TEDxNewRiver

Speakers

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

• Benjamin Courchia

  Critical Care Physician

  Dr. Benjamin Courchia is a dedicated neonatal critical care physician and Medical Director of the Level III regional NICU at HCA Florida University Hospital. Under his leadership, the unit has prioritized individualized, evidence-based practices, earning the HCA Healthcare Unit of Distinction Award in both 2023 and 2024. He serves as Chair of Pediatrics at Nova Southeastern University Kiran C. Patel College of Medicine, where he shapes future physicians through courses in Embryology and Principles of Medicine. Dr. Courchia is also the creator and host of The Incubator Podcast, the leading online learning platform for neonatology, and the founder of the Delphi Neonatal Innovation Conference, a premier hub for collaboration in the field. Born and raised in Marseille, France, he now resides in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, with his wife and two daughters. He remains committed to advancing neonatal care and education for clinicians and patients worldwide.

• Harry McCusker

  R&D at Pampers

  Harry McCusker is the Director of Research & Development for North America Pampers Diapers, bringing over 26 years of experience in developing innovative ingredients, formulations, and processes for baby products, including diapers and wipes. With a global perspective, he has designed diapers to meet the needs of babies and parents everywhere, with a special focus on creating solutions for newborns in hospitals and the NICU. A passionate advocate for infant care, Harry draws from his personal experience as a proud parent of two children who grew up using Pampers.

• Jan Beger

  Global Head of AI Advocacy at GE HealthCare

  Jan Beger, Global Head of AI Advocacy at GE HealthCare, focuses on turning AI in healthcare from promise into practice by equipping professionals with practical skills. With 20+ years in healthcare informatics, medical imaging, and AI, he bridges technology and real-world clinical use. As Executive Director of HelloAI, supported by EIT Health, he leads global AI literacy efforts that have reached 3,500+ participants across 70+ countries through flexible learning and live events. Jan also advances adoption through the Edison Accelerator, developed by GE HealthCare with Telefónica Open Innovation Hub, connecting providers and startups to co-develop AI solutions. He additionally founded GR4AI.Academy to introduce children to AI’s societal impact.

• Kevin Parry

  Stop-Motion Animator & Video Wizard

  Kevin Parry is a Canadian stop-motion animator, magician, and visual effects creator with 15+ years in the film industry. Born in Northern Ontario, he graduated from Sheridan College's Animation program in 2010, where his short film "The Arctic Circle" won Best Character Animation and was praised by Tim Burton. He animated at LAIKA on Oscar-nominated films including "Kubo and the Two Strings," "The Boxtrolls," and "Missing Link." Now based in Toronto, Kevin has built a social media following of 9+ million across platforms, creating viral stop-motion content and "mind-bending illusions." He produces scroll-stopping ads for major brands like Listerine and Malibu Rum, teaches animation courses, and runs YouTube tutorials. His innovative approach combines traditional stop-motion with digital post-production, earning recognition as a leading creator in contemporary animation and social media content.

• Laura Vater

  Writer, Speaker, and Oncologist

  Dr. Laura Vater is striving to keep healthcare human, for both patients and clinicians. She’s a medical oncologist, writer, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and Director of Compassionate Medical Education at the Hippocratic Collective. She is the founding co-director of the Young Onset Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at IU, and directs Writing for Wellness, a narrative writing program. Her writing has been featured in Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen, and the forthcoming Where It Hurts anthology by editor Donna Bulseco. In 2017, she developed a wellness behavioral tool for patients and clinicians called the SMILE Scale. She engages with an audience of over 200,000 on social media, promoting humanism in medicine.

• Lauren Fine

  Physician & Medical Educator

  What if the question mattered more than the answer? Lauren Fine, MD, FAAAAI, knows what it feels like to start over. After years as a board-certified allergist/immunologist, she reinvented herself as a medical educator—and discovered that the most powerful thing she could teach wasn't knowledge, but how to think. Now, as Assistant Dean of Clinical Skills Education at Nova Southeastern University's Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine and faculty at the Harvard Macy Institute, she's on a mission to flip the script on what expertise means: reimagining how we train thinkers, not just knowers. Through her newsletter Permission to Change: Finding Your Ikigai, she coaches physicians and educators through their own reinventions. Lauren is fascinated by the moment when not knowing stops being a problem and starts being a beginning—and she believes we all deserve permission to begin with a question instead of an answer. Because asking the right questions can change everything.

