Sonja L. Howell, PhD

Change Agent, Connector, Consultant, Designer, Educator/Teacher, Parent, Social entrepreneur, Writer/Editor

Sonja Howell is an Instructional Designer and Developer and Primary TEDx Licensee at Jackson College, where she leads innovative projects that blend AI and emotional intelligence (AI + EQ) to reshape how we teach and learn. She is the creator of the Transformative Mindset Instructional Design (TMID) framework, the •~ movement, and the author of "Feel It," a groundbreaking book on waking up from emotional numbness and reclaiming the power of presence. Sonja designs learning experiences that are as emotionally alive as they are academically strong. Through TEDxJacksonCollege, she’s curating a stage for voices that make education feel again.

I’m passionate about helping people feel again, in their classrooms, in their parenting, in their relationships, and in themselves. I design learning experiences that combine emotional presence with creative tools, and I believe that storytelling, art, and deep listening can change the way we teach, lead, and live. Whether I’m building a course, writing a book, or curating a TEDx event, I’m driven by one thing: waking people up to what really matters.

What if the real reason people stop learning isn’t laziness or lack of access, but emotional numbness? We live in a culture that teaches us to cope, but not to feel. The result is a quiet epidemic of emotional sedation, showing up as disconnection, burnout, and unfinished dreams. The idea worth spreading is this: we don’t need more motivation, we need to feel again. When we reclaim our emotional presence, we unlock the ability to stay with discomfort, process experience, and complete what matters. Learning begins when we feel it.

AI + EQ Integration in Education, Author of Feel It: A Guide to Emotional Presence, Community Collaboration & Reflective Practice, Creative Assessment & Engagement Strategies, Educational Publishing (Parenting & Instructional Design Books), Equity-Centered Learning Design, Instructional Design & Development, Online Course Design and Faculty Development, Storytelling in Education', Transformative Mindset Instructional Design (TMID), Trauma-Informed and Emotionally Intelligent Teaching, Workshop Facilitation & Public Speaking

When I was six years old, I learned that the things that matter most can’t be faked. It happened during Awanas, a church-based program where kids memorized Bible verses to earn small rewards. At Calvary Baptist, we each had a bright punch card, stiff like an index card, with rows waiting for flower-shaped holes. Every time we successfully recited a verse, we got a punch. Not a sticker. Not a checkmark. A hole. You couldn’t give one to yourself. You couldn’t cheat. You had to earn it, word by word, week by week. And I did. Those flower punches mattered to me. They were tiny proof that I could stay with something hard and complete it. That story shaped everything in my work, my teaching, even the way I show up in relationships. I’ve carried it into classrooms, curriculum design, and now into a book called Feel It, which is about reclaiming emotional presence in a world that teaches us to numb out. Today, I’m an instructional designer at Jackson College. I collaborate with faculty and students to design learning experiences that integrate AI and emotional intelligence. I call it AI + EQ, and I believe that education shouldn’t just be smart, it should be felt. I’m also a parent, a writer, and a collaborator. I lead a cross-campus group called the Communications Collaborative, which elevates student and faculty voices through storytelling and the expressive arts. We’ve seen firsthand what happens when people are given a safe place to tell the truth: they come alive. TEDxJacksonCollege is an extension of that work. We’re creating a stage for the voices we believe the world needs to hear, voices that are thoughtful, diverse, grounded, and deeply human. My TED story isn’t just about me getting on stage someday. It’s about building one big enough for everyone else.

People don’t know I’m good at helping others find the exact words for the thing they didn’t know how to say. Whether it's a story, a lesson, or a feeling, I have a way of pulling clarity out of emotional fog and making it make sense, beautifully.