Featured TEDxUStreetWomen Speaker

Michele Barnwell
"Scripting Your Own Reality"

December 5, 2019

Michele Barnwell, an executive producer and writer/storyteller, has spent her career working on nonfiction content for television and digital platforms— with an exciting emphasis on authentic story-craft and an expertise in the same. She is currently growing her content creation company, Reel Roost, which created and produced Party Girls: Exploring Politics Across America (“party” as in political party)— a 6-part road-trip documentarywebseries following six new voters from different political parties in the lead-up to the 2016 Presidential election.  Among her past projects as a co-executive producer is the Netflix original documentary series Flint Town (an Anonymous Content production)— named one of the “Best Documentaries on Netflix right now” (August 2019) and nominated for two Critics Choice Documentary Awards, while also receiving a Golden Trailer Award nomination and an IDA Documentary Award nomination for Best Limited Series. Earlier in her career, Michele worked on some of the highest rated cycles of reality series America’s Next Top Model (10x10 Entertainment/the CW) as a Show
Producer— embracing a new form of story craft, episodic “unscripted” story, for the first time. She has produced projects airing on HBO, Lifetime and more. When she was a first-time showrunner/co-executive producer, she delivered BET (Dubose Entertainment) its highest-rated original series, Tiny & Toya, ever in their then twenty-nine year history— by hiring a killer team and emphasizing authentic story-craft from production through post. Michele’s company, Reel Roost, is run out of Los Angeles where she is based.

Currently Michele served as Showrunner Executive Producer of Season 2 "High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America", which is now streaming only on Netflix.  This was  a powerful work of love, strength and storytelling. Together with my amazing team, meeting and documenting the keepers of our culture was a blessing and a joy. Stepping onboard this series in its second season felt like a sacred trust.  Watch the trailer here. 

Recommended TED Talk

Clint Smith
Talk Title:  How to raise a black son in America

As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends. In a heartfelt piece, the poet paints the scene of his father's furious and fearful response.

2020 TEDxUStreetWomen Speakers

Theme:  Bold + Brilliant = Badass:  "Now What?"

November 16, 2020

Congratulations to these Bold, Brilliant and BADASS women who were able to gracefully and humbly balance their Bold and Brilliant Ideas with the strict high standards of TED!  These women have joined the world's most inspired thinkers and doers.  It's not easy to be a TED/TEDx speaker and these women were able to meet the TED standards with their final talk.