TEDxCatawba 2025 Program
Shown in alphabetical order
Session 1: Man Versus Machine
9:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Blaise Agüera y Arcas
VP and Fellow, CTO of Technology and Society, Google
The Intelligence of Us: Rethinking Minds in the Age of AI
World renowned AI researcher, Agüera y Arcas, invites us to rethink what it means to be intelligent—and even what it means to be human. As the boundaries between people, machines, and ecosystems blur, he explores a deeper understanding of intelligence as something fluid, nested, and shared. This talk challenges our assumptions about cognition, identity, and progress, encouraging us to see artificial and natural minds not as separate, but as deeply intertwined. With clarity and care, Agüera y Arcas paints a future where collaboration—not control—defines our relationship with emerging intelligences. It's a bold vision for what comes next, grounded in wonder and humility.
John Lentini
President, BOLD Training Corp & Leadership Development Expert
THE 3 DIAL SYSTEM: A Control Panel for Life & Leadership
Lentini introduces a powerful yet practical framework built around three essential dials: discipline, mindset, and resilience. With stories drawn from a global career in banking, leadership development, and high-stakes adventure, he explores how preparation and daily recalibration can transform both personal and professional outcomes. Lentini’s message is clear: thriving isn’t about luck—it’s about managing what’s within your control. Through emotional reflections, clarity, and hard-won insight, he challenges audiences to become intentional leaders of their own lives. Whether you're facing a major pivot or seeking everyday progress, this talk will leave you ready to dial it in.
Joe Schurman
Partner, AI Leader - Aerospace & Defense Sector and US Space Program Lead, PwC
AI and the Edge of Human Perception
Schurman pulls back the classified curtain on building the first AI platform to decode unexplained aerial phenomena. From pandemic-era coding sprints to Senate hearings, he shows how multimodal models fuse satellite, flight and eyewitness data to surface patterns no human can see. As AI moves from anomaly detector to meaning-maker, Schurman challenges us to enlarge our sense of reality—and our ethics. What happens when machines extend not just our vision but our wonder?
Rob Sweetman
Former Navy SEAL & Sleep Scientist
A Navy SEAL’s Case for the Human Edge
Former SEAL Team 7, Sweetman invites us to reconsider what true strength looks like in an increasingly automated world. Through vivid storytelling and hard-won perspective, he explores the difference between flawless execution and human conscience—and why the latter matters more than ever. In moments of extreme pressure, it isn’t calculation that defines leadership, but the capacity to feel, question, and choose wisely. Sweetman’s deeply personal journey reminds us that our most powerful tools aren’t mechanical—they’re moral. This talk is a compelling call to protect what makes us human, even when perfection seems programmable.
Tessa West
Professor of Psychology, New York University
Why Teams f*ck up for simple and avoidable reasons.
West explores the invisible forces that derail communication—even among the smartest, most well-intentioned teams. With humor and deep insight, she reveals how tiny assumptions, unsaid “obvious” facts, and quickly formed insider language can quietly sabotage collaboration. Drawing on two decades of research, West unpacks why teams miss critical information even when it’s in the room, and how our brains are wired to overlook what others don’t know. Her stories will make you laugh, cringe, and rethink your next team meeting. This talk is a powerful call to slow down, check your shared assumptions, and finally say the thing that “goes without saying.”
Kenji Yoshino
Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University
How to Disagree Respectfully: “My Friend on the Other Side”
Yoshino explores what happens when we stop avoiding conflict and start approaching it with curiosity, clarity, and care. In a time marked by deep division, he offers a practical and deeply human framework for navigating disagreement without abandoning dignity or connection. Through vivid stories and memorable metaphors, Yoshino challenges us to rethink how we listen, speak, and engage—especially when it’s hard. This talk invites us to replace performative harmony with meaningful dialogue, revealing how disagreement, done well, can actually bring us closer. It’s a timely reminder that honesty and respect aren’t opposites—they’re allies.
Session 2: Reimagining Self
12:20 PM - 3:00 PM
Dr. Ernest Brown
Physician & Healthcare Advocate
From House Calls to Healing Harmonies: A New Prescription for Care
Dr. Brown challenges us to rethink what it means to truly care for another human being. Through a unique blend of old-school house calls and the restorative power of music, he paints a picture of healthcare that is deeply personal, profoundly emotional, and unexpectedly joyful. This talk explores how melodies can reach places medicine alone cannot—especially in the face of memory loss, loneliness, and chronic illness. With wisdom and heart, Dr. Brown reminds us that healing isn’t just about science—it’s also about presence, connection, and harmony. In a world racing toward efficiency, this is a powerful call to slow down and listen.
Cassidy Burel
Founder & Custom Apparel Designer, CassB by Design
The Power of a Question
Burel reveals how a single well-placed question can shift not only a conversation—but a life. In a talk grounded in creativity, craftsmanship, and quiet transformation, she shares stories from her custom design studio where personal insecurities give way to self-discovery. Whether it's a wedding gown consultation or a chance encounter, Burel shows how asking the right question can unlock confidence, joy, and even identity. This talk is a moving reminder that we are all more creative—and more capable—than we think. Sometimes, all it takes is someone willing to ask and truly listen.
Michael Galinsky
Award-Winning Filmmaker
The Disease of Being Human: How I Was Saved by Dr. Sarno
Galinsky shares a deeply personal and surprisingly universal story about pain—not just physical, but emotional, generational, and cultural. In this cinematic reflection on healing, he traces how hidden traumas and internal pressures manifest in the body, and how confronting them can lead to transformation. Drawing from years of filmmaking and lived experience, Galinsky explores what it means to unlearn fear, rewrite our narratives, and embrace the complicated truth of being human. This talk is a powerful invitation to listen to your body, reclaim your story, and consider that healing might begin with a question, not a cure. Vulnerable, hopeful, and unforgettable.
Jennifer McCollum
Catalyst President & CEO
Men Don’t Cry in the Office—But Maybe They Should: A Roadmap to Gender Partnership
McCollum takes a bold look at the invisible emotional rules that shape our workplaces—and how they fail all of us. In a talk that’s equal parts candid and compassionate, she explores the unspoken pressures men and women face to perform gender at work, and how those expectations keep us disconnected. With compelling stories and a practical roadmap, McCollum invites us to move from silent endurance to shared humanity. Her message is clear: real leadership begins when we bring our full selves to the table. If we want workplaces that work for everyone, we’ll need to rewrite the script—together.
Schele Williams
Director, Author & Advocate
From Page to Stage
Williams takes us behind the curtain of Broadway’s most intense—and inspiring—process: the eight-week sprint from first rehearsal to opening night. Through a director’s lens, she reveals the unseen emotional labor and extraordinary pressure that shape every performance we applaud. But this isn’t just a story about theater—it’s about leadership, humanity, and how we choose to show up for each other. Williams shares how she transformed a system once defined by silence and survival into one rooted in trust, voice, and care. This talk is a masterclass in leading with empathy, and a reminder that rigor and kindness are not mutually exclusive—they're the recipe for real magic.
Dr. Kathy Wilson
Medical Director, Catawba Valley Medical Center
A Secret Dream: What If?
Dr. Wilson shares a quiet but powerful story about holding onto a dream—even when the world tells you it's too late. With clarity and courage, she explores what happens when we question the timelines we’ve been handed and challenge the ceilings we’ve placed on ourselves. This talk is about rediscovering possibility, facing doubt with determination, and embracing the small nudges that can open new doors. Wilson reminds us that it’s never too late to ask “What if?”—and that sometimes the dream we’ve buried is still within reach. Her message is a stirring invitation to revisit our deepest ambitions and step toward them with heart.