All News & StoriesCCA’s staff has expertise that runs both deep and wide. We asked staff to tell us about their topic if they had to give a TED talk on short notice. Their answers may surprise you!
Lauren, Family Engagement Specialist
My go-to for ease would be something focused on infants and toddlers, like safe sleep, you cannot spoil a baby, introducing solids, and why you should skip cereals. For funsies, I could also talk about chickens or gardening!
Julie, Shared Services Director
I would talk about macro-nutrients – what they are, why they matter, and how they work together to fuel our bodies. 
I would also include some myth busters around this topic too.
Anne, Program Resource Manager
My TED Talk would be HOW EASY IT IS TO USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. you change lanes, turn, etc. We are not able to read your mind! It’s FREE and FAST, not to mention considerate, smart, and THE LAW. A much better topic I could talk about for hours is about maternal/paternal mental health, infant/early childhood mental health, and the effects of trauma on literally everything. If the adults aren’t well, the children will not be well. 
Skylar, Administrative Assistant
My TED Talk would be about the responsibility we have when engaging with true crime content. It can be so easy to get caught up in the storytelling and forget that these are real people, real lives, and real tragedies—not just entertainment. We often treat true crime as a victimless genre. For the families and loved ones involved, these stories represent the worst day of their lives. That pain doesn’t disappear just because time has passed or because someone packaged it into a podcast or documentary.
Personally, I’ve had to reassess the content I consume. I’ve changed which podcasts and shows I listen to. Instead, I seek out creators who handle these stories with care, accuracy, and above all, respect for the victims and their families. If you’re going to indulge in true crime, you have to do so with empathy. It’s not just about entertainment —it’s about remembering the humanity behind the headlines.
Kristin, Communications Manager
I would demonstrate how to use genealogy tools to find the weirdest quirks and wildest stories you’ve ever heard. It might amaze you to know how interesting old newspapers, marriage licenses, and census records can be. Even better, people LIED in them all the time. Also, I can probably find a photo of you from your high school yearbook in about 45 seconds or less.
Sarah, Community Engagement Specialist
My TED talk would be about how trauma is the gateway to addiction and substance use. I’d invite listeners to explore how the unaddressed pain of early life experiences can lead people to seek relief through substances—and how healing begins with understanding. By focusing on Protective and Compensatory Childhood Experiences (PACEs) and embracing harm-reduction approaches, we can disrupt the cycle. It can help us toward real, compassionate solutions to the addiction crisis gripping our communities. My name is Sarah, and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Allie, Program Resource Navigator
When I graduated college and got past the oh-so-kind “grace” period for student loans, I got my first bill from Sallie Mae. With balances and various loans ranging up to 12% interest, my combined minimum monthly payment was over $1,000 per month. As you can imagine, working in a child care program at $13 an hour, I could not afford it. To say I was stressed is an understatement. I hoped to consolidate but found that I could not consolidate private loans with federal loans, and private loans had no payment plan options. The only way the private lender could assist was if I claimed deferment, which would send me to a collections agency. Instead of looking for my first post-college apartment, I had to go back to living with my parents.
Through loads of research, I focused on my federal loans and quickly applied to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. I first tried to apply for the Teacher Forgiveness program, but they don’t consider child care programs “schools.” This is entirely too problematic! Child care professionals should be considered in this category for many reasons, but especially for the fact that they ARE teachers. They contribute to society just as much, if not more so, than the teachers in K-12. Not to mention, there is not as much funding for teacher salaries in birth to age three like there is for pre-K. When protests or marches for “Red for Ed Day” happen or your hear “Teachers need to get paid more,” child care teachers are often not a part of the conversation. Also, due to the nature of child care and the lack of supports, they are considered “for-profit” and therefore wouldn’t qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program either. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE AMENDED!
