TEDxCharlotte

Speakers

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

• Alli Bourne-Vanneck

  Sobriety Coach, Thought Leader & National Award-Winning Journalist

  Alli is a sobriety coach, advocate, and a national award-winning television news journalist reshaping the conversation around alcohol and wellbeing. She is the founder of Sober Happy Hour, a coaching platform, community, and YouTube channel that helps women rethink their relationship with alcohol. Before her work in sobriety, Alli spent two decades in broadcast journalism, earning honors including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A former Division I golfer at the College of William & Mary—the first Black woman to compete on the team—she also represented her home as Miss Virgin Islands at the Miss America Pageant. After transforming her own relationship with alcohol in 2017, Alli now focuses her career on educating audiences about the cultural myths with alcohol. Her work blends personal insight, research, and storytelling to inspire a new understanding of what life can look like beyond the wine glass.

• Booshra Ahmed

  Systems Thinker & Data Scientist

  Booshra Ahmed is a data scientist and systems thinker exploring how everyday digital choices quietly shape the future of intelligent systems. A fintech leader and graduate educator in data science, she works at the intersection of technology, human behavior, and responsible use of AI. Her work spans building AI-enabled platforms, mentoring future technologists, and examining how consent and design decisions scale into societal outcomes. At TEDxCharlotte, Booshra examines the phrase “I Agree” as a hidden contract—one that doesn’t just grant access, but actively trains the AI systems shaping our collective future.

• Catherine Armstrong

  Educator, Advocate

  Catherine is a Belmont, NC native and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina Honors College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in history and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society. She spent two years working in the university’s career center, supporting undergraduate students in their professional development. Catherine is currently a graduate student and student teacher in the USC College of Education, pursuing a master’s degree in secondary education. In September 2025, Catherine co-presented alongside university faculty at the Southeastern Association of School-University Partnerships (SASUP) Annual Conference in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Her research examined the role of teacher perceptions in supporting diverse learners. Upon graduating in May 2026, she plans to begin her career as a social studies teacher in the Charlotte metro area and has ambitions to one day pursue her PhD.

• Dr. Kelli Uitenham

  Certified Brain Injury Specialist

  Dr. Kelli is an award-winning, nationally certified medical Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Brain Injury Specialist with over a decade of experience serving adult and geriatric populations across diverse medical settings. She specializes in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, dysphagia, and cognitive rehabilitation. Dr. Kelli is the owner of Serenity Speech Therapy, a private telepractice, and is licensed in nine states. She also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Northeastern University Charlotte, where she combines her clinical expertise with her passion for education to train the next generation of speech-language pathologists. Her deep commitment to concussion, traumatic brain injury, and CTE awareness inspired her to establish the Brain Talk Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about neurological and neurodegenerative conditions and advocating for the essential role of speech-language pathologists in brain injury recovery.

• Dr. Victoria Privott

  Public School Advocate & Champion for Children

  Dr. Victoria Privott is an educational equity advocate who has spent 25 years in public education asking one question: Who's listening to the children? As a teacher, principal, and leadership coach in schools across the U.S. and internationally, she has witnessed how often children's voices are absent from the decisions that shape their lives. Today, as CEO of Robin's Way Consulting, Victoria coaches school leaders and partners with districts nationwide to build learning environments where every child is seen, known, and heard—and where their voice matters. Victoria holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from NC State University and is a fierce advocate for ensuring children aren't just educated—they're heard.

• George Divitiae

  Investor and Serial Entrepreneur

  George Divitiae is an entrepreneur, investor, and operator with a passion for growth, leadership, and building scalable businesses. Known for his disciplined mindset and results-driven approach, George has built experience across real estate, short-term rentals, sales, and operations, consistently focusing on systems that create long-term value rather than short-term wins. George approaches business with a strong belief in learning through action. He embraces failure as a necessary part of progress, understanding that resilience, adaptability, and execution separate those who play the game from those who win it. This philosophy shapes how he leads teams, evaluates opportunities, and makes strategic decisions.

• Joseph Kingsley Amiah

  Nuclear Hardware Engineer & Policy Architect

  A Hardware Engineer specializing in critical Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) within the nuclear energy sector. Armed with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Amiah works on the complex FPGA and PCB architectures that ensure the safety and reliability of next-generation power generation. In addition to designing the complex circuitry of the future grid, he operates as a Policy Architect. This dual role allows him to critically examine the real-world impact of energy systems, demanding that innovation serve people directly. Amiah advocates for moving beyond simple carbon reduction, proposing that the ultimate measure of success for the clean energy transition must include its effect on power bills, grid reliability, and economic access to high-wage careers. He is dedicated to engineering a system that is as much about social impact as it is about technological advancement.

