Meet Our Speakers
We’re honored to present the 12 phenomenal TEDxDelthorneWomen 2021 speakers!
AIKO SMITH (she/her)
Aiko Smith is a Black and Japanese American Woman, born on a naval base in Okinawa, Japan but raised in Los Angeles, California. She is a mother of three, wife, mindfulness writer, coach, and speaker.
Driven by creating a kinder, more compassionate country, Aiko has devoted her life and career to teaching women how to mindfully confront their suffering as an integral part of the process of dismantling harmful paradigms and oppressive systems.
As a thought leader, her vision is to see a society that values all human beings as sacred. Aiko is a certified mindfulness teacher trained by UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center.
ARIANA DELAWARI (she/they)
Ariana Delawari is an Afghan-American filmmaker, musician, activist, and graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts. A year after 9/11 Ariana began a 10-year documentation of her father’s homeland. As a result, We Came Home is her award winning feature length directorial debut, which then led to her groundbreaking album, Lion of Panjshir.
The album was partially produced and mixed by filmmaker David Lynch, and Lynch released the critically acclaimed album on his record label. We Came Home was acquired and released digitally by TIME in 2018. Also, Ariana was a performer and speaker at the inaugural TEDx Kabul.
They also co-created an app called Afghanistan Connect with Afghan women coding students. Ariana is currently working on her fourth album.
DR. IZDIHAR JAMIL (she/her)
Dr Izdihar Jamil, Ph.D. is an immigrant, Asian, hijab wearing Muslim computer scientist turned media expert.
She is an 8 x #1 International Bestselling Author of It Is Done, Yes I Can! and has been featured on Forbes, Fox TV, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, Thrive Global and multiple other publications.
In 2021, Izdihar was inducted into the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who biography in recognizing her contribution as the top 5% in the industry with Warren Buffet and Oprah.
Izdihar lives in California with her husband and three kids and in her spare time she loves reading and baking for her family.
PRINCESS SARAH CULBERSON (she/her)
Princess Sarah has an extraordinary journey that has been featured on CNN, GMA, BBC, The Tamron Hall Show among numerous other publications worldwide.
She shared the story of reuniting with her birth father in her co-authored book A Princess Found: An American Family, an African Chiefdom, and the Daughter Who Connected Them All. The book is now being adapted into a major motion picture for Disney Studios by award-winning filmmaker Stephanie Allain.
Princess Sarah and her brother Hindo Joseph Kposowa founded the nonprofit Sierra Leone Rising which provides clean drinking water, sanitary pads for girls, education, medical attention, resources to build schools and technology centers, and more throughout Sierra Leone.
JULIE WEISS (she/her)
Julie Weiss, of Santa Monica, CA., ran a remarkable 52 marathons in 52 weeks and in the process, she ran 1,362.4 miles, raising over $700,000 in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Julie also generated considerable awareness through high profile appearances on CNN, The TODAY Show, the Los Angeles Times, O Magazine and many other outlets. She is also one of seven featured runners in the inspiring documentary Spirit of the Marathon II.
Following the death of her father, her biggest fan, from Pancreatic Cancer, she embarked on this incredible endeavor to raise hope, money and awareness for Pancreatic Cancer, the 3rd leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and also the lowest funded for research.
KIM GUERRA (she/her)
Kim Guerra is a queer woman of color, writer, advocate, creator and voice of Brown Badass Bonita, a brand and social movement to advocate for the immigrant, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, survivors, mujeres, and oppressed communities.
She is also the author of Mariposa and Mija, collections of bilingual poems, affirmations, and revolutionary love letters.
Kim received the “Agent of Change'' award from Univision’s Premios Juventud and has been recognized for her work in Oprah Magazine, People, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and many more.
Kim graduated from Cornell University and has a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. She’s currently based in Los Angeles and Coyoacan with her partner and dog, Chancho.
TRISH HOSEIN (she/her)
As a multidisciplinary musician, Trinidadian-American Trish Hosein has been featured on NPR, Billboard, Rolling Stone India, MTV India, and VH1 India; and she has performed internationally, playing festivals like SXSW, CMW, Women’s Redrock Festival, Linda Perry’s Rock N Relief and Pyramid Yoga Festival.
Her visual art has been part of the Adidas “Nite Jogger” campaign and she has been nominated for Best Music Video at the South Asian Film Festival two years in a row.Her passion for racial justice and her background as an immigrant has led her to work with organizations like Oxfam, volunteer and perform with the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2020, and write political pieces for Talkhouse, Brown Girl Magazine and Valley Doll Magazine.
