Lindsey Hermes
Not a Moonshot, a Mindshift
Lindsey Hermes is literally paving the road to a more sustainable future. As President of BioSpan Technologies, a Missouri-based company that develops eco-friendly materials for roads and infrastructure, she’s 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
Emily Hemingway
Be the Wildcard: Top Entrepreneurial Traits Driving Impact in the AI Era
As AI reshapes our world, Emily Hemingway is challenging outdated systems with a bold question: Who gets to shape the future of innovation? As Founding Executive Director of TechSTL, she’s building an inclusive tech ecosystem in St. Louis that prioritizes access, equity, and shared problem-solving. She explores how traits like adaptability, agency, collaboration, and systems thinking are key to thriving in the age of AI
Dail Chambers
Beautiful Healthy Resilient: Community Research and Impact
What does it mean to truly heal, not just individually, but as a community? Dail Chambers has an answer that’s both creative and radical. A mother, artist, organizer, and healer-farmer, she 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..
Volume Speaks
Future of Expression
Volume Speaks brings more than music, she brings movement. A multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer, and the only woman to win the Champions Battle with St. Louis’ Fresh Produce Beat Battle, she’s performed with over 20 bands across genres and stages. Her performance at TEDxStLouis is a celebration of sound, story, and creative power.
Mary Lamie
The Agricultural Coast of America: Where collaboration drives globalization
How do you future-proof the way people and goods move? Mary Lamie knows. A licensed professional engineer with over 30 years in transportation, she leads the Bi-State Development’s operations of the Gateway Arch, the St. Louis Downtown Airport, the Riverboats at the Gateway Arch, and the nationally recognized St. Louis Regional Freightway. Mary has built game-changing public-private partnerships that make St. Louis a model for freight and infrastructure, earning national recognition and fueling the region’s economic edge. She’ll reveal how smarter, more connected systems can transform how we travel, trade, and thrive.
Kris Kleindienst
Bookselling Is a Conversation With Its Community
Bookstores aren’t just places to buy books, they’re places to see yourself reflected. For more than 50 years, Kris Kleindienst 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.
