Memories from ten years ago today…

Isn’t it strange that some days are etched in your memory as if they were just yesterday? For me, that day is December 5, 2013.

It all started sometime in mid or late September with an email written in TED-red font inviting me to speak at TEDWomen 2013. It seemed a little suspicious. But, it was real. One of the producers (June Cohen) had heard a story on NPR’s Morning Edition about a research project in my lab called VocaliD (pronounced Vocality) in which we were creating personalized voices for those who rely on devices to communicate (think of Professor Stephen Hawking or individuals with limited speech due to cerebral palsy or autism). The project was actually winding down that fall and my students and I were excited about other work, but the TED team wanted the focus to be on VocaliD. Over the next few weeks, I pulled together a talk with the help of Ingrid Villalta, a talent designer and feedback from Alan Stone and Michael Armini in external affairs at Northeastern University.

I arrived in SanFrancisco the day before for the equipment and speaker check. Oddly enough, at the dry run, the venue looked a lot smaller and more intimate than I had imagined it would be. But it all looked and sounded different on December 5th. The lights were on bright and every seat was occupied — the air conditioning on full blast to balance the temperature. Back stage was a hive of speakers, make up artists, staff tuned into their ear pieces walking around busily and coordinating a flawless program. Chatter, laughter and sounds of movement filled the room between talks, but once a speaker stood on the red circular mat on stage, all eyes and attention turned to them.

It was awe inspiring to share the stage with mesmerizing performers like Sarah Kay, Maysoon Zahid, Diana Nyad, and Boyd Varty; inspirational entrepreneurs such as Jessica Matthews, Krista Donaldson, and power sisters Maggie Wilderotter & Denise Morrison; and fellow scientists such as Dava Newman and Paula Johnson just to name a few. June and Pat Michell, the queen of TED, emceed an unforgettable day of stories, projects, and life narratives that left one breathless, pensive and energized all at once.

I watched the morning talks from the audience. With each incredible talk I became more nervous and the imposter feelings grew stronger. If only I could have spoken earlier in the program! As the afternoon rolled around, I had taken a little walk to calm my nerves, eaten a crisp apple because someone told me that it would make your mouth less dry and regained my composure. (I even power-posed in the bathroom mirror when I knew I was alone).

I spent the hour before my session in the speaker room, pacing along a tiny raised ledge in my heels to keep my mind off the talk — just focusing on balancing and trying to stay warm as the cold air blasted through the vents. My face was itchy and my eyelashes had weight to them — I hadn’t worn this much makeup even at my wedding! But, I was told the stage lights required it.

While my speaker triad was lining up off-stage, I learned that Nelson Mandela had just passed away. A quiet hush spread over the whole room as the news spread. Having grown up in Zambia and understood first hand what Mandela had fought for all his life, I wondered if there was a specific event that he could point to as his ah-ha moment or whether it was more of a culmination of events that moved him to challenge the insurmountable. While I had drifted away, day-dreaming of this noble man and his indelible mark on society, the first speaker in our group had shared her story. I was up next.

Conjuring up thoughts of mentors and loved ones who believed in me, I walked on to the stage and took my place on the red circle. Other than a technical hiccup on playing the first sound sample (edited in post production), the talk went smoothly. I felt present and connected to the audience. Even despite the blinding stage lights, I could see people’s faces and their emotional expressions. One of my most vivid recollections is the goosebumps I felt as the audience gasped when I played the first audio sample of a personalized voice. I can still remember the wide-eyed and attentive sea of faces across the room as I shared the story of a young boy who said the technology allowed him to “hear himself” for the first time.

A couple weeks before the talk, a member of the TED team had suggested adding a CTA (a call to action). I had never heard that phrase before. As Ingrid and I were wrapping up the final slide deck, I mentioned that feedback to her. We then spent the next few hours adding in a series of slides that depicted how everyday people could share their voice with others in need. We created a landing page and a sign up form for voice volunteers.

Little did I know that this last minute addition to the presentation would change the trajectory of my career for the next decade. Until then, VocaliD was just one of several research projects. But that CTA sparked a movement — the voice sharing movement. Our free Mailchimp account that was flooded by volunteers from just the live and synchronized audience that day. The talk was released on February 13, 2014 on the TED website and by March 2014, we had over 10,000 volunteers who were willing to record several hours of speech. But, we had no way to collect their recordings. Surely they couldn’t record in my lab at Northeastern University. We need a distributed way to engage this global community. This was no longer a science project in a lab, it needed to be spun out into VocaliD the company which I did in May 2014.

Building off the momentum of the TED talk, we first launched the Human Voicebank Initiative in November of 2014. Today over 100,000 speakers ranging in age from 6–91 from 120 countries have shared their voice to power the customization of bespoke voices for individuals living with speechlessness. The journey of building VocaliD, now a Veritone Company, is a topic for another day.

I share this personal account of the significance of December 5th, 2013 on my career, because while it was a big deal then, I had no way to know how transformative it truly was. It’s not about the TED talk per se, since I had already given talks to much larger audiences and for more critical occasions (a.k.a thesis defense, graduation speeches, etc). It was a combination of the right time, the right circumstances, and the right people that made that day possible. Only when you look back can you see the landmarks, meanderings and pivots in life. Maybe today is the day when your life takes that next bend or jump. Embrace the unexpected and enjoy the journey. I am grateful for all those who played a role to make December 5th, 2013 and the next decade so meaningful and purposeful.