TEDxHartford

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• CAROLYN SHARP

  Author and Coach

  We think we are fighting about toilet paper, politics, and dishes...when we're really fighting for survival. Couples therapist and author Carolyn Sharp reveals why our brains can't tell the difference between emotional and physical threats, how disconnection is literally killing us, and the three simple practices that can save our relationships and our live

• CHRISTOS PROVISTALIS

  Consultant

  Christos Provistalis shares why the most successful leaders and the most effective companies understand one truth: they do not sell products or services; they sell emotion. Drawing from his experience as a Guest Service Manager at Disney’s flagship resort and from his role in his family’s small business, he shows how the emotions we create shape human connection and elevate every interaction. He helps companies discover what they truly sell.

• EMILY ZERAN

  Studied Topic

  Will fill in later

• JOELLE MORAY

  Studied topic

  Do you take your laptop on vacation with you? When is the last time you took a real lunch break? In this humorous, science-based, and provocative talk, Joelle Connors Moray reveals why slowing down feels uncomfortable and how taking regular breaks actually increases productivity, collaboration, and creativity. She explains why our nervous system mistakes stillness for danger and shares a simple research-backed way to rest without earning it or feeling guilty about it. Joelle Connors Moray is a bestselling author and psychotherapist specializing in organizational culture.

• KENDALL BERG

  Coach

  In “The Clash of the Generations,” Kendall Berg unpacks one of the most overlooked challenges in today’s workplace: four generations working side by side, each with different values, expectations, and communication styles. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, we’re all interpreting the same workplace through completely different lenses, and too often, those differences show up as tension, misalignment, or unnecessary conflict. But this talk isn’t about blaming any one group. It is about revealing a huge opportunity we’re missing. When we invest in our communication skills (listening, adapting our message, clarifying expectations, and understanding the motivations behind each generation’s behavior) we stop viewing these differences as obstacles and start leveraging them as strengths. We create workplaces where innovation becomes easier, leadership becomes clearer, and collaboration becomes natural.

• LAURA HUANG

  Consultant

  What if your most reliable data point is the one you cannot yet explain? One of the most profound lessons of my life came from a gym full of sweaty teenagers running a simple basketball drill, a moment that showed how intuition and gut feel can be trained, and can become superpowers for better decision making. That curiosity carried into my work as a professor at Harvard Business School, where I studied intuition as something shaped by data, patterns, memory, emotions, and lived experience. The deeper test arrived later, when my own gut told me it was time to leave Harvard long before I could rationalize why. In a world full of noise, social pressure, and never-ending expectations, this talk, The Power of Gut Feel in a Noisy World, is a reminder that sometimes the clearest wisdom is the one that quietly surfaces from within.

• PETE SENA

  Owns a business

  You knew you didn’t need it when you bought it. So why did you buy it anyway? For 20 years, brand strategist Pete Sena made millions designing campaigns that sell people things they don’t need. His secret? He wasn’t selling products. He was selling identities. In this talk, he reveals the three psychological triggers marketers use to manufacture desire and turn ordinary purchases into identity transactions. You’ll learn: → Why an $89 water bottle outsells a $10 one that works exactly the same → How “aspiration gaps” make you feel inadequate so brands can sell you the cure → Why you’ll defend your purchases like you’re defending yourself → The difference between being manipulated and choosing your own purchase path This isn’t a guilt trip. It’s a wake up call. Once you see how identity anchoring, tribal signaling, and manufactured desire work, you’ll never look at your own buying decisions the same way.

• RICH BROWN

  Real Estate Buyer

  Richard Brown shares a simple but powerful idea — being rich is a tool for impact. Drawing from his experience in community development and real estate, he challenges the fast-money mindset and reframes wealth as something that grows through patience, purpose, and discipline. Through his “3-2-1 Real Estate Process” — buy a single-family home, then a two-family, then a three-family — Brown shows how ordinary people can use real estate to create generational change, achieve financial freedom, and reinvest in their communities. This is a story about the long game: how time builds wealth, and how wealth, in turn, can build a better world.