Explore this map to learn about trees around Penn's campus. Then, vote on which trees you recognize
Explore this map to learn about trees around Penn's campus. Then, vote on which trees you recognize
Explore this map to learn about trees around Penn's campus. Then, vote on which trees you recognize
Explore this map to learn about trees around Penn's campus. Then, vote on which trees you recognize
S P E A K E R L I N E U P
TEDxPenn 2025 Conference
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HOLLY HATCHER-FRAZIER​
Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier, best known as the “voice of reason” on the popular docuseries, Dance Moms, found her professional background in education to be a great asset after transitioning to the television series as an original cast member. A doctoral graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, Dr. Hatcher-Frazier worked in education for more than 20 years, in various roles, including as a teacher, administrator and principal before joining the show. Dr. Hatcher-Frazier served as a positive role model both on and off the reality television show. Dr. Hatcher-Frazier enjoys new challenges and inspires others through public speaking and sharing her reflections as a podcast co-host. An avid traveler with an adventurous spirit, Dr. Hatcher-Frazier is a digital contributor to Travel & Leisure Asia. She also enjoys giving back to her community and is honored to serve on the boards of City Theater and the Pittsburgh Film Office. Dr. Hatcher-Frazier is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, where she enjoys working with other women who are passionate about service, leadership and scholarship. Her most fulfilling roles in life are those of wife and mother to three fabulous children.​
JETT PUCKETT​
Jett Puckett is a Penn JD/MBA Alumnus (‘16), devoted father, and social media star passionate about spreading positivity and love on social media. Jett was valedictorian of both his high school and graduating class at the University of Georgia. He was later the youngest person in the JD/MBA program at Wharton and UPenn Law. Jett then began his career in investment banking and private equity focused primarily on health care, ultimately becoming an owner in a mergers & acquisitions firm focused on the dental industry. Today, Jett and his wife also own their own social media company, which generate 100s of millions of views per month, and their own fashion company, Quintessential Love. Jett is changing the game—leading with love, authenticity, and unwavering positivity. With their genuine storytelling and heartfelt moments, their videos do more than entertain—they uplift, inspire, and brighten millions of people’s days. He believes in using his platform to change traditional media and to encourage more creators to be beacons of light.
JAIME TEEVAN
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Jaime Teevan is Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, where she is responsible for driving research-backed innovation in the company's core products. Jaime is world-renowned for her research into productivity and personalized search and was recognized by TIME as one of the top 100 people to play an instrumental role in AI development and societal advancement. She led the creation of M365 Copilot by integrating AI into Microsoft products, invented the first personalized search algorithm used by Bing, and coordinated the company's hybrid work research during the pandemic. Previously she was Technical Advisor to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Jaime is an ACM Fellow and a member of the SIGIR and CHI Academies. She holds a Ph.D. in AI from MIT and a B.S. from Yale and is an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.
JOHN HOLLWAY
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John F. Hollway is Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and a Senior Fellow at Penn's Positive Psychology Center. His research helps organizations confront challenges and turn negative occurrences into opportunities for quality improvement. He is a national thought leader on the use of root cause analysis in criminal justice and is a frequent consultant to criminal justice agencies and corporations on quality improvement and measurement issues. Hollway is the author of numerous publications, including “Conviction Review Units: A National Perspective” (2016), “A Systems Approach to Preventing Errors in Criminal Justice” (2014), and Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom, winner of the National Independent Book Award for non-fiction in 2011 and one of the Chicago Sun-Times’ Best Books of the Year. Hollway holds a BA from Penn in Diplomatic History with a minor in East Asian Studies, a JD with honors from the George Washington University Law School, and a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) degree with Distinction from Penn.
PETER DECHERNEY​
Peter Decherney is an award-winning fine art photographer, filmmaker, and author. He holds the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Chair in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and Director of the Penn Global Documentary Institute. Peter is the author or editor of seven books including HOLLYWOOD’S COPYRIGHT WARS: FROM EDISON TO THE INTERNET and HOLLYWOOD: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION. He has also written for The New York Times, Forbes, and Inside Higher Ed, among many other publications. His photographs of global Jewish communities have been exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities, and his first book of photography, ENDLESS EXODUS: THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE IN ETHIOPIA is forthcoming. Peter’s films focus on migration and the political role of artists. His virtual reality docuseries, THE HEART OF PUERTO RICO, about artists in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria (co-directed with Jean Lee) won the Best VR Experience and Best Director awards at the AT&T Film Awards. His documentary, DREAMING OF JERUSALEM (co-directed with Sosena Solomon), about the Jewish community in Ethiopia, is a Discovery+ original. IS IT BECAUSE I’M A GIRL, his documentary about the South Sudanese Hip-Hop Dancer Nao.G, premiered at the Miami Film Festival and has won many top festival awards. His two films about the Abayudaya (Jewish) communities in Ugandana are currently showing at festivals. Peter has been an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scholar, a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, and a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy to Myanmar. He is an award-winning teacher, whose open online course on the history of Hollywood has enrolled more than 80,000 learners. He also holds a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and an affiliation with the Penn Law Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition. more at decherney.org.
NOAH WEBER​
Noah is the Chief Information Officer of Olden and heads the development of our AI and data infrastructure. Previously, Noah was the CTO of Celeris Tx, developing AI-guided protein therapeutics, and a Kaggle Grandmaster, for which he was awarded the Forbes 30U30 in Europe. Noah received his bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in applied mathematics at the Technical University of Vienna, where he also served as a lecturer prior to starting Olden.
NAHEEL JAWAID​
Naheel is a designer and founder. He spent 8 years building new products at Google like AR Glasses and AI Creation Apps. He's now building Silicon Valley School of Design (SVSD), an accelerator that takes a small hand-selected group of high ambition college students, and turns them into top 10% designers. He also tours colleges telling his story about the importance of going all-in on what you love.
MALAYA ULAN
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Malaya Ulan (Freedom Rain) is a sixteen-year-old Filipino-American Philadelphia based artivist. Ulan currently serves as the 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. Malaya Ulan is a multidimensional poet who merges her poetry with dance, film, and visual art. Ulan recently spoke at the United Nations Fourth Review Conference on the Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons with IANSA. She has performed at the Barnes Foundation, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Asian Arts Initiative, Painted Bride, Movement Research at Judson Dance Theatre, Festive Walk Philippines and more. She collaborates with her mother in a collective, AniMalayaWorks. Ulan was awarded the Scholastic Art and Writing gold key for the Philadelphia region in 2023 and first place in the open category for the Youth Film Awards at WHYY for her poetic film Anthem Erased. Her poetry accompanied by paintings has been exhibited at Da Vinci Art Alliance Exhibit and Imperfect Gallery.
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BENJAMIN FERNANDEZ​
Benjamin Fernandes Founder and CEO NALA Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. Benjamin grew up in Tanzania then earned scholarships that took him to America for the first time at the age of 17. At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, being the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions. Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States. Fernandes founded NALA, a fintech startup that is on a mission to build payments for the next billion. NALA operates across 21 countries in Europe, the US and the UK with nearly 150 employees. NALA raised a total of $50m backed by leading US investors such as Y-Combinator, Accel, Acrew, Amplo and Bessemer Partners. In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world. In 2023, Fernandes was listed on the Top 100 Changemakers list for Africa. In 2024, Forbes online featured Fernandes on their daily cover with a cover story.