Here is the complete line-up of 2025's speakers and their talks We hope you enjoy another great collection of TEDxOshkosh talks from the 2025 event, with the theme, Beyond the Horizon.
Table of Contents: This Year's Talks
(Click/tap any speaker's name to scroll down to their bio and talk details)
Shola Adegbite - The World is a Marketplace: Lessons from the Yoruba Culture
The Yoruba culture, originating in West Africa, has a special relationship with its markets: for buying and selling; entertainment; investing in social relationships; and so much more.
This talk explores a Yoruba proverb that emphasizes that the Yoruba marketplace is a metaphor for life, requiring us to focus on our unique purpose in life, to gracefully negotiate during conflict, and live knowing that we have a limited time on earth.
Shola Adegbite Biography
Shola Adegbite has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and several degrees in theology, earned across three continents. She is currently employed at Lawrence University, in Appleton Wisconsin, as a chaplain in the office of Spiritual and Religious Life.
Outside of working hours, she loves to garden, dance with her kids, and practice her new hobby of sewing.
Stav Atir - The Unexpected Benefits of Talking with Strangers
Could random conversations with strangers be an opportunity to learn?
We often move through crowds keeping entirely to ourselves, certain that if we tried talking to any of the strangers around us, they wouldn’t be interested, and even if they would be, the conversation would be awkward small talk at best.
The speaker's research proved that assumption to be roundly wrong. After studying hundreds of pairs of strangers talking for ten minutes and measuring what they thought they would learn versus what they actually took away, the research kept finding the same thing: people’s forecast was modest; the reality, far more impressive. Beyond a new social connection, their takeaways ranged from new playlists and job leads to the fascinating story of someone who’d once been recruited - by accident - into the Russian mafia.
That miscalibration costs us. Conversations with strangers and weak ties (people we don’t know well) fuel innovation, widen networks, and brighten daily life.
Stav Atir Biography
Stav Atir is an Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also holds a courtesy appointment in Psychology.
She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Cornell University and her B.S. in Psychology from Yale University. She studies how people misperceive their own and others’ knowledge. Her research on overconfidence and learning from everyday conversations has appeared in academic outlets such as PNAS and Management Science and shows that talking with strangers is consistently more informative than we expect. Beyond academia, Atir’s work has been featured in The New York Times and other international media, contributing to public conversation about how we learn, speak, and connect.
Danielle Block - Exploring the Hidden, Human-Created World Beneath Our Feet
The creation of water, sewer, electrical and communication pathways beneath our feet has propelled humans forward throughout history. Operating 24/7, and un-noticed by the general public, these fascinating construction operations have withstood the test of time, and some 100+ year old improvements still operate and sustain human life today.
This talk takes the audience on a journey below the surface, challenges our understanding of the facilities and brings to life our childhood imagination and assumptions about where our water comes and goes, how communications are delivered and sent; and the way the world at our feet relies heavily upon the planning underneath.
Danielle Block Biography
Danielle Block is the Village Administrator / Director of Public Works for the Village of Kimberly, Wisconsin.
She is a civil engineer with a master’s degree in Public Administration. In addition to her engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and her MPA from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, she is a Wisconsin-licensed Professional Engineer, and a University of Wisconsin Extension-certified Public Administrator.
Danielle returned to the Village where she grew up, after working as the Director of Public Works for the City of Appleton for 2 years. She was the Administrator for the Village of Kimberly for five years and prior to that, had over 10 years of experience with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
She is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the Village of Kimberly including Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Economic Development, Inspections, Clerk/Treasurer-Finance, Public Library, Joint Police Services, Fire and EMS Services.
Kristin Bock - Saying Yes to Strangers Can Change Everything: Lessons Learned from Hosting International Exchange Students
When the speaker's family nervously said yes to hosting a 16-year-old exchange student from Indonesia, they had no idea it would change many lives forever. What began as an effort to raise open-minded kids turned into a journey of unexpected connection, courage, and growth.
Through shared meals, cultural stumbles, and late-night conversations, they discovered that you don’t have to travel the world to raise global citizens—you just have to open your door. This talk explores the quiet power of saying yes to a stranger, and how that one decision can ripple across continents and generations.
