Our Speakers
Meet our phenomenal TEDxDelthorneWomen 2022 speakers!
Dr. THEMA BRYANT (she/her)
Dr. Thema Bryant, psychologist, spoken word artist, and ordained elder, is the president-elect of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology with more than 120,000 members.
Dr. Thema completed her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Duke University and her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical Center’s Victims of Violence Program.
She is currently a tenured professor of psychology in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University, where she directs the Culture and Trauma Research Laboratory.
TRUDI LEBRON (she/her)
Trudi Lebron is a {Social} Ideator focused on imagining our social futures. She is also the Author of The Antiracist Business Book, the founder of The Institute for Equity-Centered Coaching, and co-host of the podcast That's Not How That Works.
Through her writing, mentorship and institute curriculum, Trudi inspires conversations that confront our assumptions about who we are, and offers observations and examinations about how we live, interact, influence and shape the world around us.
Trudi is currently working on her PhD in Psychology.
MAJOR. (he/him)
As an Americana Soul artist, laced with his signature falsetto, MAJOR. is a Grammy, Soul Train, and 7-time Image Award nominated artist. His star fiercely arose at the debut of the now Platinum hit love song, “Why I Love You," which Stevie Wonder projected as the perfect soundtrack for milestone moments never to be forgotten.
MAJOR. received classical training from The Juilliard School and the Houston Grand Opera High School Voice Studio, and went onto study at Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music.
His joy is infectious and as a Hope Dealer, he leads unapologetically with the very love his music professes.
SUSANNA BARKATAKI (she/her)
As an Indian yoga practitioner and founder of Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change, Susanna Barkataki is best known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga.
Along with her International Bestseller in yoga, Susanna’s trainings are currently shifting the paradigm of what yoga looks like in the West, with a commitment to diversity and culture.
Her gift is storytelling from the roots of yoga and bringing complex philosophical topics down to earth, practical and implementable for students of all experiences.
ODILIA ROMERO (she/her)
As a fierce Zapotec leader, Odilia Romero is the co-founder of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), advocating for Indigenous migrant rights in Los Angeles & throughout California.
She is also an independent interpreter of Zapotec, Spanish, and English for Indigenous communities & her organizing knowledge & experience are held in high regard, with multiple academic publications, awards, & lectures in universities across the United States, including John Hopkins, USC, and UCLA.
Ms. Romero's work has also been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Vogue and Democracy Now.
JENNIFER LAHODA (she/her)
Jennifer Lahoda is the President of Pacific Resource Recovery (PRR), a third-generation family owned & operated environmental services company that specializes in converting industrial waste into alternative fuel, diverting it from being sent to landfills.
PRR was recently named one of the top 100 places to work in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal, a ranking based on anonymous employee feedback.
Jennifer is passionate about creating collaborative models of leadership that are employee-centered and is focused on building upon her family’s legacy of investing in social and environmental justice through service to PRR’s home community of Boyle Heights.
JAMILA CRAIG (she/her)
Jamila Craig, Esq. is a linguist and social impact entrepreneur specializing in Black-centric language coaching and multilingual community building across the African Diaspora.
As the Founder of Jamii Linguists, a Black-lesbian-led multilingual communications team, she leads a 1000+ network of interpreters and translators to support organizational & community leaders & linguists as they leverage the power of language to create impactful, inclusive multilingual spaces.
She speaks Black English, Spanglish, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English at varying levels. It gives her great joy to walk through life as a child of the diaspora and citizen of the world.
DELANNA STUDI (she/her)
As a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation, DeLanna Studi has over 25 years of experience as a performer, storyteller, playwright, and activist. She is the chair of the SAG-AFTRA National Native Americans Committee, and the Artistic Director of Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity Theatre in the country developing and producing plays written by Native American playwrights.
DeLanna originated roles in over twenty World Premieres, including writing and performing in And So We Walked: Along the Trail of Tears where she retraced her family’s footsteps along the Trail of Tears with her father. And So We Walked has toured throughout the country and was the first American play chosen for the Journees Theatricales de Carthage in Tunisia, Africa.
DeLanna is a 2022 United States Arts Fellow.
ANDRÉA RANAE JOHNSON (she/they)
Andréa Ranae Johnson took the personal development and online business industries by storm – challenging transformative leaders to grapple with the ways white supremacy, patriarchy, and classism have informed how we see ourselves, how we engage with each other, as well as how we approach our craft.
