Sarah Shewey

Activist, Artist, Business adviser, Business leader, Business mentor, Change Agent, Concerned citizen, Connector, Consultant, Designer, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Event planner, Explorer, Filmmaker, Foodie, Global soul, Idea generator, Inventor, Marketer, Parent, Performer, Philanthropist, Potential employer, Producer, Promoter, Technologist, World traveler, Writer/Editor

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 25 and am the Founder & CEO of Happily, the first marketplace for event and media production freelancers. Since 2012, we’ve hosted millions of guests and helped teams at Airbnb, Wikipedia, H&M, and YouTube pull off some of their most ambitious campaigns. From 2009–2012 I worked at TED as a founding team member behind experiential programming at TEDActive, where I loved creating playful moments that stretched how people experience ideas. Some of my favs are celebrating Leap Day with 100 trampolines to building a giant responsive inflatable floating orb powered by live sentiment from TED Talks, and assembling a house band featuring Jill Sobule, St. Vincent, Tom Morello, Wendy & Lisa, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. I’ve been producing sustainable events since 2006 and have spoken around the world about climate-conscious event practices, appearing in outlets like the AP and BBC and as the eco-event expert on Adrian Grenier’s show Alter Eco. All full-service events produced by Happily are carbon neutral or negative, guided by our three R’s: Reduce waste and emissions, Represent voices from the margins, and Reinvest in local economies. I’ve also served for nearly 20 years on the board of dublab, Los Angeles’ pioneering internet radio station which was once called “the best in the world” by The Guardian. In my free time lately, you can find me at Home Depot patiently waiting for my toddler as he catalogs every lawn power tool brand and part. Milwaukee, Husqvarna, Echo, Stihl, Ryobi… I now know you far too well. I live in Los Angeles with my wonderful husband Colin Ho, co-founder and CTO of the clean hydrogen startup Hgen. One of these days I’ll convince him to take a break and come to TED with me.

Participatory systems, humanity rejecting conformity while embracing harmony, not bullshitting people, the reunification of North and South Korea, a post-scarcity world that unlocks hyper diversity and interplanetary civilizations, production-ready AI, supporting emerging artists and entrepreneurs, freelancer rights. and raising my 3 year old son Orion to be capable of infinite love.

events turn ideas into culture

ai, culture, events, experiences, media, sustainability, travel

As one of the first 20 people to work at the TED conferences once Chris took the talks online, Shewey co-founded TEDActive: a retreat where artists, TEDx organizers, educators, fellows, translators, and entrepreneurs came together to incubate new distribution models for ideas worth spreading.

stacking things on top of my head.