Kristin Bock Biography
Kristin Bock is a speaker and charisma consultant who works with professionals to become "Social Legos" — people who click with others — by teaching them how to master nonverbal cues, build trust, and spark connection both online and in person.
A former nonprofit leader turned body language expert, Kristin draws from decades of experience (and a dash of quirky charm) to help teams, leaders, and everyday humans boost their presence and communicate with confidence. She’s also the voice behind The Calm Charismatic—a newsletter for those who believe quiet confidence is the new power move.
She’s been featured on The List (an Emmy Award-winning national TV show), coached TEDx speakers, and spoken to thousands across the country, all with a mission to help people show up as their most magnetic selves.
Mary Beth Connors - Micro-Enterprise for All Abilities: Brewing Futures Through Coffee & Confidence
What if there were increased opportunities for those with disabilities to be employed as successful community citizens, instead of facing unemployment rates well in excess of that of others?
This talk explores, through the lens of a novel, replicable, entrepreneurially-focused program developed in a public school system in Wisconsin, how young people with disabilities can prepare for a thriving, lifetime role the workforce.
Mary Beth Connors Biography
Mary Beth Connors is a now-retired speech language pathologist, with over 30 years of experience. Her final position with the Oshkosh Area School District was Transition Coordinator, a role that assists students who have individual education plans in high school to be college, career, and community ready once they graduate.
As a part of that role, she was instrumental in developing the school district's micro-enterprise team, which supports businesses that offer authentic work experiences for students.
Angie Freeman - The Answer to Performative Allyship: Having the Courage to Call Your Own Bluff
Almost everyone has felt the tension when someone in a group says something offensive, and everyone else goes silent. In this talk, Angie challenges us to move beyond performative allyship by sharing personal experiences of being misgendered, facing privilege, and struggling with the bystander effect. With practical strategies and heartfelt insight, this talk calls us to break the silence, act with courage in uncomfortable moments, and make inclusion a daily practice - one brave intervention at a time.
This shares inspiration to build environments where the courage to "say the hard thing, and do the hard thing" is not only welcomed but expected - transforming awkward silences into opportunities for real change. It will explore how supporting courageous conversations and gentle corrections can grow cultures of allyship, so no one is left alone in moments that matter most.
Angie Freeman Biography
Angie Freeman, M.S. (they/them) has over a decade of experience in higher education and national speaking on topics such as performative allyship, privilege, LGBTQ+ awareness and bias. Angie continues to pave a path led by self-work and action. Their mission is to create spaces for folks to connect, share, reflect, and implement action for our shared responsibility in social justice, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Angie is Black, trans and nonbinary, queer, a speaker, educator, parent, spouse, friend, leader, dancer, and instructor. Those identities and growing up around different parts of the United States have shaped who they are today – personally and professionally.
Mikki Gates - When was the last time you really thought about toilets?
We rarely think about toilets — yet what if we did? Most of us use the bathroom without a second thought. But for as many as half the people in the world, access to safe, dignified sanitation is a daily challenge. The reality is that there is an extreme gap between abundance and absence, and it's about much more than comfort: access to modern toilets is about dignity, safety, and health.
This talk will explore the impact of toilet haves and have-nots, in a thoughtful approach to finding ways to improving access to such a fundamental and important necessity.
Mikki Gates Biography
Mikki Gates is a global people leader, changemaker, and storyteller who brings more than 20 years of HR and leadership experience to every room she enters. As Vice President of Administration for an international NGO, Mikki oversees global people strategy and operations. Her work and curiosity have taken her to over 50 countries, where she’s learned directly from communities in rural Cambodia, Nepal, Ethiopia, and beyond. She’s paddled to sky latrines, joined girls in menstrual hygiene clubs, and witnessed the quiet revolutions that happen when basic human needs—like sanitation—are met with dignity.
She is also the Founder and Organizer of TEDxManitouSprings and the President of her local SHRM chapter.
Mikki is a free spirit at heart: an artist, adventurer, and escape room enthusiast who’s hiked more than 20 Colorado "fourteeners" and will never turn down a roller coaster.
