PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (July 7, 2025) – Prairie View A&M University’s fifth TEDxPVAMU event, themed “Dreaming Forward: Building Sustainability,” is now available on the TEDx platform, which reaches nearly 43 million subscribers worldwide. Released just a few weeks ago, the event highlights the University’s ongoing commitment to thought leadership and innovation in sustainability.
Held on April 24, TEDxPVAMU served as a campus hallmark of intellectual exploration, uniting educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders to discuss how sustainability can shape a more resilient and equitable future.
Hosted by the Honors Program, the event addressed challenges in agriculture, climate resilience, education, and social equity. It featured diverse and visionary voices, including Prairie View A&M’s own globally recognized expert in water security and climate resilience, Dr. Ali Fares, along with a lineup that proudly included several PVAMU alumni:
- Whitney Hawkins ‘09, M.Ed.– Education Leader & Instructional Coach
- Shellie C. Dick II ‘97, M.Ed.– Educator & Leadership Advocate
- Jeremy Peaches ‘15– Urban Agriculture Expert & Entrepreneur
- Brandie Freely ‘07– Author & Well-Living Educator
- Bobby J. Smith II ‘11, Ph.D.– Food Justice Scholar & Author
In his talk, “Innovating for Tomorrow with Young Minds,” Dr. Fares called for collaboration across disciplines, urging audiences to pair STEM fields with the humanities and arts.
“Sustainability isn’t just about science,” said the endowed professor leading research in the water-energy-food nexus. “It’s about ethics, culture, storytelling, and more importantly, community.”
Shellie Dick, a leadership advocate, in “Small Spaces, Big Shifts: Tiny Homes and Teaching Sustainability” talked about the Big Heroes, Tiny Homes project and shared the stories of students in his 26 years as educator and mentor. The meaningful project helps communities build and students discover their leadership styles and develop real-life problem-solving skills.
Educational leader and instructional coach Hawkins sought to inspire attendees in “The Power of Enough: How Self-Worth Fuels True Success,” offering three key ideas to bring dreams into reality and sustainability. She urged the audience to cultivate joy, be lifelong learners, and add value to humanity, calling it a “duty” to make the world a better place.
Freely’s “The Truth About Living Freely” revealed an unconventional path toward freedom: by unbecoming. Freely encouraged people to let go and unravel their own personal truths on a freeing self-discovery journey.
Dr. Smith, an award-winning author and social scientist, presented on what he calls “the choreography of Black food futures,” blending the metrics of Black choreographic practice with Black food systems-level thinking. In “The Choreography of Black Food Futures: Thinking Out Loud with Alvin Ailey,” Dr. Smith, alongside choreographer Ailey, explored the intersection of Black communities, food justice, and agricultural policy.
Finally, Peaches, an urban agriculture expert and second-generation farmer, gave a talk on the intersection of environmental stewardship and food security. In his “Rooted in the Future: Farming, Humanity, and the Sustainability Shift,” he urged for sustainability to become more than a trend but a fundamental way of life forward.
The full TEDxPVAMU event is available to watch now on the official TED platform.
By Christine Won
-PVAMU-
