sweat, & Fears about losing 250lbs with RNY Gastric Bypass and a lot of faith going on to live her dream of running the NYC Marathon. She’s a blogger and speaker from the gorgeous Rhode Island coastline where she spends her days with her amazing husband Jeff. They filled their empty nest from their combined family of six adult children with two very tiny, adorable Chihuahuas named Sid Vicious and Starling Estrella Betances. 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 TEDxEnsley Avenue ED talk, “Brave Day: Why Settling Is More Dangerous Than Failure,” Michael Barham explores the quiet pattern that holds many people back, not through failure but through the silence of settling. He challenges the idea that safety and comfort shouldn’t guide our decisions, revealing how true transformation begins when we deliberately choose growth even when the outcome is uncertain. Courage, he argues, is not recklessness but an intentional decision to move forward without waiting for perfect readiness or permission. When we stop settling and embrace the possibility of failure, we open the door to the kind of bold action that leads to real change and personal breakthrough. Michael Barham, widely known as Coach Mike, is a Bessemer, Alabama native who has spent more than a decade empowering athletes and coaches to succeed beyond the game. A former high school basketball coach, he understands firsthand the challenges athletes face when the final buzzer sounds. Now an entrepreneur, consultant, and NIL strategist, Coach Mike helps athletes build influence, create sustainable income streams, and discover purpose after sports. His work spans from collegiate standouts to professional athletes nationwide, all seeking to maximize their NIL potential while making an impact beyond the court. 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

Beyond the ecological component of assessing plastic and microplastic pollution in estuarine and marine areas and in the aquatic species that inhabit these areas, this talk shows how technology is already impacting this area, particularly in the development of innovative methodologies for mapping plastics on beaches and extensive coastal areas, using drones and artificial intelligence. This type of technology has great potential to monitor and understand the distribution of plastic pollution more effectively and on a large scale. Beyond the ecological component of assessing plastic and microplastic pollution in estuarine and marine areas and in the aquatic species that inhabit these areas, this talk shows how technology is already impacting this area, particularly in the development of innovative methodologies for mapping plastics on beaches and extensive coastal areas, using drones and artificial intelligence. This type of technology has great potential to monitor and understand the distribution of plastic pollution more effectively and on a large scale. 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

Philipp Wintersberger, a researcher specializing in Human-AI Interaction and Human-Centered AI (HCAI), focuses on ensuring that as autonomous systems become more prevalent—particularly in transportation—human autonomy, trust, and meaning are maintained. His talk emphasizes designing AI that empowers users rather than replacing or undermining them. Philipp Wintersberger é professor de Intelligent User Interfaces na IT:U – Interdisciplinary Transformation University (Linz, Áustria), uma das primeiras universidades púbicas europeias a dedicar-se à digitalização e transformação digital. Lidera uma equipa interdisciplinar de cientistas que trabalham em projetos de investigação financiados pelo Fundo Austríaco de Ciência (FWF), pela Agência Austríaca de Promoção da Investigação (FFG) e por parceiros da indústria. O seu trabalho centra-se na cooperação human-machine em ambientes críticos para a segurança, incluindo veículos automatizados, sistemas robotizados e industriais, e ambientes de trabalho com suporte de IA. É (co)autor de inúmeros trabalhos publicados em importantes revistas e conferências, como a ACM CHI, ACM IUI, AutomotiveUI e Human Factors, e os seus contributos valeram-lhe inúmeros prémios internacionais. É membro fundador do SIGCHI Áustria e faz parte do comité diretivo do ACM AutomotiveUI. 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 talk, the speaker explains what it takes to follow your heart and realize the life you envision. She recounts her family’s journey—one sibling even competed in the Winter Olympics—and describes how she carved a niche for herself in the fashion industry as a designer, earning recognition and an award from Vogue. Born in Addis Ababa and raised in New York, Mahlet returned to Ethiopia in 2008 with a lifelong passion for fashion. She began her career as a fashion editor at Tadias Magazine in the USA. In 2009, she co-founded Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week, inspired by major global fashion events. HAFW aims to unify the African fashion industry, addressing the need for an annual platform that promotes sustainable development while providing visibility for African designers in the international market. The event not only showcases fashion but also includes workshops, seminars, and discussions to foster growth within the industry. 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