TEDxJersey City

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Andrés Acebo

  President

  Andrés Acebo, the Interim President of New Jersey City University, is the proud first-generation son of Cuban exiles and a Hudson County native who grew up in Union City. In January 2023, he became only the third Hispanic to serve as the leader of a four-year public institution of higher education in the State. He is the youngest known president to ever lead a public university in New Jersey. In just over two years of mission-driven servant leadership, Acebo has demonstrated extraordinary vision, guiding NJCU from a fiscal emergency to a remarkable recovery which will be a case study throughout higher ed. He has steered NJCU forward. He has helped orchestrate four major strategic initiatives. Acebo has led to the University's finances being stabilized and the first balanced operating budget since 2017 — less than two years after NJCU reported a $22.7 million deficit. Moody's Ratings agreed, upgrading NJCU’s outlook from “negative” to “stable” in February 2024.

• Berthine Crèvecoeur West

  CEO, Westbridge Solutions

  Berthine Crèvecoeur West is the Founder and CEO of Westbridge Solutions, LLC, a strategic advisory and management consulting firm specializing in organizational transformation. With 20+ years of experience, she helps enterprises achieve measurable growth through her proprietary PROI Framework™ that aligns People, Policies, Practices, and Procedures. Her executive advisory services span organizational strategy, enterprise growth planning, and multilingual communication, serving diverse sectors including technology, healthcare, legal, government, and non-profit. Berthine's approach combines strategic business acumen with cultural intelligence to create sustainable results through operational clarity. A TEDx speaker and MBE-certified consultant, Berthine holds an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology and an MA in Government & Politics from St. John's University. Her thought leadership has been featured on CBS, NBC, and Fox.

• Damon Watson

  Senior Director of Legal Services/Corporate Development

  Damon Watson is the Senior Director of Legal Services & Corporate Development for New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC). Mr. Watson revamped NJRC’s Legal Services participant intake and assessment process, trains all new Legal Services Coordinators & manages the Legal Services team for the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer. Prior to his work with NJRC, Mr. Watson practiced Intellectual Property and Commercial Contracts in California & South Carolina for 15 years and in both 2004 and 2005 was named a Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star. Mr. Watson was recently featured in a December 2024 New York Times opinion piece detailing his own incarceration and redemption story. Pamela Paul, A Second Chance After Prison, New York Times (December 8, 2024). Mr. Watson obtained his A.B. from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy & International Affairs and his J.D. from Harvard Law School where he served as the Publishing Editor for the Harvard Law Review.

• Desiree 'Dezzie' Neal

  Radio & Media Correspondent

  With an illustrious voice & soulful lyrics Desiree Dezzie Neal distinguished herself as a trendsetter on the gospel music scene in 2002. Dezzie is now gracing the airwaves of Reach Gospel Radio 97.1 FM as a daily evening drive Jock and a force to be reckoned with. Dezzie's list of accolades also includes, Gospel Ambassador for the Philadelphia Chapter of Philadelphia's 100 Most Influential Black Women. Since completing her degree in Human Services and Psychology, Dezzie has shifted her focus to providing private emotional wellness consultant to artists who present the need for her services. Dezzie's greatest accomplishment is being the mother of 2 amazing demonstrations of grace, her daughters. Dezzie's infectious personality is the same both on and off stage.Her sole desire is to gracefully accept the next assignment from God and add her twist and flare to it "to make it do what it do" as she loves to put it. Dezzie's future endeavors include sharing her life by releasing a novel.

• Dhiren 'Ren' Parikh

  Founder and CEO of Ideal Institute of Technology,

  Ren Parikh is a social entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in innovative design thinking, research, education, and networking. He is dedicated to transforming the education system through work-based learning and social enterprise. Ren is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Ideal Institute of Technology, the first-of-its-kind career college where enrolled students get paid to attend school by participating in work-based learning through social enterprise.

