Past TEDx event

TEDxCulpeper Women

Pep in HER step

Took placeNovember 23, 2025
LocationCulpeper, Virginia, United States
FormatTEDxWomen
TEDxCulpeper Women is not just about hearing great speakers; it’s about impacting lives, igniting conversations, and leaving a legacy. As you move forward on your journey, remember that every step, no matter how small, is a step toward the future you’re creating. Embrace your ambition, trust in your strength, and take that leap to embrace change for an upleveled you! Women are shaping the future in ways we’ve never seen before. So let TEDxCulpeper Women put that pep in your step, to seize new opportunities, and let our ideas be the spark that lights up the path for your next move. TEDxCulpeper Women is an independent event held in Culpeper, VA licensed from TED to spread ideas and organized by volunteer experts in their fields. In the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program helps communities, organizations, and individuals produce TED-style events at the local level. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis, under a free license from TED.

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

  • Belle Osvath

    Certified Financial Planner, Podcaster, and Founder

    Belle Osvath is a financial planner turned advocate dedicated to making personal finances clear and accessible as the founder of the Simple Money Project ™ to empower others. She hosts a podcast for financial advisors, exploring how the profession is evolving to better serve people's real-life financial needs. Belle is passionate about giving people the tools to take charge of their money.

  • Cathleen Beachboard

    Educator, Author and Hope Researcher

    Cathleen Beachboard is a bestselling Corwin author, award-winning educator, and nationally recognized expert on the science of psychological hope. As a researcher in human development and psychology, she studies how hope functions in the brain and how it can be taught to transform motivation, learning, and well-being. She shows others that hope isn't a feeling, it's a teachable force that changes lives.

  • Donna McClung

    Survivor, and Everyday Champion

    Donna McClung is a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and former software tester and developer for both the Military and Corporate America. Through a devastating accident that left her paralyzed, she uses her experiences to empower others to do what they once thought was impossible.

  • Dr. Tonya Rivers

    Innovation Strategist, Educator, and Author

    In Bringing Goodbye Back to Life, Dr. Tonya Rivers (Dr. TR) invites audiences to reconsider the word goodbye, originally rooted in blessing and goodwill but now often linked to sadness and finality. Her talk explores how this shift has shaped how people experience endings and how saying goodbye can reflect care, hope, and positive intention rather than loss alone. By restoring goodbye as wishing good to others, the talk encourages approaching moments of parting as opportunities to affirm connection and presence. Dr. Tonya Rivers (Dr. TR) is an award-winning professor, internationally recognized innovation strategist, and researcher whose work examines how everyday language shapes meaning, connection, and intention. Through years of working with people in education, leadership, and organizational environments, navigating transitions and change, she has observed how word choices influence whether people feel valued and acknowledged, particularly during moments of separation and closure.

  • Marcia Lee

    Health & Wellness Advocate, Fitness Instructor and Consultant

    Marcia Lee is a dedicated community consultant, health and wellness promoter, and fitness instructor. She is passionate about guiding people toward healthier and more vibrant lives. Drawing from her own transformative journey in 2009, she helps individuals achieve optimal health through her M.O.M.

Organizing team