Among the innovators scheduled to speak at TEDxJacksonville 2026 on Saturday, Jan. 17, are two men who have enlisted nature to fix the very fabric of the country. Ron Griswell and CJ Goulding, both 35, call themselves “social architects.”
“Our humanity, our social contract is like a quilt that is coming loose, with disconnection, isolation and loneliness pulling threads at the seams,” Griswell said. “A social architect is someone who understands the big picture of the ‘quilt,’ building relationships and using tools and programs to restore the quilt of our humanity.”
The tool Grimsley and Goulding use is nature.
“They invest time, energy and resources to not only bring people together, but help those people understand their role in sustaining the community,” he said.
Goulding said a social architect designs and transforms environments, rather than buildings, as outdoor places where people can come together and heal. It’s the art of “building community infrastructure for belonging,” he said.
Through their respective nature-based nonprofits, HBCUs Outside and Boyz N The Wood, Griswell and Goulding are “transforming outdoor spaces into hubs of resilience and leadership,” according to TEDxJacksonville.
They hope to show members of the Jacksonville audience that each of them can do the same.
“I hope that they are reminded that they have the power to act and create change in their arms’ reach,” Goulding said. “They can remove barriers people have to nature and mental health and be a connective force for good even in their household and community. Nature and community are our source power to change everything in our world.”
What is TEDx?
The daylong Jacksonville conference is the local affiliate of TEDx, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and started in 1984 as a one-time event in California. In the 1990s, organizers began staging annual conferences under the auspices of a private nonprofit but today are done independently across the world.
The “x” refers to the independent organization. In 2012 Doug Coleman, who co-founded the Riverside Arts Market, applied for the license to bring it to Jacksonville as TEDxRiversideAvondale. The following year it expanded its reach as TEDxJacksonville.
The 2026 offering, which will be at the University of North Florida, has “On the Edge” as its theme.
“Each year TEDxJacksonville curates voices that challenge us to think differently about our world and our role in shaping it,” said Jeanmarie Grimsley, executive producer and co-organizer. “‘On the Edge’ speaks to what so many of us are feeling right now — that the ground is shifting beneath us and that going forward means embracing both uncertainty and possibility.”
UNF is the presenting sponsor. Richmond Wynn, vice president of community engagement and partnerships, said this year’s event “brings urgent questions to a campus built for thoughtful answers.”
“From responsible AI and shared stewardship to human dignity and community revitalization, UNF is honored to host a forum for constructive, civil discourse where diverse perspectives are heard, respected and turned into action,” he said.
Who are this year’s TEDxJacksonville speakers?
A few locals are on the agenda: writer Susanna Barton, “Mindful Aging Strategist”; UNF Professor Josh Gellers, “Political Scientist and AI Czar”; Dr. Jeffrey Levenson, “Eye Surgeon and Visionary”; The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida President Isaiah Oliver, “Trust Weaver”; Christa Sylla, “Dancethropologist, Choreographer and cultural strategist”; and LIFT JAX President and CEO Travis Williams, “Withintrification Champion.”
Other speakers are Andrew Hilger, “Future-of-Work Navigator”; Svetlana Makarova, “Human-First AI Builder”; Bonnie Nixon, “Environmental Evangelist and Human Rights Advocate”; and Dr. Jade Wu, “Sleep Whisperer.”
Griswell and Goulding taking to the stage as a duo is a TEDxJacksonville first, Grimsley said.
“In the TEDx community, these joint presentations — called “duets” — are relatively uncommon. But their work is so complementary that we felt, together, they could offer a truly unique and powerful perspective,” she said.
Who are Ron Griswell and CJ Goulding?
North Carolina-based Griswell is founder and executive director of HBCUs Outside, created in 2020, which connects students, educators and alumni at historically Black colleges and universities with outdoor recreation, advocacy and professional opportunities. Jacksonville’s Edward Waters University is among the country’s HBCUs.
As a child, Griswell wanted to be a zoologist.
“My curiosity for the natural world was cultivated by the road trips my mother and father took my brothers and I on, growing up and the countryside woods and fields I roamed whenever we visited my grandma,” he said. “I was a kid that went to the library and checked out National Geographic documentaries on VHS. It later dawned on me that, while I love animals, it was the thrill and close encounters of the explorers’ experience that left me enamored.”
On a college service to trip Belize, he rediscovered his outdoor joy, then took a gap year “to immerse myself in enriching nature experiences,” Griswell said.
“A gap year turned into a three-year sabbatical, a thriving network and deep love for the outdoors. A mission inscribed on my soul became a calling,” he said. A college adviser said he should bring that calling back to campus, which led to the creation of HBCUs Outside.
At HBCUs, the nonprofit establishes outing clubs and on-campus festivals and leads nature-based experiences, partnering with grassroots organizations and national movements. The goal is to give students and faculty the tools and resources to “find belonging in the outdoors” and connect with other people, Griswell said.
“We aim to radically reframe and reclaim the outdoors to be inclusive of joy and culturally centered recreation that is accessible right in the backyards of our communities,” he said. “We combine nature immersion and community building.”
With Griswell, New York City area-based Goulding co-founded Boyz N The Wood and Goulding is its executive director.
Aa a child, he had multiple career aspirations — spy, NBA player, engineer. “I loved the exciting physical and mental challenges that each of those things provided and enjoyed building things using the language of math and physics,” he said.
While studying engineering in college, he had an internship leading backpacking and canoeing trips for high school students in the North Cascades National Park in Washington State.
“That summer reconnected me to my inner explorer, taught me about the power nature has to build leadership and community and showed me the power and skill I had in being a role model to youth,” Goulding said.
Founded in 2022, Boyz N The Wood organizes free nature retreats for Black men that combine “outdoor adventure, brotherhood, and culturally resonant mental health support,” Goulding said.
“We radically aim to break down the barriers in current systems that fail us. We invest in Black men’s healing … and equip them to become beacons for healing in their communities,” he said.
It’s all about cultural healing.
“Because our cultures and communities have experienced harm on individual, community and systemic levels, we have to heal on those levels as well,” he said. “Our community of care is a model for systemic change, building bridges across mental health, outdoor access and racial equity to create partnerships that transform how healing happens.”
How to learn more and attend TEDx?
For more information about HBCUs Outside, email ron@hbcusoutside.com or go to hbcusoutside.com. For more information about Boyz N The Wood, email info@boyznthewood.org or go to boyznthewood.org.
TEDx Jacksonville 2026 is 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Lazzara Performance Hall, 1 UNF Drive on the UNF campus. Tickets are $125 for general admission, $59 for students. To purchase, go to TEDxJacksonville.com.
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How will TEDxJacksonville 2026 ‘challenge us to think differently’?
Reporting by Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
