Women 2021 - TEDxColePark in Corpus Christi, Texas

Catherine Cole - Workforce and Education

Catherine Cole is a Military Spouse, Communication Scholar, Mother, Board of Director for Corpus Christi Metro Ministries and a Contract Manager for Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend. As a Military Spouse, Catherine found difficulty finding employment opportunities while living in California and in Corpus Christi. Through education and perseverance, Catherine found a career in helping others with significant barriers to employment find their careers as well. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinekatiecole

Michelle Eccellente Stevenson - Educator / Artist / Writer

Michelle Eccellente Stevenson is an artist, writer, TEDx Speaker, and Founder of Cultivate Caring. Michelle is passionate about making the world a better place through creative endeavors and education. Her Bachelor of Arts degree, with a dual major in Political Science and Sociology, gave Michelle a peek into the window of how connected we all are. The bulk of her career was spent in the training and development sector, working for major corporations as an educator. Michelle now spends her time trying to make sense of the world through art, writing, and developing content for Cultivate Caring. Michelle’s TEDx Talk ‘How Caring Connects Us’ is on YouTube and she invites you to join her on social media @CultivateCaring and @MESStudioArt. http://www.facebook.com/CultivateCaring

Deji Akingbade - Business Leader

Conor Rice - Gen Z Activist

My name is Conor Rice and I am a product of the Texas public school system. As I go to college to become an educator I am committed to ensuring our schools are better than I found them. It is through activism and advocacy that I work to ensure that hate speech and slurs have no place in our schools today. That bold goal is imperative to repairing the divisive society that Gen Z is entering. I am proud and committed to ensuring that every single child feels as they belong in our schools today. https://linktr.ee/conor4.0

Elayna Fernandez - Storyteller | Strategist | Student of Pain

Known worldwide as the Positive MOM, Elayna Fernández is a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed storyteller, and award-winning mom entrepreneur. Elayna helps moms turn their painful stories into bestselling books, profitable courses, and well-crafted impactful talks, so they can earn passive income as inspiring messengers and digital entrepreneurs. Her award-winning Emotional Wholeness programs inspire millions of moms around the world to break cycles, find peace, and feel whole. To learn more about Elayna, visit thePositiveMOM.com and follow her @thepositivemom. https://thepositivemom.com

Rev. Tracey Anderson-Tellado

Jonathan Dale Swindle

MILLENNIAL ENTREPRENEUR I am the founder of HRMG, a digital marketing company from South Texas with over ten years of experience and 70+ clients served across the country. As of 2022, I have taken a leadership position as President of the board of directors for PRIDE Corpus Christi. Since 2017, I co-founded a coworking space, short film production studio, and life safety auditing firm. As an entrepreneur, I am a passionate developer of minds that leads by example with a hands-on approach. I have invested my time, resources, and patience in creating a pocket of prosperity for those with similar passions as my own. I believe we earn success with hard work and that an idea, a concept, or a masterpiece is only as powerful as the message it can carry. Our audacity to think that we can is what enables our visions to succeed.

Brenda Crawley

As a community volunteer, giving back to me is important. Being part of TEDxColePark gives me the opportunity to help students share their creative side. I am currently part of many organizations, such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Operation Homefront, PTSA, and many others. I am a mother of two wonderful kids and have been married for 19 years. I hope that my experiences will through my support of the TEDxColePark project.

Kat Smith - Artist

Kat Smith is a former educator turned artist. After a ten-year career in public schools and higher education, she became a consultant to support teachers and students in Mississippi. Months into her consulting career, her world was shaken when her dad unexpectedly passed in 2020. What began as a desire to preserve flowers from his memorial grew into a pressed floral art business to help others find beauty during a time of loss. Now, Kat's passion is creating beautiful art and helping others cultivate loss into legacy. Kat enjoys speaking, painting, and sowing seeds of hope for an impactful future. www.katsmith.info

Scott Paradis - Change Agent and Author

Leader, Writer, Speaker, Trainer – Seeker of truth, devoted to helping people make the most of themselves to ultimately live full and fulfilling lives. Completed a 30+ year career with the United States Army, retiring at the rank of colonel. In addition to multiple stateside assignments, to include the Pentagon, served in warzones in Europe and the Middle East, as a Congressional Fellow with the United States Senate, and as a National Security Fellow with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Author of ten books and numerous personal and professional growth programs focused on helping people understand and embrace the fundamental principles of leadership and success. https://ScottFParadis.com

Nina Meehan - CEO and Founder of Bay Area Children's Theatre and Creativity Expert

Nina Meehan is a creativity expert, who inspires the children and parents alike as an award-winning director, playwright and producer, and a dedicated arts educator, with expertise in youth development and nonprofit management. Her work focuses on nurturing innovation in children and connecting people in our increasingly digital world. Nina’s award-winning theatrical work for young people as CEO of Bay Area Children's Theatre has reached more than 1 million kids and adults and has toured nationally and internationally. She speaks and writes frequently on topics ranging from creative thinking, nonprofit management, female leadership and creative parenting. She is also a certified yoga instructor. Her work has been spotlighted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, American Theatre Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Barron’s, Red Tricycle, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News. https://ninameehan.com

Yarona Boster - Trauma informed Life Coach, Parenting Life Coach

For the last 15 years, I ran an Early Intervention (EI) Program, in accordance with USA federal IDEA regulations and New Jersey Part C. This program is for children birth to 3 years of age with developmental delays and disabilities. EI is a parent training model focusing on parent advocacy. While it is specifically designed to assist parents of children with developmental delays and disabilities, the basis of its practices and implementation utilizes a variety of evidenced based strategies for early childhood development. In a recent transition, I have moved into life coaching, with an emphasis on loss/trauma and parenting coaching. I also have a parenting workshop series in the works. Lastly, I am an infertility advocate for federal legislation change and facilitator for infertility support groups on both national and local levels. www.footprintscoaching.org

David Angwenyi - Educator

Erasmo Rivera - Confidence Coach, Speaker and Author

Erasmo Rivera is a Speaker | Author | Personal Development Confidence Coach that loves to help individuals gain confidence and believe in themselves. Erasmo has been coached and mentored by great individuals like Les Brown, John C. Maxwell, Daniel Ally, Evan Carmichael, and others with the purpose to keep developing himself so that he can be able to bring value to others. Erasmo is an Author of his book “IGNITE the Hunger in You” in collaboration with Motivational Speaker Les Brown and 34 other amazing authors like JB Owen. Erasmo is dedicated to personal development and helping others extract the best version of themselves. www.Erasmorivera.com

Ana Salazar - Counselor + Researcher

“Self-Care” is Whitewashing Our Wellness - There are pressures all around us to use “self-care” to achieve, meet our goals, be successful, and be worthy of admiration. The whitewashed ideal of successful self-care in the forms of spa days, marathon training, and quiet solitude diminishes the beauty, strength, and breadth of wellness available to historically marginalized individuals and communities.

Cat Moore - Director of Belonging, USC

Cecilia Garcia Akers - Author

Lisa Swift-Young - Philanthropist + Author

Shawna Blake - Comedian + Educator

Sarah Gonzales - Communications Instructor

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