TEDxKC

Speakers

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

• DePrice Taylor

  DePrice Taylor is a civic leader, writer, and sports business professional focused on personal transformation, purposeful growth, the power of human connection, and expanding opportunities for others. A native of Detroit, a city known for its grit, soul, and pride, DePrice carries that spirit with her. It shows up in how she lives her life, how she leads, and how she shows up for others—with intention, heart, and a commitment to community. Her journey is rooted in overcoming adversity, growing up in an environment shaped by trauma and chaos, yet finding her way forward with faith and determination. A first-generation college and master’s graduate, DePrice brings a perspective shaped by both lived experience and professional insight. Through her writing and storytelling, she explores how adversity shapes identity, how relationships influence who we become, and what it means to grow with intention. Her voice is genuine, reflective, and honest—inviting others into deeper conversations about purpose, resilience, and change. Her commitment to community extends beyond her professional role. DP actively invests her time and leadership into efforts that support equity, access, and economic empowerment—contributing to work that strengthens communities and creates broader opportunities for young people to be successful. An award-winning leader, DePrice has been recognized for her impact and service. She is known for her ability to connect with all people. Through her writing, speaking, and leadership, DePrice continues to create space for people to be seen, to grow, and to become who they aspire to be.

• Diana Kander

  When Diana Kander was just 8 years old, she and her family escaped the Soviet Union, entered the United States as refugees, and resettled in Kansas City without money or the ability to speak English. From these humble beginnings, Diana became a Georgetown-educated attorney, a university professor, the founder of 10 companies, a consultant to Fortune 500 companies and government leadership teams, and a New York Times bestselling author whose books have been taught in more than 100 universities and translated into many languages. And her parents would like you to know that her sister is a doctor.

• Jared Ficklin

  Jared is a Frog Design Fellow & former founding partner of argodesign. He believes experience is key to design and has spent more than two decades finding value for the user in innovative technology and bringing solutions to large organizations. He is currently the Chief Product & Design Officer for the Collaborative Intelligence startup SynthBee. He is also a futurist and an interactive artist creating or participating in large-scale social experiments from SXSW to Burning Man with a focus on the intersection of humanity and technology. He spoke at TED. He is a maker. He is the co-director of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee. He was once a cowboy in 1867.

• Justin Garcia

  Dr. Justin Garcia is an evolutionary biologist and international authority on the science of sex and relationships. Since 2019, he has served as the Executive Director of the world-renowned Kinsey Institute, where he is also a Senior Scientist. He holds an appointment as the Ruth N. Halls Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University and is a Founding Co-Director of Human Sexuality and Health at the IU School of Medicine. Dr. Garcia holds a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and M.S. in biomedical anthropology from Binghamton University and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School. An award-winning researcher and educator, Dr. Garcia has consulted with a variety of industry partners, and he is currently the Chief Scientific Advisor to Match, where he provides expertise for the annual Singles in America study. His research has been featured widely in the media and focuses on people’s romantic and sexual lives throughout the life course, especially on integrative biopsychosocial models of variation in courtship, intimacy, and sexual behavior. He has co-authored over 100 academic articles and book chapters, and is co-author of Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior. His latest book, The Intimate Animal, explores the science behind why we live and die for love. https://kinseyinstitute.org/research/intimate-animal.html

• Leigh Anne Taylor Knight

  Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight is a leader, educator, and advocate for expanding opportunity. As Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of The DeBruce Foundation, she is intensely driven to innovate and find better solutions for how individuals discover their strengths, explore career possibilities, and create pathways to success in a rapidly changing workforce. Her background spans education, workforce development, and research, serving as a K-12 assistant superintendent, advising learning institutions nationwide, and leading multi-state research initiatives for individuals and communities. Leigh Anne is passionate about amplifying young voices and believes in the power of mentorship to spark change. She serves on boards that support education and workforce development, including the Mizzou Alumni Association, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and KU Edwards. Leigh Anne’s mantra: embrace every opportunity to teach and learn from others.

