June is National Safety Month. Each June, the National Safety Council (NSC) organizes this annual observance to educate the public and raise awareness in the leading causes of injuries and deaths. In honor of the NSC celebrating its 100th anniversary of safety awareness this year, I would like to showcase breakthroughs in safety improvement history via TED, in the order of topics the NSC is featuring each week of this month.

Week one is on Slips, Trips and Falls, with particular emphasis on falls from heights. Falling is one of the major causes of injuries and fatalities in our work places. Although he might not help you much in preventing injuries in the office, Steve Truglia has stories to share. As a stuntman, the number of times Truglia has fallen out of buildings is most likely more than I have cut my own fingers in the kitchen. See how technology has made stunts safer, and Truglia’s incredible planning for a breathtaking jump from 120,000 feet high.

The second week focuses on Employee Wellness, with an emphasis on the overdose of prescription painkillers. Deaths from overdose of prescription painkillers have skyrocketed in the past decade, but how severe is it exactly? Chris Jordan transformed a simple image of a pill by multiplying the imagery using the astonishing number of emergency room visits attributable to abuse and misuse of prescription painkillers, and anti-anxiety medications to an oversized wall image. Other imagery that raises awareness includes the destructive power of cigarettes, and various social issue images with high statistics in the United States.

The third week is Emergency Preparedness. As millions of people are displaced by natural disasters every single year, organizations are increasingly aware of the importance of emergency plans. I still remember when the HR department at my company handed me an emergency survival kit backpack during my new hire orientation, even before I had a chance to introduce myself to everyone in the room! Dedicated to solving the massive housing gap after devastating disasters, Michael McDaniel spent his own personal savings and free time to design and build a low-cost shelter that is easily transportable and post-disaster efficient.

The fourth week is on the issue of Ergonomics. The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as “the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.” In essence, it is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body and its cognitive abilities. If you are suffering from back or neck pain while sitting at the desk reading this article, you might want to check out Niels Diffrient’s talk on important design elements of an ergonomic chair.

Every time I watch TED talks, I am fascinated by the arresting ideas, dedication and passion of  human beings. Have a safe summer with greater awareness from the NSC and I hope you enjoyed watching the great inventions and wisdom on safety in these TEDx stories.

Grace Liao is an analyst with background in Finance. She joined TEDxPeachtree as a volunteer since the 2012 conference. She respects TED speakers and wishes herself one day to have positive impact on society as well.

The American dream. What does it mean to you? What is your American dream? I am living my American dream and continue to strive for the best of what America has to offer me, a new citizen. I came to America as a foreign student to pursue a college education. Before coming to America, there was curiosity of what this faraway land might be like. The only view I had was through popular American T.V. shows I watched growing up in Malaysia. The real America is not quite like the T.V. America, but I believe we make it how we want to view it. I discovered this land of opportunities, freedom, value and equality. I wanted to be a part of it and worked for it.

2011 TEDxPeachtree presenter and social media strategist Ekaterina Walter’s words about her journey from Russia to America truly resonated with me because she created her path in America by “breaking through the barriers” of life challenges, seeking the opportunities here that she may not have gotten in her birth country and proving to be a valuable citizen of this great country. She inspires us to take a look at ourselves and re-evaluate our lives because in America it is easy to be complacent and not realize we can be better.

I learned more about Ekaterina Walter via her blog Building Social Bridges. Besides being a social media maven and leading Intel in this arena for eight years, she also is an accomplished writer. Ekaterina Walter’s recently published Think Like Zuck – The Five Business Secrets of Facebook’s Improbably Brilliant CEO is on the Wall Street Journal’s Bestseller list. I will be adding it to my summer reading list. Recent exciting news is of Ekaterina Walter’s move from Intel to Branderati as reported by newsle. She is now Branderati’s CMO and partner, paving the way to the next level in social media marketing as we enter the “Age of Advocacy.” This is the term she uses to explain, on Branderati’s blog, how social media marketing is evolving into brand advocacy and influencer marketing.

