TEDxSonomaCounty

Speakers

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

• Alyssa DeCaro

  Founder of Body of Sound and Core GROOVE: Voice Your Impact; Transformational Facilitator, Embodiment Coach, and Badass Drummer-Dancer

  Alyssa DeCaro invites you to tune into the wisdom of your body and awaken your inner groove through rhythm, movement, and voice! She is the founder of Body of Sound, Core Groove Method, and Voice Your Impact training. For over 25 years, Alyssa has led thousands in immersive embodiment experiences across the globe – from retreats at Esalen Institute and off-sites for Fortune 500 companies, and opening the TED Conference in Long Beach, to main-stage festival activations at Burning Man, Lightning in a Bottle, and Joshua Tree Music Festival. Her work fuses somatic practices and creative expression to help people build core confidence and step into embodied leadership. Whether on stage or in intimate circles, Alyssa invites us to groove with life, with each other, and with our own inner rhythm.

• Chuck Fisher Ph.D and Sonoma Bates

  Transformational Leader, Author, Senior Consultant; Dovetail Learning AND Board of Directors; Dovetail Learning - Communications Manager; Kirby School

  Dr. Chuck Fisher is a senior consultant at Dovetail Learning. He is co-developer of the We Are Resilient™ approach used by families, educators and healthcare professionals supporting stress management, communication and collaboration skills. Chuck is co-author of The Heart of Resilience: Nurturing Your Inner Strength for a Joyful Life! (2024). Sonoma Bates is a communications professional and board member of Dovetail Learning. Her connection to resilience began in kindergarten with Dovetail Learning’s Toolbox™ curriculum. As a young adult, it is the organization’s We Are Resilient™ approach that has most deeply shaped how she navigates life, anchored in the mindsets of curiosity, choice, and courage.

• Cris Walker with Carlie Dolcini and Tommy Paquet

  Music Educator, Vocal Coach, Performer, and Co‑Owner of Music To My Ears with Singer Songwriter Composer Student Musicians

  Cris Walker is a music educator, vocal coach, and performer, and co‑owner of Music To My Ears. A Sonoma State alumna, she blends deep performance experience with a passion for inclusive, joyful arts education. She is proud to introduce two Music To My Ears student artists. Carlie Dolcini is a junior at Petaluma High School and a singer‑songwriter who has been performing locally since she was five. Alongside musical theater, songwriting has become an important way she processes experience and develops her artistic voice. Carlie performs her original song “Your Mind.” Tommy Paquet is a composer and songwriter originally from Canada and now based in Sonoma County after recently graduating from college in Vermont. Fluent in English and French, Tommy’s music is shaped by language, travel, and a long relationship with writing original work. Tommy performs an original French‑language piece titled “Mon Cœur.”

• Eric McDermott

  Managing Partner & Financial Advisor; Pacific Advisors, Founder; NEXTpectations®, Author, Social Media Influencer

  By day, Eric McDermott is an equity partner at a financial services firm with more than 60,000 clients. He and his team focus on helping business leaders make their financial strategies as successful as their career. Eric holds multiple advanced and accredited financial designations including Certified Financial Planner®. In his other company, NEXTpectations®, Eric’s live keynotes help audiences prepare for what comes next in career, teams and business. With a unique brand of visual story telling, he converts complex concepts into easy-to-understand frameworks. Eric has amassed over half-a-million online followers and been named "Best Business Influencer of the Year", winning two Stevies (the Oscars of the business world) for his social media channels. Eric is also a three-time best-selling author (USA Today and Amazon), and has numerous published Forbes articles.

• Festus Ezeli

  NBA Champion, Media Broadcaster, Content Creator and Community Builder

  Festus Ezeli is an NBA champion, sports broadcaster, content creator and community builder. Festus came to the United States from Nigeria. He attended Vanderbilt University on a sports scholarship where he earned a degree in economics. In 2012, the Golden State Warriors selected Festus in the first round of the NBA draft. He won the NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015. Today Festus Ezeli is engaged in empowering youth and underserved communities. He serves as a media personality with his food account “Festus Feasts”, a sports analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area, a community ambassador for the Golden State Warriors and NBA Africa, and has launched the "Rebuilding the Beast" podcast.

