TEDxOxford

Speakers

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

• Azadeh Afsahi

  Psychotherapist, humanitarian, and founder of Iran House

  Azadeh Afsahi is a psychotherapist, humanitarian, and founder of Iran House, a nonprofit organization providing mental health, humanitarian, legal, and refugee support to survivors of political persecution and forced displacement. Her vision is to build a global network of healing homes—places where survivors are met with dignity, community, and hope—proving that even in the darkest moments, hope can still find its way across borders.

• Dmitrii Kim

  Magician, Entrepreneur & YouTube creator

  Dmitrii spent over a decade performing magic tricks and illusion, surprising more than 300,000 people. After a major crisis, he reinvented himself as an entrepreneur, founding three businesses and discovering more than 15 talents and passions within himself.

• Ioanna Bezirtzoglou

  PhD student at the Rosalind Franklin Institute

  Ioanna is a PhD student at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, working across King's College London and the University of Oxford on interdisciplinary research in biophysics. Outside the lab, she is a polyglot, marathon runner, and naturally curious problem-solver. Her talk explores how feeling “ordinary” can be a powerful starting point, blending science and personal experience to show how small steps beyond our comfort zone lead to growth.

• Jessica Mancini

  English Literature Graduate Student at the University of Oxford

  Jessica Mancini is a Canadian University of Oxford graduate student studying English literature; she specializes in the Romantic Period, book history, and non-literary women’s print focusing on socio-political criticism, ideology, and historicization. She has presented and published original research at conferences in Canada, the U.S., and the UK, most notably at Harvard University, the University of Toronto, and the British Association for American Studies. Join her in first TED talk as she discusses the transhistorical nature of misinformation and propaganda, the importance of critical thought in a time of anti-intellectualism, and how an 18th century cookbook changed her life. You can find more about her and her work on her website, jessicamancini.com. Jess spends her days writing, drawing, overthinking, and wearing cat sweaters.

• Laura Abraham

  Founder of The Grown-Up School

  Laura Abraham is the UK’s Young Businesswoman of the Year and founder of The Grown-Up School, which has reached hundreds of thousands of learners worldwide by turning the hidden rules of adult life into practical, empowering education. A former finance professional, she now works with schools, government, and global brands to close one of education’s most overlooked gaps: how to navigate the real world.

• Lucy Grabe-Watson

  Founder of Ancient Woodlands UK

  Lucy Grabe-Watson is a youth campaigner, writer and ecological advocate working at the intersection of woodland protection, community engagement, and policy reform. As the founder of Ancient Woodlands UK, she leads a national movement to safeguard Britain’s ancient woodlands through youth-led advocacy, legal innovation, and public education. Lucy has worked extensively in forest environments - managing woodlands, leading volunteer programs, mentoring young people in woodland ecology, and facilitating outdoor learning. Her work bridges grassroots action with strategic partnerships, empowering the next generation to shape conservation through agency, care, and inclusive leadership.

• Morty Razavi

  Scientist

  Dr. Razavi is a scientist focused on creating next-generation diagnostic tools. Throughout his career, he has specialized in developing new methods that enable the precise measurement of clinically relevant proteins—ranging from protein drugs and drug targets to diagnostic biomarkers—with a level of quantitative rigor that can improve the detection, monitoring, and treatment of diseases. He is also pioneering an approach designed to extract comprehensive diagnostic insight from a single drop of blood, with the long-term goal of translating many elements of today’s clinical test menu to home-collected dried blood spot samples. Driven by a vision for practical, scalable personalized diagnostics, his work aims to move the field beyond one-time snapshots and toward more continuous, individualized measurements—bringing high-quality testing closer to patients and enabling more tailored, data-driven care for broader populations.

• Munir Virani

  Chief Executive of the Abu Dhabi-based Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund

  Dr. Munir Virani is Chief Executive of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, leading global efforts to protect threatened birds of prey. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Director of Global Conservation Strategy at The Peregrine Fund. With nearly 30 years of experience, he has led raptor conservation initiatives across four continents, combining research, strategic planning, partnerships, and capacity building, with work spanning Africa, Asia, the Americas, and island ecosystems. A prolific fundraiser and award-winning conservationist, Munir has received international recognition including the Aga Khan Foundation Award and the Whitley "Green Oscar." He has published nearly 200 articles, supervised 25 graduate students, and is a National Geographic Explorer. He is also a wildlife filmmaker, photographer, podcast host of Talons of Hope, TED speaker, and passionate advocate for birds of prey and climate.

• Olivier Tonneau

  Founder and Partner at Quantonation

  A graduate from ESSEC business school, Olivier is founder and partner at Quantonation. Previous experiences include 10 years as management consultant at Kearney, before joining French entrepreneur Charles Beigbeder as CEO at his holding company, Gravitation. Olivier is a board member at Multiverse Computing, Qnami, KETS Quantum Security, EvolutionQ, QC Design, Kipu Quantum, Cryptonext Security, Quobly and the Quantum Industry Consortium (QuiC). Olivier has recently been selected to be part of the class 28 of the Kauffman Fellows program, a prominent venture education program renowned for its extensive and well-established network of VCs.

• Samantha Baines

  Actor, Broadcaster and Author

  Samantha Baines is a multi award-winning comedian, actress, broadcaster and best selling author. She presents for The One Show, BBC Morning Live, Rip Off Britain and hosts the smash hit podcast The Divorce Social. You may recognise her from acting roles in Netflix’s The Crown, Romesh Ranganathan's Avoidance, Call the Midwife, Silent Witness and Magic Mike Live (directed by Channing Tatum). As a deaf, hearing aid wearer herself, she is ambassador for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, Stage Text and the author of critically acclaimed children's books with deaf main characters, as well as the best-selling non-fiction book Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness. She is a BAFTA member, NSPCC Campaigner and a regular on national radio stations.

• Tom Crawford

  Public Engagement Lead; Departmental Lecturer in Mathematics

  Dr Tom Crawford teaches maths at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. His YouTube channel ‘Tom Rocks Maths’ showcases his engaging teaching style where he has accumulated over 35 million views from recently converted ‘Maths Fans’.