TEDxSammamish Women

Speakers

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

• Brenda Loukes-Johnson

  Flow Facilitator and Artist

  Brenda Loukes is a professional multi-disciplinary artist with a background in musical theatre, television production, trauma-informed massage, dance, and movement therapy. She is passionate about creating community and brings 20 years of facilitating therapeutic movement and creativity workshops to her art practice, which sits at the intersection of healing, neuroscience and planetary health. She grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and at the age of 50, relocated to the USA in 2018 with her husband. Brenda is the creator of InFlow Project, an online space where she teaches women to reconnect to their innate creativity, using expressive painting and doodling as tools for healing. She published The Doodle Journal for Grown Ups in 2016, to encourage adults to use creativity for getting centered and calm. Brenda loves to draw on walls, and making large-scale paintings in her home studio in Sammamish is part of her wellness program.

• Courtney Byers

  Strength & Conditioning Coach

  Courtney Byers is a women’s strength and conditioning coach, community builder, and former birth doula. For 12+ years, she has helped women build strength, confidence, and self-trust while challenging cultural expectations of “niceness.” She also founded the Seattle Wellness Society, a community centered on movement and belonging. Her TEDx talk, Be a Kind Woman, Not a Nice Woman, explores the cultural cost of “niceness” and why true kindness rooted in courage and integrity is a radical act that transforms not only women’s lives, but the world around them.

• Elisa Yuen

  Authentic Leadership Coach and Innovator

  Elisa Yuen is an authentic leadership coach and innovator who helps people clarify their purpose as the foundation for resilience and impact. Over 15+ years in high-tech leadership, she guided teams through new-to-the-world challenges—launching the first 4G LTE smartphone, shaping emerging 5G use cases, and scaling gaming beyond consoles. Known as a Connector of Everything, Elisa naturally bridges people, ideas, data, and resources to solve complex challenges—whether in global technology, leading large teams, or coaching individuals to define and act on their purpose. Through her Reaching for Higher course, she has guided over a dozen people using structured tools and reflective exercises to uncover the themes that connect different facets of life and reveal their authentic purpose. Her own journey showed that our hardest experiences often fuel our greatest strengths, and leading from purpose transforms challenges into clarity, resilience, and meaningful impact.

• Maansi Shandilya

  Corporate Leader, Innovator, Mother

  I am a corporate leader, innovator, and mother of three who believes in rewriting the narrative of what it means to be “enough” in today’s fast-paced world. Over the past decade, I have built a career leading complex initiatives in the corporate sector while navigating the equally demanding journey of parenthood. My life reflects a constant search for balance; between ambition and family, structure and spontaneity, technology and humanity. This journey came to a pivotal moment during a summer of intense personal and professional challenges, when I turned to Artificial Intelligence for support. What began as a practical tool soon transformed into a catalyst for growth, resilience, and self-discovery. With my story and work, I want to champion the idea that worthiness is not measured by doing it all alone, but by embracing courage, adaptability, and the willingness to ask for help.

• Mary Jesse

  Technology Leader and Innovator

  Mary Jesse is a seasoned technology leader and innovator with more than 30 years of experience in both public and private companies, serving as CEO, CTO, VP, founder, and board director. She has driven groundbreaking innovations across industries, including wireless, media, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and government services, with deep expertise in digital systems and product development. As founder and CEO of ACME Brains, Inc., an early-stage artificial intelligence software company, Mary is at the forefront of developing next-generation AI solutions. A registered Professional Electrical Engineer (P.E.) and holder of over two dozen patents, she blends technical mastery with visionary leadership. Passionate about supporting technology equity, women in business, and underserved communities, Mary is committed to using innovation as a force for positive change.

• Rashmi Raghavendra

  Healthtech Leader, Investor and Advocate

  With more than 20 years of experience at Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Philips Healthcare, Rashmi has led global teams of 350+, generated over $500M in business impact, and holds 40+ patents for innovations in AI-powered health technology. At Philips, she spearheaded digital health solutions that advanced patient monitoring and access to care. Today, she is Managing Partner of rcubed | ventures, investing in women- and minority-led startups, and Founder and Board Chair of HLWF℠ Alliance, a nonprofit breaking silos in healthcare to tackle inequities. She also serves on the board of the University of Washington’s Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) program, guiding research at the intersection of health access and innovation. A Sammamish resident, and mother of two boys, Rashmi brings deep personal insight to her work. In 2020, she nearly lost her life during childbirth. That experience fuels her mission to redesign what strength, leadership, and worthiness mean for women today.