TEDxCarrollwood

Speakers

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

• April McCullohs

  Community Leader

  April McCullohs is a community leader with over 15 years of experience mobilizing people of faith to serve vulnerable neighbors. She holds an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and is committed to emergent leadership, envisioning new futures, encouraging collaboration across cultures, and creating spaces where women can lead and flourish. April serves as board chair for the Refugee and Migrant Women’s Initiative (RAMWI), supporting women rebuilding their lives after displacement. Her advocacy includes interfaith coalition work, support for survivors of abuse, and organizing efforts that connect diverse communities. She believes real change often begins at the margins, with leaders who imagine a world that does not yet exist and invite others to help create it. In her TEDx talk, April explores how women’s anger can be reclaimed as a moral compass and a force for healing and social transformation.

• Basam Alasaly

  Bio Informatics

  Basam Alasaly discovered his passion for technology at a young age, earning a Certificate in Computer Programming before finishing high school. He went on to complete both a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Informatics at Arizona State University, where he explored how data and technology can improve health. He later completed the Postbaccalaureate Pre-Professional Program in Life Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. He is now a medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Class of 2029, training to become a physician–investigator dedicated to developing innovative, human-centered health solutions. Alongside his studies, he works as a Digital Health Tech Specialist at the Artificial Intelligence for Ambulatory Care Innovation Lab at the University of Pennsylvania and as a Research Assistant in Radiation Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Outside of medicine and research, Basam enjoys fitness and spending time with friends.

• Clara Reynolds

  President & CEO of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay

  Clara A. Reynolds, LCSW, MBA is an executive leader with over 20 years of experience managing nonprofit organizations in Tampa Bay. She has served as President & CEO of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay since 2015, overseeing a large team and services that reach more than 160,000 people each year. Under her leadership, the organization has expanded its reach and programs to better support children, adults, and families. Clara holds an MBA from the University of Tampa and dual degrees in Social Work and Psychology from Florida State University. A licensed clinical social worker since 1997, she has led numerous initiatives focused on care, prevention, and community support. Clara is also recognized for her public engagement, with over 200 media appearances since 2020. She serves as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida’s School of Social Work and has been a guest lecturer at the University of New Haven.

• Donald Mullins

  Assistant Vice President for Health Affairs & Government Relations at the University of South Florida

  Donald E. Mullins is a public policy professional, scholar, and storyteller with more than twenty years of experience in Florida’s political and healthcare institutions. He is the Assistant Vice President for Health Affairs & Government Relations at the University of South Florida and teaches in USF’s College of Public Health, where he connects real-world policy with the classroom. Donald is also a Ph.D. candidate at USF, studying state politics and public policy through ethnographic research on Florida legislators, focusing on identity, performance, fear, and emotional labor in representation. Before academia, he worked in Florida politics, held state administrative roles, and served on the Florida Board of Medicine. He remains active in statewide health policy, especially workforce development, patient safety, and medical education. Donald and his wife, Vickie, live in Florida with their daughters, Reagan and Avery.

• Dyma AbuOleim

  Founder & President of 200 Muslim Women Who Care®

  Dyma AbuOleim is the Founder and President of 200 Muslim Women Who Care®. She is a founding member of 100 Women Who Care Southshore, a former founding board member of Water Smart Tots, and currently serves as President of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council for the Education of Students with Disabilities. Deeply connected to the giving circle movement, Dyma has collaborated with Philanthropy Together on national research and has been featured in their storytelling series. Her leadership was also recognized by Darkness to Light, where she helped 200 Muslim Women Who Care® become the first Muslim organization in the U.S. designated a Partner in Prevention. A USF graduate with a B.A. in Communication, Dyma brings both heart and strategy to her work. With three of her four kids now driving, she jokes that she’s the one being chauffeured while catching up on emails.

• Jamal Taylor

  Lemmeeducateyou

  A proud graduate of Southern University, with a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an Ed.M. from Columbia University, Jamal is a living testament to the power of love to heal, transform, and renew. A childhood survivor of sexual assault and once unhoused under the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness, Jamal has carried wounds that could have hardened the heart—but instead, they chose love. Love became not only a lifeline, but a guiding principle. Today, as a consultant, educator, and advocate, Jamal calls us to imagine a society where love and hope walk hand in hand—where our schools nurture, our communities embrace, and our systems uplift. Their story is not just one of survival, but of radical hope: the conviction that even in our darkest nights, love can spark possibility, and hope can light the way forward.