CASSANDRA LE (she/they)
Cassandra Le (pronounced lay) is a Vietnamese-American, first-generation daughter of refugees and immigrants, now an immigrant themselves, living in Spain.
Through their The Quirky Pineapple Studio, Cassandra offers brand strategy for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and Feminist-run brands and businesses - working with clients in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. She also co-hosts a podcast called "Business Without the Buts", exploring conversations on how to create a more ethical economy.
Cassandra's work has been featured in Huffpost, Forbes, and has been recognized as one of the top marketing agencies focused on community in 2019, by Rising Tide Society & Honeybook.
Because life's not all about work, Cassandra loves bubble tea, road trips, and watching trailers on YouTube to movies that she'll never watch in real life.
JELAN AGNEW (she/her)
Jelan Agnew, LCSW is a psychotherapist, professor, facilitator and public speaker, with 16 years in the mental health field. She is the founder of Nalej of Self, LLC, a private practice dedicated to addressing Black generational trauma, identifying cycles/patterns and creating new ways of being through healing Mind, Body, Spirit.
Jelan’s work is committed to healing trauma within the Black community.
In addition to her work in the field, she’s open about her own struggles with Depression and Anxiety, and takes pride in saying, “I am a Black therapist, with a Black therapist”, as a means to destigmatize mental health.
Jelan, a Brooklyn native and Hartford resident, sees authenticity as a superpower and freedom as the ultimate life goal.
CHANNDIKA THAYVER (she/her)
In her own words, Channdika Thayver is an imperfect Tamil woman who was born in Singapore and whose ancestral roots lie in Tamil Nadu, India. She is currently a settler on the stolen lands of the Kwikwetlem and Katzie Nations in so-called British Columbia, colonial Canada.
As a Life & Wellness Coach, Channdika is committed to lifelong learning and unlearning in her efforts to show up as the best Co-Conspirator she can be in the creation of equity for all marginalized peoples.
She believes that the creation of this equity can only be birthed through the disruption and dismantling of systemic oppressions, and that this requires deep introspection and active disruption of her respective privileges, daily.
NADIA PAYAN (she/they)
Nadia Payan is an educator, speaker, artist, third culture human and Montessorian whose life is filled with reverence towards creativity as a pathway to healing and power. Nadia explores and cross pollinates her own creative expression with her experiences as an early childhood educator, a spiritual practitioner and artist.
Themes present in her life, studies and art include conscious creativity, community care, affirmation, emotional intelligence, imagination, shadow exploration and embodied interconnection.
Nadia has facilitated creative healing workshops and retreats internationally, nationally and virtually with multigenerational and multicultural adults and children.
MAHLIKAH AWE:RI (she/they)
Canadian Poet of Honor, Mahlikah Awe:ri Enml'ga't Saqama'sgw, (The One Who Stands and Walks In The Light) is an Afro-Indigenous (Kanien’kéhà:ka, Mi’kmaw) Artist For Social Change, shifting paradigms through Indigenized ways of knowing and being; while reimagining what it means to be “In-Relation”, to the Land and to each other.
As an acclaimed Spoken Word Artist, Activist, and Arts Educator, Mahlikah is a Paula Fund Awardee for her acclaimed solo work Tionnhéhkwen Tionnká:non (Our Sustenance Our Medicine), a contributor for the first Black Canadian Afro-Futurism Anthology: Cosmic Underground Northside: An Incantation of Black Speculative Discourse & Innerstandings; Cedar Grove Publishing, and a featured poet for Audible Original X Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) : Power In Poetry: Moods That Move.
Mahlikah is Currently based in Treaty 13 Tsi Tkarón:to (Toronto, Canada).
Performance
We are thrilled to have world-renown Kathak artist, Farah Yasmeen Shaikh perform!
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh is an internationally acclaimed Kathak performer, choreographer, and instructor, and Founder & Artistic Director of Noorani Dance, with two decades of training from the late Pandit Chitresh Das. Farah performs her own traditional and innovative works, most notably, The Forgotten Empress and The Partition Project. She is also A TEDx speaker, and host of the podcast, Heartistry Talk Show. Since 2015, Farah has been performing and teaching throughout Pakistan, engaging in meaningful exchanges with artists, organizations, students, and art-lovers. We are excited to have Farah perform!
Meet the Squad
Meet the BTS human elves working to create the most exciting TEDx event for you!