• Elizabeth Henry

  Pediatrician, Speaker, Author

  Dr. Elizabeth R. Henry, widely known as Dr. Liz is a New Jersey-based board-certified pediatrician, best-selling author, & advocate for youth/families. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, she brings over two decades of experience championing youth, guiding families, and transforming how adults connect with the next generation. As founder of Dr. Liz Consulting, she equips parents, educators, and leaders with tools to help teens build confidence, navigate challenges, and thrive. Her book, You Are Not a Bad Parent, offers strategies for reducing conflict and strengthening communication. Dr. Liz has delivered keynotes and programs for organizations such as Bank of America, SUNY Purchase College, PepsiCo, & the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. Her insights have been featured across major media platforms — including CBS News NY, iHeartRadio, and PHL17.

• Emily Frieze-Kemeny

  CEO & Founder

  Emily is the Founder and CEO of AROSE Group, a leadership & change consulting firm that bridges the rigor of business strategy consulting with the humanity of executive coaching. Over nearly two decades, she led leadership development & organizational change at Morgan Stanley, IBM, Avon, and Scholastic, guiding executives through periods of unprecedented disruption and reinvention. These high-intensity, hands-on experiences led clients to describe her as a “Leadership Amplifier,” helping leaders scale their impact to elevate everyone and everything they touch. Today, Emily and her team partner with global clients to lead in ways that reflect our new reality, one defined by constant change, rapid technological advancement & the urgent need to connect wellbeing with performance. She also hosts the podcast Let’s Talk, People, where she and her guests share real-world insights for navigating leadership’s toughest challenges.

• Fern Chan

  CEO of Fern Chan Ventures & Presentation Coach

  Meet Fern Chan, the presentation Jedi Master and bestselling author of "How to NOT Suck at Presentations" This sassy mompreneur ditched her 9-5 in higher education to become the force behind Fern Chan Ventures, where she transforms business leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators into presentation powerhouses. Fern has graced the stages of the UN in Vienna and New York. She's the founder and CEO of Fern Chan Ventures, where she combines her 15+ years of experience in adult education with a hefty dose of sass and Star Wars references to transform nervous presenters into confident communication Jedi. When she's not dropping knowledge bombs at the UN in Vienna and New York or empowering fellow moms to conquer the business world, you'll find her hogging the karaoke mic or nose deep in historical whodunnits. With the badassery of Leia and the wisdom of Yoda, Fern is on a mission to banish boring PowerPoints to a galaxy far, far away, and restore energy and enthusiasm in the audience.

• Forbes Riley

  Queen of Pitch

  Forbes Riley is an award-winning television host, entrepreneur, & transformational speaker, best known as the “Queen of Pitch.” With more than $2.5 billion in product sales across home shopping networks and infomercials, she has become a pioneer in the art of persuasive communication. Her signature programs have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs master the power of messaging, boost confidence & turn ideas into profitable businesses. A bestselling author and National Fitness Hall of Fame inductee, Forbes is also the inventor of the SpinGym®, a revolutionary fitness product. Her journey from personal adversity and self-doubt to business success and stage influence—embodies the philosophy she now teaches: success begins the moment you decide to flip the switch. Whether she's speaking on stage, leading high-impact trainings, or mentoring the next wave of thought leaders, Forbes empowers people to step into their greatness, own their voice, and create a life of lasting legacy.

• Jeff Dess

  Educator and Writer

  Jeff Dess is an award winning educator, best selling author and notable public speaker who specializes in the areas of Learning and Development and culturally responsive education. He is the Co-Founder of Trill or Not Trill – the disruptive educational firm and leadership institute renowned for its culturally responsive tactics and strategies in connecting with today’s youth and training leaders of the modern workforce. As a public speaker and facilitator Jeff has reached over 100,000 learners ranging from colleges, universities, companies and governmental spaces. Jeff is an author of seven books.Written with his Trill or Not Trill Co-Founder, Lenny A Williams, the text We Wear Kicks to Works is an Amazon best seller. He currently serves as an Assistant Vice President at New Jersey City University.

