TEDxStLouis celebrates its 25th event with vision-driven talks by trailblazing women.
(St. Louis, Mo., July 16, 2025) – TEDxStLouis Women presents “Future Focus – Envisioning What’s Next” on Friday, September 5 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Touhill Performing Arts Center’s Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall located at 1 Touhill Circle. The inspiring afternoon of bold ideas and visionary thinking marks TEDxStLouis’ 25th event since its inception. General Admission tickets are $42 and Supporter tickets, which include a networking event from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., are $78 per person.
This year’s event spotlights remarkable women who are shaping the future across technology, infrastructure, community, arts, and social justice. These visionaries – who deliver their ideas worth sharing in less than 15 minutes each – are creating practical solutions, pushing cultural boundaries and inspiring change in tangible, human ways.
Speakers at the TEDxStLouis Women 2025: Future Focus – Envisioning What’s Next include:
Dail Chambers – Future of Health: A mother, artist, organizer, and healer-farmer, Dail weaves trauma-informed care with art, history, and intergenerational connection. Her work, featured on PBS, St. Louis Public Radio, and BBC Arts Hour, pushes us to rethink health as something we build together.
Emily Hemingway – Future of Technology: Emily is the Founding Executive Director of TechSTL, a group working to grow and connect the tech community in the St. Louis Region. With over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship and regional transformation, she brings a fresh perspective to the global AI conversation.
Lindsey Hermes – Future of Innovation: As President of BioSpan Technologies, a Missouri-based company that develops eco-friendly materials for roads and infrastructure, Lindsey is leading climate-focused efforts to reduce emissions and rethink how cities are built. A former global supply chain leader and entrepreneur, Lindsey shows how everyday systems, like the roads we drive on, can be reimagined to meet global challenges.
Kris Kleindienst – Future of Cultural Spaces: For more than 50 years, Kris has shaped Left Bank Books, a beloved independent bookstore in St. Louis, into a vibrant space for art, activism, visibility, and community conversation. From curating shelves to shaping civic conversations, she reveals how cultural spaces can evolve with and for the communities they serve.
The event will highlight a performance by Volume Speaks, who combines sound, story and creative power. Volume Speaks is a multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer who is the only woman to win the Champions Battle with St. Louis’ Fresh Produce Beat Battle.
Future Focus – Envisioning What’s Next is sponsored by premier sponsor U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and community partners Washington University in St. Louis, COCAbiz Professional Development, 100th Monkey, Nine PBS, the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, and the Missouri Historical Society.
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. Founded in 2013, TEDxStLouis provides the community with events, connections, and ongoing information. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.tedxsaintlouis.org.