The main event: March 20, 2026
Final videos are LIVE •
Two TEDx Editors Picks! •
Final videos are LIVE • Two TEDx Editors Picks! •
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 270 people applied but only 12 would be selected for the main event.
2026 was an exceptional year for TEDxAsheville. Our most successful event! Thank you to everyone who contributed. And a special thanks to our 12 brave speakers who went through a life-changing evolution to get to the final red rug. We’re so proud of you!
ALLEGRA HUSTON
Imaginative Intelligence
DAVID HUFF
We Are Trail Magic
JENN MAER
Friendship By Design
TEDx Editor’s Pick
GEORGE HOPE JOHNSON
Defying Transphobia: Let Us Have Hope
ASHLEY BERGER
Dinner Parties Can Change The World
JENNIFER PICKERING
Finding Your Way Home Through Culture
DR. MAIYSHA CLAIRBORNE
Moving From Apology to Repair
TEDx Editor’s Pick
JAY HILL
Take a Stand by Sitting Down…to Pee
Dr. LISA RALEIGH
A River Runs Through Us
JUSTIN JONES-FOSU
Stop Chasing Meaning. Create It in the Middle of the Mess.
MEGHAN O’MALLEY
Unshakeable: The Power of Connection When Everything’s Crumbling
SEKOU COLEMAN
Extraction or Repair: The Choice Is Yours
For more info on the speakers, plus intimate interviews, scroll down ↓
High five for our all-important Sponsors.
Our partners believe in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and, ultimately, the world! A special thanks goes out to our partnership community who are helping make TEDxAsheville events such an overwhelming success. We love working with you to bring this unique experience to our audience and create ideas worth spreading.
Also, our fantastic Lead Team and Volunteers.
Our Lead Team certainly demonstrates and understands what ‘commitment’ means. Each and every one commits their time, their resources, and their love for this community by working tirelessly, year-round, to present 3 Red Rug Roundtables, one Pass The Mic Ceremony, and of course, the Main Event. It’s a labor of love, for sure! But we couldn’t do any of it without the strategic and gentle guidance of our ‘fearless leader’ Barrie Barton.
And finally YOU…our audience!
Our audience is the heart of TEDxAsheville. You show up with curiosity, invest in ideas, and help bring this experience to life year after year. Your presence, energy, and support make every talk more meaningful—not just for those on stage, but for everyone in the room. We’re deeply grateful to share this space with you.
For more in-depth information on our Speakers’ bios and backgrounds, click the + below.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
Up close and personal •
Intro videos •
Up close and personal • Intro videos •
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