Logan Smallet Wins MY HERO 2025 Media Educator Award

CONTACT: Jeanne Meyers                                                                                                                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Co-founder/Director
The MY HERO Project
[email protected]

The MY HERO Media Educator Award is an honor presented by The MY HERO Project to educators who use media, film, and storytelling to inspire students to become compassionate, engaged, and socially responsible citizens.

This year’s special MY HERO Media Awards proudly honored Logan Smalley, founding director of TED’s youth and education initiative, TED-Ed - an award-winning platform inspiring millions of teachers and students worldwide.  

In accepting the MY HERO Media Award, Logan stated that he was honored and described TED-Ed’s mission to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students worldwide. 

Said Logan:

I'm extremely honored to be receiving the My Hero Media Award. Ted Ed's mission is to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students around the world. We do that by creating TED-Ed animations, which are curiosity-involving videos that spread the best lessons of educators throughout the world. They're viewed by millions of people a day. We also do that with on-the-ground programs like the TED-Ed Student Talks Program and the Educator Talks program, both of which are designed to help students and teachers identify, develop, and share their ideas with the world. And when I talk to my team about the content we make and the programs we design and the millions of people that use our free services every day, we often talk about why it is we do what we do and who we do it for. And the answer is always, always, always curious, curious people. So, if you're one of those people, thanks for being such a good boss, and we will continue working for you - stay curious. Thank you.

Logan SmalleyMY HERO Film Festival 

Watch the presentation here: myhero.com/media-award-2025

Before joining TED, Logan Smalley was selected as a TED Fellow for his work as director, editor, and composer of the nonprofit feature-length documentary Darius Goes West. The film follows Darius Weems, a young man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), on a cross-country journey to raise awareness for the disease and fulfill his dream of having his wheelchair customized on MTV’s Pimp My Ride.

Initially released as a short film on MY HERO, where it won a MY HERO Documentary Award, Smalley later expanded it into a full-length documentary.

Watch the short film here: Darius Goes West | MY HERO 

Beyond the documentary, Smalley and Weems worked together to raise funds for drug trials that ultimately contributed to the first FDA-approved treatment for DMD. The film received 28 festival awards, including recognition at MY HERO’s 2007 Film Festival. 

Smalley is also the founder of CallMeIshmael.com — a participatory literary initiative that was an honoree for the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize in 2015 and has since become a published book. 

In 2012, Smalley launched TED-Ed with the goal of producing educational videos that explain complex topics in an accessible way. The platform pairs educators with animators to create short, engaging lessons covering a wide range of subjects. TED-Ed has since become a widely used resource in classrooms and for independent learners, with millions of views on YouTube and an interactive website that supports teachers.

Beyond TED-Ed, Smalley has remained active in the field of education and digital learning. His work focuses on using media to enhance education and reach learners worldwide. By combining storytelling, animation, and expert input, he has contributed to the development of engaging educational content that is widely available and easy to understand.

Find out more here: https://ed.ted.com

In a recent interview with MY HERO, Logan was asked if he had a personal hero: 

Replied Logan: 

It's a hard question to answer because I think the folks who are most heroic - I think their names are probably not known and they're doing things that are a lot more hidden. That could be teachers, that could be documentarians, that could be good parents, or good siblings.

I do want to say that upfront, but in terms of folks who are celebrated as heroes, that I would love to strive to be like or emulate in some way… I think somebody who comes to mind is Adam Savage. He's one of the stars of MythBusters, but he's also so much more. The reason I like him is that he's hypercurious about everything. He helps build great things and helps tear bad things down. He promotes education and equality in a way that's inviting, fun, and contagious. I even had the pleasure of working with him on one of the first TED-Ed animations that we ever made. That’s the model for me - approaching things with curiosity, joy and a contagious sense of hope.

(Read the full interview HERE)

About the MY HERO International Film Festival

The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films that celebrate the power of the human spirit. The festival provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories of everyday heroes. Thanks to generous sponsors, prizes are awarded to elementary, middle school, high school, college, and professionals in a variety of categories, including documentary, narrative, music video, animation, experimental, and more.

The festival aims to inspire audiences to recognize the heroism in their own lives and encourage positive actions in their communities. Learn more.