• Latesha Byrd

  Executive Coach, Advisor, Strategist

  Latesha is the Founder and CEO of Perfeqta, where she partners with organizations to design people-first cultures, elevate leadership, and build systems that unlock team potential. As an Executive Coach and Speaker, she guides leaders through change with a focus on team alignment, cultural clarity, and long-term sustainability. With over a decade of experience across leadership development, inclusion, and talent strategy, Latesha brings a bold, people-first approach to her work—grounded in empathy, cultural insight, and a commitment to systems-level change. She believes high-performing cultures aren’t built by chance—they’re built with intentional care, and rooted in purposeful strategy. At Perfeqta, she helps clients connect their people strategy with their purpose and performance. Passionate about leadership development for people from historically excluded groups, she founded (now sold and acquired) Career Chasers, a global career coaching community for Black and brown women.

• Laura Hays MD

  Emergency Physician, Leadership Consultant & Coach

  An emergency physician by training and a human-centered leader by practice, Dr. Laura Hays brings science, compassion, and clarity to high-stakes environments. She is a board-certified emergency physician, leadership consultant, and certified coach based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trained at Tufts University and Carolinas Medical Center, she has spent her career on the front lines of medicine, including service work in Honduras and Africa. A peer-voted Doctor of the Year and former Chair and Medical Director during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hays is known for calm, relational leadership in moments of uncertainty. She is also a registered yoga teacher whose work bridges science and mind-body awareness, helping individuals and organizations manage stress, prevent burnout, and perform with clarity and purpose.

• Leslie Cramer

  Linguistic Strategist

  Leslie Cramer is a linguistic strategist, entrepreneur, and single mother of three. Her work explores how language shapes behavior, belief, and the choices people make. She focuses on the intersection of storytelling, marketing, and audience connection—using words to build trust, clarity, and action. With a background in linguistics and copywriting, Leslie has built her career translating complex ideas into language that resonates. Her work centers on reframing language in ways that expand agency, choice, and independence. A Charlotte native, Leslie is honored to join the TEDxCharlotte stage.

• Rose Brown

  Organizational Behavior Researcher and Educator

  Rose Brown is an organizational behavior researcher and social psychologist in training whose work examines how people navigate harm, silence, and justice in the workplace. She is currently a Social and Personality Psychology PhD candidate and Dean’s Excellence Fellow at Cornell University, where she has also earned a Master of Arts in Social Psychology. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, where she teaches a course focused on leadership, ethics, and human values in organizations. Rose’s academic training spans psychology, organizational behavior, and leadership. She holds a Master of Science in Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Science in Nonprofit and NGO Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Business Administration (Management) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

• Samuel Wegert

  Real Estate Investor & CoLiving Expert

  Samuel Wegert is a real estate investor and educator focused on solving housing and loneliness through a shared housing strategy called CoLiving. Raised as one of eight kids in a small house, Sam learned early that sharing space creates connection and community. As an adult, he experienced the opposite—loneliness—while pursuing the American Dream of independence. That changed when he began renting rooms in his own home. His living costs dropped, his social life grew, and he realized shared housing could solve real problems. Today, Sam owns and manages over 450 CoLiving rooms for working professionals and teaches thousands of investors across the U.S. how to create this type of housing. Sam believes the housing crisis isn’t about lack of buildings or government subsidies, but lack of sharing. With millions of unused bedrooms and hundreds of thousands of people without homes, he challenges us to rethink success—not as owning more space, but as sharing it.

• Terrence "TJ" Nealy

  Creative Technologist

  Terrence “TJ” Nealy is a creative technologist who leads at the intersection of storytelling and emerging technology. Over the past decade, he's directed creative and marketing teams for organizations ranging from The Walt Disney Company to community development centers, earning W3, Telly, and Webby Awards for work that demonstrates how technology amplifies—rather than replaces—human creativity. As Owner/Creative Director of MODD Creative Agency, Nealy has pioneered AI integration frameworks and innovated internal systems for small startups and fortune 500 companies. Beyond his agency work, he teaches STEM and digital literacy to 200+ underrepresented youth annually, bridging the digital divide and cultivating the next generation of creative technologists. Rooted in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nealy's work is driven by a clear conviction: when story, strategy, and technology are aligned, they create opportunities that transform lives and communities.