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).

World Cafe Live at The Queen
500 N Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware, 19801
United States

A. Kimberly Hoffman

Lawyer representing clients in commercial real estate and government relations matters

Kimberly Hoffman is recognized by Chambers USA as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and as a Top Lawyer by Delaware Today. An equity partner in the full-service Delaware law firm, Morris James LLP, she represents clients primarily in commercial real estate and government relations matters with a focus on land use, health care, procurement and environmental issues, and related litigation. In Delaware and as national and international coordinating counsel, Kimberly handles legislative matters, judicial and administrative proceedings, and appears before Federal, state, and local agencies on behalf of a diverse group of local and national corporations, developers, property owners, and institutions. Kimberly chairs the firm’s land use and zoning practice, and heads the multi-disciplinary Morris James Healthcare Team.

Adriana LaCorte

Cinematographer

Adriana LaCorte has been working in the entertainment industry since 2005; she has work experience in many facets -- from starting out her career coordinating on E!’s “The Simple Life” to associate producing early episodes of “The Kardashian’s”. She ventured into the film world working under Jack Rapke at Image Movers, before returning to school at USC to take her love of photography a step further into cinematography. She started Bellamica Pictures because she wanted to take her passion as a filmmaker and educate the masses on important subjects for the betterment of humankind. With her current project “Sniffing Out Cancer” she hopes to make canines detecting cancer common knowledge and springboard an actual screening process available to the public.

Braeden Mannering

Founder of 3B Brae's Brown Bags, which provides bags of healthy food and clean water to homeless

At nine-years-old, Braeden Mannering started 3B Brae’s Brown Bags, which provides bags of healthy food and clean water to homeless and low-income populations. Each bag contains healthy snacks, water and a letter from Braeden which lists information for additional services. To date, Braeden has provided over 6,500 bags, raised over $55,000 and recruited over 2,800 volunteers. He has developed and co-hosted the first ever hunger conference to include youth along with the Food Bank of Delaware. Over 180 students attended the event at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware in 2015. Braeden’s hope is for this conference to become a nationwide event. Braeden, now 12, is a spokesperson on the topic of food insecurity, presenting at conferences and schools nationwide.

Claudia Six, PhD

Clinical Sexologist and Relationship Coach

Dr. Six has 25 years as a practicing Clinical Sexologist, and is a successful sex therapist who has helped thousands of people find their authentic selves and enjoy a more fulfilling relationship. Her approach is unique, and her style is warmly engaging, putting her clients and workshop attendees at ease. Her credentials include a M.A. in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Clinical Sexology and she’s a Board Certified Clinical Sexologist by the American Board of Sexology. Her new book, Erotic Integrity: How to be True to Yourself Sexually was published in May, 2016 and has already garnered several awards.

Cornelius "Nippy" Betz III

Owner, Scholarship Leadership Institute

Major Nippy Betz owns a scholarship company (The Scholarship Leadership Institute – SLI) that offers seminars, courses, and private coaching to help teens graduate from college debt-free. He is a Keynote Speaker, TV Personality, Author, and Scholarship Coach known as the Moses of Education! This former Air Force Commander turned Master Scholarship & Leadership Instructor, helps provide scholarship acquisition, workshops, coaching and leadership training for teenagers, college students, their parents, counselors, AAU teams, churches, and businesses! He personally mentors motivated students, all over America, using his proprietary scholarship success system. His success-proven webinar workshops are held monthly in the comfort of their own home, during the school year. His ultimate mission is to raise leaders and eliminate debt for college graduates!

David Tuttleman

Business owner

With a family history deeply rooted in operating successful business entities, David Z. Tuttleman has excelled for more than 30 years across a variety of industries including apparel, real estate development, food & beverage, entertainment philanthropic efforts and more. The experience he encountered during his sister’s illness forever left a mark upon him – one that challenged him to become involved and be part of the future of healthcare. David soon realized that the values instilled by his father when he was only twelve would become the foundation upon which he could plant roots in an effort to touch the world.

Donna Chicone

Author, Speaker, Advocate for dogs

Donna Chicone is an award-winning author, professional speaker and advocate for dogs. She is a former nurse, family and addictions counselor, 23-year corporate America professional, and host of Jazz and Jive’s TV Show. She is a devoted pet parent to her two Portuguese water dogs, Jazz and Jive, and is an advocate for the humane treatment of animals. She lives in Minnesota with her husband. When she is not writing or speaking about dogs, you will find her engaged in pet assisted therapy work and K9 Nosework with her dogs Jazz and Jive.