• Julie Lythcott-Haims

  Writer, Speaker, Teacher, Mentor, Activist and New York Times bestselling Author

  Julie Lythcott-Haims believes in humans and is interested in what holds us back. She’s a writer, speaker, teacher, mentor, activist and New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, which inspired a widely viewed TED Talk. Her award-winning memoir, Real American, explores her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. Her third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, is a “groundbreakingly frank” guide to navigating adulthood. Julie earned a B.A. from Stanford, a J.D. from Harvard Law, and an M.F.A. in Writing from California College of the Arts. She also holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Puget Sound. She lives in Palo Alto, where she serves on the City Council, advocating for housing, equity, climate, and youth mental health. Julie and her lifelong partner Dan are parents to two twentysomethings. They share a home with their eldest.

• Katrina Roundfield, PhD

  Clinical Community Psychologist, CEO & Founder; Tara (withtara.com)

  Katrina Roundfield, PhD, is a clinical-community psychologist and CEO and Founder of Tara, an AI-powered family wellness app that supports women through common challenges of motherhood. Katrina has over 15 years of experience as a child and family mental health researcher and holds advanced degrees from DePaul University, Yale School of Medicine and UCSF School of Medicine. She is a wife and mother of two boys.

• Lindsay Scola

  Founder, Scola Strategies and Author: AI for ADHD: A Practical Guide to Starting (and Actually Finishing) What Matters

  Lindsay Scola is a nationally recognized sleep expert. For over two decades, she worked alongside high-powered leaders across entertainment and politics —including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama—while unknowingly battling narcolepsy and ADHD. That lived experience fuels her work today. A leading sleep disorder advocate, Lindsay has spoken at the White House and Congress. She’s the author of AI for ADHD: A Practical Guide to Starting (and Actually Finishing) What Matters and creator of the online course Sleep Is The Power Move.

• Matthew Spence

  Principal; ProjectNext Leadership

  Matthew Spence is a Principal at ProjectNext Leadership, where he helps leaders and teams navigate change across global organizations. He’s a former executive from Meta, Nike, Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., and Collibra. An ultra-endurance athlete, he recently completed his third 29029 Everesting Challenge. He is the author of LESSONS FROM THE WALL: 15 Things I Learned About Leadership & Life By Doing Something Really Hard.

• Mauricio Umansky

  Founder & CEO of The Agency, Entrepreneur and Media Personalit

  Mauricio Umansky is an entrepreneur, luxury real-estate visionary, and CEO and Founder of The Agency, one of the fastest-growing boutique brokerages in the world, with over 150 offices in 15 countries. Mauricio has also become a familiar face to millions through his appearances on multiple hit reality TV shows, including Buying Beverly Hills (Netflix) and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (Bravo). He is the bestselling author of The Dealmaker and a regular contributor to Fox Business, Bloomberg, MSNBC and other major media outlets on the topics of leadership, entrepreneurship, and luxury market trends.

• Nichole Warwick

  Executive Director; Blue Zones Project Petaluma

  Nichole Warwick has decades of successful experience leading environmental and social justice movements. Currently Nichole is managing the rollout and implementation of Blue Zones Project in Petaluma, CA. Blue Zones Project is a community-led initiative which promotes better, longer lives with lower rates of chronic disease by implementing changes to policies, systems, surroundings, and social networks and making it easier for residents to eat wisely and connect more with others.

• Rohan Sinha

  Student, Entrepreneur

  Rohan Sinha, a rising senior at Woodside Priory, is using his passions for math, AI and social impact to build a more purposeful world. Over the past few years, Rohan explored advanced mathematics and its real world applications through courses like AP Calculus BC; Stanford’s Math 51 and Harvard’s Math and Social Justice. He also co-founded MathPremierLeague.com, a gamified learning platform that turns math into a sport. Recently, Rohan discovered he has ADHD and Misophonia, a condition that greatly intensifies sensitivity to certain sounds. Navigating these challenges led Rohan to conduct research in Kalman Filtering, a method for separating useful information from "noisy” data. His research is under review for scientific publications. For Rohan, filtering noise isn’t just about math or AI—it’s about living in a world where we can focus on the right signals, the right ideas, and what matters the most.

• Shelina Moreda

  Professional Motorcycle Racer, Mentor and Thrill-Seeker

  Shelina Moreda, a professional motorcycle racer and CoverGirl, is a strong and confident woman who is taking on the world. She is the first female to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a motorcycle and at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China. Shelina was also part of the first female team to compete at the Suzuka 8 Hour race in Japan. She founded She'z Moto Camp, a motorcycle skills school for girls and women, and helped develop the NBC Sports television show, Motorcycle Startup.