• Making Movies

  Making Movies is the Latin Grammy–nominated group led by Enrique Chi — born in Santiago, Panamá, and raised in the American Midwest — forging a sound guided by tradition, yet unmistakably its own. The band has been described by Rolling Stone as “an eclectic blend of rumbero percussion, delicate organs, and grungy fuzz,” while NPR calls the project “perhaps one of the most unique groups around today.” Their sound is anchored in the rich rhythmic traditions of Panamá and delivered with the force of a psychedelic rock show. Chi weaves the mejorana, a traditional hand-made instrument rarely heard outside of Panamá, into each performance. Making Movies is collaborative across genres, working with artists from Rubén Blades to Kevin Morby, and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) to Hurray for the Riff Raff. Most notably, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) has served as a guiding force for the band — functioning as a spiritual band member, producer, and mentor. Learn more about Making Movies: https://linktr.ee/makingmovies.world

• Mark Schlipman

  Steve Short is a retired C-suite executive, strategic advisor. He spent nearly 30 years at Enterprise Holdings, where he rose from Management Trainee to Vice President, ultimately leading a $3B+ division and helping drive more than $2B in growth through innovation, partnerships, and customer-focused strategy. Mark Schlipman is a Managing Partner and Wealth Advisor at Carson Wealth and the founder of Schlipman Wealth Advisors, a firm that built a trusted presence serving clients across Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Carson Wealth is part of the Carson Partners network, which supports more than 135 partner offices and over 350 advisors nationwide. Mark and Steve are co-authors of the best-selling personal finance book The Simple Road Toward Financial Freedom, written to address the growing gap in financial literacy among young adults.

• Matt Gibson

  Matt Gibson is a principal investigator and president of the graduate school at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. His research program focuses on anthozoan cnidarians, including corals and sea anemones. Dr. Gibson’s lab has pioneered experimental approaches to the study of anemones, generating insights into nervous systems, body plans, and cell functions. His team’s research on reef-building corals has resulted in the rare achievement of coral spawning in a lab setting. The promise of this work is in establishing a foundation for preserving ecologically critical marine species. Raised in rural Vermont, Dr. Gibson earned his B.S. in Biology from Yale and graduate degrees from the University of Washington, with a fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Norbeert Perrimon.

• Meggie Mapes

  Dr. Meggie Mapes is a communication researcher, educator, and author dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to communicate with authenticity and impact. She is a professor and director at the University of Kansas, author of the award-winning open textbook Speak Out, Call In, editor of the Journal of Communication Pedagogy, and founder of the consulting firm Meggie Mapes, LLC. Her research takes her inside prisons, where Dr. Mapes has co-facilitated batterer intervention programs to study the cultural beliefs that reproduce gender violence. What she found — that violence is a meaning problem, not a monster problem — is the subject of her forthcoming book. When she’s not in the prison or in the classroom, she works with entrepreneurs and organizations on strategic communication and storytelling, delivers keynotes, workshops, and trainings across the country, and resides in Kansas City with her partner and two dogs. Meggie believes that the stories we tell are a powerful tool – a tool that can connect or destroy us – and that changing destructive stories, through communication, is the life force of our future.

• Michelle Rozen

  Dr. Michelle Rozen, Ph.D. is a behavioral scientist and published researcher who has dedicated her career to one of the most consequential questions of our time: why do human beings resist change, and what does science tell us it actually takes to lead through it? Her groundbreaking studies on decision-making, goal execution, and AI adaptation have redefined how organizations approach change. Her extensive research on goal execution where she found that only 6% of people follow through on their goals, became the foundation of her USA Today bestselling book The 6% Club, now translated into multiple languages and recognized globally as a landmark contribution to the behavioral science of human performance. As artificial intelligence began rewriting the rules of every industry on earth, Dr. Rozen responded the way she always does- with research. Surveying 5,000 professionals across industries, her findings indicated that AI initiatives are stalling because teams are overwhelmed, uncertain, and emotionally unprepared for change. The study was published in the Journal of Social Sciences and became the foundation of her book The Change Doctor's Playbook for Adapting to AI. Trusted by Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies including Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and the American Banking Association, Dr. Rozen brings to every room what is most scarce in the AI conversation: not opinion, not speculation, but evidence. In a world of noise, she offers data. In a world of anxiety, she offers science. And in a world that won't stop changing, she offers the clearest possible answer to the question everyone is quietly asking- not whether AI will change us, but whether we are capable of changing in today’s rapidly evolving world.

