TEDxGeorgeMasonU

Speakers

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

• Adam Dunigan

  Former Marine, Ex-CIA Case Officer

  Adam Dunigan is a former Marine who served a combat tour and Afghanistan and worked undercover as a CIA case officer, he left government service after nearly two decades to run for office. He also attended Harvard on the GI Bill where he received a degree in International Relations. His professional focus is on the intersection of national security and emerging technologies like AI, examining how their implementation impacts the ethical dimensions of modern warfighting, accelerates opportunities for state-based surveillance, and how massive job dislocation creates the conditions for global instability.

• Dr. Christopher Carr

  Associate Dean (Interdisciplinary & Innovation Impact Storyteller)

  Christopher Carr is the Associate Dean for Outreach, Student Success & Engagement at George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing, where he champions equity and human-centered approaches to STEM education. A scholar-practitioner, Carr leads initiatives that bridge opportunity gaps for K-12 students and vulnerable high-potential populations while fostering experiential learning and industry partnerships. His career spans academia and public service, including roles with the National Science Foundation, American Society for Engineering Education, National Society of Black Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as a senior advisor to the administrator. At EPA, Carr pioneered innovative approaches to workforce development and organizational inclusion, developing the “Casseroles, Community, and Canaries” framework—using narrative storytelling to build psychological safety, strengthen team cohesion, and surface systemic challenges.

• Ferah Munshi

  Astrophysicist and Dark Matter Hunter

  Ferah Munshi is an astrophysicist and dark matter hunter exploring some of the universe’s most elusive mysteries. As a Simons Emmy Noether Fellow and recipient of the COS Dean’s Early Career Excellence Award at George Mason University, her work bridges theory, computation, and observation to understand the invisible matter shaping galaxies and cosmic structure. Passionate about asking questions at the edge of the known, Munshi challenges how we define discovery when the universe refuses to reveal its secrets easily. Beyond research, she is committed to expanding who gets to participate in science and how bold ideas are cultivated in academia. Through her work, she invites us to rethink what it means to search for something we cannot see—but know must exist.

• Glenn Nye

  Think Tank President and Democracy Reform Evangelist

  Glenn Nye is the President & CEO of the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CSPC), a nonpartisan think tank aiming to educate future public policy leaders while serving as an honest broker between the White House, Congress and the Private Sector. He leads discussions on key strategic issues, federal branch relations, and reforming our political system to be more functional and responsive to the American people, while developing the next generation of American leaders. He served Virginia’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, recognized as a legislator willing to work across the aisle seeking solutions in the best interests of Virginia and the country. He continues to focus on curating the American political system and institutions to promote a more cooperative and functional, less divisive politics that will set the United States up for another 250 years of persistently renewing and improving democracy.

• Luke Nathan Phillips

  Tour Guide, Policy Professional, Writer

  Luke Nathan Phillips is a tour guide, policy professional, and writer from Northern Virginia. He has worked in and around policy world in Washington D.C. since 2017, primarily in the bipartisan depolarization advocacy space, for various civic organizations, nonprofits, magazines, journalists, and researchers. Tour guiding, conversation moderation, and writing are his primary trades. Phillips spends his time guiding people around the places he loves and telling their stories, convening interesting people to explore important questions, and writing and speaking on the subjects which fascinate me most. In everything he does, he tries to share his excitement about history, political thought, and civic life with those he works with.

• Miriam Ahmed

  Assistant Professor

  Miriam Ahmed is an Assistant Professor of graphic design at George Mason University. Her publications investigate ethics-based perspectives among underrepresented designers. Her creative practice advocates for translanguaging and multi-cultural typography. She has led graphic design students through writing, illustrating, designing and self-publishing their own children’s books. Across three campuses in four years, over 60 books have been released, several of which are bilingual. At the Mason Korea campus in 2024, her students’ books were released on Kyobo, Korea’s largest bookselling platform. Most recently, she is integrating multi-lingual learning in her Zillybits Adventures illustrated children’s book series for kids 4-7. Outside of design, her Sandology mixed media series features sand from beaches across the world. She values cultural immersion and open-minded exploration that advances globally aware visual communication practices.

• Rushil Johal

  AI Product Manager & Film Producer

  Rushil Johal is an ex-founder, venture scout, actor, and undergraduate studying Data Science and Film Producing at New York University. He believes in harnessing AI for social good in the entertainment and media startup sectors. Based in NYC, Rushil has worked on or presented machine learning research with Scale AI, Penn Medicine, NYU Steinhardt, and Johnson & Johnson. He has led initiatives in digital policy and expanding diversity in STEM, including founding his 501(c)3 Aviate and serving as a FOCUS Fellow at Jane Street and a Google Digital Policy Fellow. Most recently, he is interning as an AI Product Manager at EY Foundry. Outside his technical work, Rushil produces film and experimental performance exploring how emerging technology shapes creative industries.

• Tenzin Lodoe

  Management Consultant

  Tenzin Tsedub Lodoe is a Management Consultant advising Fortune 500 companies on strategy and growth opportunities through data-driven research and analysis. By night, and often on weekends, he runs The Happiness Venture, continuing his research from Harvard on Leadership and Happiness. He has also worked at the White House and a global private equity firm. Tenzin hosts The Bodja Podcast, where he’s interviewed celebrities, politicians, and neuroscientists about meaning and happiness. He’s passionate about exploring how science, spirituality, and storytelling can help people build happier lives and organizations.