TEDxSouthCentral

Speakers

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

• Dime Jones

  Designer + Beauty Enthusiast + Community Leader

  Diamond Jones is a South-Central Los Angeles native whose résumé bridges philanthropy, program direction, and multidisciplinary art. As Program Director at Summaeverythang Community Center, she leads the $3-million Sister Dreamer hub that will offer free arts, tech, and sports programs to local youth. Jones first drew citywide attention in 2020 when she launched Clean Up South Central, a volunteer movement that rallied thousands and earned a feature in The Los Angeles Times. She is also the founder of Nior Skin, an all-natural beauty line carried by Nordstrom, and a practicing designer whose work blends visual storytelling with social impact. Guided by the belief that creativity can rewrite futures, Jones continues to channel her multi-hyphenate skills as an artist, entrepreneur, and community organizer to expand cultural and economic opportunities for the neighborhood that raised her.

• Kyle McMillan

  Mobility Systems Designer & Innovation Strategist

  Kyle McMillan is a designer and engineer with a heart for people and equity. He is the founder of Nxmotive, a consulting studio that works at this intersection of transportation, strategy, and innovation to help cities build more livable futures. Kyle was previously a Strategic Designer at BCG-X, where he partnered with corporate organizations across various industries to develop digital tools and products for new business units and revenue streams. His current day-to-day focus is in leading operations and innovation at Culture Cart, an experiential micromobility service based in Inglewood. Kyle’s passion for transportation and innovation stems from a lifelong belief that how people move determines how they live—and too often, who gets left behind. In his previous work as an engineer at Nissan, he enjoyed contributing directly to EV manufacturing and quality systems, but he knew there was more to solve besides personal car use.

• Tracy Donegan

  Chief Information and Innovation Officer

  Tracy Donegan is the Chief Information and Innovation Officer at MLK Community Healthcare in Los Angeles, where she's reimagining healthcare in one of the most under-resourced communities in the country. Under her leadership, MLK has achieved HIMSS Stage 7 status—joining the elite 5% of hospitals nationally with the highest level of digital health maturity—proving that innovation thrives where it's needed most. With over 30 years in the industry, she champions a vision of technology that feels human—using AI and digital tools to make care more personal, equitable, and joyful for both patients and clinicians. Tracy serves on several advisory boards, most notably the Data Governance Advisory Board for the Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services (LANES), where she helps shape data governance processes for Southern California's health information exchange. She has been named to Becker's Hospital Review's annual "CIOs to Know" list every year since 2018.

• WilliE .

  Musical Artist

  WilliE is a multifaceted Artist-Songwriter hailing from Houston, Texas. WilliE fka Tia’ Gold released her first EP titled "Crybaby" which gained momentum due to catchy tracks such as "Sorry Love" & "Pretty Girls Love Sad Songs." Following this, she continued to take steps towards building her fan base by taking on local television performances & other similar networking opportunities in hopes of gaining notoriety as both an artist & a songwriter. Willie's efforts did just that and in 2020 the songstress claimed her spot on the highly acclaimed "Roc Nation'' roster. WilliE loves to write for film and TV and has landed cuts with Issa Rae’s company Raedio. Along with having a song in the highly anticipated last season of HBO's Insecure and Issa's newest venture Rap $hit, most recently she's added vocal acting to her list of skills, performing as Mary J Blige in Hulu's "Wu-Tang: An American Saga."