TEDx Wilmington 2022 Speaker Interviews

Cherie White is an award- winning, passionate visionary when it comes to social justice and business. She has been nominated for the social justice RBC women’s impact award 3 years in a row, and won REIN’s (Real Estate Investor Network) renovator of the year award for 2017. Her TEDxWilmington talk focused on social justice through real estate.

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Welcome to TEDx Wilmington Podcast

Tyler Kuhn is the Vice President of Marketing and Digital Experience at Dover Federal Credit Union where he focuses on leading marketing, community impact and development, and digital experience efforts for the company. Through these efforts, Tyler and his team are able to deliver an effortless digital experience to members around the globe, while also living out the credit union philosophy of serving the underserved in their local communities. 

His TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "Hidden Change".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Kim Stuck is the founder and CEO of Allay Consulting, a compliance strategy and services provider serving the hemp and cannabis industries nationwide. Previously, Ms. Stuck held a pioneering role as the nation’s first cannabis and hemp specialist for a major metropolitan public health authority. 

Her TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "An Indisputable Case for Federal Legalization of Cannabis".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

"Kindness is FREE"  Herbert "Flight Time" Lang is a basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters. With Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, Flight Time has participated in three seasons of The Amazing Race. In his TEDxWilmington talk, he talked about the journey that led to him to over 85 countries around the world and the role kindness has played in making the world a better place!

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Bianca McCall is a retired All-American and Professional Women's basketball player who has personal and relational experiences with suicide. Bianca is a licensed clinical therapist and subject matter expert in mental, emotional, and behavioral health. She is Founder and Executive Director of a Behavioral Health Resource headquartered in Nevada. 

Her TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, " Chasing The Carrot".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Nicole Homer is co-founder of Delaware-based biotech startup Hx Innovations, Inc.® Hx’s neuromuscular technology enables coaches and trainers to collect neuromuscular and human movement analytics at any time with the use of a portable camera. She also served as a U.S. Marine Corps war veteran. In her TEDxWilmington talk, she discussed the concept of positioning oneself against a sterotype.

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Micah “Musa” Pellerin is Corporate Strategist, Venture Capitalist, and Entrepreneur. Pellerin currently works at 3M as a Corporate Strategist where he has sourced and closed multiple Venture Capital deals as a member of 3M’s venture arm while also supporting enterprise level 3M strategic initiatives. As an entrepreneur, Pellerin has created CTZEN, a company committed to executing against strategic initiatives for both public and private firms. Prior to joining 3M, Micah was an NFL Player for four seasons spending most of his time in Dallas as a member of the Cowboys.

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Lisa Bonta Sumii is a psychotherapist with over 21 years of clinical experience, prioritizing mixed-race and BIPOC experiences. In recent years, her private practice work has shifted focus to serving the elite athlete population in achieving optimal mental health and peak mental sport performance. Her TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "My Heart Is Browner Than My Skin."

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Marvin Toliver is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), born and raised in East Oakland, CA. Marvin is currently residing in Philadelphia, PA and working as a therapist with the Radical Therapy Center. He’s also a co-founder of the mental health collective Melanated Social Work. Marvin is a queer Black creator, writer, consultant, public speaker, mentor, wedding officiant, and radical educator. 

His TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "Black Masculinity, Homophobia, and HIV: An Unmasking".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

James Harris is the founder of a movement called Men to Heal which focuses on men's overall wellness, their MENtal HEALth, physical HEALth and emotional HEALth. He’s the author of Man Just Express Yourself an interactive guide for boys and men to process life experiences and explore vulnerability. 

The title of his TEDxWilmington talk was "Don't Wait Until The Eulogy".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

LaVerne Toombs is a native of a small rural community in the great State of Louisiana. LaVerne has been in the political and nonprofit sectors for the past twenty-plus years as a Senior Staffer for a United States Senator, Parish Administrator, Interim CAO of an HBCU, Executive Director of a Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, and currently the VP of Development for the American Heart Association (AHA). 

Her TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "Drop the 'F Bomb'"

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Otis McGregor leads Tribe and Purpose as the principal, leadership, and success coach. With multiple decades of experience as a leader, coach, and team builder. Otis leverages the unique blend of heart, passion, and experience as one of the elite commanders of Green Berets. Trusted with some of the highest missions of our great nation, Otis knows how to think from both the 30,000-foot view as well as amid battle to ensure he and his tribe not only achieve the mission but do it in the most risk-mitigating ways possible. 

HIs TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "Life Is A Test. Who's Grading You?"

