It’s been wonderful watching videos of cohort 2 as they roll out. Anything the previous speakers “wish they had knew” (venue, media day, stage, distractions, presentation pacing, gestures, wardrobe…)? I know you can’t plan for everything, however you do have a framework we don’t. 🤲🏽

Good luck to all the Cohort 3 semi-finalists, you have worked so hard to get to this point! Excited to share that my Cohort 2 TEDxThirdWardTalk went live today! Hope you get to experience that too. Here's the link to my talk, sharing how my journey as a mom of autistic children going through divorce and advocating for their needs led me to find my strength and purpose. Would love to read your comments on the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/BW6RWN-k65s?si=d4GO7rLKzjZKB7GQ

Cohort 3 semi-finalists here on final submission night 😬. Over the next 72 hours(ish), we will find out if we’re selected. I love having access to all the comments from the all the previous applicants…it’s been more inspiring than some of you will ever know. 🙏🏽

After receiving 786 applications to speak at TEDxThirdWard 2026 (June 14th in Houston), our team has officially selected this year’s 155 Semifinalists. HERE'S THE LINK: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q4-1AFI1i1tgZr4yXxv8AVM12hLOrJkgTfuKSD3bUO4/edit?usp=sharing All applicants received an email today, Monday, March 2nd at 5:00 PM Central Standard Time notifying you of your status. Check your spam. Here are a few interesting facts about this year’s semifinalist pool: • ~22% have previously attended a TEDxThirdWard event • ~8% have given a TEDx talk before • ~59% are based in Texas • ~41% are based outside of Texas • Representation from 15+ U.S. states • International semifinalists from 2+ countries Over 91% of this year’s semifinalists would be first-time TEDx speakers. Thank you again to everyone who applied.

We had a blast for our 2nd Semifinalist Meetup for TEDxThirdWard!