TED Fellows Impact

Hundreds of Fellows. Millions of lives changed.

A revolutionary approach to vaccine delivery in rural Africa. Legal challenges to abuses in state-sponsored surveillance. Prosthetics that help amputees “feel” their new limb. Through these and hundreds more innovative projects, TED Fellows are improving lives around the world.

86% of Fellows say the program helped them achieve impact
83% of Fellows say the program helped them reach new audiences
85% of Fellows participate beyond the first year of their fellowship
Future Shaping

Honored, published, funded—and just getting started.

They are inventors and educators, activists and artists, science geeks and policy wonks. Even so, all new TED Fellows have two things in common: They are still early in their careers—and they are approaching a problem in a new way -- whether that's curing disease, fighting climate change, or combating inequality.

Across six continents, TED Fellows have been recognized with prestigious awards and millions of dollars in funding. They’ve been published in books, science periodicals, and professional journals. They’ve spoken at trade conferences, business roundtables, and government hearings. Their art has sparked global movements.

The TED Fellows program seeks to help amplify both their recognition, and the impact of their ideas.

Learn about the program

"The TED Fellows have given me hope for a shared, global future."

Nassim Assefi

Global Women’s Health Specialist

“The TED Fellowship is magical pixie dust / rocket fuel. A really powerful catalyst.”

Nina Tandon

Biomedical Engineer

“It was monumental. The Fellows team and TED community gave me incredible personal support and friendship and have accelerated the impact my team and I are making by several years, which equates to hundreds of thousands more people seeing who otherwise wouldn't. It has been nothing short of amazing.”

Andrew Bastawrous

Social Entrepreneur + Eye Surgeon

“The TED Fellows program changed my life – I would not have been able to build my own path through academia and through the pandemic years without the strength, inspiration and friendship of this community.”

Shohini Ghose

Quantum Physicist

Watch their TED Talks

Browse more Fellows Talks

Germán Santillán

A taste of Mexico's ancient chocolate-making tradition

Dating back more than 800 years, chocolate is deeply woven into the Indigenous history of Oaxaca, Mexico. TED Fellow Germán Santillán talks about his work reviving the Mixtec technique used to prepare this ancient delicacy by training a new generation of local farmers -- helping create economic opportunity and preserve a delicious legacy at the same time.

Watch video

Bill T. Jones

The dancer, the singer, the cellist ... and a moment of creative magic

Legendary dance choreographer Bill T. Jones and TED Fellows Joshua Roman and Somi didn't know exactly what was going to happen when they took the stage at TED2015. They just knew they wanted to offer the audience an opportunity to witness creative collaboration in action. The result: An improvised piece they call "The Red Circle and the Blue Curtain," so extraordinary it had to be shared ...

Watch video

Amanda Palmer, Jherek Bischoff, Usman Riaz

"Space Oddity"

Singer Amanda Palmer pays tribute to the inimitable David Bowie with a cover of "Space Oddity." She's joined onstage by Jherek Bischoff, TED Fellow Usman Riaz and, no, your eyes are not deceiving you, none other than former Vice President Al Gore.

Watch video

“The TED Fellows program has both consciously and subconsciously given me the confidence (and playbook) to build multiple institutions, startups, and communities of my own.”

Keolu Fox

Genome Scientist + Indigenous Futurist

“My TED training was instrumental in communicating complex scientific concepts to the general public and in persuading politicians to adopt scientifically sound approaches especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Edsel Salvaña

Molecular Epidemiologist + Public Health Strategist

TED Fellows impact at a glance

Change that gets noticed

200M

200M people impacted by Fellows work annually

451M

451M TED Talk views

2,234

2,234 articles published by/about Fellows per year

1,303

1,303 speaking engagements each year

234

234 businesses launched

The groundbreaking work of a TED Fellow does not stay in the shadows. Each year we study the impact Fellows have on their respective fields, as measured by tangible forms of recognition. Here are some highlights from the past few years.

You can help turn innovative ideas into transformative change

Interested in signing on as a partner or giving a charitable contribution? We look forward to hearing from you.

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