TEDxEmory

Speakers

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

• Brent Glass

  Executive Director of the Sing Sing Prison Museum and a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace

  BRENT D. GLASS is Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the world’s largest museum devoted to telling the story of America. From 2002 to 2012, he led the museum through a $160 million renovation and expansion including a new display of the Star-Spangled Banner and major exhibitions on transportation, maritime, and military history. A national leader in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of history, Glass is a public historian who today provides management and consulting services to museums, historical organizations, and cultural institutions throughout the United States and in other countries. His most recent book, 50 Great American Places (Simon and Schuster, 2016) explores the power of essential historic sites and how they illuminate core themes in American history.

• Christina Gavegnano

  Assistant Professor

  Dr. Gavegnano’s career is anchored in a deep collaborative spirit—believing that breakthroughs emerge not from individual achievement alone, but from teams united by purpose, persistence, and shared vision. She is guided by what she calls the magic of the moment—the instant when a scientific idea ignites and begins its journey to change the world. Committed to bridging the valley between discovery and impact, she builds pathways that take molecules from bench to bedside, while mentoring the next generation to recognize and cultivate their own “magic moments.” Her work reflects the profound ripple effect of collaboration—how one idea, elevated by collective effort, can transform millions of lives.

• Daniel Steininger

  President of Steininger & Associates LLC

  Dan is President of Steininger & Associates LLC, which advises companies on growing through innovation. He is the successful author of two books on innovation and teaches a business innovation course at Arizona State University. He appears regularly as a guest on business podcasts ranked in the top 20% of the nation. As a CEO, he has a track record of running highly successful financial institutions, one of which grew revenues by over two billion during his tenure. He also launched a successful national mutual fund. He also served as Chairman of the Port of Milwaukee, which, during his tenure, became the fastest-growing Port on the Great Lakes. He was awarded a Juris Doctor Degree from Boston University's law school and a CLU degree from American University. He also obtained Series 6 and 63 securities licenses. He spent two years as a teacher in the United States Peace Corps in Kenya East Africa.

• Dennis Liotta

  Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry at Emory University

  Dr. Liotta has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor of over 120 issued US patents. He is best known for his invention of emtricitabine and lamivudine, which continue to play pivotal roles in curbing the spread of HIV around the world. Emtricitabine made possible the first-ever combination therapy for HIV/AIDS as a once-daily pill, while lamivudine became the first drug approved by the FDA to treat hepatitis B infections. The Emory University Office of Technology Transfer estimates that about 95% of the people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. take or have taken one of the drugs co-invented by Dr. Liotta. He continues to make important contributions to other therapeutic fronts, including, inter alia, an anticancer agent for treating hard-to-treat breast cancers and an oral drug for controlling hot flashes in postmenopausal women.

• Jake Jo

  Assistant Professor of Practice, Organizations & Management Area

  Jake Jo is an Assistant Professor in the Practice Organization & Management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He joined Goizueta as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in 2021. Jake received his PhD in Management from The University of Texas at Austin and his BBA from Emory University. Currently, he teaches organizational behavior and negotiations in the BBA Program. His research focuses on how individuals think about forming their social networks in organizations. His work has been published in top academic outlets including Journal of Applied Psychology.

• Kitti Murray

  Founder/CEO of Refuge Coffee Co.

  Kitti Murray and her late husband, Bill, moved 13 years ago to a refugee community on the edge of Atlanta that has been called the most diverse square mile in the country. They considered this the most intense and inviting neighborhood in their experience, and it taught them to dream big and love even bigger. One expression of that love has been Refuge Coffee Co., a non-profit Kitti founded as a way to join hands with neighbors near and far to create opportunity and true refuge through coffee and community service. Refuge Coffee’s flagship shop is in Clarkston, Georgia, with shops in the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown and in historic downtown Norcross.

