Ben Rattray is the founder and CEO of Change.org, the world's fastest-growing website for social action—a place where ordinary folks can mobilize extraordinary support for their causes. "We have the platform to facilitate people power in a way nobody's seen before," Rattray says. In 2012, he was named one of Time's...

The connection between two individuals is a powerful agent for social change. This idea animates the work of Jessica Jackley, who co-founded KIVA, the world's most successful microlending site. On stage, Jackley delivers an upbeat and enduring message: you can synthesize your disparate skills, as she did, to create a meaningful...

With few peers, Reza Aslan addresses the topics of Islam, the Middle East, and Muslim Americans with authority, wit, and an infectious optimism. Aslan speaks for a young generation of Muslims—socially conscious, politically active, and technologically savvy—who fight for democratic reform. Whether he's talking...

Called "the world's most famous Indian actor" by New York Magazine, Kal Penn is a rising actor in Hollywood. But what sets Penn apart is his off-screen eloquence, his passion for the intersection of pop culture, politics and race—and the fact that he stopped his career midstream to work full time for the...

Candy Chang is an artist, designer, and urban planner who makes cities more comfortable for people. A Senior TED Fellow, Chang is passionate about redefining the ways we share information in public space to improve our neighborhoods. The Atlantic calls her recent work, Before I Die, “one of the most creative...

Drawing from his coveted experience as President Obama's personal aide, Reggie Love shares timeless—yet timely—lessons on crisis management, collaboration and leadership in the 21st Century. Humble, serious, and self-deprecating, he encourage audiences to realize their potential and become more politically ...

For thirty years, Bill Strickland has used his innovative arts and training centers to transform the lives of thousands of impoverished adults and teenagers. A commanding speaker, his resonating message of self-worth leaves audiences in tears and on their feet. “Strickland is a genius," says former e-Bay president...

“Culture moves before politics,” says Jeff Chang. In the seminal Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Chang used hip-hop culture to radically remix the last 25 years of America's political and social history. In his pulsating follow-up, Who We Be, he traces the rise of multiculturalism—its...

Emily Bazelon is the author of Sticks and Stones, a major new contribution to the national conversation on bullying. Clear-eyed and accessible, Stones was hailed in the New York Times as an "authoritative and important book [that] should not only be read by educators and parents alike, but should...