TEDxGainesville

Speakers

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

• Amber Uhler

  Mrs. Universe USA 2025 and Swim Safety Advocate

  Amber is a woman who embodies transformation, resilience, and purpose. Once weighing nearly 300 pounds, Amber made the courageous decision to change her life — losing over 160 pounds and shedding not just weight, but every limit she once placed on herself. Today, she stands proudly as Mrs. Universe USA 2025 and a passionate advocate for swim safety and drowning prevention. A survivor of a non-fatal drowning at age five and the rescuer of a drowning child decades later, Amber turned her pain into purpose. Her advocacy led to the creation of legislation supporting free swim lessons for children in Florida. Through her movement, “Shedding Limits,” Amber inspires others to believe that it’s never too late to rewrite your story. Whether she’s volunteering in her community or raising her three children alongside her husband Jamison, Amber leads with courage and heart — reminding audiences everywhere that the greatest transformation begins the moment you decide you’re worthy of more.

• Ayna Meredova

  Community Builder and Cultivator of Cultures of Belonging

  Ayna was born in Turkmenistan and raised within a traditional Turkic culture rooted in ritual, ceremony, and deep communal belonging. At seventeen, she solo immigrated to the United States in search of herself beyond the collective identity of her upbringing. In the land of the individual, she found her voice even as she struggled to feel at home and to belong. That journey of belonging from tribe to individual and beyond led her to develop Somatic Relational Intelligence—an experiential method that explores how we cultivate true belonging, beginning with the body as our first home. Through mentorship, workshops, ritual, and performance art, Ayna guides individuals and communities to reconnect with embodied authenticity and to create cultures of genuine belonging. Her work invites participants to not just understand belonging, but to feel it —offering a direct, human experience of what it means to come home to oneself and to each other.

• Emmanuel Garilus

  Award-Winning Saxophonist, Composer and Educator

  Emmanuel Garilus is an award-winning saxophonist and University of Florida alumnus who uses music as a language of connection, reflection, and hope. Raised in Haiti and now based in Florida, his sound blends Gospel, Jazz, and R&B into expressive performances that resonate across cultures and lived experience. In 2025, Emmanuel was crowned the Amateur Night at the Apollo Grand Finale Winner, becoming the first saxophonist in the competition’s history to earn the title. His work has been featured by The New York Times, NPR, and Broadway World, reaching millions and connecting with more than 100,000 listeners each month. Beyond the stage, Emmanuel serves on Gainesville’s Cultural Affairs Board and mentors young creatives as they develop their voice and artistic identity. Through every performance, he invites audiences to slow down, feel deeply, and experience music as something shared.

• Faye Morrison

  Transformational Coach, Embodiment Expert

  Faye Morrison trained and danced with American Ballet Theatre, where she learned that growth comes not from perfection, but from the disciplined practice of falling and rising again. She brought that same depth to Broadway, starring in Finian's Rainbow — but it was her journey into healing that would define her life's work. Certified in Hellerwork, the transformational practice of fascial reorganization that realigns the body while releasing stored emotional patterns, she began bridging physical mastery with deep human transformation. Today, Faye works in Post-Traumatic Growth, Life Coaching, Hellerwork, and yoga — and as a facilitator of equine-assisted therapy in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Her work is grounded in neuroscience, lived experience, and the belief that every rupture carries the seed of something stronger.

• Jess Mather

  CPT, LPTA, SFG, FRCms, FMS

  Jess is a strength and rehabilitation professional who helps people build strong, healthy, and resilient bodies through sustainable, evidence-based strategies. With over 14 years of experience supporting thousands of individuals from age 9 to 99, Jess has witnessed time and again the body’s incredible capacity to strengthen and heal, regardless of circumstance. For the past decade, she has operated a successful telehealth practice, working with clients in more than a dozen countries through private coaching, courses, and group programs. Jess is also an educational provider and founder of the Chronic Pain & Trauma Curriculum, which trains physicians, therapists, and other health professionals to approach chronic pain through a trauma-informed lens. Drawing from her background in physical therapy, trauma healing, and strength training, Jess blends science and compassion to help others experience less pain, fear, and limitation, and more trust, power, and connection in their bodies.

• Jim Fielding

  Author, Executive Coach

  James (Jim) Fielding is an executive coach, bestselling author, and former President of Disney Stores Worldwide, known for blending operational excellence with radical empathy. With 30+ years leading global brands—Disney, The Gap, Claire’s, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox—Jim now helps leaders and teams thrive through authenticity, courage, and inclusion. His acclaimed book, All Pride, No Ego, chronicles his journey as a queer executive and has positioned him as a trusted voice in leadership and DEI. Featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and 30+ podcasts, Jim speaks to audiences from boardrooms to ballrooms on living and leading with impact. He serves on the Indiana University Foundation Board (Chair, Queer Philanthropy Circle) and Xcel Brands, and supports The Trevor Project and Point Foundation. Based in Atlanta, he’s building a more inclusive world—one conversation at a time.

