TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells

Speakers

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

• Afsar Ali

  Positive Psychology

  With a Master's degree in Positive Psychology, Afsar uses evidence-based techniques to help individuals and organisations build sustainable wellbeing habits and redirect stress spirals into cultivating attention to what truly matters. He works on both a corporate and community level across Essex and London, primarily with a mission to create safe spaces that allow us to mute the noises that take us away from our own authentic voice. The Positive Psychology Photowalk practice emerged from Afsar's personal exploration of memory, presence, and meaning during periods of depressive dissociation, evolving into a transformative intervention that has been successfully delivered across the UK, including TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells Live. You can find out more about this work and get in touch from www.mutedhealing.com

• Albion Thaqi

  Doctor

  Dr Albion Thaqi is a GP specialty trainee currently working in Kent, having qualified with a medical degree at Anglia Ruskin University in 2023. As a clinician, he is passionate about using evidence-based treatments to achieve the best possible health outcomes for the patients he cares for.

• Alessandra Di Lorenzo

  Digital Media Executive

  Alessandra Di Lorenzo is a digital media executive with over 20 years of experience in platform, commercial and leadership roles. She was founder and CEO of lastminute.com Media, following senior roles at eBay and Vodafone across advertising, sales and marketing. Today, she helps organisations make sense of the AI shift through the lens of governance, media systems and human decision making. She is also a TEDx speaker, author of ADJUST, and a visiting lecturer.

• David Vaux

  Firefighter turned Osteopath

  David Vaux served as a London Firefighter before a career-ending injury led him to retrain as an osteopath. Researching strength training and movement as part of his own recovery, he became a leading voice in rehab, ageing, and resilience. Combining clinical expertise with lived experience, he had worked across the arts, international sport, and healthy ageing. David also consults with organisations focused on preventing frailty and has led teams within the UK Government’s Healthy Ageing Challenge. A regular contributor to mainstream media, he is recognised as an authority on resilience and strength in later life. His book ‘Stronger’ was published by Hachette in 2024. David is a vocal advocate for breaking down barriers to strength training in middle or older age and how to train smarter for the long game. His mission is the democratisation of strength in older age, believing as he does that ‘strength is like a pension, the sooner we start investing, the better our older age will be’.

• Hannah Gee

  Campaigner

  Hannah Gee is the founder of Fairer Exams, a parent-led campaign calling for a fairer way to assess young people who struggle with traditional exams. Her campaign began after her son, who is dyslexic, repeatedly missed GCSE English and Maths passes by tiny margins. After discovering that around seven in ten young people with SEND also leave school without passing both English and Maths GCSE, Hannah began campaigning for practical reform so that more children can leave school with confidence, dignity and recognised qualifications.

• Monica Dragnescu

  Accountant

  Monica Dragnescu has spent more than 25 years working with business owners and their numbers. Starting her career in accounting, she became fascinated by a question that spreadsheets could not answer: why do intelligent, capable people keep repeating the same financial and business patterns, even when they know better? Monica noticed people often repeat the same financial and business problems in different forms, even when they have the knowledge to avoid them. Her work explores the hidden patterns that shape money, leadership, growth, and success, helping people understand why lasting change requires more than strategy alone.

• Rachel Ballantyne

  Education Consultant

  Rachel Ballantyne is an education consultant, CPD author, and keynote speaker who works with schools on leadership, teacher development, and safeguarding. Through her work, she explores how school cultures can better support teacher mothers and help more educators stay and thrive in the profession.

• Sean Turner

  Theatre Director

  Sean is a multi-award-winning theatre director whose work has been enjoyed in the West End, New York and across the world. He is also the co-founder of Kidsbury, an imaginative role play village for children. He lives in Tunbridge Wells with his wife and their daughter.

• Steve Chapman

  Artist, Writer, Podcaster

  Steve Xoh (aka Steve Chapman) is an artist, writer, speaker and podcaster who is fascinated with the mysteries of what it means to be human. He has spoken around the world on the subject of creativity, has exhibited alongside the likes of Pablo Picasso and David Shrigley and has had his work displayed on every continent on the planet. He is host of the popular “Creative Adventures - an accidental podcast” which he describes as a meandering audio scrapbook of his mind. Steve is at his best when he is not quite sure what he is doing. (Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevexoh Website: www.canscorpionssmoke.com)