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Ideas Change Everything: Members of the OLP Department Take to the TEDx Stage

  • By Hannah Van Sickle
  • Apr 29, 2025
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After more than six months of collaboration and careful planning, seven speakers with ties to the Organizational and Leadership Psychology (OLP) Department took to the stage on Saturday, March 29 for the inaugural TEDxĂÛÌÒtv event—one aimed at inspiring others to rise, to challenge, and to reimagine.

“Momentum grew very quickly from just the spark of an idea,” says Kymberlee M. O'Brien, MEd, PhD Assistant Professor, Neuroscience of Leadership in OLP, nodding to a trio of second-year doctoral students who—keen on helping others by giving back—proposed hosting a TEDx event. 

“I knew these students had profound messages to share and needed bigger stages on which to do so,” says O’Brien who had already heard each present a pitch for their respective consulting businesses during class. As the conversation continued, O’Brien coined the group Team Elevate—and a theme for the community-based TEDx event emerged.

“The reputation of ĂÛÌÒtv is just stellar, as are our students, and I am always thinking about ways to elevate both,” says O’Brien who—with the support of OLP Department Chair Suzanne Devlin, PhD and Director Brandi Derr PsyD, MEd—put her background in musical theatre to good use supporting students through a process she calls, “the cutting edge of authentic performance.” 

Fifteen folks auditioned during the November residency—an on-campus convening of students and faculty to facilitate in-person connection and attend a plenary day of speakers and sessions, presented largely by students—and a selection committee (comprised of O’Brien and colleagues Ara Haroutiounian, MS and Funmi Aguocha, PsyD) chose seven presenters.

“Each individual selected led us to have an ‘ah-ha’ moment, a different way of thinking about [a topic already in our purview],” says O’Brien.

An invitation-only live audience filled , an EmmyÂź-award winning video production studio in Newton; back on campus, residency students and community members filled three additional rooms where the talks were projected in real-time.

“Apparently, people were locked in; you could have heard a pin drop,” says O'Brien, underscoring the powerful storytelling, groundbreaking research, and deeply personal insights offered by the event’s seven speakers. Given the department’s reputation for pioneering some of the most important curricula developments in applied psychology, to address the most pressing needs of organizations today, the lineup of talks () was beyond stellar and included:

Why You Should Laugh and Play at Work 

“While each of us delivered talks individually, the journey leading up to the event felt like one large group effort. We supported, challenged, and provided each other enormous amounts of confidence that culminated in great performances once our feet landed on TED’s famous red circle.”

—Blake Cohen, Leadership and Organizational Consultant, second year Leadership PsyD doctoral student

From Burnout to Breakthrough 

“Burnout can be the catalyst for profound personal and professional growth
[one that] provides invaluable data, builds resilience, and reconnects us with our renewed sense of passion, purpose, and potential.”

—Anthony Meek, Organizational and Leadership Consultant, Career and Executive Coach, and Educator; second year Leadership PsyD doctoral student

The Power You Hold: How to Change Your Environment

“We all use language, and [society is] at a point in time where symbols and language seem to be misunderstood. From my personal story and research, I found relevance in creating understanding and meaning behind language and symbols in that both hold power and change our environments.”

—Greg Mazzeo, PsyD, Organization and Leadership Development Consultant; 2025 graduate of the Leadership PsyD Program

Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs Aren't Who You Think

“This was the first time in years (since high school soccer) that I felt fully aligned AND present in the process itself, not just an end goal. As a faithful person, it truly felt like the TEDx Talk was what I was supposed to be doing in that very moment.”

—Dr. Christine O'Brien, Organizational Psychologist & Leadership Consultant; Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, and 2023 graduate of the Leadership PsyD Program

Watch Christine's TedxĂÛÌÒtv!

The Beauty of Living an Unoffendable Life

“When we choose to practice a new way of living and interacting, one that is rooted in a deep understanding of our true value—separate from what we do, have, or what others think of us—we become transformed into people of greater compassion, patience, and hope. We become The Unoffendable.”

—Annie Laing, Organizational and Leadership Consultant; second year Leadership PsyD doctoral student

How to Find Common Ground When There is None 

—Michael Sweeney, Strategic Executive Coach to Founders & CEOs; Adjunct Professor, Psychology Program and 2015 graduate of the MA in Organizational Psychology Program

Why You Take A Breath

—Luba Falk Feigenberg, Psychologist, Researcher, & Educator; Adjunct Faculty, School Psychology Department

Countless hours spent behind the scenes—from printing flyers to planning logistics—are testament to the department-wide teamwork required to pull off this epic feat, a process O’Brien likens to, “flying the plane while building it,” given that classes were in session throughout.

Cohen, who had boots on the ground from the start, offered another perspective: “William James College is filled with brilliance and innovative minds. In my eyes, it only made sense [to create] a platform [on which] to showcase [both],” says the second-year doctoral student who credits the OLP leadership team with, “empower[ing] each and every one of us to take [our] idea and run with it!”

Later this month, O’Brien (who has added TEDx Organizer to her CV) will share what she learned along the way during an April 28 webinar hosted by International Psi Chi; she and her student, a global coaching and consulting firm, will present Crafting and Presenting Compelling Stories.

“We all have ‘a-ha’ moments,” says O’Brien, who adds: “The work lies in believing your idea is transformational; refining it for an audience; and creating actionable items that can help others,” she says, underscoring that the architecture of the human brain literally changes when engaged via storytelling. 

“Ideas become innovative with reframing,” she says, emphasizing that when an individual moves past the point of vulnerability, they have the power to create new pathways and invite others to do the same. 

“[These presenters] are the leaders society needs,” says O’Brien, who had no idea hosting a TEDx event would be such a transformative process. In retrospect, months spent scrutinizing myriad details from posture and diction to hair styles and wardrobe choices elicited both literal and figurative change.

“They look like different people to me, and I feel different, too,” she says of what it feels like to be on the other side. “We have indeed elevated this experience.”

photo of woman with long, dark, curly hair smilingNOTE: The inaugural TEDXĂÛÌÒtv event was dedicated to Aprille Young, PsyD Assistant Professor, Organizational and Leadership Psychology Department, whose leadership and vision continue to inspire transformation in leadership psychology, organizational development, and beyond. Her pioneering work in leadership psychology and cancer care embodies the very essence of what it means to Elevate—ourselves, our communities, and the future.

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