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Ira Bowman is the proud owner of Bowman Digital Media, a company that is helping their clients increase website traffic and build their digital audience on social media. His TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "A LinkedIn Strategy That Works: Laid Off To Six Figure Earner In Less Than 12 Months".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Dr. Justin Moseley, “The Mindset Doctor,” is a former Chiropractor turned International Speaker, Corporate Trainer, and Transformation Coach. After surviving a near-death accident in 2018, Dr. Moseley shifted from changing lives in a clinic, to changing lives from stage; becoming a highly sought-after International Speaker. Dr. Moseley is a leading expert in Personal Transformation, speaking regularly on how to overcome self-doubt, develop unstoppable self-confidence, and finding your purpose. His TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "The Secret To Having More In Life - Lessons From My Near Death Accident".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Chukky Okobi is an 8 year NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion who was drafted by his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. Today he is a motivational and keynote speaker, and an integrative psychology professional (Master Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming and Mental and Emotional Release Therapy®). His TEDxWilmington talk was entitled, "Whether Sports Or Entrepreneurship, The Key To Winning Is To Not Compete".  www.basicintructions.com

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Marty Wolner is an emotional healing and stress coach. For more than 17 years, he has helped hundreds of athletes and others heal from their trauma. Marty empowers coaches to integrate trauma-informed and SportsBrain coaching tools and strategies into training and competition to be more intentional about healing trauma with sports. His TEDxWilmington talk is entitled, "Healing Trauma With Sports".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Amanda Banks is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sports To Suits and DeBanks, LLC. She is also the host of the weekly live show “Sports To Suits” where she highlights former athletes that are leveraging their backgrounds in sports to see success in business. Her TEDxWilmington talk was titled "The Power Of These 4 Words".

Thank you for listening to this episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Valencia Peterson (Coach V) is the Founder and Executive Director of Open-Door Abuse Awareness Prevention (ODAAP), a nonprofit organization that endeavors to prevent sexual assault and intimate partner violence through trauma-informed education to youth through the medium of sports. ODAAP and Peterson have worked since 2014 to educate and build the character of young men through athletics. Peterson was a Football Coach at Penn Wood High School located in a suburb of Philadelphia. She recently step down due to the demand for the work she does in violence prevention. Her TEDxWilmington talk is entitled, "Sports and Violence Prevention"

According to Coach V, sports is a great platform iin which to educate young men about violence prevention, and offers her services of 15-min weekly sessions to any coach in Delaware, Philly and Bucks County, PA.  Check out the program at www.odaap.org or call 267-225-6051

Thank you for listening to this episode of the TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Fresh off the TEDx Wilmington stage on April 30th in Wilmington, Delaware, Charmeachealle "Mike" Moore shared how he felt after giving his first talk as well as why he is passionate about working with other athletes as they transition after leaving the leagues.

Mike Moore is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of We Live Inc. and a former professional football player with the Los Angeles Chargers, has survived a Brain Tumor, and back surgery in college and is proud father whose wife was about to give birth the following day to their 4th child!

Mike's WOW or "Words of Wisdom" were: "Anything worth doing takes time and you need these 3 things in order to be successful - FAITH, PATIENCE & RESOURCES"

Listen to learn more about Charmeachealle "Mike" Moore, a Kansas State alum and Texas resident who spoke about how being naive to the system lead to his depression and what his mother told him.  

You can reach Charmeachealle at mdmoore052@gmail.com or on LinkedIn > charmeacheallemoore

Thank you for listening to the first episode of TEDxWilmington Podcast, hosted by Antionette Blake, CEO of A. Blake Enterprises, www.ablakeenterprises.com

Spoken word has been the hallmark of cultural change since human beings have been able to communicate with each other.  In the year 2022, there is no platform that is using spoken word to create change more than TEDx.  TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.” TED, as many of you know, is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through TEDx events. These events are organized by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and to share the latest research in their local areas that spark conversations in their communities. 

TEDx events include live speakers and recorded TED Talks, and are organized independently under a free license granted by TED. These events are not controlled by TED, but event organizers agree to abide by our format, and are offered guidelines for curation, speaker coaching, event organizing and more. They learn from us and from each other. More than 3000 events are now held annually.  One of the largest  TEDx platforms in the world is TEDxWilmington, which has had over 525 speakers and over 42 million views on YoutTube.  In this series of podcasts, we will be following the journeys of 23 individuals from the conception to delivery of their TEDxWilmington talks.

As we sign off from our conversations with our TEDx speakers, we would like to thank everyone who had a hand in the production of these discussions.  We would like to thank the production team at Maverick Class LLC and the speaker training provided by Ready Speaker One.  We would like to thank our speakers who spent countless hours, daysand months in preparation for their talks.  And we would like to thank the entire community of Wilmington, Delaware, for continuing to foster a spirit of innovation and idea generation that is second to none.  With that being said, I am Antoinette Blake, the DE Divah aka The Delaware Blogger signing off from the TEDxWilmington podcast.