These TEDx talks will blow your mind! These speakers share ideas and messages of true value that will elevate your thinking, change your perspective, and stir up all sorts of emotions.
Enjoy!
Janelle Hill
Janelle Hill, APRN, PMHNP-BC, is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over 14 years of experience in psychiatry and the founder of Refuge Mental Health Services.
During her academic tenure, Janelle served as the legislative liaison for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and has since remained a steadfast advocate against sexual abuse and violence on both the local and national levels. She currently serves on the executive board for The Army of Survivors, an organization committed to bringing awareness, accountability, and transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels.
As a former collegiate athlete in basketball and volleyball, Janelle is a survivor of sexual abuse by her college coach. This experience fuels her passion for empowering fellow survivors to find their voice and live healthy, meaningful lives. Janelle was recently featured as a speaker for TEDx, where she continued to raise awareness of this devastating issue.
Hill currently provides courses for survivors of sexual abuse in her local community and utilizes her spoken word artistry as an additional advocacy outlet. Her artistry has been described as courageously voicing the unspoken thoughts of others.
Through compassion, authenticity, and positivity, Janelle is dedicated to inspiring, empowering, motivating, and guiding others on their healing journey.
John Kippen
John Kippen is a dynamic speaker and storyteller whose TEDx Talk, “Being Different is My Superpower,” has over one million views. What sets John apart is that he uses magic as a metaphor for sharing his messages of resilience.
USA Today magazine wrote:
“John’s unique talent for supporting others has become a radical tool for encouraging others to stay hopeful.”
As a certified resilience coach and keynote speaker, John has helped thousands eliminate limiting beliefs and find peace and prosperity in their authenticity. His TEDx Talk reminds us to celebrate our differences, own our adversity, and treat those who are different with respect, no matter how challenging it may be.
Kippen’s journey has not been an easy one. In 2002, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which caused permanent facial paralysis. This shattered his self-confidence, leading to 12 years of seclusion. In the depths of despair, he rediscovered his childhood passion for performing magic.
The more his true self appeared, the more John realized his facial paralysis didn’t need to define him. This led John to find his life’s purpose: to help and inspire others.
Get the inspiration you are looking for by watching John’s talk or read his best-selling book titled “Playing the Hand You Are Dealt.”
The foreword, written by Jamie Lee Curtis, says:
“I love storytelling. I love watching people do what they love to do to their best abilities. This book is truly the gift that keeps on giving.”
Visit johnkippen.com to learn more about John.
John Tarantino
John Tarantino, a distinguished attorney and Senior Counsel at Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C., delivered his second TEDx Talk titled “You Only Have One Life…Until You Have Another” on February 8, 2025, at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island.
This presentation explored the concept that individuals experience multiple distinct phases throughout their lives, each shaped by evolving experiences, perceptions, and aspirations. Tarantino emphasized that embracing these transformations allows for continuous personal growth and fulfillment.
In his talk, Tarantino drew upon personal anecdotes and philosophical insights to illustrate how life’s various stages contribute to our overall journey. He highlighted the importance of living selflessly, suggesting that dedicating oneself to the well-being of family, friends, and community can lead to a form of immortality through the lasting impact we leave on others. This perspective aligns with the teachings of the philosopher Leo Tolstoy, who advocated for a life devoted to others as a pathway to enduring happiness.
Tarantino’s previous TEDx Talk, “Redemption Stories,” delivered in May 2023, garnered significant acclaim, amassing over 20 million views and becoming the #1 TEDx Talk of that year. His continued contributions to the TEDx platform reflect his commitment to sharing messages of hope, resilience, and personal transformation.
Chris Thompson
Drawing from the personal experience of hitting rock bottom due to his addiction, and the empathy that changed his life forever, Chris Thompson details how his platform – driven by the “Empathy Algorithm” – has converted the feeling of empathy into something measurable and actionable.
When it comes to addiction or any life challenge, isolation is the problem behind the problem. Thompson emphasizes the power empathy has to convert tragic stories into comeback stories, and how it might be the world’s most untapped resource.
