Eric Ratinoff

Athlete, Connector, Entrepreneur, Event planner, Filmmaker, Idea generator, Parent, Writer/Editor

Eric Ratinoff served as the lead organizer for TEDxAmoskeagMillyard, held in Southern New Hampshire, from 2013-2019, and a member of the organizing team through 2024. He is the founder and Chief Storyteller for Story First (http://storyfir.st/), a strategic storytelling firm that helps organizations use the power of story to connect with their audience, solve problems, and create impact. He is also a co-founder and principal at The Mouse and the Elephant (http://mouseandelephant.com/), a diversity and inclusion training and consulting firm that helps corporate clients reap the benefits of a more inclusive business culture. In addition, Eric was the Executive Editor of the Ferguson Commission report, Forward Through Ferguson (http://forwardthroughferguson.org/). He is a co-author of “A Seat at the Table,” (http://www.nhbr.com/A-Seat-at-the-Table/) a column on diversity and inclusion in the New Hampshire Business Review, and serves on the Program Advisory Board for the Communication and Media Studies program at Fisher College in Boston. In 2016, he spoke at TEDxCapeMay on how stories impact organizational culture.

The power of story to influence how we see the world and the choices we make. Making leadership personal. Helping organizations become more inclusive. Pushing myself to continuously grow and learn.

I was honored to give a talk about my idea worth spreading at TEDxCapeMay in 2016: Once Upon a Time At The Office: How Stories Shape Culture At Work https://youtu.be/ozF6xxyvXDs

Diversity & Inclusion, Storytelling, Track and Field, Writing and Editing

I was fan of TED Talks for many years before I realized that I could get involved with a TED event. In early 2013, a friend connected me with the lead organizer for TEDxAmoskeagMillyard, who was leaving the area. A new lead organizer was needed. Before I knew it, I had stepped into the role. Since then, I've had the pleasure and privilege of building an amazing team to put on two TEDxAmoskeagMillyard events. I've appreciated the chance to bring a TED experience to Southern New Hampshire, and while it is a lot of work to make the event happen, hearing the excitement and thanks from speakers and attendees after the event gives me a great feeling of satisfaction, and a sense of doing something worthwhile for the community. I'm excited to attend TEDActive to get a new taste of TED, and to be able to grow TEDxAmoskeagMillyard so that it can reach even more people in the future.

... fork art. It's a weird creative talent I developed by accident while working in the kitchen at a summer camp during college. I take ordinary cafeteria forks and turn them into small pieces of art.