Theme: Roxbury

Founded in 1630, Roxbury is Boston’s geographic center and has seen many demographic shifts in its nearly 400 years. Today, Roxbury is considered the cultural hub and epicenter of Boston's Black and Latinx community. Given its rich legacy of innovation and activism, TEDxRoxbury seeks to highlight and showcase what Roxbury has to offer by letting the world hear our "ideas worth spreading" and providing a platform for the innovative, yet unheard voices in the community. This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.

City on a Hill School
58 Circuit Street
Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
United States

Alex Edwards

In 2015, Alex founded Thumbprint Realty, one of Massachusetts’s most trusted real estate Brokerages, home to over 40 agents and advisors. He is an industry expert with almost 20 years of experience in real estate sales, marketing, and acquisitions. His most recent book, “Mortgage Before Marriage,” was published in February 2023.

Amanda Shea

Amanda Shea is an artist, performer, educator, activist, publicist, host, and curator. She has hosted numerous poetry events, including BAMSFest (Boston Art & Music Soul Festival). She co-founded and curated five iterations of Activating ARTivism, a community festival to amplify POC through art, activism, and resistance. Her work can be found in the Museum of Fine Arts, The Boston Globe, Netflix, Prime Video, BBC News, and much more. Amanda's work examines her personal life experiences, social justice issues, and healing through trauma utilizing art as the tool.

Ayana Henderson

Ayana Henderson has worked and consulted in the human resources field for over 10 years. As an HR professional, emotional wellness life coach and communication and behavioral consultant, she has learned four things people, specifically women, desire most. The desire to find out who they truly are and what their purpose is, to live a life they actually like and love, how to speak up and show up as their authentic selves unapologetically, and to break generational curses. She launched her platform, Warrior Womanhood in 2020, a healing community to help black women accelerate their emotional healing so they can live a life they like, love and are proud of.

David Baxter

David Baxter is a community leader, criminal justice expert, published essayist, and restorative justice practitioner with well over a decade of experience. As the Founder of Motivational Dreamers, a public speaking company that specializes in empowering individuals and organizations to reach their full potential, David has impacted countless lives. His passion for helping others achieve their goals is evident in the way he connects with his audiences, delivering powerful messages that inspire positive change. As a practitioner of Restorative Justice, he has helped transform the way systems of power and communities approach issues of crime and punishment. His unique approach emphasizes healing, reconciliation, and restoration rather than retribution and has been embraced by communities throughout the country.

Dayshon Brandao

Dayshon Brandao was born and raised in Roxbury. His family migrated from Cape Verde in the 70s and he is the older brother to 5 beautiful little sisters. Dayshon works in the trades, specializing in plumbing, HVAC, and general maintenance. Dayshon used to work for the City of Boston as a lifeguard at Curtis Hall and the Mason Pool and enjoys being active in the community. He is currently pursuing an Associate’s degree in Construction Management and hopes to work on projects that improve the community. Dayshon would love to become more active in the community and hopes this is a step in the right direction.

Dr. Rufus J. Faulk

Dr. Rufus Jackson Faulk was born and raised in Roxbury. Faulk is a published author and currently serves as a consultant in the areas of criminal justice, public safety, housing, and public education. He previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of Boston, partnering with both internal and external partners to develop the City of Boston’s violence prevention framework and network. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Victims Services for the Department of Corrections and as the Director for the Boston Ten Point Coalition. He received a BA in History with a minor in Business Management from Temple University, a MA in Urban Affairs from Boston University, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University.

Jennifer Gaskin

Writer. Orator. Revolutionary. Jennifer J. Gaskin is a Caribbean American, Black woman creator who delivers her message through direct, strong, and honest oration and writing. Often misunderstood due to her raw and gritty delivery, she has dedicated her next journey to giving a voice to those also walking this path. She aspires to provide a voice for the voiceless and create space and connection for healing. Writing has served as an outlet of healing and connection for Jennifer. She believes there is power in creating an opening to understanding through having intentional conversations, leading with love, and sharing culture to enable authentic connection. Black voices matter. Her voice matters. Our collective voices matter.

Joliné Brito

Joliné Brito is a Dominican writer, poet, and student at Fenway High School in Boston. She has been featured at MIT, 617PEAK, and BOSSWK. In April 2023, Jolinè was a teaching assistant for the Artivism Camp at Boston Arts Academy, where she assisted in spoken word workshops and performances for 10-to-18-year-olds. She is a gifted writer who has the ability to touch hearts with her words.

Joseph Charles

Born in Haiti and raised in Boston, Joseph Charles has become a leading entrepreneur and restaurateur, with multiple successful eateries to his name. Growing up in a Haitian immigrant family, Joseph developed a deep appreciation for the cultural richness and diversity of food. His mother's cooking and his father's entrepreneurial spirit were early influences that set him on a path to become a business owner. With the success of his first restaurant, Rock City Pizza, Joseph was emboldened and decided to expand. As a black, immigrant entrepreneur, Joseph has faced many challenges along the way. Through it all, he remained committed to his vision and his passion for food; persevering through the setbacks and obstacles, using each experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Keeana S. Saxon, Esq.