He shares the learnings and data on over a half million recovery journeys that have been tracked through Sober Sidekick, and the dramatic effect community has had on the most important health outcomes.
The biggest insight from the platform shows a statistically significant 50% reduction in monthly relapse rates for members who have had one or more one to one engagements with another member on the platform.
Thompson’s TEDx talk is both motivational and actionable for anyone who has had addiction harm their family, and the framing of empathy as a resource sheds light on some of the biggest gaps in healthcare.
Jamie Crosbie
Jamie Crosbie’s TEDx talk is one to watch—not because she’s here to impress but because she’s here to equip.
With over two decades of experience in sales leadership, talent acquisition, and human performance, Jamie’s message goes beyond inspiration. It’s about helping people shift from burnout to breakthrough through what she calls the Performance Mindset Shift®.
With nearly 150,000 views, her TEDx talk is already striking a powerful chord.
A former VP of sales of Training and Development at CareerBuilder and Founder of ProActivate, Jamie brings real-world insight and relatable vulnerability to every stage she steps onto. Her message centers on solving the root causes of underperformance, breaking through limiting beliefs, and combining leadership strategy with personal and professional growth. She empowers individuals and organizations to unlock their full potential, no matter the challenges they face.
What sets Jamie apart isn’t just her credentials; it’s her humility. She doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. She simply knows what it means to get back up, reframe setbacks, and help others do the same.
Whether you’re a leader, a contributor, or simply navigating a challenging season, Jamie’s message will meet you where you are, and help you break through and move forward with clarity, courage, and purpose.
Jeff Civillico
In his captivating TEDx talk, Jeff Civillico shares his remarkable journey from being inspired by a juggling street performer as a child to producing and starring in his own Las Vegas headlining residency with Caesars Entertainment for a decade.
Jeff’s early years producing his “Comedy in Action” show were emotionally exhausting and full of financial hardships. Throughout this challenging period, Jeff found a renewed sense of passion by performing regularly at local children’s hospitals. These visits grounded him, providing a feeling of purpose beyond the stage. Over time, Jeff earned critical acclaim in Las Vegas, winning numerous awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Best of Las Vegas.
Jeff’s story highlights how seemingly small interactions can have a profound impact, underscoring the power of everyday action over intention in creating lasting change. He challenges viewers to own their influence and reimagine who they are – personally and professionally – as a platform to put positive ripples out into the world.
Today, Jeff shares his insights and experiences as a host personality and keynote speaker, bringing his unique blend of performance, storytelling, humor, and heart to events worldwide. His nonprofit organization, Win Win Charity, brings smiles to children in hospitals across the U.S.
Alex Knight
Engineering shapes the world around us. Yet, it remains a field where diversity and representation are still major challenges.
In her powerful TEDx talk, “Why Courage, Visibility, and Sex Matter in Engineering,” Alex Knight, Founder and CEO of nonprofit STEMAZING, tackles these issues head-on, offering a compelling argument for why the industry urgently needs to change and how we can all play a part in making it happen.
Knight – a leading advocate for inclusion in STEM – explores the impact of gender bias in engineering and how visibility can drive transformation. She highlights real-world examples of how a lack of diversity affects innovation, safety, and progress, and exposes the hidden inequalities that shape our world.
But this isn’t just about problems: it’s about solutions. Knight’s talk is a clear call to action, urging individuals and industries to embrace courage, challenge stereotypes, and amplify underrepresented voices in engineering.
Whether you’re in STEM or simply passionate about equality, this talk will leave you inspired and ready to push for change. You’ll never see engineering the same way again.
Erika Glenn
“If I just make VP by 35… If I just hit this quarter’s numbers… If I just reorganize one more division…”
These were the lies Erika Glenn told herself before her self-imposed drive landed her in the hospital for the sixth time in a year. In her riveting 2025 TEDx talk, this Fortune 500 executive who managed close to a thousand employees strips away the glossy veneer of achievement to reveal the crushing weight of her own relentless standards.