• Loren DiGiorgi

  Pianist

  Loren DiGiorgi is a pianist, humorist, and composer who began classical training at age five. Known for musical antics like playing songs in reverse, blending melodies, and reimagining classical pieces in jazz styles, he delights audiences by weaving random song requests into harmonious medleys. With hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, Loren has composed hundreds of songs since writing his first at age seven and securing his first copyright at twelve. His production tracks appear in music libraries across the US, UK, Canada, and Australian television. He consistently releases new music on streaming platforms and Bandcamp, with sheet music available for purchase. His journey exemplifies creativity, dedication, and the joy of sharing music with the world.

• Nancy Segal

  Professor of Psychology

  Dr. Nancy L. Segal is Psychology Professor and Director of the Twin Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton. She holds degrees from Boston University (B.A.) and University of Chicago (M.A., Ph.D.). Author of 300+ scholarly articles and 11 books, including award-winning "Born Together-Reared Apart" and recent works "The Twin Children of the Holocaust" and "Gay Fathers, Twin Sons." Her research has been featured in major media including NYT, Atlantic Monthly, Oprah, CNN, and NPR. She received the 2005 James Shields Award for Lifetime Contributions to Twin Research and was named one of Orange County's 100 Most Influential People. She appears in Netflix's "The Accidental Twins" (2024) and serves as consultant to twin research in Brazil. Currently writing books on twin relationships and career narrative.

• Pascale van Kipnis Caplow

  Ballerina

  A New York City native, Pascale began performing at Lincoln Center at age eight. After training at the School of American Ballet, she joined the New York City Ballet, rising to Soloist in 1999. During her career, she danced numerous principal roles, originated works by legends like Jerome Robbins and Christopher Wheeldon, and toured internationally to iconic stages including the Mariinsky Theatre and the Acropolis. After retiring, Pascale focused on building a family. Following a diagnosis of infertility, she welcomed triplets who spent weeks in the NICU. Inspired by this journey, she now serves as a mentor with ICUbaby, offering support to families navigating the NICU experience. Now based in Miami with her four children, Pascale serves as Treasurer of Slow Food Miami and continues to teach ballet. She holds a BA in Applied Psychology from UMass Amherst and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

• Phyllis Dennery

  Physician

  Dr. Phyllis A. Dennery is the Sylvia Kay Hassenfeld Chair of Pediatrics at Brown University's Warren Alpert School of Medicine and Pediatrician-in-Chief at Rhode Island Hospital/Medical Director at Hasbro Children's Hospital. She holds a B.S. from McGill University, M.D. from Howard University, completed pediatric residency at Children's Hospital National Medical Center, and neonatal-perinatal fellowship at Case Western Reserve. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2014) and Association of American Physicians (2015), she served as President of Society for Pediatric Research and International Pediatric Research Foundation. Her research focuses on neonatal lung injury mechanisms, with clinical interests in jaundice, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, prematurity consequences, and perinatal health disparities. She leads an NIH-funded pediatric clinical trials network.

• Wilford Amy

  Nurse Scientist

  Amy Wiford, Pampers Nurse Scientist, works as a scientist on Procter & Gamble’s North America Baby Care research & development team. She has over ten years of nursing experience caring for critically ill infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and managing NICU nurses. She also served as a nurse educator for a well-known medical device company. She has committed her career to the happy, healthy development of all babies while strengthening Pampers hospital program. After working in the Intensive Care Nursery at Duke University Medical Center and NICU at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, she landed her current position, at P&G’s headquarters in Cincinnati, OH, where she was born and raised. Amy continues to educate Health Professionals as an active Continue Education speaker in National Professional Associations.