Keeana S. Saxon, Esq. is the Founder, CEO, and Executive Producer of Kidogo Productions, a global community and multimedia company for kids that celebrates Black Joy and Black Excellence. Kidogo Productions is a proud graduate of the EforAll and MassChallenge accelerators. After a decade of practicing law, Ms. Saxon was appointed in 2014 by the Mayor of Boston to be a Commissioner on the Boston Licensing Board where she still serves. Ms. Saxon serves on the board of the Boston Renaissance Foundation and chairs the board of the OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center. Ms. Saxon enjoys long walks, listening to podcasts and books, traveling abroad, spending quality time with her family, and participating in passionate discussions about politics and social justice matters. She is a two-time Boston Marathoner.

Kylia Kennedy

Kylia Kennedy’s lived experience as an undiagnosed autistic gives powerful insight into how autistic people experience a society working against them. After 26 years of a battle both internally and against society today, Kennedy is the CEO and Cofounder of an Autistic Self Advocacy Organization - Autistics Unmasked. Kennedy is a multiple-disabled lactation consultant, published author, and active disability rights advocate working towards a future where autistic and otherwise disabled people don’t have to “beat the odds” to be successful but instead feel safe, supported, valued and heard.

Ny Ony Razafindratanda

Malagasy award winner and Boston-based singer-songwriter Ny Ony Razafindratandra also goes by her stage name, Niu Raza, and is known for her unique sound; the perfect blend between her traditional heritage and modern music. She uses her craft as a catalyst for change whether through women’s empowerment on social media, teaching and helping the next generation of musicians, or advocating for children’s rights. Niu Raza is an independent musician, entrepreneur, and influencer who has worked with several brands within the skincare and fashion industry. Niu Raza is a musician beyond sound, beyond expectations.

Porsha Olayiwola

Porsha Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator and curator who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She is an Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the founder of the Roxbury Poetry Festival. Olayiwola is Brown University's 2019 Heimark Artist -In -Residence as well as the 2021 Artist-in-Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She is a 2020 poet laureate fellow with the Academy of American poets. Olayiwola earned her MFA in poetry from Emerson College and is the author of i shimmer sometimes, too. Olayiwola is the current poet laureate for the city of Boston. Her work can be found in or forthcoming from with TriQuarterly Magazine, Black Warrior Review, The Boston Globe, Essence Magazine, Redivider, The Academy of American Poets, Netflix, Wildness Press, The Museum of Fine Arts and elsewhere.

Sarah Laughlin

Sarah Laughlin, MSW, is a proud abolitionist social worker and passionate advocate of restorative justice. She has over ten years of experience working with, learning alongside, and breaking bread with system impacted individuals and communities. Currently, she works with the Committee for Public Counsel (CPCS) Public Defender Division in the Boston Trial Unit as a Social Services Advocate, where she provides critical mental health support, connection to resources, and court-facing advocacy to clients with open criminal cases. Sara Laughlin seeks to challenge the status quo and dismantle the power imbalance in westernized helper-client relationships by instead embracing a collaborative, collective, and community-centered approach to healing.

Sonya Pratt-Massó

Sonya Pratt-Massó is the Executive Director for City on a Hill Charter High School in Roxbury. A non-profit leader, Sonya began her career as a History Teacher and later served as the Dean of Citizenship, Vice Principal, and founding Principal of City on a Hill Dudley Square. Sonya has over 20 years of experience in education, building and leading teams, and managing organizational change. A life-long resident of Boston, Sonya received her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Salem State University and a Master of Education from Northeastern University. Sonya has a passion and commitment to public urban education, dedicating her career to educating the youth of Boston.

Yi-Chin Chen

Yi-Chin Chen is the Executive Director of Friends of the Children–Boston, a Roxbury-based organization dedicated to impacting generational change by empowering young people facing the most difficult challenges through 12.5 years of relentless professional mentoring relationships from kindergarten to high school graduation; no matter what. Through her work with thousands of young people since the late 1990’s, she has developed a keen understanding of the role young people must play in shaping the futures for our society. As an immigrant, a daughter of the Taiwan island, a third-culture Bostonian and a youth worker, she spends her time exploring and knitting together the possibilities that exist in the in-between places of all of her identities.

Zakiyyah Sutton

Zakiyyah Sutton is an artist-activist who utilizes music and visual media to explore themes that centralize marginalized communities via her production company, Black and Bold Productions. As an actress and classically-trained singer who is well-versed in Opera, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and R&B, she employs her extremely versatile skill-set to reach a broad range of audiences and craft a sound that is uniquely her own. In addition to her artistic practice, Zakiyyah currently works as a racial equity consultant, helping arts organizations reassess their practices through the lens of equity and creative justice. Zakiyyah graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and Sociology.