Galit Goldfarb

Author of eight books in the fields of health and personal development

Galit Goldfarb has worked within the health field for over 22 years. While working in different research laboratories and with many private clients, Galit has written eight books in the fields of health and personal development, including #1 International Bestseller “The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program” based on her in-depth research into the ideal diet for humans. Galit is a Professional member of the American Nutrition Association, and the American Society for Nutrition, and holds a BSc (honours) in Biochemistry and Nutrition, an MSc in Medical Science with Distinction, and studied Immunology for a Post Graduate Certificate. Galit is currently doing her PhD in Nutrition. Galit offers workshops, speaking engagements, online programs and coaching to help people achieve optimal health.

Gregory Morris

Playwright and teacher

Originally from Los Angeles, California, Gregory Lloyd Morris is a playwright/screenwriter living in the city of Wilmington. He is also an adjunct English professor at Wilmington University and will be teaching at the University of Delaware this fall. Mr. Morris is very excited to give his TEDx Talk on the power of the community to produce acting talent to tell street stories. As proof of the power of street participatory acting, Mr. Morris’ will present a theatrical vignette from his latest critically-acclaimed one-act play #blackjobsmatter.

Gumption Creque

Entrepeneur

Gumption Creque was born with the name Allington and grew up in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. At age 29 Gumption focused on having his own business. After approaching numerous banks between 2011 and April 2012 and after being turned down over and over again, Gumption received a loan from Sir Richard Branson on behalf of the Branson’s Centre of Entrepreneur Caribbean on October 19, 2012. He was the first person to get a loan from this program. Gumption wants to remind us why why we should never give up.

Heather Leah Huddleston

Writer, dancer, teacher

Heather Leah Huddleston has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College and is a certified Nia teacher (white belt) and yoga teacher (RYT-200). Her work has appeared in the Listen to Your Mother (Baltimore) show, as well as Reader’s Digest. She believes in the power of story and dance to heal the body/mind/spirit and has used both to help heal her own chronic pain, depression and PTSD. Heather writes, dances and teaches in Baltimore, MD, where she lives with her family.

Hudson Taylor

Founder, Athlete Ally

Hudson Taylor, a three-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Maryland and former wrestling coach at Columbia University, is the Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. Athlete Ally’s mission is to educate and activate athletic communities to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in sports and to exercise their leadership to champion lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. Hudson founded Athlete Ally in 2011 after receiving thousands of emails from parents and closeted athletes in response to his wearing an LGBT equality sticker on his wrestling headgear. Since then, Athlete Ally has worked with the NBA, WNBA and MLB and led the Principle 6 campaign which convinced the International Olympic in the non-discrimination clause of the Olympic Charter.

Ian Khan

Technology executive, author, and speaker

Ian was born Kashmir and spend the early part of his childhood in the politically turbulent region that saw a height of insurgency and militancy in the 1990’s. Now based in Toronto, Canada Ian is as a technology executive, author & speaker. His recent work includes Cloud Wars, The Internet of Things & the Future of Innovation, Make Me Like You, 21 Steps, Get Ahead & The Internet of Things – A Concise Introduction and other titles. Ian is also frequent contributor to industry publications, including the Huffington Post, Techvibes, McGraw Hill Education and others. Ian hosts the Innovation Times podcast and as a musician sings and plays the Djembe and Didgeridoo.

Jack Griffin

Vertical farming innovator

A former Wall Street executive, Jack Griffin is the founder or the world’s first vertical farming school and the architect behind the ultra-efficient “Revolution Technology” that powers Metropolis farms. Jack’s technology enables Metropolis Farms to grow the yearly production of an acre from only 36 sq. feet. In addition to being the first indoor vertical farm in Philadelphia, Metropolis Farms is the first vegan-certified farm in the nation. The technology uses 98% less water, 75% less energy, and works without the need for pesticides, herbicides or manure. Through its’ innovative private and public partnerships, Metropolis is transforming Philadelphia into the world’s first vertical farming city, building over ten 100+ acre capacity flash farms in Philadelphia over the next two years.

Janine Marie Driver

Movement Pattern Analysis Expert

Janine Driver’s mission is to INSPIRE people to look at their world in a different way. Janine is the New York Times Best Selling author of You Say More Than You Think, and more recently You Can’t Lie To Me, award-winning keynote speaker, and body language expert for NBC’s TODAY Show. Janine is the CEO and founder of the Body Language Institute and the elite division called the Decision Profiling Group. Janine and the Body Language Institute have helped Fortune 500 clients become examples of the total leader, which ultimately led them to win millions of dollars in new business contracts.

