The TEDxSoledad organizing committee
Help TEDxSoledad Take the Stage in November
Recognizing our shared humanity
Real reform starts with getting close enough to see what's actually happening. Close enough to hear it in someone's own words.
That's the idea behind every TEDx event we bring into a prison: hand a microphone to people the outside world rarely hears from. Let them tell their own story, in their voice, on their own terms.
TEDxSoledad is our next event. Your gift is what gets them there.
On November 10, 2026, a team of incarcerated presenters at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California, will take the TEDx stage.
We're raising $50,000 to get them to that familiar red circle.
What Your Gift Funds
Your gift brings TEDx events into prisons across the country, events like TEDxSoledad, giving people the opportunity to tell their own stories to audiences—both live and around the world.
Represent a company, foundation, or organization? Sponsorship is a meaningful way for groups to support TEDxSoledad, with opportunities for public recognition and event participation.
Download our sponsorship packet to learn more.
Here's what your support could help make possible:
$75
$100
$250
$500
$1,000
Branded TEDx polo shirts for three speakers
Professional headshots for two speakers
One month of coaching for one speaker
A guest coaching session to help speakers sharpen skills like bio-writing and storytelling
Helps cover production costs like lighting, cameras, sound, and editing
Months in the Making
Getting a first-time speaker onto a TEDx stage in a prison doesn't happen overnight.
It happens in plastic folding chairs.
In handwritten notes scribbled haphazardly across loose-leaf paper.
In checking (and re-checking) an old dictionary to find the perfect word.
It happens in cramped cells, late at night, draft after draft written by hand.
Despite conditions that often leave incarcerated people isolated from the world, these organizers come together — often planning for a year or longer — in the hopes that their words and wisdom can change the way the world thinks about punishment and potential, for good.
This is what's been happening at Soledad for months, long before a public audience of hundreds shows up to hear them on November 10.
“People from all walks of life have a voice with this platform. It does not matter if you are a doctor, politician, or someone convicted of a felony currently in prison. Anyone who has a positive message to share can do it with TEDx."
–Claude Owens, Jr., TEDxSoledad Organizer
Meet the TEDxSoledad Organizing Committee
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Ira Daniels Sr.
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Trevis Hudson
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Ramelle Kamack
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Sanchenglee Misouk
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Joel Moore
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Edward Nani
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Jose Nieto
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Sean McCluskey
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William Mobley
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Claude Owens
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Vincent Rivera
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Alfredo Tafoya
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David Turner
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Bilji Varghese
Bigger
Than
One
Stage
TEDxSoledad joins a track record of 20 Proximity for Justice TEDx prison events across ten states. Together, the events have produced more than 450 speaker talks, reached more than 3,800 people in person and 36 million more online. They’ve changed hearts, minds, and even policies that govern incarceration itself. In some cases, people have been released early because of what they’ve shared on stage.
Be Part of the Day
November 10 is coming. Your gift today helps make sure the team is ready.