Ekaterina Walter’s American dream is alive as she continues to make her mark in social media and inspire others, like me, along the way.

Pek Suan Yew-Wyland is a TED/TEDxPeachtree newbie and excited to be a part of the team!

The goal of TEDxPeachtree is to inspire speakers and guests to embrace the spirit of collaboration over its less attractive counterpart: competition. Josh Elder exemplifies our mission to curate a community where serendipity is less of a circuitous happening and more of a nurtured event. Josh and his life since his talk in 2009 embodies the type of collaboration that can happen when compassionate, thoughtful people enter a space, share their insight, leave feeling inspired, and continue to grow the seeds of thought that were planted during the series.

Josh first became a part of TEDxPeachtree’s storied list of speakers when he spoke about a topic near and dear to his own heart, as well as those of a number of Atlantans who flock to DragonCon each year: comic books. In his talk, Josh paints a picture of how comic books helped him sketch out the story of his life, from first words read to the establishment of Reading with Pictures, his Chicago-based non-profit organization that aims to use comic-based textbooks to encourage literacy and expose students to the arts.

“Everything I’ve done professionally with Reading With Pictures in the years since presenting at TEDxPeachtree had its genesis in that presentation,” Josh told us recently of his 2009 talk. “It was the first time I ever created a statement of purpose for the organization that was designed to be shared with the world at large rather than internally amongst the comic-book faithful. That’s the day I became a comics evangelist, and the thesis I developed for TEDx – that comics can be more engaging, more efficient and more effective classroom tools than many traditional materials – is the core of everything I’ve done since.”

Our last check-in with Josh was in April 2012 as a part of our Where Are They Now blog series. As of last April, Josh was on a steady ascent as a giving force in the comic-lovers world. This reputation has continued to grow since last April thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the official incorporation of his non-profit as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, and the recent press release around The Graphic Textbook, the book that has been in the making for years.

“We’ve signed with Lorenz Educational Press, a respected educational publisher, to bring The Graphic Textbook to a global audience. We’re currently looking for investors and technology partners to help us go beyond the single book we funded on Kickstarter, and instead roll out an entire line of books on an annual basis.” With all of that good under his belt, we’re very happy that Josh has made some valuable connections through his experience at TEDxPeachtree that are still valuable 4 years later.

Over the course of the day he gave that fateful talk, Josh made lots of connections, one of which has grown into a committed friendship. He met Robert Becker in 2009, “and that began a working relationship and a friendship that has persisted to this day,” Josh said of Robert. Camaraderie has extended to further thought leadership for Josh in the Chicago area. “Thanks to Bob, I’ll be presenting at the Serious Play conference in August on using comics in the gamespace as visualization and informational tools,” Josh told Al Meyers, TEDxPeachtree’s founder and “one of the finest sounding boards for new ideas” Josh has ever known.

Josh is excited to present his ideas around the implementation of an idea that is still rooted in that initial TEDxPeachtree talk given four years ago. When asked to give a few teasers for his talk, Josh told us that “it’s the same thesis, just applied to video game cutscenes. And we may be unveiling a few proof-of-concept pieces at the Serious Play as well.” If you’re lucky enough to make it to Serious Play, we know you’ll see innovative work by one of our favorite TEDxPeachtree speakers.

Josh will always look back on his TEDx experience fondly. “The presentations themselves have stuck with me as well,” Josh said. “The innovation, the willingness to challenge prevailing orthodoxies and the passion to live one’s dreams… Those impressed me then and inspire me now.”

We definitely consider this, in his own words, “another Peachtree victory!”

Katie Grills is a marketing professional and resident of Atlanta’s Historic Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. When she isn’t playing catch with her dog, Katie likes to hone her culinary abilities, read short fiction, and explore the intricacies and oddities of Atlanta’s neighborhoods.