Get ready for an inspiring evening filled with ideas worth spreading from incredible speakers.

This inaugural year, we are bringing together thought leaders, innovators, and visionaries to share their stories and insights.

Join us for an evening of engagement, reflection, and community as we explore a wide range of topics that will challenge your thinking and ignite your curiosity.

Be prepared to connect with like-minded individuals and be part of a movement that aims to inspire positive change.

So mark your calendar, save the date, and get ready to experience the power of ideas come to life at TEDxPalmerston North!

Palmy Conference and Function Centre
354 Main Street, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North 4410
Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui, 4410
New Zealand

Amelia Mimi Brown

Motivational Speaker ● Transformational Leadership Coach

Mimi Brown, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), captivates audiences worldwide with her compelling presence and mastery in communication and leadership. Over the past 20 years, she has launched diverse businesses and fine-tuned her speaking and strategic skills, making her a sought-after figure on the international stage. As the CEO of AMP Up Success, Mimi devises programmes for senior leaders weaving cutting-edge thinking and communication strategies into the fabric of corporate settings. Her engaging media appearances, from a spirited stint on "The Biggest Loser" to her dynamic role as a TV and media personality, showcase her tongue-in-cheek wit and draw audiences with her radiant energy. An accomplished author, Mimi has been recognised as one of the Women Business Owners Who ROCK, and her vibrant speaking engagements have garnered her the accolade of Michigan Meetings and Events Magazine's Best Speaker of 2020.

Anne Bonney

Motivational Speaker, Emcee, Author, Podcaster

Anne Bonney, CSP® grew up with “talks too much” on all her report cards, so she made it a career and now collects passport stamps on her way to share her extensive knowledge and experience in thriving through change with audiences of often overwhelmed professional adults. She is an engaging conference Emcee, a two-time author, host, and creator of Dancing in the Discomfort Zone Podcast and a certified virtual and in-person presenter. After 20 years in highly successful corporate and non-profit leadership positions, she now uses her experience, education, and expertise to ignite YOUR courage to build resilience in change, conquer challenging conversations and lead with emotional intelligence.

Emma Bugden

Writer and Arts strategist

Dr Emma Bugden is a writer and arts strategist. She is currently employed as Strategic Lead Creative Industries at Whanganui & Partners, Whanganui District Council’s economic development department. In that role she spearheaded the city’s successful application to become a UNESCO City of Design. Emma has a PhD in cultural policy and organisational management and a background as a contemporary art curator, including roles as Director of ARTSPACE Aotearoa and Programmes Manager / Senior Curator at The Dowse Art Museum. With her family, she is undertaking an urban regeneration project in the ruins of the former Gonville civic centre.

Jase Williams

Consultant, Facilitator, Keynote Speaker In Trauma Informed Practice

Jase Williams (Ngāti Tamaterā) is one of the leading voices in Trauma Informed Practice in Education in New Zealand. He shares his knowledge through an equity focused, compassionate, relational neuroscience, and Te Ao Māori lens. He has 20+ years’ experience working as an educator, and is the former Principal of Henry Hill School, Napier - winners of the most recent Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards - Wellbeing category.

Richard Dryden

Comedian, Emcee, Speaker, Quiz Host

When life continually throws curveballs - how would you respond? Richard Dryden has made a life of hitting those curveballs out of the park. A former Award-winning Broadcaster, he spent 15 years entertaining and perhaps irritating audiences across the motu via the radio waves and hosting events. The equivalent of 58,000 paid hours! How did this master connector and communicator fare when fate took his tongue? By the age of 40, Richard had undergone two life-saving operations. At 17 a kidney transplant, by 38 two Cancer operations. His korero encompasses relentless drive to be the best, rehabilitation, relearning to walk and talk, and adapting to life as an immunocompromised individual with three kidneys and his arm functioning as his tongue. Cutting his tongue out could have been the end – yet, in fact, it was just the beginning.

Vince Ford

Connection and culture Storytelling trainer and coach

Vince is the author of 16 books for children and teens. He is won the junior fiction category of the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards, won the children’s choice category three times and been a regular on the Storylines Notable Book List. He has been a student in the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa. He has been a jackeroo in outback Australia, worked in the salt mines and led four-wheel drive trips through the deserts of the UAE and in the mountains of Oman. Vince is currently authoring a book on Connection Through Story, he runs storytelling workshops and is a keynote speaker.