Joe Sielski

Delaware native and co-founder of Our Night Out Wilmington

Joe Sielski is a Delaware native. In April 2010, he started Delaware’s first LGBT event calendar and news blog. Shortly after in December 2010, he co-founded Our Night Out Wilmington, a monthly LGBT social event. Along with being a student and an event coordinator, Joe completed a book about wisdom in 2014. While on the pursuit for a publishing company, he started a second blog: alifewithwisdom.blogspot.com. His writing attracted the attention of Delaware Today Magazine who featured him in January 2016. Joe is happy to share his knowledge and experience with wisdom, particularly forgiveness. Joe intends to pursue a career as both a counselor and inspirational author.

John Jenkins

Architectural Photographer/Entrepeneur

John Jenkins is a Wilmington, DE based architectural photographer turned entrepreneur. Encouraged by his father to own his own business, John chose an education track to pursue a career in photography. Educationally John did well, graduating from The Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Professional Photography. He struggled in school and in college with reading and spelling. After discovering an effective work-around for the reading challenge during a life struggle, John found himself on a path of daily education through reading. He has now become an “avid” reader with an emphasis on education, personal development and overcoming adversity. This passion has lead to leadership and progressive business development. Helping people get to their highest and best is simply what drives John.

Kaamilah Diabaté

A sophomore at Howard High School of Technology who believes writing is a lifestyle

Kaamilah Diabaté is a sophomore at Howard High School of Technology. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA for the duration of the year while playing on varsity for Howard’s basketball team. She has been writing since she was six years old. She's won numerous awards for my poetry, including winning first place in the 2016 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Communication Contest. In February, she won the 19th Annual NAACP High School Essay Oratory Contest. For Kaamilah, writing is a lifestyle.

Karissa Thacker

Management training and consulting

Karissa is founder and president of Strategic Performance Solutions Inc., a management training and consulting firm dedicated to elevating people to reach their highest potential. Over the past two decades Karissa has done just that for countless individuals, working with many Fortune 100® companies to drive performance and leadership growth. Karissa is often quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, MSNBC, and is a sought-after authority on the subject of authentic leadership. Her articles have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Art of Authenticity (Wiley, 2016), a guidebook on how to transform your career by tapping into your authentic self.

Kathy Abusow

President & CEO of a non-profit that fights for sustainable forestry, responsible purchasing and thriving communities

Kevin Rose

A Manual Therapist focusing on physiological structure and function

As a Manual Therapist for twenty years, Kevin has logged over 30,000 hours of clinical practice focusing on improving physiological structure and function. Empowering individuals to achieve wellness, he is a professional speaker/trainer and maintains a thriving bodywork practice. Kevin has also logged thousands of fieldwork hours in human-animal interaction studies. Combining this fieldwork with his extensive training in human physiology, he created The CATalyst, a human-wild animal interaction experience and an extraordinary approach to wellness and peace. The CATalyst program is offered free to combat veterans. Kevin lives in the Orlando, Florida area with his beautiful wife Robyn and lovely daughter Zoe.

Lindsay Hoffman

Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware

Dr. Lindsay Hoffman (Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2007) is an Associate Professor of Communication with a joint appointment in Political Science at the University of Delaware. Her research and teaching center around how politicians and citizens use media to communicate and understand politics, with a particular focus on new technologies like social media and big data. She has published two dozen peer-reviewed articles and chapters and regularly blogs for the Huffington Post, where she also features her students’ blogs.

Mary Dupont

Director of Financial Empowerment for the state of Delaware

Mary Dupont, is the Director of Financial Empowerment for the state of Delaware. She joined Governor Jack Markell’s administration following a 30-year career in the non-profit sector, as a social entrepreneur designing, replicating and implementing high impact programs designed to increase economic opportunity. Since joining state government in 2009, she worked with the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and United Way of Delaware to develop $tand By Me®, an innovative financial empowerment strategy that has served over 50,000 Delawareans through personal financial coaching, financial planning for post-secondary, free web-based tax preparation, financial workshops, and consumer-friendly financial services. $tand By Me® is a statewide community partnership which engages key stakeholders from all sectors including business, education, non-profit, and government.

Melissa Benbow

An advocate of healthy living in communities of color

Melissa Benbow is young woman with passions, one of them being health advocacy. Through Awakened Kitchen, a social enterprise, she and her business partner, Reyna Guy, have advocated for healthy living in communities of color by highlighting the connection between food, culture, and conscious living. She hopes for Awakened Kitchen to be voice that brings awareness to issues relating to the intersection of health and culture. Melissa is also a writer and educator; she received her Bachelor’s in English from Princeton University in 2013, and dedicated the following year to community service through the Public Allies.