• Ken Williams

  Career Clarity Coach, Get Unstuck Expert, & Creator of the Leader Success Accelerator

  Ken Williams is a Career Clarity Coach, Get Unstuck Expert, and the creator of the Leader Success Accelerator, where he helps mid-career professionals break out of career limbo and rediscover what truly lights them up. He’s the author of several books on deepening personal relationships and on setting better goals. Surprisingly, he’s also the guy who has personally baked and shared almost 9,000 chocolate cakes! What started as sharing leftover dessert has become a weekly system of building connection in a disconnected world. Married to the same woman for 35 years (in a row!), he’s the father of five pretty wonderful children, and grandfather of one perfect grandson, And whether he’s coaching burned-out managers or handing out dessert, Ken’s on a mission to help people stop drifting and start living on purpose—one slice at a time. Find him at kenwilliamscoaching.com.

• Nicole Pulliam

  Founder of Real & Worthy, LLC, Executive Coach, Tenured Professor

  Dr. Nicole Pulliam is a tenured professor, executive coach, and founder of Real & Worthy, LLC, a leadership development and consulting firm committed to advancing equity and inclusion through coaching, strategy, and systemic change. She equips women and gender-diverse leaders—especially those from historically excluded communities—to lead with bold confidence, clarity, and alignment. A proud daughter of Passaic, NJ, and first-generation college graduate, Nicole brings over 20 years of experience in higher education and leadership development. Nationally known for her equity-driven work, she helps individuals and institutions challenge impostor syndrome at its roots and build cultures where belonging isn’t a privilege—it’s a right. Her work blends deep storytelling with strategic vision and is rooted in one unapologetic truth: we are not impostors. We are real. We are worthy. And we’re here to remix the narrative.

• Reem Firoz

  College Student, Advocate

  As a Psychology and Human Resource Management student at Rutgers University, currently on the pre-law track, with a deep passion for storytelling and social impact. Growing up in an Asian immigrant household, I witnessed how mental health was often ignored, misunderstood or treated with shame. Therapy was never seen as an option, only as something "others" needed. That silence stuck with me and now, I'm using my voice to break it. My TEDx is a reflection on what it means to grow up with invisible battles, and how therapy can be a bridge toward healing not just individuals but entire families. I'm inviting people, especially those from immigrant backgrounds, to challenge the stigma and start normalizing therapy in their homes. I believe we don't have other carry pain in silence just because those before us did. Speaking up is hard, but it's the first step toward making healing a shared legacy, not a hidden one.

• Shana Pyatt-Buckner

  Founder/CEO

  Shana Pyatt-Buckner has been in education for over thirty years. She has worn many hats in the education field: teacher, college professor, principal, and district level leader. All of those experiences, coupled with her own educational background led her to create the Equity Builds ExpertiseTM framework for STEM educators. She enjoys storytelling and sharing her lessons learned from glorious mistakes through this transformative framework. She enjoys spending time with her family playing board games, laughing daily with her friends, swimming and talking on the phone. She finds the most joy in learning something new everyday. She resides in New Jersey, although she will always be a Bronx, New York girl.

• Shania Williams

  Founder of Self Worth Cosmetics, Cosmetic Formulation Chemist

  Cosmetic Scientist & founder of Self Worth Cosmetics. Expert in formulation, ingredient science & beauty education. Championing chemistry for every shade!

• Sherri Pullum

  Founder / CEO Pullum Productions

  Sherri Pullum is a dynamic speaker, award-winning storyteller, podcast host, and multi-faceted artist who uses film, digital media, stage, & live events to inspire healing and social impact. As Founder/CEO of Pullum Productions, she integrates her work as an actor, writer, producer & director with her passion for transformation and community empowerment. A certified SEL facilitator, yoga teacher, and wellness coach, Sherri created DRAMA-cizeTM, a wellness arts education program that fosters confidence, creativity & social-emotional growth in youth and adults. Her work has impacted organizations such as Children’s Aid NYC and Bergen Community College. Sherri is the creator of CHERRI RED SWEET ESCAPE (CRSE), a women’s empowerment TV project for which she received a 2024 NJ State Arts Council Fellowship. She hosts DREAMERS UNITE: In the Studio podcast and mentors youth through her internship program. A mother of three, Sherri brings passion, purpose, and presence to every space she enters