José Obregón

Educator/Teacher

I am a 19-year-old entrepreneur and community organizer from Managua, Nicaragua, with a mission to democratize innovation in Central America.

Growing up in Managua, the internet was my window to the world, and TED talks were my curriculum. I remember watching Ken Robinson’s talk on creativity when I was 15. It was the first time I felt that my 'different' way of thinking wasn't a bug, but a feature. For years, TED was a one-way street for me: I consumed inspiration from the Global North. But when I started my comunity, I realized that inspiration is a two-way street. I started meeting young Nicaraguans with ideas just as powerful as the ones on the TED stage, but with zero visibility. My 'TED Story' is shifting from being a consumer of ideas to becoming a curator of them.

Crisis management disguised as total calm. My team thinks I'm naturally zen, but in reality, I’m just really good at improvising solutions when technology fails 5 minutes before a presentation.