When knowledge is free and instant, what's left to learn? University president and former pilot and federal prosecutor Russ Kavalhuna reveals that a college education isn't just about what you know but who you become when the stakes are real. He shows how decisions college students confront in real-world experiences help them develop judgment, empathy and courage in ways AI can never deliver. Western Michigan University President Russ Kavalhuna is a former airline captain, aviation executive, and federal prosecutor who has led at the intersection of complex systems, public service, and education. Before returning to WMU, he served seven years as president of Henry Ford College, where he built partnerships that expanded real-world learning and workforce pathways. A Presidential Leadership Scholar and co-chair of Michigan’s statewide higher education workgroup, he brings a results-driven, human-centered lens to how colleges form the leaders our communities need.

Why basketball creates safety
Laird Walker

For Black and Brown boys navigating systems that predict their failure, the basketball court can be the first place their nervous system feels safe. Clinical therapist and restorative justice practitioner Laird Walker challenges us to stop building systems that predict which boys will fail and start building systems that guarantee they experience agency, because healing has multiple pathways, and sometimes it starts with movement, not words. I am an African American, by way of Jamaica, from the Southside of Chicago, transplanted to Kalamazoo, Michigan. I am a 13-year educator, therapist, social worker, restorative justice practitioner, and retired basketball player. I founded LifeHoops, a BIPOC focused basketball healing framework that centers the stories, history, joy, and identities of BIPOC adolescent boys. We started as an after-school club in Chicago Public Schools in 2016, then re-launched in partnership with STARA Collaborative, a grassroots BIPOC and liberation-focused fiscal sponsorship organization in 2024. We are currently implementing our model in the Kalmazoo County Juvenile Home School.

The Missing Ingredient for Building Better Communities
Rebekah Kik
Community input can feel chaotic. Ideas contradict each other. Some people want growth, and some people want preservation. So, how do you create a unified vision for a single city? From her experience as a city planner, Rebekah Kik shares the three core conditions for encouraging your residents to see themselves as visionaries Rebekah Kik graduated from Andrews University (2003) with a Masters of Architecture and the University of Notre Dame with a Post Graduate degree in Architecture & Urban Design (2007). Both schools offered a traditional architectural education with a concentration in urban design. She began her professional career pursuing architecture where she worked in premier firms both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Rebekah traveled the country creating designs for small homes, historical façade renovation, and infill in existing neighborhoods. At the time of this talk, she worked for the City of Kalamazoo pursuing new levels of engaging the community and economic models for the sustainability of a great mid-sized city. She is now working for Notre Dame University.

The Invisible Load of Motherhood
Emily Jacobs

Who scheduled the dentist appointment? Who remembered the teacher's gift? For mothers especially, but parents everywhere, the mental work that holds families together often goes unseen. After burning out from this invisible load, Dr. Emily Jacobs discovered that true empowerment isn't doing everything invisibly but refusing to be invisible at all and redistributing the work that exhausts parents everywhere. Dr. Emily Jacobs is a board-certified doctor of nursing, author, global speaker, and leadership coach who empowers high-achieving women to break free from burnout and lead with purpose. As the founder of Empowered Moms, a community of over 1,100 women, she’s coached hundreds of ambitious women and delivered more than 200 talks and multiple media features on resilience, boundaries, and modern leadership. After personally experiencing burnout from trying to “do it all,” Dr. Jacobs discovered that true strength comes from saying yes to less…a lesson that now fuels her mission to help others reclaim their energy and vitality.

How nonprofits can learn from past mistakes
Susan Rosas

When nonprofits make progress on social change, political backlash can follow. It's a pattern nonprofit CEO Susan Rosas has witnessed repeatedly, and it's happened before. Drawing from decades of history, from the Great Society to today's attacks on equity work, she reveals the cycles that have shaped the nonprofit sector and what we can learn from past resistance. Susan Rosas is the CEO for YWCA Kalamazoo, where the mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. She is a social worker by training and has served in nonprofits across the globe for more than 20 years.

When a Child Is Labeled Broken
Jana Curtis

When a child misbehaves, we're watching a nervous system trying very hard to feel safe. Educator and caregiver Jana Curtis shows how small shifts in adult presence, environment, and repair can transform moments of struggle into moments of belonging when we look beyond blaming children and toward the systems that shape them. Jana Curtis is an educator and consultant with over two decades of experience supporting children, families, and educators. A late-realized neurodivergent adult, she brings both lived experience and professional depth to her work, helping people shift from behavior management toward attunement, dignity, and connection. As the founder of Weaving Legacy, Jana blends neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, and storytelling to reframe behavior as communication and regulation as a relational practice. She has trained thousands of educators and organizations nationwide and is guided by one core ethic. Attunement is allowing space and grace for someone else to call themselves home. Her work invites a reimagining of systems so they better reflect our shared humanity, especially for those who have long been misunderstood. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.