TEDxTwenteU

Speakers

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

• Albert Wong

  Albert Wong’s career all began with one simple experiment in the lab. That experiment showed an oscillating reaction and created the foundation for his research group 10 years later. Albert is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Twente. He looks forward to sharing his fascination about how networks of chemical reactions operate in harmony to create molecular systems with memories.

• Penny de Villiers

  Penny de Villiers is an employee-wellness strategist who knows burnout from the inside out. After a stress-induced collapse ended her fast-paced HR consulting career, she founded Rebalanced Life—a program helping individuals and organizations recover from and prevent burnout. Her work blends research with real-world insight, and has supported teams across industries facing high-performance pressure. She is also the author of From Burnout to a Beautiful Life, a practical guide to rebuilding well-being from the ground up.

• Peter Oosterwijk

  As a creative strategist, he is deeply involved in innovation and transformation across organizations and sectors. With extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor and advisor in the start-up and scale-up world, Peter also acts as an innovation coach and catalyst in large-scale change programs within education and business. Driven by an insatiable curiosity for technology, science, language, art, and design, Peter brings a wide-ranging perspective and a unique ability to uncover unexpected connections — sparking untapped potential and new energy wherever he works. With his infectious enthusiasm, creative passion, talent for language, and strong visual thinking, Peter inspires curiosity, translates knowledge in engaging ways, and gets people moving — not just to think differently, but to truly act differently.

• Phaedra Romney

  Phaedra Romney is a strategic systems architect who helps professionals who don’t fit the traditional frame step into positions of power, without changing who they are. At TEDx, she’ll reveal the hidden loops that shape who get to lead, and how we can disrupt those patterns to make space for new kinds of leaders.

• Sebastiaan Kieft

  Sebastiaan Kieft shows that the real challenge doesn’t lie with people who have ADHD, autism, or dyslexia — but with how we’ve designed work, education, and society around the average brain. With a background in psychology and lived experience with ADHD, Sebastiaan doesn’t offer a quick fix for neurodivergent people — he holds up a mirror to leaders, teams, and entire organizations. His talks are sharp, humorous, and practical. They’re not about learning to function despite your brain, but about asking: what can we do to build systems where more minds can truly thrive?

• Tessera Crosby

  Tessera Crosby — born in the USA , now living in Zwolle, the Netherlands. My path has taken me through the healthcare world in many roles, but life itself has been my greatest teacher. After profound personal loss, I’ve shifted my focus to projects that matter deeply to me. I now bring both professional experience and lived wisdom to the stage — and to this talk.