She’s become known by thousands as a modern-day philosopher who has the rare ability to deliver tough truths with compassion that doesn’t absolve us of our responsibility to one another.
Today, as a singer, writer, and teacher, Andréa uses her platform to openly share her own mistakes, doubts, and breakthroughs in order to show that we are each capable of co-creating the world we dream of.
MARISA HAMAMOTO (she/her)
Named People Magazine “Women Changing the World”, Marisa is an award-winning Movement Artist. The lived experiences of her body repeatedly not being accepted as a dancer, her Japanese American identity not fitting the box in many spaces, and surviving a stroke that initially paralyzed her from the neck down, has led her to create Infinite Flow, an award-winning dance company that employs disabled and non-disabled artists with diverse intersectional identities, with a mission to use dance as a catalyst to dismantle biases and promote inclusion.
She made history along with wheelchair dancer Piotr Iwanicki by becoming the first dancer to perform at Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater, sharing the stage with CEO Tim Cook.
Marisa is dedicated to creating a more inclusive, just world where we can each feel alive, not just survive.
MYISHA T. HILL (she/her)
Myisha T. Hill is the author of, Heal Your Way Forward: The Co-Conspirator’s Journey to an Antiracist Future. She leads a revolution of heart, mind, and soul, through Check Your Privilege, a global movement she founded, that supports individuals on their journey of becoming actively anti-racist.
And through her online co-conspirators lounge, their aim is to deepen the awareness of how unconscious bias, and the interlocking systems of domination affect the mental health of Black, Brown, Indigenous, marginalized Persons of Color.
Her work awakens others to purposeful passion and serves as a guide toward personal accountability and intergenerational healing.
Special Performance by
Darrel "Friidom" Dunn
Friidom is a multi-disciplinary movement artist, composer, choreographer, director, and actor; known for pioneering the cinematic-dance genre called “Epiic."
With an Arts Technology degree from The University of Texas at Dallas, his mission is to spread movement philosophy & raw expressive street & stage movement creating worlds that bridge divides; a Willy Wonka of movement.
Friidom has provided movement direction & choreography for NBC's The Voice, LA Historic Park & The Taiko Project, Yurii: Tupac & Malcolm X connections, DaBaby, Big Sean, the LA Dance Project, Composer Tribute Series: Hans Zimmer, Johann Johannsson, & John Williams, & Stephen Spielberg, and more.
Meet the Squad
Our collective passion is to create the most exciting and meaningful TEDx event for you!
SONALI FISKE (she/her)
Executive Producer ● Curator ● Host
Sonali is a Sri Lankan-born, California-grown, leadership consultant and Founder of the award-winning BIWoC Revolutionaries Take the Mic, a curriculum she designed to elevate women of color into positions of power & influence. She also tackles social justice, cultural and political issues of our time, on her radio talk show, Revolutionary Voices on Rukus Avenue Radio, with 3.2 million daily listeners.
Sonali helped successfully produce the most racially & culturally diverse TEDx event in the country last year. This is her second round at producing TEDxDelthorneWomen. In 2018, she gave her first TEDx Talk, addressing the reclamation of BIWoC voices and the ways dominant culture can show up in allyship and duty.
FARAH YASMEEN SHAIKH (she/her)
Co-Producer
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh is an internationally acclaimed Kathak Artist as a performer, choreographer, and instructor, and Founder & Artistic Director of Noorani Dance, with two decades of training from the late Pandit Chitresh Das. Farah has been performing and teaching throughout Pakistan, engaging in meaningful exchanges with artists, organizations, students, and art-lovers.
Farah's deeply moving performance at our event last year transformed our audience. And we are thrilled to welcome her as co-producer & thought partner at TEDxDelthorneWomen 2022.
TABBY BIDDLE (she/her)
Speaker Support
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?” For the second year in a row, we are grateful to have Joshua on board again this year!
SheTV MEDIA
Video Production Team
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 four of our previous TEDx events and we couldn't be happier to have them back on board this year.
Our Venue
Cross Campus
South Bay
Located in the beautiful South Bay of Los Angeles, Cross Campus is an airy, open space, ideal for live, communal events like ours.
840 Apollo Street, Suite 100
El Segundo, CA 90245
Previous TEDxDelthorneWomen Events
Revolutionize, 2021
Speaker Line-Up
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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