TEDxSF State 2025 - Videos of Talks

Topic: Building Modular Homes with Inmates to Address the Housing Shortage and to Give Inmates Job Skills

Eric Johnsen 
CEO, R3 

Eric Johnsen is the CEO of R3 – Rehabilitation, Restoration & Respite, a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to developing attainable micro-housing solutions and providing construction skills training to individuals seeking a second chance. With over a decade of leadership at R3, Eric has helped drive the organization’s mission to build hope through housing and workforce development.

Previously, Eric served as CEO and Director of Community Homeless Solutions, one of Monterey County’s key homeless services provider, where he advanced programs that housed and supported more than 300 individuals nightly. His career spans nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurship, and consulting, with deep expertise in financial services, healthcare administration, and business strategy.

Beyond his executive roles, Eric is an active community leader—serving as a Rotary Club President and President of Marketplace Meets Mission. He also is a director on the board with the Salinas Regional Sports Authority where he has been engaged for over a decade on the development of youth sports facilities in partnership with local municipalities. He is married to his best friend Kathy and has two sons, Daniel and Steven.

Eric holds an MBA in Finance & Entrepreneurship from University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business and a Master of Divinity in Theology and Counseling from Fuller Theological Seminary. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to alleviating poverty, creating housing solutions, and empowering individuals to rebuild their lives.

Topic: Training Community Leaders to Advocate for Composting

Robert Reed 
Media Contact, Recology

Robert Reed is an environmental advocate who serves as a spokesman for Recology, a leader in sustainable waste management and a pioneer in recycling and curbside composting programs.

Before joining Recology, Robert spent a decade working as a journalist for daily newspapers, earning a California Newspaper Publishers Association Award for his reporting on environmental issues.

Since 1993, Robert has been leading Recology’s outreach and education initiatives, playing a key role in helping San Francisco become the first major city in North America to implement curbside food scrap collection for composting, a program that has the potential to change the way the world does garbage.

Robert has welcomed delegations from more than 135 countries, including government officials, business leaders, and environmental experts, all eager to see San Francisco’s industry-leading recycling and composting programs firsthand.

As part of his community service, Robert has volunteered with Zero Waste France and delivered composting presentations in 35 cities across France. He assisted national officials in developing plans to launch food scrap composting in Paris and hosted the French Senate’s environmental committee in San Francisco. His efforts contributed to France passing a national law requiring every municipality, serving 68 million citizens, to make composting accessible and convenient for residents and businesses.

Robert has been invited to speak at major international events, including the first Zero Waste Conferences in Paris and Montreal, and has appeared in five documentary films, notably Tomorrow, which screened in French theaters for 42 weeks and has been viewed by audiences around the world.

Topic: The Anti-Union Industry

John Logan, Ph.D.
Professor, Department Chair, Labor and Employment Studies at SFSU

John Logan, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. Before that, he was an associate professor of comparative labor at the London School of Economics and Political Science and research director at the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center. Logan has conducted union-related research in over 40 countries and has published widely on US and global labor issues. He is an internationally recognized expert on corporate opposition to unions.  

Topic: Restorative Justice

Janet Wright 
Investigator, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office 

Janet Wright is an Investigator with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and a proud veteran of the United States Navy. She brings a unique blend of discipline, integrity, and compassion to her role in public safety, with a strong commitment to serving vulnerable populations and building community trust in the justice system.

Janet is widely recognized for her trauma-informed work with K9 Bear, a professionally trained facility dog provided by Canine Companions. Since 2019, she has served as Bear’s handler, working alongside him to provide emotional support to child victims and other vulnerable individuals during forensic interviews, court proceedings, and child recoveries. Bear’s calming presence, combined with Janet’s skilled and sensitive approach, helps reduce the emotional burden of legal processes. Their partnership has been described as transformative, with many young victims finding the strength to speak only after first whispering their stories to Bear.

In addition to her work with victims, Janet leads the Neighborhood Restorative Partnership (NRP) Program, a forward-thinking, community-based restorative justice program within the District Attorney’s Office. As Program Director, she oversees the recruitment and training of volunteer safety panelists and manages daily operations. The initiative focuses on resolving low-level misdemeanor offenses through community dialogue, accountability, and healing—offering an alternative to traditional prosecution while centering the needs of victims and the community.

Through her dual roles, Janet exemplifies a thoughtful, people-centered approach to justice. Whether supporting a child in the courtroom or guiding a community conversation about accountability, she brings empathy, professionalism, and a deep understanding of the human side of the justice system. Her work continues to inspire trust, promote healing, and foster stronger community connections across Contra Costa County.

Topic: Why Community Volunteers Are Key to Preventing Suicide

Narges Zohoury Dillon
Executive Director & LMFT, Crisis Support Services of Alameda County

Narges Zohoury Dillon is the Executive Director of Crisis Support Services of Alameda County, where she leads one of the Bay Area’s most vital suicide prevention organizations, providing nearly 100,000 services annually. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Narges has dedicated over 15 years to expanding access to mental health care, suicide prevention, and crisis support—especially for historically underserved communities.

Her career began as a clinician with StarVista in San Mateo County, where she quickly advanced into leadership roles overseeing hotline services, crisis intervention programs, and child and family support initiatives. Before joining Crisis Support Services, she directed early childhood and family services programs, managing clinical and community-based services for more than 20,000 individuals annually.

At Crisis Support Services, Narges combines her clinical expertise with nonprofit leadership, guiding strategic planning, workforce development, and community partnerships. She is also the current President of 988 California: Crisis Center Consortium, as well as the Board President of the Bridge Rail Foundation, continuing her commitment to suicide prevention and public safety.

Narges holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UCLA. Her work is recognized for blending compassion with innovation, ensuring that crisis services remain accessible, responsive, and inclusive for all.

Topic: Lowering the Paywall to Academic Research

Katherine “Kitty” Luce 
Instruction and Web Services Librarian, Cal Poly Maritime Academy

Katherine (Kitty) Luce is an Instruction and Web Services Librarian at Cal Poly Maritime Academy, where she has taught since 2019. With over 15 years of experience in academic libraries, Kitty has built expertise in information literacy instruction, web design, collections, curriculum development, and open educational resources. She has previously served as a librarian and instructor at Solano Community College, Contra Costa College, and Diablo Valley College, as well as Assistant Librarian at the Book Club of California.

Kitty holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San José State University and an M.A. in English and American Literature from Mills College. She is also a published author and speaker, contributing to the Proceedings of the International Association of Maritime Universities Conference and co-authoring a chapter in Toxic Dynamics: Disrupting, Dismantling, and Transforming Academic Library Culture. Her research interests include copyright, open licenses and affordability; libraries as workplaces; and embodied information literacy.