• Noelle McWard Aquino

  Noelle McWard Aquino is a licensed psychotherapist based in Chicago, Illinois, with more than 30 years of experience specializing in the treatment of anxiety. She is the author of the bestselling book Anxiety Unpacked: Discover Your Type and Recover Your Peace, a framework she spent a decade teaching to therapists before bringing it to a broader audience. She is a Psychology Today contributor, a professional development trainer, and a speaker and therapist educator whose work bridges clinical expertise and accessible, human insight. Noelle's commitment to this work is not only professional. As the mother of a son who has lived with anxiety and OCD for most of his life, Noelle understands firsthand what it means to love someone through the experience, and how much it matters to finally have a framework that makes sense of it. It is her mission to relieve the suffering of those living with anxiety and to give both individuals and the clinicians who serve them the tools to do that well.

• Quixotic

  Quixotic is an internationally recognized immersive performance collective creating bold, visually striking experiences that fuse contemporary dance, cirque, live music, and cutting-edge design. Known for transforming spaces into living worlds, Quixotic blends theatrical storytelling, innovative technology, and emotionally resonant performance to create unforgettable live experiences. Quixotic is the creative force behind multiple original immersive productions at Faena Theater Miami Beach, including Allura, Sensatia, and Carmen, helping define the theater’s signature live entertainment identity. In addition, Quixotic produces large-scale outdoor and site-responsive experiences such as Dark Forest and Terra Luna, immersive environments that merge nature, light, sound, and movement into multi-sensory journeys. Quixotic’s work has been featured on international stages and festivals, including Gala de Danza and the Napa Music Festival, and spans international galas, special events, corporate entertainment, and luxury experiences aboard Celebrity Cruises. The company has worked with prestigious brands and institutions such as HP, Google, Mastercard, the Smithsonian, and SLS, delivering bespoke performances for cultural, corporate, and luxury audiences worldwide. From immersive theater and outdoor spectacles to high-profile galas and brand activations, Quixotic keeps pushing the boundaries of live entertainment with bold creativity and world-class production.

• Sheri Jacobs

  Sheri Jacobs is the founder and CEO of Avenue M Group, an independent research and consulting firm she launched more than 16 years ago. Under her leadership, Avenue M has worked with over 300 organizations and surveyed nearly half a million professionals across healthcare, education, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services, building one of the largest proprietary datasets on how people navigate change, risk, and innovation. Her research focuses on a counterintuitive question: why do people with more freedom often produce less innovation than those operating under real constraints? Drawing on more than a million data points, Sheri has identified the conditions that allow individuals to experiment, take smart risks, and turn ideas into action, along with the structural patterns that quietly shut creativity down. Sheri is a three-time bestselling author. Her latest book, The Unexpected Power of Boundaries: Rethinking the Rules, Risks, and Real Drivers of Innovation (Amplify Publishing, 2026), debuted at #1 on Amazon in both Technology and Innovation. Her earlier books, including The Art of Membership and Pivot Point, have become standard references in their fields. Outside her research, Sheri is an award-winning wildlife photographer. She has traveled to all seven continents, with expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica shaping much of her recent work. Photographing wildlife in extreme environments has reinforced what her research keeps surfacing: patience, preparation, and working within hard limits are what make the unexpected moments possible. She lives in Denver with her three rescue dogs.

• Stan Tatkin

  tan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® (PACT). He has a clinical practice in Calabasas, CA. With his wife, Dr. Tracey Tatkin, he co-founded the PACT Institute for the purpose of training other mental health professionals worldwide, along with a growing PACT faculty, to use this method in their clinical practice. Together, Stan and Tracey also lead couple workshops. Stan is a recently retired teacher and supervisor of family medicine residents at Kaiser Permanente, Woodland Hills, CA, and is an associate clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine for more than 20 years. He is on the board of directors of Lifespan Learning Institute and served as a member on Relationships First Counsel, a nonprofit organization founded by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt.

• Steve Short

  Steve Short is a retired C-suite executive, strategic advisor, and co-author of the best-selling personal finance book The Simple Road Toward Financial Freedom. He spent nearly 30 years at Enterprise Holdings, where he rose from Management Trainee to Vice President, ultimately leading a $3B+ division and helping drive more than $2B in growth through innovation, partnerships, and customer-focused strategy. He later served as Chief Marketing Officer at Cordell & Cordell / Lexicon, where he led marketing and sales efforts across multiple brands and helped drive revenue growth and operational improvements during a period of significant change. Today, Steve advises organizations on strategy, growth, and innovation, including emerging applications of AI in the travel industry. He is also focused on financial literacy, using his platform to help young adults and professionals develop simple, structured approaches to managing money.