Lia Medeiros - Visualizing Black Holes: Seeing More thanks to Machine Learning
Just a few short years ago, researchers - including the speaker - and telescopes all over the world came together to take the first ever image of a super-massive black hole - an astronomical object of immense gravity.
With touches of physics and a sense of wonder, this talk explores not only that breakthrough, but also how the speaker used that image to test Einstein's theory of gravity. The talk further explores how the presenter developed a machine learning algorithm that is producing higher resolution images of black holes.
Lia Medeiros Biography
Lia Medeiros is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, a member of the Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics, and a member of the Event Horizon Telescope.
She has a masters and PhD in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Bachelors degrees in both Physics and Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to her scientific research, she has a passion for outreach, education, and public speaking.
Connie Schneider - Another look at CPR: Two Hands to Save a Life
How many times have we heard about CPR? Many, to be sure. In an emergency, who will perform this potentially life-saving act? Someone else? Us? Will the people who need the knowledge in the moment actually have it, and be willing to step forward?
This talk delivers a pointed call-to-action to expand public knowledge of the need for proper life-saving training in CPR and related techniques.
Connie Schneider Biography
A CPR education evangelist, Connie started her heart-saving mission when her 17 year old nephew went into sudden cardiac arrest on the baseball field.
Motivated by her nephew's survival through CPR, Connie embarked on a mission to encourage leaning about CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators (AED). As a direct result, with community efforts of local firefighters, schools, CPR trainers, family, friends, teachers and students, 2,200 people learned CPR within the next year.
Connie continues to motivate others through faith and inspiration in leadership talks and emergency training plans in community centers. She is an American Heart Association volunteer advocating at the State Capital in Madison for a Certified Emergency Response Plan (CERPS) to be put into place with Wisconsin Schools.
Abraham Smith - Life Is a Poem
Why do so many people reach adulthood with a fear of poetry, when it often is a metaphor for life itself? Like life, poetry has structure & rhythm, as well as mystery and unknowns. Many poets will say they write best when they don't know what they might write next, indeed, a metaphor for facing life's future. In other words, improvisation.
This talk approaches how the listener can see poetry and life in many of the same ways: finding the fulcrum between structure and freedom; embracing the impromptu; and bumping into the miraculous in common things.
Abraham Smith Biography
Raised in rural northwestern Wisconsin, Abraham Smith is an associate professor of English and co-director of Creative Writing at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
He's performed his poetry at KGB Bar, Woodland Pattern, Third Man Records, Prairie Lights, City Lights, and most everywhere in between. He's held fellowships and residencies from the Chautauqua Institution, Fine Arts Work Center, Alabama State Council of the Arts, Osage Arts Community, and Dear Butte.
His recent poetry collections include Surgencies (forthcoming 2026), One Warm Morning, Insomniac Sentinel, and Dear Weirdo. His work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, American Poetry Review, and the Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day. His music writing includes reviews and interviews with folk luminary Courtney Marie Andrews and liner notes for Charlie Parr, the Lowest Pair, and Jacob Kynard.
Away from his desk, Smith improvises poems inside songs with the band Snarlin' Yarns.
Saanvi Uppalapati - A Hidden Cost of AI No One Wants to Talk About
It's nearly impossible to have missed hearing about AI's power and potential for change in our world. Much less discussed in the public sphere is the massive consumption of energy used by AI, not just in day-to-day use, but also that consumed in the periodically-performed, behind-the-scenes, computationally-intensive AI model "training" processes.
This talk explores the energy impact of those training runs, and proposes an idea to mitigate the environmental and other impacts of the energy used in AI training.
Saanvi Uppalapati Biography
Saanvi Uppalapati is a high school senior and machine learning researcher, working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainability. Her mission: to create technology that’s not only powerful, but also responsible.
She developed a machine learning model that aligns AI training with solar energy availability to reduce carbon emissions, a project that has been recognized at regional and national science fairs and conferences. Saanvi’s work highlights the often-overlooked environmental cost of AI and provides practical solutions to make computing cleaner.
Outside the lab, Saanvi plays the flute, volunteers as a music tutor, and enjoys baking with her younger sister. Whether she’s writing code or advocating for ethical tech, her goal is to create systems that help the world.