Michael Morgan

CranioSacral Therapy Expert

Michael Morgan LMT, CST-D has been an instructor of CranioSacral Therapy for the Upledger Institute for over 18 years. He has taught this technique extensively in North America, Canada, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland and other countries around the world. He pioneered and coordinated research in the application of Craniosacral Therapy to Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and served as a consultant for a study published in the American Journal of Gerontological Nursing. The author of BodyEnergy Longevity Prescription-How CranioSacral Therapy Helps Prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia While Improving the Quality of Your Life, Michael earned a BA degree in Physics and Philosophy from UC Berkeley and an MA degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa.

Myra Salzer

Wealth advisor

Myra Salzer is the founder of The Wealth Conservancy, Inc., established in 1983. She specializes in fee-only financial planning as a wealth-coach and inheritor’s advocate and has been featured in a variety of publications including Worth, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Financial Planning, and Investment Advisor. Myra is also a Huffington Post blogger and a contributor to an array of media outlets and radio talk shows.

Nelson Emokpae

Musician on season 3 of The Voice

Nelly’s Echo is neither a band nor a solo musician, but a concept of the musical experience associated with its creator, Nelson. After self-releasing 4 successful albums, performing at over 100 different colleges in each of the last 3 years, and entertaining the troops in Cuba, Nelson appeared on Season 3 of The Voice. Relying on lessons learned from his childhood in Africa and his everyday experiences telling his story through rhythm and rhyme, Nelsons’ music and live show have been compared to the likes of Jason Mraz or John Mayer. Music for Nelly’s Echo is the means to a more important goal of reaching the four corners of the earth with the message of positivity, life, hope, and love.

Nicole Hibbert

Nicole Hibbert is an innovative R&B/soul musical performer capable of making her own clothes to go with her own sound. She earned her Bachelors in Textiles from Delaware State University before turning full-time to music. She is, most recently, Miss Black America, receiving the crown shortly before TEDx Wilmington!

Pina De Rosa

Life Coach

As a Mindset Effectiveness Expert, TEDxSpeaker, Award Winning Producer, International & High Performance Results Coach and Author of the book “Fit From The Inside Out”, Pina De Rosa has been designing and delivering engaging keynotes for 14+ years. Born in Italy, raised in Switzerland, she speaks 5 languages and holds 4 passports. She is the president of GratitudeInternational.com. Her first TED talk is about to surpass 200,000 views. Her message on date-rape awareness and sexual assault prevention is not only an inspirational dialogue, it is life saving! CollegeSpeakingWithPina.com Her passion project is BroadwaySniffsOutCancer.com , the yearly Benefit that raises funds and awareness for the amazing discovery that dogs can detect cancer EARLIER and with greater accuracy than ANY current testing. She is also honored to serve on TheNewHollywood.org Board.

Rachel Hutchisson

VP of Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy at Blackbaud

Rachel Hutchisson is VP of Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy at Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), responsible for global corporate social responsibility, leading the company’s 3,200 associates in efforts to serve and give professionally and personally. Rachel brings experience in marketing, brand communications, corporate culture and strategic relationships to her role. She built Blackbaud’s CSR program from the ground up, leveraging her deep experience working at the intersection of business and nonprofits. Rachel is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dickinson College and holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri. Rachel serves on the Board of Directors of the Giving Institute (Giving USA), the Giving Back Fund, AFP International, Learning to Give and the Coastal Community Foundation.

Robert (Dusty) Staub

Leadership development specialist

Dusty has been a pioneer in developing a holistic, wholehearted approach and methodology to leadership development. One of the critical dimensions of effectiveness in his framework has been a clear focus on the necessity of developing courage in order to be effective both personally as well as professionally. His 2nd book, “The 7 Acts of Courage: Bold Leadership for a Wholehearted Life” outline critical “acts” of courage required to live fully and powerfully. He wrote about the vital importance of the “courage to be vulnerable” more than 15 years ago. He has been helping to develop more wholehearted, courageous leaders, teams and organizations for more than three decades. Dusty is also the Certifying Authority in the United States for Sociomapping. Dusty is also the Certifying Authority in the United States for Sociomapping.

