Blueprints

2026 

TEDxTufts is ecstatic to present “TEDxTufts: Blueprints for the Future.” This year, we are striving to reveal how the spread of new ideas, true to the TED motto, provides a foundation for transformation. 

We hope to honor our speakers and their unique ability to provide critical plans and blueprints upon which change can be constructed. Through this event, our team seeks to take you on a journey that exposes you new ideas that will reinvent your perspective in the future.

The Third Leg We’re Missing in Everyday Life| Art Trapotsis

Art Trapotsis is an entrepreneur, author, and lifelong endurance athlete who has spent three decades testing one big question: Is there a way to excel in work, family, and fitness without letting one quietly fall apart? He is the founder of Keep It Tight Athletics, a Boston-based cycling club, and host of the New England Endurance Podcast, where he highlights everyday athletes and community builders across the region. A co-owner of a leading laboratory equipment manufacturer, Art now serves on multiple boards that support advanced manufacturing and hardware startups. Art has represented the United States at the ITU Triathlon Age-Group World Championships and is the author of The Everyday Athlete: How to Balance Work, Family, and Fitness for Life.

Beyond Victimhood: Reimagining Vulnerability in Humanitarian Crises| Emily Ruhm

Emily Ruhm is a PhD Student at Tufts Fletcher School, and her research focuses on the intersection of violence, vulnerability, and humanitarian access in sub-Saharan African crises. She works at the World Peace Foundation and serves as a Teaching Fellow on a variety of courses on gender, humanitarian assistance, and international development.

Meditating with Movies: The Scenic Route To Healing | DeVante Love

DeVante Love is an Afroindigenous shaman, scholar/artist, and cinephile on a mission to spread inner peace through a variety of modalities such as martial arts and movie-based meditations. Their upcoming book, Netflix and Heal: A Shaman’s Guide to Inner Peace Through Movies, trains folks on how to watch movies in a way that leads to healing.

The Clam,
the Butterfly, and the Secrets to Long Life | Jessica Foley

Jessica Foley is a postdoctoral researcher at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center for Research on Aging here at Tufts. She works on the comparative biology of aging, and is broadly interested in finding natural solutions to biomedical problems.

How Handcuffs Set Me Free | Jody Boykins

Jody Boykins is currently an undergraduate at Tufts University and have been a student of the TUPIT program since 2022. His research focuses on adolescents who struggle with substance abuse, the associated risk and protective factors, the long-term effects and relation to incarceration, and the impact of programming on formerly incarcerated students.

The Future is Fiction | Julie Dalton

Julie Carrick Dalton is the award-winning author of The Last Beekeeper, Waiting for the Night Song, and The Forest Becomes Her (coming in July 2026). A former journalist, organic farmer, and beekeeper, she is a frequent speaker on the topic of fiction in the age of climate crisis at universities, museums, libraries, and conferences around the world.

Small Slights Big Consequences: The Power of Everyday Rudeness | John O’Brien

John M. O'Brien, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, and expert in civility and interpersonal communication. Dr. O'Brien is dedicated to promoting kindness, mutual respect, and healthier relationships in both personal and professional spheres.

Building ‘Political Homes’ for Young People: Supporting Democratic Belonging and Civic Engagement| Seona Maskara

Seona Maskara (A26) has served as a research assistant at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) since her sophomore year. She is passionate about equitable civic education, and channels that into her work researching political homes at CIRCLE and implementing them in other areas of her life, such as JumboVote, Tufts University's non-partisan voter advocacy organization.

When the Ground Breaks, Be Groundbreaking | Audrey Appleby & Deborah Schwartz

Audrey Appleby studied Psychology and Drama at Tufts, Dance MFA Studies at Sarah Lawrence, and MBA at NYU Stern Graduate School of Business. Embracing her entrepreneurial spirit, she launched the career passion of her life, creating MagicDance On The Water, a Dance and Music School with Dance and Dance Therapy for ages one to 100. She is also a Singer Songwriter.

When the Ground Breaks, Be Groundbreaking | Audrey Appleby & Deborah Schwartz

Deborah is a Tufts graduate who obtained her Masters in History at Columbia University. After receiving her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, she launched her career as a healthcare attorney. Today, Deborah's passion is writing. A New Yorker to the core, Deborah reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2011.