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).

Halton Theatre, CPCC
1206 Elizabeth Avenue
Charlotte, North Carolina, 28204
United States

Alyse Kelly-Jones

Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones is nationally recognized speaker on obstetrics & gynecology, as well as female sexual health issues. She has testified before Federal Drug Agency investigative committees in support of Addyi, a newly developed medicine designed to help women suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder. An iron-distance triathlete, Dr. Kelly-Jones also founded Tri It For Life, an all-volunteer organization, dedicated to mentoring and training women to compete in their first triathlon. Over 2,500 athletes have completed their first race with Tri It For Life and have made live-long friendships and found new fitness along the way. She guides the vision for this organization with chapters in Charlotte, Huntersville, Raleigh and Charleston. Born in Iowa City, IA, Dr. Kelly-Jones soon moved with her family to Melbourne, Florida, where she grew up as an athlete and academic leader. She said she has wanted to be an OB/GYN since she was in third grade. She attended the University of Florida, graduated from its College of Medicine and arrived in Charlotte in 1999 to join Mintview Women’s Care. She currently serves as the managing partner for her group. She is married to the fabulous Richard Jones and mother to their three amazing children, Rich, Ben and Nate.

Ashley Davis

Ashley Davis was born the middle son to a preacher and a teacher, and spent his first years of life in the fields of Indiana, the coal mines of West Virginia, and the mountains of Virginia, finally settling in North Carolina by the time he was five. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in English in 1991, he began a career in media and advertising, focusing intently on communication and relationships, vital disciplines passed down to him from his parents. Since leaving a corporate career in 2014, Ashley has continued to work in media and advertising, as well as real estate. He recently published his first work of non-fiction titled, A Life Through Letters. Devoted to community and charity, Ashley volunteers extensively. He finds great joy in his role as a father and lives in North Carolina with his wife and two boys.

Erica Jordan-Thomas

Erica currently serves as Principal of Ranson IB Middle School, a Title I school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District that has exceed growth expectations defined by the state for the past two years. Under her leadership, Ranson IB was ranked #2 in the district for their growth in ELA and #3 in the district for their growth in science. As Principal of Ranson IB, Erica serves almost 1000 scholars and oversees over 100 staff members. Prior to serving as Principal, Erica served as Assistant Principal at Ranson IB for three years. As a member of New Leaders-Charlotte Cohort 11, Erica served as Resident Principal at Reid Park Academy during its transition to a Pre-K-8 school. Under her leadership, 100% of Reid Park 8th graders enrolled in Algebra I passed the Algebra I end-of-course exam.Prior to joining New Leaders, Erica served as a Program Director for Teach For America–Charlotte. Erica was a 2008 Teach For America Corps Member and taught math at Olympic Renaissance High School. While teaching at Olympic Renaissance, Erica increased standardized test scores by 78% in Algebra II and 54% in Geometry. Erica was named one of Charlotte Agenda’s “30 Under 30”. She holds a Masters in Instructional Leadership from Relay Graduate School of Education. She is a board member for Teach For America-Charlotte and the Collective National Advisory Board, Teach For America’s National Alumni of Color Association. Erica grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended Columbus Public Schools. A proud buckeye, Erica graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in Textiles and Clothing and a minor in Business Administration.

Gail Wilson-Giarratano

Executive Director & VP of City Year, Columbia. City Year partners with public schools in high-need communities across the U.S. and international affiliates. AmeriCorps members provide research-based student, classroom and school wide support to help students stay in school and on track to graduate. In addition to her nonprofit work, Gail is owner of Anchor Shred & Recycle Co. She holds a BA in Education, an MS in Leadership and Policy and a PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences. She is a 2004 Schott Foundation Fellow. Her original one-woman show, “It’s Cloudy in the West” based on family history circa 1890, toured extensively. Gail has published two books for The History Press, Drink Small; The Life & Music of South Carolina’s Blues Doctor and Carolina Bluegrass; A High Lonesome History. Gail’s latest project, The Tao of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a collection of “existentialist whimsy”.

Jemayne Lavar King

Jemayne Lavar King, a native of Franklin, Virginia is a member of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, and Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society. Jemayne’s first poem Richard Morgan Flier was published in 2002, followed by books Sole Food: Digestible Sneaker Culture, Life Within the Dorm: and Other College Related Poems, Managing Relationships: Bridging the Communication Divide, and 20 First Dates: The Poetic Mixtape. Jemayne is the creator of the world’s first collegiate English course dedicated to identification within Sneaker Culture. Professor King holds a Bachelor of Arts in English/News Media from Elizabeth City State University, and a Master of Arts in English/Literature from Virginia State University. He is currently a candidate for a PhD in Literary Criticism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2014, King became an ambassador for the American Heart Association, when he won the organization’s Lifestyle Change Award. A member of the United States Press Association and the National Association of Black Journalists, Jemayne serves as Producer/Co-Host of The Gentleman and The Jerk Podcast via the A Plus Entertainment Group. Jemayne resides in Charlotte, North Carolina where he serves as Title III Activities Co-Director and lectures as an English/Communications Arts professor at Johnson C. Smith University.

