In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University
1834 wake forest rd
Winston Salem, North Carolina, 27109
United States

Florence Ngala

Florence “Flo” Ngala is an editorial photographer known for her celebrity portraits and photojournalism of various hip hop artists. She is a New York native and first-generation American who credits Harlem and her parents for a love of creative hustle. She discovered photography in middle school as a student and went on to major in Advertising/Public Relations and minor in Digital Design at The City College of New York. Flo’s work has appeared on The New York Times, Billboard and Essence covers, she is also known for portraits of musical talent such as Cardi B, Method Man and Burna Boy, and others. In 2022, Flo became the first Black woman invited by Vogue to photograph at the MET Gala. Later that year, she was listed as a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient in the Art & Style category. Flo is currently based in Miami, Florida and grew up in New York City.

Griffin Spolansky

Mezcla has seen strong growth since inception, and is sold in stores nationwide - some of Mezcla's accounts include Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, H-E-B, Gelson's, Thrive Market, Erewhon, Citarella, and Pressed Juicery. Griffin was a member of the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 class for Food and Beverage and has raised $7.5M to date for Mezcla. Griffin attended the University of Virginia, where he Majored in Economics, and competed on the schools Division 1 Men's Lacrosse team where he won a national championship.

Shenarri Freeman

A James Beard Award Nominee, Executive Chef Shenarri Freeman is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education's plant-based Health-Supportive Culinary Arts program. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, she fully embraced veganism in 2017 as a means of putting her health first and taking control of her well-being. Today, she is committed to creating plant-based dishes that are fun and indulgent. Since opening her first restaurant (Cadence) in 2021, Chef Shenarri has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, been nominated for Two James Beard awards, has been recognized by Esquire, New York Times, Michelin, Vogue, and so many more. Now, she is excited to be bi-coastal, leading UBUNTU and Cadence as Executive Chef.

Steven David

Justice David took the Oath of Office as Indiana’s 106th Supreme Court Justice in 2010, where he served until 2022. His long-established and multi-faceted career also included twelve years as the Judge of the Boone County Circuit Court presiding over civil, family, criminal and juvenile cases. He is a retired United States Army Reserve with twenty-eight years of Military service as a distinguished soldier, leader and lawyer, six years of corporate practice, as well as private practice experience. Steven is an ardent supporter of, and fierce advocate for our justice system, the military, citizen’s rights and the rule of law. His career-long service and commitment have earned him many civilian and, military awards and recognitions for his outstanding and distinguished service. Justice David served the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps on active duty until 1986 and reserve duty until 2010, which included two post 9-11 mobilizations in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During his military service he served as trial counsel, defense counsel, training officer, operations officer, legal advisor, Military Judge, and Commander. Before retiring as a Colonel, he had been awarded the nation’s third highest non-combat medal, The Defense Superior Service Award, along with numerous Meritorious Service Awards, Army Commendation Medals, and the Frederick Douglas Human Rights Award.

Suresh Vishnubhatla

Suresh Vishnubhatla is General Manager of Chorus, X’s moonshot to transform how we make, move and manage the world’s goods. Suresh has focused his career on rapidly growing businesses by launching innovative products and services. He started his career at Emerson Electric Corp. where he built the Ovation(R) Distributed Control System—a platform for the energy industry that is used to generate power in approximately 60% of the United States and 30% of the world. Suresh was subsequently a senior executive at BodyMedia (acquired by Jawbone), a pioneer in wearable body monitoring, and Millennium Pharmacy Systems, which led the market in developing and deploying patient side medication management technology for safe pharmaceutical administration, and was a three time recipient of the Inc 500 Fastest Growing Companies award. Before joining X, Suresh was President of PharMerica Corporation, the second largest provider of pharmaceutical services to the post-acute care, specialty and home infusion markets. PharMerica was acquired by KKR and Walgreens. He owns several US and international patents and products recognized by national and international publications.