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).

Fort Worth Community Arts Center
1300 Gendy Street
Fort Worth, Texas, 76107
United States

Abby Wills

Abby Wills is currently in charge of fundraising at Dallas Theological Seminary, a position which she created and has developed herself over the past year. She has a skill in connecting with people and she is truly gifted in diligently researching her current interests and bringing people along in her endeavors through her contagious passion. 15 minutes of listening and talking with her is all it takes to sell you on what she is advocating for. Her talk is going to merge her personal experiences, which she wouldn’t say this, but have been successful since joining DTS, and research in the field to myth bust the negative connotations that are frequently associated with fundraising.

Allison Silveus

Dr. Silveus has been working in academia since 2007. She began teaching in 2010 at Tarrant County College, which is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as a full-time biology faculty member and served on numerous committees from diversity and inclusion co-chair to the mentoring committee. In January 2019, she took a position at her former graduate program, (UNTHSC) University of North Texas Health Science Center-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. She received her doctorate from Texas Christian University (TCU) in June 2021, after defending a dissertation focused on evidence-based decision-making in medical educators, noting that leadership approaches that adopt network approaches to decision-making base their organizational decisions on contextualized needs data that can justify costs. Her recent publications include work on intersectionality of race/ethnicity, culture and gender identity, imagined identities to in-practice and performed STEM identities for Latina’s in STEM, and recently wrote a book chapter on applying evolution principles to how leaders will adapt for global higher education post-COVID. Her research work on identity later evolved into a business opportunity when she submitted a patent to the USPTO for algorithms she developed to assess bias preferences relative to skill assessment in a virtual simulation. She currently works with Dr. Klyne Smith at the SMU Lyle School of Engineering and mentors his students on this design and buildout of this VR/AI platform when she is not working during the day or playing with her two children (Hadrian, 12 and Emory, 9).

Daniel Boone

Mr. Boone is a social worker with a positive HIV diagnosis who teaches as an adjunct professor at TWU and works at FW Aids Outreach center. For a long time, there has been a taboo against people with HIV that caused the general population to hold negative attitudes and beliefs towards them. Not only this, but the prejudice that people hold cause them to distance themselves from those with HIV. HIV + individuals are having to deal with this prejudice along with coming to terms with and managing the lifelong disease.

Jodi Yellowfish

Jodi Voice Yellowfish is Muscogee Creek, Oglala Lakota, and Cherokee. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Jodi is a product of the US. Government’s Relocation Program. She attended Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas where she received her Associate’s degree in Social Work and studied for her bachelors degree in Indigenous and American Indian Studies. Jodi is the Chair for MMIW TX – Rematriate (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), on the Steering Committee for Dallas Truth Racial Healing Transformation, and was recently selected to be a Commissioner on the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission for the City of Dallas. She is also a wife and an adoptive parent to her niece and two nephews.

Peter Craig

Peter is a psychotherapist (licensed professional counselor) specializing in authenticity, relationships and trauma. He is also a poet, an eating psychology coach, and a sponsored triathlete. Peter has a warm, engaging presence. In our interview with Peter, he was passionate about bridging the stigma around mental health, especially for men. He brought up the idea of there not really being a boy to man transition marked within our society, as there is with females.

Robin Cornish

Robin was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. Her elementary education was at the University of Chicago Laboratory School. She went on to attend and graduate from Luther High School South. Upon her graduation, Robin went on to attend Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. While in Los Angeles Robin met her college sweetheart Frank Cornish IV at UCLA. They married and moved to the Dallas area when Frank signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Eventually they settled in Southlake, Texas and began their family. They had five beautiful children, Frank V, Gabrielle, Sydney, Sarah and Blake. Robin has had quite the journey career wise. When her children became older she returned to school and became a Registered Nurse. Once her youngest son graduated from high school she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being a Flight Attendant. She joined a major airline in 2018. Robin believes that life is a journey. It is one where you take your adventures, challenges, successes and failures to shape yourself into the best person you can be. You then use that best person to positively impact the world for good.