Kelly Lepley
| TED speaker on authenticity and self-expression
About
Kelly Lepley is a professional speaker affiliated with Duke University who delivered a TED talk in 2015. Her presentation explored the profound connection between authenticity and altruism, challenging audiences to reconsider how being true to oneself serves not just personal growth, but the greater good.
Lepley's speaking centers on the transformative power of authentic self-expression. Her TED talk, "Why being your true self is the most selfless act," examines how personal authenticity creates positive ripple effects that benefit others and strengthens communities.
Through her work at Duke University, she brings insights about the courage required to live genuinely and the unexpected ways that personal truth-telling becomes an act of service to others.
What Kelly Talks About
Why authenticity is an act of service to others
The connection between self-expression and positive social impact
Overcoming barriers to living as your true self
How personal courage creates collective transformation
Talks1
Why being your true self is the most selfless act
With a lesson for us all, UPS Pilot Kelly Lepley shares her painful and liberating journey from male to female. She shares how her life in hiding made her less generous and less present, and caused everyone from her family, co-workers and the larger community, to suffer. In this deeply personal talk, she explains how the pain of inauthenticity can make us selfish, while embracing ourselves has the potential to make us selfless in ways we never imagined.
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Abigail Disney
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Abigail Marsh
Researcher | Exploring the Psychology Behind Human Altruism
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