Laura Ping discusses the historical link between fashion and liberation. She explains that clothes have different meanings to different people based on race, gender, and social class. For some women living in the 1800s, rejecting long dresses in favor of pants was liberating. In addition, women of color and female husbands have embraced fashion that symbolized liberation and social class. During the 20th century, fashion changes linked to feminism and social activism as the flapper dress, the zoot suit, denim clothes, and natural hair symbolized liberation for both men and women. Laura explains that considering fashion as a lens to understand changing power structures in American history can help show us ways in which our own clothing choices reflect the power systems in our lives. Laura Ping is an assistant professor of U.S. History with a PhD from The Graduate Center, City University of New York where she specialized in U.S. cultural history, material culture, visual culture, fashion, and gender. Laura teaches courses on U.S. immigration, the Long Civil Rights Movement, public health, gender and sexuality, and the U.S. Civil War. Having researched women and society, Laura coauthored Catharine Beecher: The Paradoxes of Gender in the Nineteenth Century (2022), examining social and technological changes during the nineteenth-century through the life of education reformer Catharine Beecher. In her current book project, Beyond the Bloomer: Fashioning Change in Nineteenth-Century Dress, Laura analyzes how American women used fashion as a political symbol prior to gaining the right to vote. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

The challenges encountered after Hurricane Helene, and the hope discovered working as a reptile conservation biologist. Gabrielle Graeter is a Conservation Biologist and Herpetologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, based out of Asheville. Gabrielle is originally from the mountains of North Carolina and a proud NCSSM graduate. After NCSSM, she went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a B.S. in Biology. After a couple of years of leading outdoor adventure trips, environmental education, and working as a Biological Technician with the US Forest Service, she headed back to school to get a M.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology, where she studied the effects of landscape fragmentation on reptiles and amphibians. Gabrielle’s current work involves studying the reptiles of western North Carolina to better understand their distribution and determine their population status. The focus is on population monitoring, assessing threats, and taking action to help priority species. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

In this thought-provoking talk, Alice Carter delves into the concept of Behavioral Innovation, revealing how human behavior shapes innovation and decision-making. She challenges the assumption of rationality, demonstrating how our actions are deeply influenced by context. Through compelling insights from psychology and real-world scenarios, this session explores how we can cultivate an innovative mindset to drive meaningful change. Alice Carter is the East Africa Director at Brink, an innovation practice dedicated to addressing global challenges by integrating innovation and behavioural science. At Brink, Alice champions the belief that innovation extends beyond isolated breakthroughs; it thrives when entrepreneurs, governments, and philanthropists work together in a systemic and intentional way. Leading Brink’s efforts in East Africa, she focuses on fostering collaborations that catalyse transformative and sustainable change. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Bonding Minds Across Generations through intergenerational transmission: Rashid shares how her roles as a entrepreneur, family member, friend and philanthropist has shaped her work and her life. Rashida embraces her maiden surname (Anjarwalla) and her married surname (Nurbhai) because she believes her identity is relative to her whole lifetime.She was born and brought up in Nairobi, Kenya. After marriage she relocated to Arusha, Tanzania.Her everyday role revolves around being a daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunt, friend, homemaker, an entrepreneur and, a citizen of her nation and the greater world.She is an artist, food processing expert, nutritionist, and one of the directors in the family owned business.Rashida was awarded The (Citizen Tanzania) Rising Woman Award in 2024, presented by H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The award was to acknowledge her family owned business's dedication towards women empowerment. Her hobbies include painting, reading, golfing, motorcycling, hiking and, baking. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Mr. Qureshi talks about how in the corporate world, challenges—like performance gaps, cultural shifts, and leadership struggles—are the black dots on our canvas. With the right mindset, we can transform obstacles into success stories that redefine our organizations and careers. Mr. Qureshi has always been fascinated by the way small actions, seemingly insignificant moments, or even a single idea can create ripples far beyond what is expected. With experience in coaching and leadership, he has witnessed how perspectives and small steps can lead to profound transformation in the meanings of people's lives. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx