TEDxBerkeley

Speakers

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

• Alicia Baker

  Life coach, author, speaker, and reentry case manager

  Alicia Baker is a Christian life coach, author, speaker, and reentry case manager whose life is a testament to the transformative power of faith, resilience, and redemption. After surviving childhood trauma, commercial sexual exploitation, addiction, and years of adversity, Alicia made the courageous decision to break generational cycles and dedicate her life to helping others do the same. Today, she serves individuals rebuilding their lives after incarceration, leads Christ-centered recovery groups, and partners with churches, nonprofits, and community organizations to support healing, restoration, and long-term success. Through trauma-informed coaching, advocacy, and public speaking, Alicia equips people to move beyond survival, confront limiting beliefs, and embrace their God-given identity and purpose. As the author of Lies vs. Truth: 30 Days from Broken to Whole, Alicia combines biblical truth with practical tools to help readers replace destructive lies with life-giving truth.

• Angelica Hale

  Singer and Performing Artist

  Angelica Hale is a 19-year-old singer and performing artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. After discovering she had double pneumonia and going through septic shock at just 4 years old, she went through multiple organ failure, 80 days in the hospital, and was left needing a kidney transplant. She was on dialysis for over a year before she finally got a new kidney in September of 2013, with her mother being the kidney donor. Now having overcome so many obstacles, Angelica committed herself to pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a singer. She went on to compete on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent, where she finished as the youngest runner-up in the show’s history. Since then, she has performed all over the world and made numerous television appearances on shows like Little Big Shots, The Today Show, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She also originated the role of Trisha in BOOP! The Musical, making her Broadway debut in the production when it opened on Broadway in 2025.

• Jasmine Ornish

  Independent Researcher

  Jasmine Ornish is an independent researcher at the intersection of artificial intelligence, interspecies communication, and ethics. Her inquiry is grounded in Project CETI, the Cetacean Translation Initiative, a nonprofit founded by marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer Dr. David Gruber. By combining machine learning with bioacoustics, linguistics, robotics, and field research, CETI is uncovering patterns in sperm whale codas previously beyond unaided human perception. Jasmine created an interdisciplinary independent study examining the questions this work raises beyond what technology can decode. While CETI provides the scientific foundation, her contribution asks what ethical, philosophical, legal, and relational frameworks should guide humanity if technology allows us to understand another species more deeply.

• Jon McCormack

  Photographer

  Jon McCormack is a photographer whose work is deeply informed by his upbringing in the stark, untamed landscapes of the Australian Outback. Beginning as a teenager photographing quiet, often-overlooked moments in the bush, he developed a photographic voice rooted in patience, attention, and ecological empathy. Today, his images explore the intricate patterns and emotional textures of wild places, seeking to inspire both wonder and a sense of responsibility, and are widely published and used by global conservation organizations to advocate for the protection of fragile ecosystems. Ultimately, his work asks viewers to reconsider the act of looking itself. In a culture increasingly defined by speed and distraction, sustained attention can become an act of connection. His photographs seek to create that pause, a moment in which beauty becomes curiosity, curiosity becomes understanding, and understanding has the possibility of becoming care.

• Patrick Poole

  Research Physicist

  Patrick Poole is a Research Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where he conducts plasma physics experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser system. At LLNL Patrick’s research spans high-energy-density (HED) and plasma physics, including materials science under extreme x-ray and neutron irradiation, radiography of complex hydrodynamic phenomena, photonics based on novel plasma optics, and high-average-power laser and experiment development for extreme ultraviolet lithography. Patrick also serves as Workforce and Outreach Lead for the Livermore Institute of Fusion Technology, developing the future fusion energy workforce; Coordinator of LLNL experiments at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, supporting fundamental science and NIF campaigns; and Director of the NIF and Photon Science Summer Scholar Program, bringing hundreds of students annually to conduct cutting-edge research alongside LLNL scientists.

• Taylor Krause

  Content Creator

  Taylor Krause is a full-time content creator who many first met on Netflix’s Love Is Blind, but her story reaches far beyond reality TV. Before cameras ever entered the picture, Taylor spent nearly a decade working in climate and clean energy policy, driven by a passion for meaningful, long-term impact. She earned her master’s degree in Energy Policy from Johns Hopkins University and was serving as federal policy manager at a leading think tank, where she was an expert in industrial decarbonization, particularly clean hydrogen energy. When the 2025 election unexpectedly defunded the federal grant she had been leading for nearly three years, Taylor suddenly found herself at a major career crossroads. Supported by the community that had begun forming around her after Love Is Blind, she chose to take a leap stepping away from policy and into the digital world full-time.