Millions of Americans use the emergency department as their medical home because they have nowhere else to go. But the ER was not designed to support a healthcare journey, let alone provide cost-effective medical treatment. Dr. Matthew Thompson, a board-certified emergency physician, understands this dilemma all too well. His profound professional and personal patient experiences led him out of the ER to create a technology-enabled healthcare organization focused on collaboration, optimism, and breaking free from bias. Now, he’s partnering with the City of Jacksonville, local health systems, and safety net clinics to bring virtual care and navigation to the uninsured. This service will be one of the country's most innovative and collaborative health programs, offering anytime access to care and referral services for the patients who need it most.#Collaboration #Telehealth #TeleMedicine #HealthlinkJAX #Healthcare #VirtualHealthcare #Virtual Dr. Matthew Thompson is an emergency physician, telehealth innovator, and the co-founder/CEO of Telescope Health, a national virtual healthcare, analytics, and technology company that removes barriers to care. He and Telescope Health have been recipients of multiple awards, including Tech Leader of the Year, AWS Health Equity Innovation Grant, and JBJ Community Impact Award. Thompson currently partners with many Jacksonville non-profit organizations to improve access to care in at-risk populations. He is an optimist and problem solver who helped the City of Jacksonville provide testing and virtual care for 45,000 members of the NE Florida community during the pandemic. 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

Colonel (retired) Eries Mentzer, the first Black woman to command Maxwell Air Force Base, explores the Freedom to Serve in the military. She discusses the profound impact of President Truman's May 22, 1950 Freedom To Serve Report, which laid out the foundational principles of equal treatment and opportunity in the U.S. military, while reflecting on her own service journey. Colonel Mentzer's 30-year career in the United States Air Force is a living example of how breaking down barriers can bolster our all-volunteer military, protect our democracy, and strengthen our nation.#FreedomToServe #Military #MilitaryService #Truman #WomensRights #EqualRightsEries Mentzer is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel who served for three decades shaping national security strategies, crisis management plans, and legislative engagements while leading and mentoring America's service members. She played a critical role as a legislative liaison, ensuring Air Force transparency and shaping Congressional understanding of mission priorities. As a squadron commander in the Middle East, she led the largest encampment and the second-largest mortuary operation, ensuring readiness while honoring the fallen. Her leadership extended to the Joint Staff, where she prepared top military generals to advise the President and National Security Council during the War on Terrorism and the Ebola crisis. Breaking barriers as the first Black woman to command Maxwell Air Force Base, she launched initiatives honoring military history while securing investments for future generations. Her career culminated at Air Force Special Operations Command, where she launched the new Air Commando Development Center, training highly specialized warfighters for global campaigns, conflict, and crisis.Now a veteran and advocate, Eries is featured in the National World War II Museum's film "Our War Too: Women in Service." She serves on the board of Operation Lifeline to deliver safe, accessible, and affordable homes for displaced Veterans and on the Truman Library Institute board to inspire rising leaders through President Truman's legacy. 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

Feelings, historically dismissed or downplayed, seem to be crucial to understanding an omnipresent mental health crisis. He explores how emotional awareness and openness, or as he puts it, "emotional readiness" can profoundly enhance the quality of our relationships – with ourselves and with others. Lukas reveals the critical role that vulnerability plays in leading fully embodied lives and why men, in particular, seem to struggle with this. Lukas Klaschinski has always had an curiosity about people and their psychological wiring. This quest for understanding has turned him into an inquisitive child first and an outspoken psychologist later. Today he engages a wide audience as a bestselling author and podcaster, breaking down psychological insights.A life-changing accident forced Lukas to reevaluate everything, prompting him to ask: What really matters? On his quest for answers he put his life on hold. What he discovered was a great disjuncture between how most of us spend our lives and what scientific evidence tells us leads to happiness and lasting physical and mental well-being.Lukas distills his insights down to one essential element: feelings. Feelings, historically dismissed or downplayed, seem to be crucial to understanding an omnipresent mental health crisis. He explores how emotional awareness and openness, or as he puts it, "emotional readiness" can profoundly enhance the quality of our relationships. 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