• Kate Pratt

  Doctor of Physical Therapy

  Dr. Kate Pratt, PT, DPT, CMLD is a doctor of physical therapy, educator, and integrative clinician specializing in complex and chronic pain. She is the founder of the Myofascial Release & Pain Resolution Center of Gainesville, where she works with individuals whose symptoms do not respond to conventional, isolated approaches. Dr. Pratt is a practitioner of John F. Barnes’ Myofascial Release®, a clinical framework that has strongly shaped her perspective on whole-body coordination and adaptation. Her work focuses on bridging conventional clinical medicine with fascia-informed care to better understand how pain develops, persists, and changes over time. Through education and clinical practice, she explores how viewing the body as a connected system can expand how pain, recovery, and resilience are understood. She is particularly interested in how earlier recognition of system-wide patterns may support more effective and integrative approaches to care.

• Landon Harrar

  TEDxGainesville Host

  Landon moved to florida is 2017 to be a news reporter with WCJB TV20. After reporting through the COVID pandemic he was given the opportunity to jump from news, to non-profit economic development with the greater Gainesville chamber of commerce. After successfully supporting multiple large projects results in hundreds of jobs and millions of capital investment here in Alachua county, he will be starting his new adventure as economic development manager for Levy County in February.

• Neha Raje

  Pharmaceutical Scientist, Plant Medicine Expert, Inventor

  A visionary pharmaceutical scientist, embodies a rebel spirit in her mission to revolutionize plant-based healing through Uneness. Born in India and a kin of warrior queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Neha, once a national level gymnast, channeled her fierce determination into science, earning advanced degrees from a premier global drug delivery lab. Detying convention, she left a secure Big Pharma career-where she worked on a secretive cannabis project-to found Oneness in 2020, driven by a passion for authentic, plant-powered wellness. Her groundbreaking new technology, the first to fully solubilize whole-flower hemp in water, achieves over 90% bioavailability, setting a new standard for natural remedies. Validated by FDA-aligned studies, her products, like best-selling hemp-infused drink drops and pain-relief sprays, empower daily wellness. A compelling speaker, Neha inspires at industry events, sharing her bold journey of fusing science, spirituality, and plant medicine to transform lives.

• Rebecca Rolland

  Speech-Language Pathologist, Harvard Lecturer

  A speech-language pathologist, Harvard lecturer, and frequent keynote speaker both nationally and internationally. She is the author of The Art of Talking with Children (HarperOne, 2022), a book translated into 11 languages, as well as the forthcoming guide for professionals, Rich Talk with Young Children: The Art of Leading Conversations for Learning (Brookes Publishing, 2026). She offers professional development to schools, districts, and organizations to support enhanced family relationships and learning environments through communication. Her work explores how conversation, creativity, and play promote resilience and build thriving families, communities, and educational settings. She has worked as a clinician in schools, hospitals, and clinics for over a decade, including as an Oral and Written Language Specialist at. Children's Hospital Boston. She lives with her family in Boston.

• Sun Country Dance Theatre

  Pre-professional Regional Performing Dance Company

  Sun Country Dance Theatre (SCDT), founded in 2008, is a nonprofit, ballet-based youth performing company dedicated to professional-level training, artistic collaboration, and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Judy Benton, a dance professional with over 45 years of experience, SCDT empowers young artists through meaningful performance opportunities that support technical excellence and personal growth. The company creates original works spanning classical ballet, contemporary, and modern styles, collaborating with professional choreographers and artists from diverse communities. Service is central to SCDT’s mission, bringing high-quality dance to underserved youth, seniors, and community audiences. At TEDx 2026, SCDT will present works highlighting artistry, versatility, and dance’s power to build confidence and community. Programs are sponsored in part by the City of Gainesville, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, and Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.

• Tami Kesselman

  Impact Strategist and Executive Coach

  A Partner at LOHAS, Founder of Next Gen Success LLC, and a globally recognized and Executive Coach. A Harvard-trained strategist and former Bain consultant, she is celebrated for her SMART Impact™ framework—helping investors, founders, and family offices align wealth and impact while uncovering business model blind spots others miss. Tami has guided some of the world’s most successful families and investors through complex transitions, ensuring both financial success and meaningful legacy. A respected lecturer at Harvard, Yale, and global investor conferences, she also serves as a SXSW Mentor and elite pitch coach for Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition and the President’s Innovation Challenge. Through Next Gen Success and LoveYourLife360, Tami coaches UHNW inheritors and post-liquidity founders to harmonize wealth and happiness. Currently, she is leading the Davos launch of the ReThink Packaging Alliance, advancing global sustainability and supply chain innovation.