Young People Have Ideas Worth Hearing.
Stephen Nobles helps young people find confidence in their voice, shape the stories behind their ideas, and share them in ways that connect, inspire, and create change.
The Stage Is Bigger. The Mission Is The Same.
Stephen’s TEDNext 2025 conversation arrives on TED.com August 20, bringing his work around student voice, storytelling, and the power of ideas to a wider audience.
But the stage isn’t the mission.
The mission is helping young people recognize that what they think, what they notice, and what they have to say matters.
What Stephen Believes
A Young Person’s Voice Changes
When They Realize It Matters.
Every student carries ideas, observations, questions, and stories worth developing.
Stephen creates the space for young people to explore those ideas, find the words to express them, and build the confidence to share them. Through literacy, conversation, storytelling, and public speaking, he helps students move from simply having an idea to understanding why their perspective deserves attention.
That process is about more than becoming a stronger reader or speaker. It is about curiosity, self-expression, and helping young people see themselves as contributors to the conversations happening in their classrooms, schools, communities, and beyond.
Opens the door.
Gives ideas shape.
Gives them somewhere to go.
The goal isn’t simply to help young people speak. It’s to help them believe they have something worth saying.
Stephen’s Story
From Classrooms To Stages, The Work Stays Personal.
Stephen’s work lives at the intersection of education, storytelling, literacy, and student voice.
Whether he is reading with elementary students, helping a young person develop an idea for the stage, leading a conversation, or creating opportunities for students to be heard, the goal remains consistent: make ideas feel accessible and make people feel seen.
His work through TEDxCCSD Youth and TED-Ed Student Talks expands that mission by giving students opportunities to move beyond simply answering questions and begin developing questions, perspectives, and stories of their own.
And as Stephen’s platform grows—from schools and community spaces to speaking stages and media—the heart of the work stays close to where it began: people, stories, curiosity, and meaningful conversation.
Featured Initiative
Building A Stage For Student Ideas.
Stephen serves as Lead Organizer of TEDxCCSD Youth, an independently organized TEDx experience built around student voice, bold thinking, and meaningful community conversation.
The 2026 event brought 15 student presenters to the stage, giving young people across elementary, middle, and high school the opportunity to develop ideas, tell their stories, and share perspectives capable of challenging assumptions and inspiring others.
Young people should not have to wait until adulthood for their ideas to be taken seriously.
The Work
Different Spaces. One Commitment To Ideas And Voice.
Stephen’s work takes different forms, but the purpose stays connected: create experiences where people can think deeply, tell better stories, and recognize the value of what they have to say.
Ideas That Create Conversation
Keynotes, workshops, panels, and conversations exploring literacy, storytelling, education, student voice, community, and the ideas shaping how we learn and connect.
Making Reading Feel Alive
Interactive literacy experiences designed for schools and communities—bringing stories off the page through curiosity, imagination, conversation, and genuine connection with students.
Helping Young People Develop Ideas Worth Sharing
Through TEDxCCSD Youth, TED-Ed Student Talks, and direct student development, Stephen helps young people shape ideas, strengthen stories, and build confidence communicating what matters to them.
Speaking & Conversations
Bring Stephen Into A Conversation That Matters.
Stephen brings storytelling, education, literacy, student voice, and lived experience together in conversations designed to make people think, connect, and leave with something worth carrying forward.
From keynotes and panels to workshops and school experiences, each engagement is shaped around the people in the room—not pulled from a generic speaker script.
Booking & Contact
Start With The Conversation You Want To Create.
Whether you’re planning a keynote, school literacy experience, panel, community event, media opportunity, or something entirely different, share a few details and start the conversation.
A few details are enough to get started.