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x= independently organized TED event

What is TEDx? 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. Our event is called TEDxJacksonville, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxJacksonville event, TED Talks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

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Travis Williams | Withintrificaction Champion

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Travis Williams | Withintrificaction Champion

Programs alone cannot transform historically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Too often, outside-led “revitalization” becomes gentrification—displacing the very residents it claims to serve. Travis Williams, President & CEO of LIFT JAX and a fourth-generation former resident of Jacksonville’s Historic Eastside, champions a different path: withintrification—revitalization and development guided from within and rooted in investment in both people and place. By collaborating with external partners while keeping community voices at the center, this model strives for growth without displacement. More than 150 years after its founding, Historic Eastside—affectionately known as OutEast—remains one of Jacksonville’s last cohesive, architecturally intact, historically Black neighborhoods, and the largest in Florida on the National Register of Historic Places. Separated by only an expressway from EverBank Stadium and the city’s growing sports and entertainment district, the community is determined to honor its legacy, shape its future, and leave no neighbor behind. From reopening the historic Debs Store to helping negotiate the largest Community Benefits Agreement in NFL history, Williams shows how community-led investment can build dignity, preserve belonging, and create lasting prosperity. → Back to TEDxJacksonville Conference Page
Travis Williams

Travis L. Williams is a proud Jacksonville native and President & CEO of LIFT JAX, a nonprofit dedicated to ending generational poverty and building prosperity through resident-led revitalization. The organization's efforts are a part of an ecosystem of partners currently focused on Jacksonville's Historic Eastside—a neighborhood his family has called home for nearly a century. This collaborative work in OutEast is emerging as a national model for withintrification: revitalization and development guided from within and rooted in investment in both people and place. By collaborating with external partners while keeping community voices at the center, this model strives for growth without displacement. Williams serves on numerous boards and committees advancing economic development, equitable revitalization, and community well-being. An alumnus of LifeWork Leadership, he was recognized as a 2023 UNF Alumni Achievement Award recipient and a Jacksonville Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. He holds degrees from the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University's Executive MBA program and is currently a Cradle-to-Career Fellow at Harvard University.

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