The story begins in a freezing house where, at age nine, she watched her father’s truck being repossessed; a moment that ignited an insatiable hunger for success. Each promotion became a stepping stone to the next, each accomplishment merely a launchpad for something bigger.
When her husband asked:
“When is enough enough?”
She had no answer.
The real gut punch comes when Glenn describes the cost: lying in an emergency room, unable to remember her own address or form sentences, while her husband translated her garbled thoughts to doctors.
In this powerful talk, Glenn shares her transformative “Enough Blueprint,” a practical framework for catching yourself before burnout hits. When she reveals she made it to only 68% of her family events that year, you’ll recognize yourself in her story of choosing targets over presence, metrics over moments.
This isn’t just another success story. It’s a wake-up call for anyone who’s ever moved the finish line the moment they crossed it.
Antony Gordon
Antony Gordon – a unique individual, blessed to be in the top 1% of the population both for IQ and EQ – is capitalizing on his gifts to bring solutions to one of the biggest issues facing millions of people worldwide: the oncoming mental health tsunami, and fall-out of a generation addicted to social media mindlessly embracing meaningless and often destructive content.
The significant increase in depression, anxiety, spiking of substance abuse, and similar struggles that Gen Z is facing are largely rooted in a generation that lacks purpose. The multi-modality edutainment platform Antony will be launching goes a long way to providing a solution.
Antony has a unique vantage-point, having represented some of the most prominent public personalities, including assuming the role of Strategic Advisor to Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast, the most prolific content creator in the world.
Antony’s new platform provides tools to help millions who live in an altered reality to develop healthy behaviors conducive to building self-esteem, healthy relationships, and a more wholesome and happier world.
Antony explains the brainwashing of a generation by pop culture in his critically acclaimed TEDxTalk.
Allison Moores
At just 15 years old, Allison Moores is already changing the global healthcare conversation – and challenging how we see her generation.
In her highly anticipated TEDx Talk, “Why We Need to Declare a Truce with Gen Z,” Allison invites audiences to look beyond the stereotypes and discover the values that truly define Gen Z: purpose, technology, and collaboration.
Named by Forbes as an influential voice for Gen Z, Allison is the founder of the Global HPV Vaccination Initiative and a published biotech researcher. She’s led international campaigns to prevent cancer, tackled misinformation head-on, and used AI to explore how viruses lead to disease.
But at the heart of her message is something deeper: the belief that when generations listen to one another, they can build a more connected, innovative future. Through powerful stories and bold data, Allison explains how her generation is already reshaping industries and rethinking what leadership looks like.
With her HPV Vaccination initiative set to reach over 10,000 children in 2025, Allison isn’t just proving that Gen Z is capable: she’s showing that understanding them is essential. Her talk is a call for unity, curiosity, and cross-generational cooperation.
Eva Kirchhofer
Eva Kirchhofer is a dynamic entrepreneur and technology enthusiast known for her bold ideas and innovative approach to success.
As the founder and CEO of biz:feat, she has managed multimillion-dollar projects while challenging conventional wisdom. In her provocative TEDx talk at TEDxLinz, titled “Running Over People as Hidden Key to Success?” Eva presents a deeply personal narrative that defies traditional definitions of achievement. Through her candid storytelling, she explains how she transformed criticism and social stigma into a powerful metaphor for breaking free from limiting norms.
Eva’s talk explores the tension between aggressive ambition and ethical leadership. She questions the notion that success must come at the expense of others, instead inviting the audience to rethink what it means to truly succeed.
With vulnerability and determination, she recounts moments of feeling exposed on stage while sharing her unconventional journey. Her message encourages listeners to challenge their biases and consider whether the familiar rules of business and society may hinder genuine progress.
By blending personal experience with provocative ideas, Eva Kirchhofer’s TEDx presentation inspires viewers to embrace change, take risks, and redefine success on their own terms. Her talk challenges conventional ideas, urging every listener to embrace transformative, innovative change today.
