Thursday, December 10, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 p.m.
Performing Arts Center Stage | Brookdale Community College
Tickets Here brookdalecc.edu/pac/tedx-brookdale-community-college/
Ideas have the power to spark conversation, create connections, and inspire change.
Brookdale Community College will host its 2026 TEDx event on Thursday, December 10, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. on the Performing Arts Center (PAC) stage, bringing together artists, educators, advocates, physicians, entrepreneurs and civic leaders to explore the unexpected connections that spark new ways of thinking.
This year's theme, "Sparks, Vibes, and Surprising Connections that Ignite," considers the moments when insight emerges through unexpected encounters, shared energy and the intersection of different experiences and disciplines.
The program will feature six speakers:
Joel Simpson — Feeling at Home in the Wilderness
New Jersey photographer Joel Simpson has exhibited his work throughout the United States and internationally. His award-winning photography explores landscape, geology and perception, and his 2019 book, Earthforms: Intimate Portraits of Our Planet, received the Nautilus Gold Award for Art and Photography.
Simpson will explore his evolving approach to nature photography and the human tendency to find recognizable forms and meaning within the apparent chaos of the natural world.
Paola Benitez — From Unaccompanied Migrant Child to Changemaker
Paola Benitez is a bilingual social worker and advocate dedicated to immigrant rights and equitable access to community resources. A recent Rutgers University Master of Social Work graduate, her experience spans legal advocacy, social work research and community-based programming.
Drawing from her own journey and professional experience, Benitez will examine how lived experience can become a catalyst for leadership, advocacy and meaningful change.
Morissa Schwartz — The Human Algorithm: What AI Taught Me About Being Human
Morissa Schwartz, D.Litt., is a Forbes 30 Under 30 media entrepreneur, bestselling author, publisher and AI strategist. Founder of GenZ Publishing and Dr. Rissy's Writing & Marketing, she trains and evaluates advanced AI systems and advises organizations on human-centered AI.
Schwartz will explore what artificial intelligence can teach us about creativity, attention, empathy and the uniquely human ways we communicate and connect.
Shanda McManus — The Nuclear Power of Grief
Shanda McManus, M.D., is a physician, writer and assistant professor of Clinical Medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, where she teaches narrative medicine and humanism.
Her 2026 memoir, Brother Epistles: A Sister's Memoir, reflects on the death of her brother, Monir, who was killed in Philadelphia while McManus was a first-year medical student. Through storytelling, medicine and personal history, she explores grief, memory, healing and the ways stories can become a form of witness and medicine.
Angela Kariotis — Everyone Needs To Be An Artist Today.
Angela Kariotis is an educator, award-winning playwright and director of the Whyman Center for Transformative Learning at Brookdale Community College. Her work is grounded in the idea of the "artist as public servant" and the belief that deep listening, curiosity, imagination and collaboration are essential to strong communities.
Kariotis will explore why everyone needs to be an artist right now—not because everyone must create art, but because creativity, empathy and collaboration are essential to the future of leadership and democracy.
Ed Johnson — Community, Civic Leadership and the Power of Connection
Ed Johnson is executive director of Governmental Affairs and Community Relations at Brookdale Community College and a longtime educator and civic leader. Before joining Brookdale, he spent more than 15 years in public service in Asbury Park, including serving as mayor and councilman.
A recipient of Brookdale's Barringer Award, Johnson has built his career around creating partnerships that strengthen communities, expand opportunities and generate social and economic progress.
A Celebration of Ideas and Unexpected Connections
Together, the six speakers will explore ideas ranging from wilderness and perception to immigration and social justice, artificial intelligence and human identity, grief and healing, artistic practice and civic leadership.
The 2026 TEDx at Brookdale Community College invites attendees to look beyond conventional boundaries and consider what can happen when different experiences, disciplines and perspectives connect.
Event: 2026 TEDx at Brookdale Community College
Theme: Sparks, Vibes, and Surprising Connections that Ignite
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2026
Time: 3:00–4:30 p.m.
Location: Performing Arts Center (PAC) Stage, Brookdale Community College, 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ, parking lot 1 & 2.
Tickets $40, On Sale Now
Student Tickets are $10 at the PAC box office.
Limited tickets available.
About TEDx
TEDx events are independently organized events that bring people together to share ideas and spark conversation within local communities. Brookdale Community College's 2026 TEDx program builds on that tradition by providing a platform for distinctive voices, experiences and ideas worth sharing.
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