10/09/2026
TEDxBillings Announces Leadership Transition Ahead of October 17 Main Event
D’Vaughn Hayes and Janese Carstens to step down from leadership positions after five years as TEDxBillings prepares for its next chapter.
BILLINGS, Mont. — October 2026 — As TEDxBillings prepares to bring another year of ideas worth spreading to the Magic City, the organization is also preparing for an important evolution in its leadership.
After five years helping lead, grow, and shape TEDxBillings, D’Vaughn Hayes, Licensee and Sponsorship Director, and Janese Carstens, Executive Producer and Operations Director, will step down from their current leadership positions following the 2026 event.
The transition does not represent a complete turnover of the TEDxBillings organization or its leadership team. Instead, Hayes and Carstens see it as an intentional opportunity to create space for others to help guide the independently organized TEDx event into its next chapter.
“TEDxBillings has never been about any one person,” said Hayes. “It has always been about creating a platform where ideas can be shared, conversations can begin, and people from Billings and beyond can connect with something that changes the way they see the world. After five years, giving other leaders the opportunity to help shape what comes next is part of allowing TEDxBillings to continue growing.”
Hayes helped revive TEDxBillings and has served as its Licensee/Curator, while Carstens has overseen the extensive production and operational work required to bring the event from an idea to the stage each year. Together with TEDxBillings’ executive team, volunteers, community partners, speakers, and performers, they have helped establish an event that connects Billings with the international TEDx community.
“For five years, we have had the extraordinary privilege of asking, ‘What could TEDxBillings become?’” said Carstens. “At some point, good stewardship also means being willing to let new people ask that question. This isn’t about walking away from what we’ve built. It’s about trusting it enough to make room for new ideas, new energy, and new leadership.”
The transition comes during a year particularly suited to reflection. The theme for the 2026 TEDxBillings Main Event is “The Wisdom Within: Listening to What Has Always Been Inside,” exploring self-discovery, reflection, authenticity, lived experience, and the knowledge people already carry within themselves.
TEDxBillings 2026 Takes the Stage October 17
Before TEDxBillings turns toward its next chapter, the organization is focused squarely on its 2026 Main Event, taking place Saturday, October 17, at Petro Theatre on the Montana State University Billings campus.
This year’s lineup brings together voices from Montana and across the country whose experiences span science, healthcare, entrepreneurship, mental health, community development, music, adaptive fitness, leadership, resilience, advocacy, and more.
The 2026 speakers include Amanda Davis, a former NASA Certified Payload Operations Controller and founder of BioFit; Dr. Clay Brigance, a couples therapist and researcher whose work examines reproductive grief and relational resilience; Chris Russell, founder of adaptive fitness organization Fitness 4 Focus; Diem Jones, a thought leader, writer, poet, musician, multidisciplinary producer, content creator, and program designer. Javon Wing, an Indigenous community development specialist and empowerment coach; Jennie Milton, an Australian champion kitesurfer and globally ranked snowkite athlete; John McMann, a longtime music industry executive whose career included work with artists including Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Jay-Z and Coldplay; and Scott Stirrett, founder of Venture for Canada and author of The Uncertainty Advantage.
The stage will also feature Beth Caldwell, a Montanan from Forsyth and founder of BC Beauty Because You Deserve It in Billings. Beth Krause, founder and CEO of Grace Anatomy Functional Health and Nutrition - helping individuals restore health through a personalized approach. Jina Carvalho, worked at the forefront of crisis intervention as a nonprofit leader, trauma responder, and Psychological First Aid trainer. Tiffini Gallant, writer, public relations professional, and patient advocate from rural Montana. Eric Dean Olson, developing people to live out the company’s identity every day: go beyond the ordinary, deliver care nobody expected, and make a real difference. Our performers will be Nick Bravo, a motivational rapper and country singer/songwriter Mallory Morgan.
Together, the presenters will approach “The Wisdom Within” from markedly different directions, from understanding biometric data and navigating grief to finding courage under pressure, reconsidering pain, developing human potential, strengthening communities, and discovering what experience has already taught us.
Tickets Available Now
Tickets for TEDxBillings 2026 are currently on sale online at https://tedxbillings.com/2026-presenters/ General admission tickets are $75.
Doors at MSU Billings' Petro Theatre open at 12:15 p.m., with the event beginning at 1 p.m. and concluding at approximately 5:30 p.m. The After Party will be at Angry Hanks immediately after the event.
TEDxBillings invites the community to be part of both an exceptional afternoon of ideas and a milestone moment in the organization’s story.
As Hayes and Carstens prepare to conclude five years in their current leadership roles, the mission that has guided TEDxBillings remains unchanged: creating space for ideas worth spreading and giving people a platform from which those ideas can travel far beyond Montana.
Tickets and complete speaker information are available through the TEDxBillings website.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO TEDxBILLINGS 2026 2026 TEDxBILLINGS SPEAKER LINEUP These speakers will be bringing their ideas and sharing their experiences of “The Wisdom Within.” Join us to
