November 14th, 2025, isn’t just another date on the calendar for St. Petersburg. It’s the day we stop talking about climate change and take a deep dive into solutions that actually work.
I’m organizing TEDxSt Pete with the theme “From Storm to Strength: Water, Climate & Community Resilience,” and this isn’t your typical environmental event filled with doom-and-gloom statistics. This is about real solutions from real people who are building stronger communities in the face of climate challenges.
Because here’s what I know: St. Petersburg doesn’t just talk about resilience. We live it.
Why St. Pete Gets It
St. Pete, our beautiful coastal city, understands the power of water and the challenges of climate change. We’ve seen its beauty and felt its power. We’ve lived through hurricanes, dealt with flooding, watched neighbors lose everything, and then watched those same communities come back stronger.
That experience gives us something most cities don’t have: we know what actually works when the storms hit. We’re not theorizing about climate resilience. We’re implementing, testing and refining it every single day.
Living on the water means we’ve had a front-row seat to how climate change affects real people, real businesses, and real communities. We’ve seen small businesses close their doors after flooding, only to reopen with better systems. We’ve witnessed neighborhoods come together during emergencies and stay
connected long after the crisis passed. We’ve seen innovation born out of necessity and collaboration emerge from shared challenges.
These experiences have taught us that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back. It’s really about bouncing forward. And it’s about using every challenge as an opportunity to build something better, stronger, and more sustainable.
The TEDx Event That’s Different
This inaugural TEDxSt Pete Countdown event isn’t just a day of talks. It’s a vital movement to empower our community with actionable insights and innovative solutions. From cutting-edge coastal defense strategies and sustainable water management to fostering robust community networks, we’ll uncover blueprints for a St. Pete that stands firm against rising tides and extreme weather, offering lessons and inspiration with potential for global reach.
What sets this event apart is our focus on battle-tested, real-world solutions. We’re not bringing you theoretical frameworks or academic studies. We’re bringing you strategies that have been implemented, refined, and proven effective in communities facing the same challenges we’re dealing with.
The speakers we’re gathering aren’t just talking about what could work. They’re also sharing what does work. They’re the people who’ve been in the trenches, making tough decisions, implementing innovative solutions, and seeing real results.
Ideas That Actually Work
TEDxSt Pete will showcase speakers who aren’t just studying problems. They’re solving them. Take Angela Grannan, Environmental Scientist and Consultant with over 25 years of experience in environmental consulting and real estate, for example. Starting in 1997, she’s conducted field studies on endangered species, watersheds and pollution across thousands of Environmental Site Assessments in diverse industries like manufacturing and agriculture.
But she’s not just studying environmental challenges. As President of the nonprofit Plant Your Roots America and Broker-Owner of The GRANNAN Group, Luxury Real Estate, she’s implementing green practices and creating community tree-planting programs. Her career showcases a unique ability to find and implement
sustainable solutions that reduce waste, increase biodiversity and improve bottom lines for private, public and government sectors alike.
Angela represents exactly what we’re looking for in our speakers: people who bridge the gap between environmental expertise and practical business applications. She understands that sustainable solutions only work if they make economic sense, and economic solutions only last if they’re environmentally sound.
This is what makes our TEDx different. We’re not here to make you feel guilty about your carbon footprint or overwhelmed by global challenges. We’re here to share breakthrough ideas that you can actually implement – whether you’re running a city, a business or just want to help your community become more resilient.
The Speakers Who Are Changing Everything
We’re gathering visionary speakers to explore how we can adapt, thrive and build a stronger, more resilient future together. These are thought leaders AND action leaders. People who’ve taken big risks, tried innovative approaches and learned valuable lessons that could save other communities years of trial and error.
Our speakers come from diverse backgrounds: environmental scientists who’ve moved into practical applications, business leaders who’ve integrated sustainability into profitable operations, community organizers who’ve built networks that function during crises, engineers who’ve designed systems that work with nature instead of against it.
Each speaker will share not just what they’ve learned, but how they learned it. The failures that led to breakthroughs. The unexpected partnerships that made impossible projects possible. The community resistance they overcame and the support they built along the way.
Why This Matters Beyond St. Pete
The solutions we’re discussing aren’t just relevant to coastal Florida cities. Climate challenges are creating similar problems in communities worldwide, and the innovative approaches being developed here could be adapted anywhere.
When a community figures out how to manage stormwater runoff while creating green spaces that bring neighbors together, that’s a model for other cities to use. When businesses discover how to reduce their environmental impact while improving their profitability, that’s a strategy that can scale globally.
When residents learn how to prepare for emergencies while forging stronger connections with their neighbors, that’s community resilience that works anywhere people face uncertainty together.
The insights shared at TEDxSt Pete will have applications far beyond our city limits. They represent approaches to climate adaptation that could influence policy, inspire new technologies, and create partnerships between communities facing similar challenges worldwide.
This Is Your Invitation to Lead
For Attendees: Come be inspired, gain practical knowledge, and connect with fellow forward-thinkers. Join us from 2-7 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Pete (255 Beach Drive, NE) and discover how you can help safeguard our city’s future and ensure its enduring vibrancy, knowing these insights can impact change far beyond our shores.
You’ll leave with concrete strategies you can implement in your own community, connections to people who are making real change happen, and a clear understanding of how individual actions contribute to collective resilience.
Come learn and be a part of a timely movement. You’ll be in a room full of people who believe that communities can build solutions to the challenges they face, and who are committed to doing the work to make that belief a reality.
For Sponsors: Partner with us to demonstrate your commitment to St. Pete’s future and global sustainability. Align your brand with groundbreaking ideas and a powerful movement dedicated to tangible solutions. Your sponsorship directly amplifies crucial messages, enhances community education and positions you at the forefront of resilience and innovation, impacting both local and global conversations.
This is more than marketing – it’s investing in our shared tomorrow. When you sponsor TEDxSt Pete, you’re supporting solutions that could benefit communities
worldwide. You’re helping to ensure that innovative approaches to climate resilience get the platform they deserve.
Your sponsorship also supports the ongoing work of building a more resilient St. Pete. The connections made at this event, the ideas shared, and the collaborations that emerge will continue long after November 14.
From Challenges to Opportunities
Climate change presents unprecedented challenges, but it also creates unprecedented opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and community-building. Let’s transform challenges into opportunities and chart a course from storm to strength for St. Pete and beyond.
We’re not just preparing for the next storm. We’re building strength for the future. We’re not just managing rising waters. We’re designing systems that work with them. We’re not just surviving climate change. We’re showing the world how to thrive through it.
The conversations happening November 14th could influence policy, inspire new technologies, create unexpected partnerships, and spark innovations that help communities everywhere become more resilient.
This event represents a fundamental shift in how we talk about climate action. Instead of focusing on what we need to stop doing, we’re focusing on what we can start building. Instead of emphasizing problems, we’re showcasing solutions. Instead of creating fear, we’re inspiring action.
Ready to be part of the solution?
This event is open to the public and tickets are available. Secure your place or explore sponsorship opportunities today and help us chart a course from storm to strength for St. Pete and beyond. Get your tickets and learn more here.
Let’s show the world what happens when a community stops waiting for someone else to solve climate challenges and starts building the solutions themselves.
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I’m Montrella Cowan, TEDx Organizer, Curator and Coach for TEDxSt Pete.