Saad Soliman

Criminal Justice Reentry Expert and Innovator

Saad M. Soliman recognized at a young age that his future would include extensive work with the criminal justice system. In June 2013, after years of experience there, Saad M. Soliman became the Reentry Specialist with the US. Probation Office in the District of Delaware. He has created programming, based on evidence-based practices, which has helped increase the employment rate of ex-offenders, while reducing the recidivism rate. Mr. Soliman has a unique understanding and insight into the criminal justice system, including typical obstacles and ways to overcome them. He has innovated and created successful initiatives that are benefitting the U.S. Probation Officers he works alongside, the U.S. District Court, and the citizens of Delaware. Utilizing this unique and opportune circumstance, Mr. Soliman seeks to assist in positively affecting change in the lives of those re-entering the community to enhance public safety and enrich the communities to which these men and women return.

Susan Heitler

Clinical Psychologist, author

Susan Heitler, Ph.D., a Harvard and NYU-educated clinical psychologist, writes a Psychology Today blog that has received over 7.5 million reads. Dr. Heitler first earned recognition when her book From Conflict to Resolution brought understandings of collaborative conflict resolution from the world of legal and business mediation to the practice of psychotherapy. Her Power of Two and Power of Two Workbook– published in six foreign language editions–plus her interactive marriage education website PowerOfTwoMarriage.com, teach the communication skills for marriage success. Dr. Heitler’s most recent book and website combo, Prescriptions Without Pills, offers self-help versions of the techniques she uses in her clinical practice–techniques for relieving depression, anger, and anxiety plus strategies for sustaining well-being.

The Twin Poets

17th Poets Laureate of Delaware, Social Workers, award-winning spoken word poets and community activists

Identical twins Al Mills and Nnamdi Chukwuocha, known as the Twin Poets, are social workers, award-winning spoken word poets, community activists, and were appointed in December 2015 as the 17th Poets Laureate of Delaware. The appointment marks the first time in the history of the position that it will have co-laureates, and the first time in the history of the U.S. state poets laureate that such a position will be shared by siblings. The Twin Poets plan to be strong advocates for poetry throughout the state by: Incorporating spoken word and creative writing programming into schools and community centers; introducing poetry as a tool for transformation within detention centers and correctional facilities; and taking spoken word into communities affected by gun violence.

Thianda Manzara

Agronomist and Geneticist

Dr. Thianda Manzara is the Founder and President of Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids (HFHK), a nonprofit organization that works with Delaware schools to design and implement vegetable gardening programs that support science education and promote healthy eating. Before starting HFHK, Thianda’s career was focused on biology research and teaching. She holds advanced degrees in agronomy and genetics, and taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania. Motivated by a desire to improve children’s health, Thianda combined her love of science and her passions for food, cooking and gardening to create HFHK. Inspired by her Greek mother and grandmother, it’s her desire to share her appreciation of garden-fresh vegetables with the next generation.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons

United States Senator

Chris Coons was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 following terms as New Castle County Council President and New Castle County Executive. In the Senate, Chris sits on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Ethics Committees. Before serving as County Executive, Chris worked as an attorney for Delaware-based W.L. Gore & Associates. As a law student, Chris founded the first Delaware chapter of the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, which helps low-income students make the academic journey from elementary school through college. Chris graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Chemistry and Political Science, and earned his law degree from Yale Law School and a Master’s in Ethics from Yale Divinity School.

Walter Nathan Durant

Chess coach with a mission

Walter Nathan Durant is currently a teacher and chess coach at Thomas A. Edison Charter School in Wilmington Delaware. As a chess coach he has helped his students achieve great success, winning multiple Mid-Atlantic chess championships, and State Championships in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. In 2014, his students were the first from Delaware to win a National Chess Championship. And in 2016 they won their second National Championship in three years. Walter Durant uses chess as a tool to teach his students about life. He believes that in both chess and in life, success is determined by your actions. Walter received a B.A. from Kutztown University, and a M.ED in School Leadership form Wilmington University.

Yolanda Schlabach

Registered Nurse, Committed Activist

Yolanda is a Registered Nurse. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from Regent University in 2004 and graduated in 2014 from Liberty University with a Master’s in Human Services & Counseling. Yolanda attended the University of Maryland, earning a Certificate in Working with Survivors of Violence, Trauma and Torture. Yolanda is a member of Delaware’s Human Trafficking Coordinating Council and Co-Chair of the Victim Services Committee. Yolanda has served as Executive Director of Zoë Ministries, Inc. since 2012, when the organization received 501©3 status. For the past few years, she has spent her time engaged in public awareness and professional education to bring the reality of human trafficking to the forefront in Delaware.