Speak

Get to know our Speakers •

A speaker’s journey to the legendary TEDx stage begins long before they arrive at the historic Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Speakers undergo a rigorous application and selection process, including multiple rounds of review with a diverse group of leaders from across North Carolina. In 2025, more than 280 people applied but only 12 were selected for the main event in 2026. There are a few criteria for selection, eg. must be within a 4 hour drive of Asheville (to attend meetings, rehearsals, etc.), your idea must fit the theme, and you should be open to feedback. Once selected, speakers work with a dedicated speaker coach to craft and rehearse their talk.

Check out the intro videos below for a little insight into what makes this year’s Speakers tick! Further below are their formal bios and backgrounds.

ALLEGRA HUSTON - Intro video

ASHLEY BERGER - Intro video

DAVID HUFF - Intro video

GEORGE JOHNSON - Intro video

JAY HILL- Intro video

JENN MAER - Intro video

JENNIFER PICKERING - Intro video

JUSTIN JONES-FOSU - Intro video

DR. LISA RALEIGH - Intro video

DR. MAIYSHA CLAIRBORNE - Intro video

MEGHAN O’MALLEY - Intro video

SEKOU COLEMAN - Intro video

For more in-depth information on our Speakers’ bios and backgrounds, click the + below.

As co-founder of the Imaginative Storm writing method, Allegra Huston has spent the last 20 years exploring the love-hate relationship between the rational mind and the imagination, circling the question, "How do you turn a power struggle into a dance?" Along the way, she realized there was more to this dance than simply putting words on a page; its rhythm is what shapes a life.
www.allegrgahuston.com

From make-believe tea parties in her grandmother’s pantry to hosting big girl dinner parties in her own home, resident southern belle and Asheville native, Ashley Berger, is asking “Why aren’t people hosting more often?” As a perpetual gatherer of humans, today she shares how dinner parties can change the world. A simple idea with an even easier action.
www.sweetpealifestyle.com

David Huff believes communities don’t collapse because of disagreement — they collapse because people disengage.
David maintains a section of the Appalachian Trail with the Carolina Mountain Club and spends much of his time helping boards and teams show up for the work they share. Somewhere between mud on his boots and a flip chart in a conference room, he started asking a simple question: “Who is responsible for what we share?”
Today, he makes the case that community only holds when we do.
www.davidhuffcreative.com

Nicknamed Curious George as a kid, anyone who knows George Johnson can tell you, he’s always been driven to ask questions, dig deeper, and share what he discovers. From speech and debate to speaking at his high school graduation, George loves making complex and challenging topics personal and accessible.
George is a freshman at UNC Asheville, majoring in Political Science and Human Rights. He’s aware of the fear and misunderstanding that often surround the transgender community—especially from today’s headlines. Rather than shy away, George chooses to speak up. He’s here at TEDx to share his story, offer hope, and encourage other young people to do the same.
Because George believes love should never be conditional.

For months, Jay Hill has politely refused to tell anyone what his TEDx talk is about.
The software engineers he works with have been guessing. They’re not even close.
Friends at PechaKucha Night and the tech meetups he organizes have tried to get it out of him. He hasn’t budged.
His wife and two teenage children know. They’re supportive… and slightly concerned.
Today, in the spirit of “Embrace the Mess,” Jay is finally ready to let us in on the secret.
www.pechakuchaavl.com

Jenn Maer is a designer. Not a graphic designer or an interior designer. Rather, she’s the kind of big-systems designer who thinks that just about every problem can be solved with empathy, creativity, and a willingness to fail a few times before you get things right. She’s infinitely curious about people, but honestly prefers dogs.
www.harmonic55.com

Would you like to live life like a festival? That is what Jennifer Pickering has been up to for the last 30 years. As the founder of LEAF, she has been transforming the place she grew up, Lake Eden, North Carolina, into a festival - welcoming people from all over the world to dance, learn, connect, and discover the best of themselves. World music and global arts education are her passions, along with exploring the world through local music. She dreams of welcoming artists from EVERY country to Lake Eden - only 78 more to go!

Justin Jones-Fosu has been asking persistent questions since he was a child, driving his mother slightly crazy:
Why?
Why do people leave?
Why does life feel unfair?
Why do we chase applause but still feel empty?
That relentless curiosity shaped him into an author, global speaker, philanthropist, and the lead researcher behind the Meaningful Work in America National Study, where he explores how people create meaning in their work and lives. He also supports building schools in Ghana—turning purpose into tangible impact. Whether on international treks, speaking on stages around the world, or fielding questions from his four-and-a-half kids at home, Justin is still asking why—and inviting others to do the same. He’s honored to step onto the red dot for the second time at TEDx Asheville.
www.workmeaningful.com

A hydrologist by training and a river advocate by calling, Dr. Lisa Raleigh moves through the world with a boundless enthusiasm for people, animals, and nature’s wild places. She pairs curiosity with conviction — and is a dynamic collaborator and persuasive supporter — who brings diverse voices together around a shared vision. At her core, Lisa is fueled by optimism and action, grounded in the belief that when we care for our rivers, we strengthen the communities that depend on them.
www.riverlink.com

Trained in medicine but obsessed with human behavior, Dr. Maiysha Clairborne works at the intersection of trauma, neuroscience, and communication. A communication architect, Maiysha studies how our past lives in our present conversations… and how a single moment of awareness can change both. Today, she challenges how we think about apology… and invites us to discover what becomes possible when we choose repair.
www.mindremappingacademy.com

Meghan is many things that probably shouldn't go together: a former therapist turned coach with an unreasonable collection of both overpriced rocks and personal growth books, who you'll also find throwing down at cardio hip hop class multiple times a week. A music lover whose playlist travels without warning from spiritual chants and meditations to club bangers. An introvert who is absolutely in her pajamas by 7pm, ideally with her current spicy romance novel in hand — who has been guided her whole life by one persistent question: how do we find meaning and direction when life feels like such an uncontrollable mess?
www.meghanomalleymagic.com

Sekou Coleman grew up in our nation's capital -- a "Chocolate City" that shaped his understanding of Black community as something living, built, and worth fighting for. Born to activists from the Black Power Movement of the 1960's, he has spent his life doing work that positively impacts Black communities, including the one that has adopted him in Asheville.

Ten years ago, asking “Where are all the Black people in Asheville?” became a compass that led him into a deep relationship with Black Asheville. These days, he advances community-led, anti-displacement work while producing documentary and public-history storytelling that protects local memory and connects past and present.