• Jamie Sommer

  Associate Professor of Sociology

  Dr. Jamie M. Sommer is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida. Her work uses mixed methods to examine how institutions shape global inequality in environmental and development outcomes. She highlights how social and economic systems are historically structured to benefit groups with power, and how ideas tied to capitalism, heteronormativity, ableism, white supremacy, and patriarchy influence both human and environmental well-being. Her research shows how multinational corporations and international financial institutions contribute to deforestation and related health and environmental harms in low and middle-income countries, often by targeting nations with fewer protections and limited oversight. Jamie is currently studying climate resilience and trauma through oral histories with communities facing extreme weather events in Gujarat, India and San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala, with her team at the Climate Knowledge Collective.

• Kathryn Spitznagle

  Rock Star Millennials

  Kathryn retired from 30 years of leadership at Caterpillar and Purina, where she mentored hundreds of young professionals and breast cancer survivors and their families. After retirement she started her own mentoring business called “Mentoring Women Millennials. “ She is the published author of the book, “Rock Star Millennials—Developing the Next Generation of Leaders” and the companion workbook, “Rock Star Millennials Toolkit.” Kathryn is also the host of “Rock Star Millennials” podcasts and “With Gratitude” Women’s Retreats, as well as an international speaker and leadership workshop facilitator.

• Marcia Hall

  Mr. Bubblez

  Marcia is a woman of faith, pastor’s wife, mother, cancer survivor, entrepreneur, mentor, and motivational speaker. She and her family have served their community for over 30 years through foster care, adoption, youth ministry, outreach, and pastoral work in Tampa. She has been married to Pastor Bruce Hall for 35 years and is the mother of four children (one deceased). A Tampa native raised in low-income housing, Marcia faced early challenges and limiting expectations placed on young Black girls in her community. She chose instead to pursue education and community service. She worked 18 years at Metropolitan Ministries, helping people experiencing homelessness find employment, housing, and services. When a young woman once asked simply for a place to shower, Marcia recognized a need and responded. This led to the creation of Mrbubblez Inc., which has provided mobile hot showers in Tampa Bay for nine years under the motto: “I See You & I Care.”

• Michelle Ellena

  Executive Director – MAR (Mindful Action for Regeneration)

  Dr. Michelle Ellena is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of MAR (Mindful Action for Regeneration), a nonprofit committed to revitalizing ecosystems, strengthening community well-being, and reconnecting people with nature through urban forestry, marine conservation, and regenerative wellness programs. Born in Santiago, Chile, she holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and a Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship from Pepperdine University. With over a decade of experience across the U.S. and Latin America, Dr. Ellena has founded and led multiple organizations spanning animal welfare, international veterinary training, and environmental regeneration. Since relocating to St. Petersburg in 2021, she has guided MAR to achieve state and city recognition for excellence in urban forestry and community programming. Her work is grounded in collaboration, equity, and the belief that restoring nature also restores communities.

• Mohammad Mubarak

  Trial Attorney

  Mohammad Mubarak is a trial attorney, community leader, and co-founder of Mubarak, Sherif & Oladipo (MSO Law). A former state prosecutor and insurance defense lawyer turned advocate for homeowners, Mohammad has built his career on fighting for families and individuals when their futures are at stake. His practice spans property damage litigation, personal injury, criminal defense, and immigration—areas where justice can mean the difference between being broken apart or held together. Beyond the courtroom, Mohammad is deeply invested in community service, from mentoring students and young professionals to serving on several local boards. He is a frequent speaker on resilience, inequality, and the power of advocacy, weaving together stories of faith, family, and justice to inspire action and hope.

• Nyla Hazratjee

  Filmmaker

  Dr. Nyla Hazratjee is an American-Muslim filmmaker. As a first generation Pakistani American, her work focuses on the minority subculture experience in America. She is an award winning filmmaker (The Persian Version won both the audience award and best script at Sundance 2023 on Netflix now-among others), a double board certified specialist physician, a philanthropist, and an involved mother of two sons. She recently directed a feminist film with a female BIPOC crew which will have major impact. She is the founder of NY/LA Production, a nonprofit dedicated to changing the narrative of the Muslim, MENA and SAMA community in film and television. Media can empower women to use their voice, and allies to advocate for unseen and often overlooked minority cultures in America.