Singer-songwriter, Morley, performing/talking about inter belonging in The Overlap. Accompanied by Daniel Mintseris. Joined at the end for the closing call and response song by Hip Hop dance group, In The Midst, led by Rochelle Underdue.#SingerSongwriter #Music #LivePerformance #Folk #Soul #AcousticMorley is a dynamic recording artist, singer, and composer who blends jazz, soul, and folk traditions into a powerful voice for human rights and environmental justice. Educated at the United Nations School, Duke Ellington High School for the Performing Arts, and Alvin Ailey, Morley travels globally to perform for visionaries on the frontiers of social change. Her music, a powerful tool for advocacy, has appeared on network television, in commercials, and in human rights documentaries, and has touched such figures as His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, and Ela Gandhi. Her work includes performances at the Nomad Women’s Festival, the UN, Carnegie Hall, and TEDWomen.Lithuanian-born, New York-steeped Daniel Mintseris has performed/recorded with St. Vincent, David Byrne, Marianne Faithfull, Joe Jackson, Martha Wainwright, Trixie Whitley, Meshell Ndegeocello, as well as share technical expertise with Alvvays, Danielle Ponder, and Elvis Costello & The Imposters. 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

How do you define well being? To be well with your well being, you need to accept it’s not just a state of being but also an active journey. Did you know fewer than 10% of adults sustain healthy habits throughout their lives, and over 40% of adults aged +45 live with multiple chronic conditions? In today’s fast-paced world, many of us feel stuck, aimless, or struggle with enacting and sustaining our well-being goals. Dr. Moain Abu Dabrh shares the transformative VIP CWRE framework—a pragmatic and powerful blend of science, humanity, and actionable strategies for whole-person well-being. Drawing from decades of innovative research, personal insights, and real-world practice, this talk empowers you to rethink well-being and navigate life’s quiet moments and inevitable storms with intention and confidence. Whether you’re striving for better health, professional fulfillment, or community connection, this talk will inspire you to live a VIP life worth living—purposeful, resilient, and uniquely yours.#Wellbeing #Healthandwellness #Health #Wellness Dr. Moain Abu Dabrh is a medical humanist, researcher, and physician-coach at the Mayo Clinic, committed to redefining well-being as more than the absence of illness. Drawing on decades of evidence-based research, clinical and coaching practice, and innovative collaborations, his work empowers individuals, communities, healthcare systems, and policymakers to navigate the dynamic complexities of modern life demands and healthcare delivery with intention, resilience, and confidence. Bridging the science of well-being with the soul of humanity, his work inspires a path toward a more meaningful life and a thoughtful approach to healthcare. 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

Post-COVID Downtowns have been gutted nationwide. It is not that they are not dead, but how we think of them is. Creative Placemaking expert Kady Yellow believes that remaking and renewing our city centers requires social architecture, not only building up with brick and mortar but building up our people. Yellow unleashes the power of the public imagination through her award-winning open-call process that centralizes the resident as the expert city builder and transforms entrepreneurs through her process into more educated urbanists. By highlighting and embracing the everyday citizen as catalysts for positive change, we can enhance our cities aesthetically, bridge social divides, promote economic growth, and cultivate active public spaces.#Placemaking #Downtown #Art #Transformation #UrbanRenewal Kady Yellow is the Vice President of Placemaking for Downtown Vision, bringing over fifteen years of experience in creative placemaking and community-building expertise from her work in New Orleans, California, Alaska, New York, and Western Europe. She holds a master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans and two bachelor's degrees in Mathematical Sciences and Graphic Design from Binghamton University. Yellow is known for her work in civic entrepreneurship and the night time economy and specializes in "making public space(s) more public" through partnerships around the world. She has received special training from Federal Resources for Creative Community Development, City Repair Project, and Project for Public Spaces, has taught at university and authored a book on the topic, and is a recipient of prestigious grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Planning Association. 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