Kim Honeycutt

Kim Honeycutt, MSW, LCSW, LCAS, CCFC, has been a Psychotherapist in private practice specializing in trauma, addiction, and shame for over 16 years. As a Psychotherapist and recovered alcoholic, Kim has found strength in hearing many raw and vulnerable stories of resiliency, and she wanted others to have the opportunity to hear similar stories. As a result, in January 2014, Kim co-founded icuTalks, a speaking ministry focused on mental health. Kim speaks regularly at icuTalks and at other events, churches, and conferences. She has been published in several magazines and enjoys writing the occasional blog. When she isn’t speaking, listening, writing, or silencing the voices in her head, you can find Kim running very slowly on the streets of Charlotte.

Laura King Edwards

Laura King Edwards is a passionate rare disease advocate, award-winning writer and marketing professional. Following her sister’s Batten disease diagnosis, she co-founded Taylor’s Tale; she is the charity’s vice president and runs races nationwide to support the cause. Oracle Fine Arts Review, Endurance Magazine, The Charlotte Observer and many others have published Laura’s work. Laura co-authored two editions of Novant Health’s One Patient at a Time and wrote a memoir, Run to the Light. Laura is a member of the WNBA and a past member of the SCBWI, NC Writers Network and Charlotte Writers’ Club. She also served on the Board of Trustees at The Fletcher School. By day, Laura is a content lead at Wray Ward, where she crafts compelling, effective content for leading brands. Previously, she worked in marketing at Novant Health. Laura is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate with a BA in English. She is a Charlotte native.

Lindsay Stewart

Lindsay Stewart is where geek, nerd, and dork meet on the Venn Diagram. Performer, entertainer, cosplayer, costumer, Mutant, and AsperGirl who’s regularly found on the con circuit, hanging out in her local comic book store, performing on stage, or entertaining at the Renaissance Festival. She’s spent her career working with children, from storytime to the science museum, camps to parties, and conventions to charity work. Lindsay is a frequent guest Teaching Artist for the Blumenthal, a panelist at several local comic book conventions, and is the Activities Coordinator at Southeast Psych.

Lucretia Berry

Lucretia Berry is the founder of Brownicity: The Art & Beauty of Living & Loving Beyond Race (brownicity.com), a family-focused, grass roots initiative dedicated to advocacy, education and support for racial healing and antiracism. She is a wife to Nathan, mother of three little girls, and former college professor who is passionate about helping people overcome boundaries through spiritual and social consciousness. Lucretia authored, What LIES Between Us: Fostering First Steps Towards Racial Healing Journal & Guide, designed specifically for ‘beginners’ to race conversations. The work she has done through her What LIES Between US classes and the ‘fun-shops’ she designed to help adults navigate skin tone and race conversations with children has earned Lucretia the reputation of being a ‘life-giving’ and ‘grace-filled’ facilitator. Lucretia earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, and MA in English from Iowa State University, and her BA from South Carolina State University.

Sam Fleming

I play in a regional touring metal/punk rock band called The Dirty South Revolutionaries. I also host karaoke at NoDa 101. I enjoy going out and drinking, gardening, seeing live music, fishing….and I really like cats. I am a local musician with no college education. I have now found myself teaching in correctional centers, schools and also in Haiti as well as running a non-profit and co-owner of the Seeds on 36th: Urban Farm Store. I am very candid, and that can push boundaries on its own.

Scott Hofert

Dr. Scott Hofert is the founder and head leathersmith of ColsenKeane Leather based in Charlotte, NC and co-founder and co-pastor of the non-denominational church, Watershed, in Plaza Midwood in Charlotte. A self-confessed leather goods junkie, father of two sons, husband, former world traveler turned homebody, aspiring but still novice yogi and semi-reluctant vintage Airstream restorer, Scott spent his twenties working in humanitarian aid in over forty countries, his thirties starting a family and a spiritual community in an urban setting and began his American made leather goods company at age forty. Obsessed with entrepreneurship, transformation, creating and implementing new initiatives, cultivating spirituality in community, empowering the marginalized and co-leadership, his greatest joys are found in building the kind of family, community and goods that are made to last the long haul.

Suzan' Stroud

Suzan’ Stroud is the author of “I’m Not Successful Because I Don’t Want To Be-A Hard Look in the Mirror and Reality Check for Your Life,” which is a book that engages in a dynamic conversation with the reader about awakening to pursue their personal and professional goals, and in her latest book “The Life Diet 365-Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of You” she provides you with basic insight into discovering how contributing factors such as Abusive Relationships, Negative Thoughts and People, Haters and Doubters, Stress, and Dead Weight are dream killers that can ultimately keep you from reaching your goals. Suzan is the proud mother of two adult children, and she resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband John.