The highly anticipated annual event, TEDxBocaRaton announced the impressive line-up of speakers who will address this year’s theme: IMPACT.
The speakers are making an impact in the lives of others and creating ripple effects that can help to influence the world in positive ways for generations to come. These thought-leaders make up a new era of change-makers in fields such as mental health, technology, entrepreneurship, wellness, mindset, and more. The event will bring a variety of ideas and experiences that are sure to impress.
TEDxBocaRaton 2018
TED events began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged and today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. Aside from the hundreds of TED Talks curated from annual conferences and published on TED.com, they produce original podcasts, short video series, animated TED-Ed lessons and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world.
TED is on a mission to discover and spread ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and engagement with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
Under the TED brand, each year, more than 3,000 independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.
Erik Mintz
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 20th from 3:00 to 6:00 PM at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.
“The Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC) is a valued partner to TEDxBocaRaton and a wonderful place to host our event this year,” said Erik Mintz, TEDxBocaRaton organizer. “BRiC is the former IBM campus and birthplace of the PC, so as a former IBM-er I am forever connected to this property. It’s inspiring to see the 1.7 million square foot facility still thriving so many years later as a business innovation and research hub –– housing companies and organizations across a range of industries from technology, healthcare to finance to cybersecurity.”
Erik Mintz and Cindy Metzler, TEDxBocaRaton organizers are taking their knowledge, network, and passion to spearhead a high-caliber series of speakers sure to make TEDxBocaRaton an acclaimed experience once again. The independently produced event, operated under a license from TED, presents a program of discussions, demonstrations, and performances by leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers from diverse fields such as technology, the arts, education and more.
This year’s speakers include:
• Steve Edwards is an Army veteran and the founder of Premier Virtual, an innovative technology company helping businesses host successful virtual hiring events, meetings and career fairs. Steve is also a dedicated husband a father to two boys that are 5 and 8. Family first is his motto and everything he does at work is to better his family life.
• Michelle Cordeiro Grant is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and podcast host. She spent much of her career at household names in retail including Victoria’s Secret. In 2016, Michelle founded LIVELY, and in just three years, grew the brand’s community to 165,000+ members, expanded their footprint across the country, launched a retail partnership with Target, and closed a $105M acquisition. Michelle founded GORGIE, in 2022, a wellness energy drink disrupting the status quo.
• Natasha Graziano is best known as the #1 female motivational speaker under 40 as seen in Forbes Magazine, Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author, host of a TOP 10 Podcast show on Apple and rated one of the top 10 keynote speakers alongside Michelle Obama and Oprah. Natasha loves helping people unlock their full human potential and become superstars.
• Joy McAdams career started at NBC television 23 years ago. It was this first job, that grew her love for video communication. She was drawn to the healthcare industry and saw its need for growth in marketing. Social media became a key part of communication. Joy is a leader in this field. She is a LinkedIn Influencer with a community of over 250,000 followers that reaches 2 million viewers monthly.
• Marc Nudelberg is a coach, author and entrepreneur. He leverages his experiences as a Division 1 football coach and President of On the Ball to help individuals and their team to adopt the 1% better mindset. Marc delivers energy, passion and competitive drive while focusing on the details and developing processes that produce results. Marc is a dedicated husband and father to two boys.
• Dr. Margaret Rutherford is a clinical psychologist with 30 of experience. She’s also an author and podcaster. Her book, Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression, has impacted thousands in the US and internationally with translations from Korea to Italy, Turkey to Germany. Her podcast, SelfWork, has been rated one of the best podcasts for mental health.
• Sean Shea is the founder and CEO of ViB, a B2B software company that uses a proprietary community-based model to provide high-quality leads for technology companies. Today, ViB stands strong with a community of over 10 million IT decision-makers. ViB has generated hundreds of thousands of new opportunities for clients, with revenues doubling year over year since 2019. As an avid philanthropist, Shea leads the ViB team to partner with organizations making an impact.
Cindy Metzler
“We are thrilled to showcase the best and the brightest entrepreneurs and thought-leaders in South Florida at TEDxBocaRaton,” said Cindy Metzler, TEDxBocaRaton Organizer. “Among seven speakers this year, we are beyond excited to have two local tech founders: Steve Edwards, founder and CEO of Premier Virtual online recruiting platform and Sean Shea, founder and CEO of Virtual Intelligence Briefing (ViB), a B2B lead generation technology company.”
Steve Edwards shared his sentiments with South Florida Tech Hub stating, “TEDx has been a dream of mine for a long time. Finally getting on this stage shows that hard work, preparation and believing in yourself can make your dreams come true.”
Want to attend TEDxBocaRaton 2023? Tickets are $60, but the first 25 South Florida Tech Hub community members can get 35% off using ‘Techhub.’