• Lily Eyvazzadeh

  Junior at Emory University

  Lily Eyvazzadeh is a junior at Emory University studying neuroscience and behavioral biology. Pursuing her interest in neuroscience research, Lily recently assisted with a study exploring neuromotor excitability. In addition to research, Lily enjoys doing community service, playing the guitar, and weightlifting. Growing up close to her grandparents’ house, Lily attributes the inspiration for her talk to the time she spent having weekly dinners with them. Their stories have served as a point of pride in both her family and her culture. With a strong desire to share those stories beyond the walls of her grandparents’ house, Lily’s talk investigates the universal truths that can be found in a single story. She wants to make it known that two things can be true at the same time, that good people come from all over, and that a country’s conflicts do not detract from the worth of its people.

• Malcolm Mitchell

  Former Professional Athlete, Author, Literary Advocate

  Malcolm Mitchell, a native of Valdosta, Georgia, is an accomplished author, literacy advocate, and former professional athlete. As a high school senior, he was named an Under Armour All-American and went on to rank among the top ten all-time receivers in University of Georgia (UGA) history. Malcolm’s love of reading blossomed during his freshman year at UGA, though it began as a challenge. Through perseverance, books became a gateway to curiosity, creativity, and learning. In 2015, he authored and published his first children’s book, The Magician’s Hat, and launched a youth literacy initiative, Read with Malcolm. The following year, he founded Share the Magic Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring young readers. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed books to more than 350,000 children and delivered Read with Malcolm literacy programming to over two million students.

• MIKYLAH CHARLES

  Sophomore at Emory University

  Mikylah Charles is a student at Emory University with a deep interest in chemistry, food science, and food accessibility. They began learning to cook at the age of four, and what started as a childhood activity gradually evolved. As they grew older, their love for food moved beyond the kitchen and into questions about who has access to it, and who does not. Driven by their goal of pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry, Mikylah is interested in how scientific innovation can be used to make food more affordable, reliable, and accessible. In their talk, they examine how conversations about food are often shaped by subtle classism, particularly in the stigma surrounding genetically modified foods and “ethical” consumption. By connecting personal experience with scientific insight, Mikylah argues that food should not be a luxury, but a basic right — and that rethinking how we talk about food is essential to feeding a changing world.

• Monica Thornton

  Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in Georgia

  Monica is a seventh generation Georgian who has dedicated her career to uplifting the people and places. As Executive Director for The Nature Conservancy, Georgia, Monica leads ambitious land and water protection initiatives by building partnerships. Her impact on this state includes securing over $100 million for public health and environmental causes and fostering sustainable partnerships that drive meaningful, measurable change. Her non-profit work also includes leadership roles at the CDC Foundation, Georgia Conservancy, Women in Technology, and Georgia Municipal Association and Georgia Public Broadcasting. Monica received a bachelor’s degree in communications and marketing from Georgia State University. She is also a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL) and is currently attending TNC’s Leadership Development Program at Cambridge.

• Rupa Juthani

  Fellowship-trained, board-certified neurosurgeon

  Dr. Rupa Juthani is a fellowship-trained, board-certified neurosurgeon practicing with Neurosurgeons of New Jersey and as a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Langone. Dr. Juthani has advanced expertise in minimally invasive treatment for brain tumors and skull base surgery, specializing in endoscopic skull base surgery, laser surgery, and brain and spine radiosurgery. She treats a wide range of complex conditions including pituitary adenomas, skull base tumors, meningiomas, gliomas, brain metastases, cavernous malformations, arteriovenous malformations, and trigeminal neuralgia. Dr. Juthani serves as the Director of Endoscopic Pituitary and Skull Base Surgery at Valley Hospital.

• Samuel Salameh

  Senior at Emory University

  While studying neuroscience and religion at Emory, Samuel began engaging with spiritual health through clinical research. Not too long after, he noticed a striking gap between what modern medicine treats exceptionally well and what seriously ill patients often experience most deeply: loss of purpose, identity, and meaning. His work sits at the intersection of rigorous scientific inquiry and spirituality, challenging the assumption that the two belong in opposition. In my path toward medicine, He has reexamined what it means not only to treat disease, but also to care for a person.