TEDxRoxbury

Speakers

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

• Amanda Shea

  Amanda Shea is a three-time Boston Music Award-winning Spoken Word Artist. Shea is an artist, performer, educator, artivist, film producer, host, and curator. She founded Free Verse, an open mic series and cultural platform committed to amplifying radical imagination through art, truth-telling, and collective liberation. Her work can be found in the Museum of Fine Arts, The Boston Globe, TEDx, Netflix, Prime Video, BBC News, GBH, and much more. Shea is the curator and host of GBH OUTSPOKEN SATURDAYS. Shea was the recipient of The Boston Foundation LAB Grant in 2024. She is the Arts & Culture Director at 617PEAK and is an educator at various Boston Public Schools. Shea will be releasing her first book, “Pieces of Shea,” in 2026. Amanda's work examines her personal life experiences, social justice issues, and healing through trauma, utilizing art as a tool.

• Angela Pitter

  Angela Pitter builds digital visibility for the organizations and neighborhoods that algorithms overlook. As Founder & CEO of LiveWire Collaborative, an AI and digital strategy firm, she serves large nonprofits and mid-sized organizations navigating AI's impact on their communities and credibility. Angela's path runs from Bronx Science to a Computer Engineering degree at Boston University to 25 years of global technology leadership, before she pivoted to mission-driven work across Greater Boston. She blends deep technical fluency with a sharp understanding of how storytelling, place, and data determine which communities get seen and which are skipped. Angela serves as the Board Chair of the Charles River Regional Chamber and has been recognized as a Commonwealth Heroine and one of Massachusetts' 50 Most Influential Business People of Color.

• Dianne Wilkerson

  Dianne Wilkerson’s life is a story of triumph and challenges. She has been defying odds from the beginning as a daughter of the segregated south and the descendant of slaves. She gained a reputation early on for tackling the most difficult social, economic and political issues - from housing discrimination to predatory lending. In the State Senate, she established the Commission to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and authored groundbreaking legislation on racial profiling, wrongful convictions, reproductive rights, and insurance equity. Wilkerson is a well sought-after speaker/adviser on matters of economic development, civil rights, health equity, environmental justice, closing the racial achievement gap and creating wealth for Black MA residents. She holds a B.S. in Public Administration from American International College, a J.D. from Boston College Law School, and a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Colorado Christian University.

• Essmaa Litim

  Essmaa Litim builds worlds with language and then invites communities to live inside them. An award-winning spoken word artist, cultural curator, and public health scholar, Essmaa’s work exists at the intersection of art, equity, and collective imagination. A first-generation Afro-Arab American, she creates from lived experience, shaped by migration, womanhood, faith, and the responsibility of carrying multiple histories at once. Her voice is known for its intellectual depth, lyrical precision, and emotional command, transforming stages into spaces of reflection, confrontation, and healing. She serves as Operations Manager of FreeVerse, a monthly arts platform cultivating emerging voices and community dialogue, and is the founder of Femme Flo, a creative collective honoring the legacy and evolution of femme poets through sold-out storytelling showcases and cultural programming.

• Harlie Williams

  Harlie Williams is a sophomore at Harvard University studying Government and the Founder and Executive Director of Black Girls Govern, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating the civic leadership, confidence, and voices of Black girls. A first-generation college student, she founded the organization to provide the resources, mentorship, and platforms she wished had existed for her growing up. Harlie is currently a Grassroots Voices Fellow at Vital Voices Global Partnership and has previously worked with the Florida House of Representatives, the CROWN Coalition, and several organizations on Harvard’s campus. She is passionate about civil rights advocacy and advancing racial and gender justice, and plans to pursue a career at the intersection of law, policy, and culture.

• Ieasha James

  Ieasha James is an event designer, speaker, and creative visionary, and the President, CEO, and Founder of Endless Flair Events, LLC. Known for her bold, transformative design style, she creates immersive environments that blend timeless elegance with forward-thinking concepts, shaping experiences that deepen connection, meaning, and impact. Ieasha’s work and community leadership have earned wide recognition. Beyond her design work, Ieasha is deeply committed to mentorship and service. During the pandemic, she partnered with Senator Liz Miranda to provide meals to seniors, and she founded The Art of the Table, a gala and training seminar created to educate and inspire emerging event professionals. A devoted mother, Ieasha leads with faith, purpose, and resilience, continuing to inspire others through her creative work, speaking, and commitment to community.

• Irene Smalls

  Irene Smalls, MBA, is an award-winning author, speaker, and Certified Health and Wellness Sleep Consultant whose work bridges Black History, wellness, and community empowerment. A graduate of Cornell University, she has dedicated her career to advancing culture, education, and equity through innovative programs and ideas. Smalls is the award-winning author of more than 15 books for children and families and has appeared on national media platforms including The Tamron Hall Show. Deeply rooted in the community, she facilitated the acquisition of more than $1 million worth of land in Roxbury for St. John's Missionary Baptist Church for $1. Irene brings storytelling, lived experience, and insight to explore how culture, rest, and resilience can transform the way we live and thrive.

• Mohamed Kante

  Mohamed Kante is an executive leader architecting AI-powered institutional transformation across education ecosystems — with the engineering instincts to build what others only theorize. He doesn’t just advise on change — he engineers it. As Founder & CEO of iNERDE Academy, Mohamed leads the design and deployment of an AI-powered “Teacher Multiplier” model addressing systemic learning poverty across Sub-Saharan Africa. His approach reimagines how instructional capacity can scale in regions facing structural teacher shortages — turning infrastructure limitations into design constraints worth solving. His foundation in human-centered design and social entrepreneurship gives him a rare ability to bridge the gap between institutional strategy and on-the-ground execution — building systems that deliver measurable outcomes beyond the pilot phase. For over a decade, he has also served as a Judge and Robot Technician at the FIRST Global Challenge, where teenagers from 191+ nations compete and collaborate under one roof. It’s a reminder of what becomes possible when young people get access to the right tools.

• Nyesha Wornum

  Nyesha Hannah‑Wornum is the founder of BTSN: Beyond The Safety Net, an initiative shifting the conversation around the welfare benefits cliff — known in her community as the trap. As a matriarch, welfare recipient, and participatory action researcher, she transforms lived experience into evidence‑informed insights that challenge myths about poverty and reveal the limits of traditional financial literacy. Born and raised in Boston, Nyesha has seen how clarity and community can spark new pathways toward economic mobility.

• Reagan Masso

  Reagan Massó is an honor student at Boston Latin Academy and a passionate writer, actor, and aspiring filmmaker. A dedicated storyteller both on stage and on the page, Reagan is committed to creating work that reflects authenticity and imagination. She is a published writer and has appeared in numerous theater productions. She is also currently writing her first book, a science fiction novel titled WILHELMINA. Outside of school and the stage, Reagan loves reading, writing, listening to music, and biking. She is especially passionate about ensuring that young creatives have opportunities to tell stories in their most authentic voices. Reagan hopes to continue growing as both a performer and filmmaker, using storytelling to expand representation and create space for others to be seen and heard.

• Trey Williams

  Trey Williams is a Senior Engineer, local business owner, and proud fourth-generation Roxbury resident. A Northeastern University graduate, he is a published researcher with work in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management on KidneyPal, a palliative care service for people with kidney disease. His community involvement runs deep—volunteering with Madison Park Development Corporation and Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, peer mentoring through Voices for Social Change, and serving two years as Chief Executive Connector on the Young Alumni Advisory Board at Northeastern University. Today, he sits on the board of H.E.R.O. Nurturing Center, where he brought his data skills to further the mission of HERO and environmental access for all residents of Boston & Beyond.