In 1998, Emily Ward started "Women With Will," a multi--sport training group in Bloomington, Indiana. What started out as a few women has grown to a group of more than 100, some of whom take mid-week bike rides together after work, some of whom meet on Saturday mornings to run or walk, some of whom get together to swim, but all of whom are connected in an online community where they support and encourage each other. Ward is the program director for aquatics, informal sports, student personnel and facility scheduling in the Recreational Sports program at Indiana University, which serves more than 35,000 students and 1,800 faculty and staff members annually. As an adult athlete Ward has participated in more than 17 marathons and four Ironman distance triathlons, some after she donated a kidney to her father in 2005.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)