Girls growing up in low income communities often live in a world that is only a few blocks wide. Providing girls the opportunity to travel challenges them to think beyond their neighborhood, dream bigger than their city limits and create possibilities outside their country’s borders. When Deesha Dyer dropped out of college at age 17 and went back at age 30, the last place she thought she would end up is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, she rose through the ranks at the White House to become the Social Secretary for President and Mrs. Obama. Her storied career is unconventional at best, with themes of reinvention, drive and a commitment to community service integrated throughout. Deesha’s TEDx talk will use themes from her own story to create a framework for her broader passion for helping girls in impoverished communities reach their full potential and have a tremendous impact on the world - once they have seen more of it. Using specific examples and big ideas for the future, Deesha will create a compelling case to help ALL girls to fulfill their dreams. One cannot dream of possibilities if one does not know they exist. an American public servant who served as the White House Social Secretary for U.S. President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017. Dyer also served as Deputy to the previous Social Secretary, Jeremy Bernard. Her White House career began as an intern in the Office of Scheduling and Advance in Fall 2009. She was the Obama administration's fourth social secretary and the second of African-American descent. Before working at the White House she worked as the executive assistant at the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and a freelance writer at the Philadelphia Citypaper. She is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3]

Dyer won a 2017 NAACP Image Award for the BET special Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration. She volunteers her time as the Executive Director of Philadelphia based teen girl travel group, beGirl.world. In 2017, she was signed as a speaker to Outspoken Agency.

Dyer has been featured in national media outlets including TIME, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Essence, Vogue, Refinery29, Forbes, The Root and Washington Post. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx