Theme: Being Human

One of the biggest TEDx events in the country, TEDxPortsmouth is an immersive, full-day event showcasing a diverse lineup of inspiring speakers, rousing artistic performances, local food and more. This 100% volunteer-run annual event is where the Seacoast comes together to connect and explore big ideas — science, the arts, the environment, humanity, entrepreneurship — in a shared experience emphasizing community, conversation, and inspiration. TEDxPortsmouth garners not only a huge local following, but a global reach with speaker videos generating more than a million views (and counting!).

The Music Hall
28 Chestnut St
Historic THeater
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 03801
United States

Ben Kuethe Oaks

Executive at Divert Inc.

Ben Kuethe Oaks is an executive at Divert Inc., an impact technology company on a mission to Protect the Value of Food™. He has spent the greater part of his life immersed in our food system, whether it be a dairy farm in Wisconsin, a food desert in Pittsburgh, or a restaurant in Maine. Over the past eight years, Ben has focused his attention on grocery stores and solving our food waste problem on a national level. He also works with organizations such as Slow Food and MIT Solve to support food businesses and entrepreneurs in the Northeast.

Caitlin McGrath Levesque

Co-founder of Red’s Good Vibes

Caitlin McGrath-Levesque is co-founder of Red’s Good Vibes (RGV), a nonprofit organization defying the traditional approach to charitable giving. A self-proclaimed “shame fighter,” she works hard to eliminate obstacles around reaching out for assistance. With Caitlin and her siblings at the helm, RGV has served over 400,000 meals from their free meal food trucks and is working to establish 15 community fridges in 2024. Whether she is serving meals on the trucks, pushing local governments to reduce barriers to innovation, or collaborating with other nonprofit organizations, Caitlin is building a blueprint for giving without stigma or strings.

Diannely Antigua

Poet & Educator

Diannely Antigua is a Dominican American poet and educator, born and raised in Massachusetts. Her debut collection, “Ugly Music,” was a 2020 Whiting Award winner. Her second poetry collection, “Good Monster,” is forthcoming with Copper Canyon Press in May 2024. She received her BA in English at University of Massachusetts Lowell and her MFA in poetry at New York University. She currently teaches in the MFA writing program at the University of New Hampshire as the inaugural Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence. She hosts the podcast “Bread & Poetry” and is currently the Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the youngest and first person of color to receive that title.

Dr. Kartik Sakthivel

Moderator, Dr. Kartik Sakthivel, talks with three panelists about how AI is impacting their industry. Panelists include Flo Nichols, Shrenik Jain and Tara Seppa.

Dr. Nancy Pearson

Local government evangelist

Dr. Nancy Pearson is a local government evangelist. She came by this organically, after becoming deeply connected to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, through community organizing, serving on city council, and pursuing her PhD, where she conducted research on civic engagement with local government. Nancy believes becoming civically engaged can be empowering and sexy. She now splits her time between Portsmouth and Miami Beach.

Erica Kinney

Childhood cancer survivor and above the knee amputee

Erica Kinney is the business development director at SC Digital, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, website and digital marketing agency. As a childhood bone cancer survivor and an above-knee amputee, she embraces the opportunity to have conversations about living differently-abled, overcoming obstacles, and advocacy. Community involvement and volunteering are important to Erica; she is on the boards of Eliot Connects and Best Buddies of New Hampshire and is competing for BBNH Champion of the Year. Erica lives by the motto, “What have you done today to earn

Juston McKinney

Comedian

Comedian Juston McKinney has had multiple appearances on “The Tonight Show,” two “Comedy Central” specials, and three “Amazon Prime” specials, including “Parentally Challenged” and his latest, “On the Bright Side.” His TV and movie credits include “The King of Queens,” “100 Centre Street,” “The Zoo Keeper,” and “Here Comes the Boom.” He recently wrote and starred in the short film, “Suck It Up,” which screened at the NH Film Festival where he was awarded “Best Acting Performance.” He lives on the Seacoast with his wife and two sons.

Laura Cleminson

Death Doula & Founder of Pre-Dead Social Club

Laura Cleminson is an entrepreneur and the founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club, a mission-based organization working on “keeping the die-a-logue alive.” Laura’s a death doula, hospice volunteer, and active member of the NH Health Care Decisions Coalition – part of the Foundation for Healthy Communities. She’s a former associate at VentriFlo, Inc., a medical device company dedicated to improving patient outcomes requiring cardiopulmonary support during surgery or in the ICU, where she shares a patent with five colleagues. Laura believes that by talking to strangers we reap immeasurable benefits.

Leo Stern

Leo Stern, Tyler Carroll, Vandever Safley, Charlie Ruedig, Jacob Tehan, Lincoln Silverman, Ryan Ervin, and Brandon Ganev

Lisa Whited

Author + Speaker

Lisa Whited is the author of “Work Better. Save The Planet: The Earth-First Workplace Is Good For People, Great For Business.” Driven to make work work better, Lisa has spent her career studying the workplace: its physical design, human behavior, organizational culture, and leadership. She is intrigued by how intimate dialogue might strengthen people’s connections to each other, enhance workplace culture, and positively impact our planet. Lisa is recognized as being in the top 1% of Mentimeter presenters in the world. Mentimeter is a facilitation tool she uses to ensure quiet people and the marginalized are not drowned out by dominant loud voices (which often happens in workplaces).

Liv Van Ledtje

Student

Liv Van Ledtje is a reader, thinker, and kids’ voice believer. She’s smart about all things shark and hopes to be a future ichthyologist. A student at Phillips Exeter Academy, Liv is also a passionate advocate for books and using social media to promote digital citizenship, voice, and audience. Liv is the creator of LivBits—short videos for kids and teachers about reading, thinking, and life. Her work is featured internationally as a model for digital citizenship and kid creation. Liv is a much sought after international keynote speaker, author of “Spark Change: Make Your Mark on the Digital World,” and has a podcast called, “The KidLit Show,” produced by Panoply and featured in their Pinna app.

Matt Stein

CEO and co-founder of Salient Predictions

Matt Stein is the CEO and co-founder of Salient Predictions, which uses ocean data and artificial intelligence to predict weather weeks and months in advance with high levels of accuracy and reliability. Prior to Salient, Matt led business development and was the first employee at Jupiter Intelligence, a leading science-focused company for physical climate risk analytics. Matt started his journey into climate-positive startups by founding and leading Multitude, an air quality technology company, to a successful acquisition. Matt is a father of three, aspiring jazz guitarist, and an advocate for Federal carbon pricing legislation.

Victoria Carrington-Chavez

Visual artist & brand strategist

Victoria Carrington Chávez is a celebrated visual artist and highly sought-after brand strategist. Her acclaimed piece “Decolonizing my School Mascot” has graced the walls of galleries nationwide. Her creativity honors her diverse roots, embracing African, Dinè (Navajo), and Mexican influences. As the creative director of La Mezcla Creative Co., her visual arts and storytelling expertise led her to guest lecture at Northeastern University, design for best-selling authors, and collaborate with social media influencers. Beyond artistry, Victoria champions community causes, supporting grassroots organizations that uplift BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. She also knows the best taco spots in town.