SONALI FISKE (she/her)
Executive Producer ● Curator ● Host
Sonali is a Sri Lankan-born, California-grown, woman-identified leadership consultant and Founder of BIWoC Revolutionaries Take the Mic. She also tackles social justice, cultural and political issues of our time, on her radio talk show, Revolutionary Voices on Rukus Avenue Radio, with a listenership of 30 million+.
Sonali also gave her first TEDx Talk at TEDxDelthorneWomen in 2018, addressing the reclamation of BIWoC voices and the ways dominant culture can show up in allyship and duty. You can check out her Instagram for more.
ERAINA FERGUSON (she/her)
Co-Producer
Eraina Davis-Ferguson is a special needs advocate, speaker, and creative nonfiction writer currently penning a memoir about raising a daughter with autism and deafness. Her recent monologue, Listen to Her, was read by actress Marla Gibbs and featured at the WACO Theatre’s 50in50 event. Her writing has been featured on NBC Universal, Red Tricycle, LA Parents Magazine, and the LA Times. Her story was also featured in “The New Haven Register.”
She holds an M.Ed in Education and an MAR in Religion from Yale University. As a TEDx speaker, her story has been featured in Fairygodboss and Black Enterprise Magazine.
TABBY BIDDLE (she/her)
Speaker Coach
Tabby is the bestselling author of Find Your Voice: A Woman's Call to Action and the co-creator and co-director of 50 Women Can Change the World in Media & Entertainment. Tabby has been both a TEDx speaker and United Nations Press Fellow, and has been featured by The Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, UN Dispatch, Current TV, NPR, among other international media.
She received her Masters in Education from Bank Street College in New York City and her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Colby College. She lives in Santa Monica, CA with her husband and young son.
JOSHUA CARR (he/him)
Event Coordinator
Joshua Carr is a consultant and the owner of justCARR Creative Consulting, which offers Creative & Professional Support for artists, creators, and teams.
With an emphasis on community, “Carr” (as he in known in many circles) is also the coordinator of The North Hollywood Black & Minority Business Expo (Noho BMBE), a monthly pop-up, held in North Hollywood, CA, serving BIPoC small business owners. Joshua believes that everyone deserves to win, and he’s always ready to ask “How can I help you?” As a new member of our team, we are grateful to have Joshua on board this year!
SheTV MEDIA
Video Production
Through their award-winning video & virtual event production company, co-founders and producers Natalie Perez and Meredith Yinger are about spotlighting stories that are not the status quo, striving to amplify the voices of the marginalized in order to create a positive change in the world.
This dynamic duo has shot two of our previous TEDx events and we couldn't be happier to have them back on board.
QUINTON MEADOWS (he/him)
Principle Photography
Also known as Tex the Artist, Quinton is a professional multidisciplinary artist proficient in dance, photography, fashion and creative direction. Tex has worked many opportunities including those with A$AP Rocky, Black Eyed Peas, Da Baby, Keke Palmer, Dash Radio, the BET Awards, and more.
Alongside his team of creatives, Quinton also built a platform called TEXTUR333S [T3X], a bi-coastal (clothing) brand that he hopes to bring more opportunity to the people who generate positivity, growth and change to their environments.
Our Venue
Cross Campus - South Bay
840 Apollo St, Suite 100El Segundo, California 90245Parking within the event structure is complimentary -- paid for by TEDxDelthorneWomen.See below for parking details.Getting There + Parking Instructions
From Apollo:
Take Rosecrans to Apollo St. Turn onto Apollo.
Park in the 840 Apollo Plaza Parking Structure on the right, off Apollo St. (first parking
structure)
From Continental Way:
Take Rosecrans to Continental Way. Turn onto Continental Way
Park in the 840 Apollo Plaza Parking Structure on the left, off Continental Way (first
parking structure)
Ground level parking:
Park in spots marked Valux, CC Visitor, All-Day Visitor (limited spots)
Follow signs for 840 South Entrance to courtyard
Turn right in courtyard. Follow sign for Cross Campus.
Roof parking (Level 5):
● Park in sports marked Cross Campus (painted blue)
● Take elevator to Level 1
● Once you leave the North Lobby doors from the elevators, walk around the building to
the courtyard and follow the signs for Cross Campus.
Previous TEDxDelthorneWomen Events
Fearless, 2020
Speaker Line-Up
Better Together, 2019
Speaker Line-Up
Listen to Her, 2018
Speaker Line-Up
Gallery
Photos & videos of TEDxDelthorneWomen 2020
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