FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TEDxUnityPark: Multiply Returns to Greenville November 20–21
15 speakers, three sessions and immersive experiences will build on the momentum of last year’s TEDxUnityPark event.
Greenville, S.C.TEDxUnityPark: Multiply, coming November 20-21, promises to make an even bigger impact on the Greenville community this year. After the success of Momentum last November, seeing over 500 people from 15 different states with 15 speakers and 20 sponsors, Multiply plans to continue building upward.
Organizers Dr. Kaipo Sotelo and Evan Rogers are entrepreneurs originally from Guam and Los Angeles, respectively, who chose to make Greenville home.
“There really isn’t a place like Greenville in the country. To have a place where you can live, raise a family, and ultimately build successful businesses is absolutely epic. Building TEDxUnityPark here in town was centered on that for us, bringing local entrepreneurs and business leaders together to experience the power of TED.”
Evan RogersCo-Organizer, TEDxUnityParkThe two formed Upstart LLC in 2023 to build events and experiences like this for the Greenville market.
Out of over 300 open call applicants this year, the team has narrowed it down to 15 amazing speakers across 3 unforgettable sessions. Some local highlights include City Councilwoman Tina Belge, an AICP-certified urban planner who has led housing and zoning reform policy, speaking on urban planning and development; Heath Dillard, President and CEO of VisitGreenvilleSC, who grew Greenville’s visitor economy to a record $2.5 billion in 2025 and brought the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South ceremony to the city, on building strong communities; Dani Mathews of @healthyishdani, voted Best Local Instagram by both GVLtoday and Post & Courier readers and founder of hospitality agency Best Bites Media, with a community of 250,000 followers on Instagram, on bringing forth authenticity on social media; Marco A. Rios, bilingual business consultant at the South Carolina SBDC, who has advised over 225 businesses and spoken for BMW USA and Milliken, on understanding a market before you try to scale in it; and TJ Eisenhart, the Greenville-based painter and former professional cyclist who rode two World Championships for the USA, on art and reinvention.
There will also be a strong slate of outside voices including Kim Patel (VP of Startup Banking at JPMorgan Chase, Forbes 30 Under 30, and a Harvard MBA), Ianthe Mellors (a dancer and movement educator of 16 years across the UK and US, VR fitness pioneer, and multiple-time Good Morning America guest), Uchenna Lizmay Umeh, MD, MBA, known as Dr. Lulu® (a pediatrician of three decades, bestselling author, and three-time TEDx speaker), Krishna Bhatt (a computational neuroscience researcher building brain-computer interfaces who took first place in engineering at the White House Science Fair), and Leon Murray (a Fortune 500 sustainability manager across 60+ manufacturing facilities, charged with cutting carbon emissions by half).
A few of the 2026 voices.
Selected from just under 300 open-call applications across 33 states and 6 countries. Fifteen speakers, three sessions, one day.
- At-large councilwoman, City of Greenville
- AICP urban planner; owner of Catalyst Community Consulting
- Third-generation Upstate resident; led housing, tree, and zoning reform policy
- President & CEO of VisitGreenvilleSC
- Grew Greenville’s visitor economy to a record $2.5B economic impact in 2025
- Hosted the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South ceremony; named SCRLA 2026 Outstanding Community Service Leader
- Creator of HealthyishDani, a community of 250,000+ followers
- Voted Best Local Instagram by GVLToday and Post & Courier readers
- Founder of Best Bites Media, a hospitality social and PR agency
- Bilingual Business Consultant at the South Carolina SBDC
- 15+ years across the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America; 225+ businesses advised
- Has spoken for BMW USA, Milliken, and Professional Photographers of America
- Professional cyclist and painter, based in Greenville
- U23 National Time Trial Champion and two-time World Championships rider for the USA
- Co-founder of Imaginary Collective; listed with the Metropolitan Arts Council
- VP of Startup Banking at JPMorgan Chase
- Forbes 30 Under 30; Harvard MBA as an Arthur Rock Fellow
- Has coached 200+ founders; spoken at SXSW and Harvard
- Computational neuroscience researcher building brain-computer interfaces
- First place in engineering at the White House Science Fair
- Collaborations with Stanford and UC Berkeley labs; $15K+ in research grants
- Dancer and movement educator, 16+ years across the UK and US
- VR fitness pioneer; former Head of Fitness who has trained 100+ instructors
- Featured on Good Morning America; founder of Elevating Movement
- Sustainability manager for a Fortune 500 across 60+ manufacturing facilities
- Charged with cutting carbon emissions by 50%
- Citadel electrical engineer, UCF MBA, military veteran, author and artist
- Pediatrician and physician educator, three decades in practice
- Bestselling author and three-time TEDx speaker
- Creator of First, Do No Further Harm and Bias Begins at Home
still to come
The event will be held at Roam Greenville ONE on November 21 from 10am to 8pm. This year’s program will take a significant step forward in the TEDxUnityPark story. The day will not only hold the incredible slate of TEDx talks but also include onsite activations, extraordinary off-site experiences, and incredible breakouts to really immerse yourself with other attendees in the TEDx ethos.
Full day tickets will be released on September 1st, including a limited number of individual session-based offerings. An even more limited number of Early Bird Access Tickets are on sale now at TEDxUnityPark.com and on our Eventbrite at a 33% discount.
TEDxUnityPark: Momentum, November 2025. Over 500 attendees from 15 states, 15 speakers, and 20 sponsors.
“It’s really important to us to be able to share the story and heart of Unity Park and the surrounding community. Last year we were able to create a short documentary with VisitGreenvilleSC. We are excited to continue that storytelling with Multiply, where we invite everyone to share in the growth of this Greenville business community and beyond.”
Evan RogersCo-Organizer, TEDxUnityParkEVENT DETAILS
MEDIA CONTACT
Press inquiries, interviews, and assets
About TEDxUnityPark: Multiply
TEDxUnityPark is an independently organized TED event based in Greenville, South Carolina, produced by Upstart LLC, the events and experience company founded in 2023 by Dr. Kaipo Sotelo and Evan Rogers. It exists to amplify the voices shaping the Upstate’s future and to share their ideas with the world.
The event launched in 2024 with Movement, a sold-out first year of 15 speakers that drew more than 250 attendees and raised $18.9K in community support. Two talks from that year were selected by TEDx for wider promotion and have since drawn more than 126,000 views. In November 2025, Momentum brought over 500 people from 15 states together around 15 speakers and 20 sponsors.
Multiply is year three. Held November 20–21, 2026 at Roam Greenville ONE, it expands the format beyond the stage: 15 speakers across three sessions, plus onsite activations, off-site experiences, and attendee breakouts built to turn a day of talks into a working community of entrepreneurs, creatives, and civic leaders. Tickets and partnership information are at TEDxUnityPark.com.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized, subject to certain rules and regulations.
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, and are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of TED Talks are published to TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.
###