TEDxSydney

Speakers

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

• Baran Yildiz

  Baran Yildiz is a Sydney & Blue Mountains based multi-instrumentalist and renowned as one of Australia's most talented handpan players. Baran has a Turkish background and his music combines melodies and rhythms of the Anatolia, Middle East and Africa with a modern touch on the hand pan, piano and various percussion instruments. Originally trained in classical piano and jazz drums, Baran has gradually become a contemporary world music composer. Baran has released two albums: ‘Interbeing’ (September 2019) and Bridging Worlds (October 2023), blending various modern world and neo-classical music elements to present enchanting instrumental soundscapes. Baran pushes the boundaries of the handpan instrument through experimenting with different melodic layers and collaborating with other leading instrumentalists. He is regularly invited to perform at the prominent world music venues and festivals across Australia.

• Catriona Wallace

  Catriona Wallace walks between the worlds of business and shamanism, embodying a unique blend of expertise forged through training with the Shipibo people in Peru. With a profound commitment to fostering the evolution of both technology and humanity, Catriona has cultivated a global reputation as a leader in both technology ethics and the Psychedelic Renaissance movement.

• David Beaumont

  David Beaumont is a Wiradjuri man and Indigenous leadership and engagement practitioner based on Gadigal Country in Sydney. He was recently Program Manager of the Gadigal Centre at the University of Sydney, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and strengthening culturally safe institutional practice. With more than two decades at the City of Sydney, including leadership roles connected to the City’s Indigenous strategy, the Eora Journey, Beaumont is widely recognised as a bridge between community, institutions and public space. His work spans cultural consultation, public-domain storytelling, media and reconciliation initiatives, and is grounded in a philosophy of cultural responsibility, “understand before undertaking,” and embedding Indigenous systems from the outset rather than retrofitting them later.

• Joel Pearson

  Joel Pearson is a Neuro Futurist, neuroscientist, author, Director of the Future Minds Lab, Deputy Director of Human Readiness at the UNSW AI Institute, and an ARC Future Fellow at the University of New South Wales. He initially studied art and filmmaking at the College of Fine Arts before turning to the scientific mysteries of human consciousness and the complexities of the brain. He is a prolific public speaker, writer, and world expert in Intuition, the psychology of AI, mental imagery, and Aphantasia. His debut book, The Intuition Toolkit: The New Science of Knowing What Without Knowing Why, was published in 2024. His pioneering research has significantly altered our understanding of intuition, the human imagination, aphantasia, and the psychological impact of AI on humanity. He is now helping companies prepare for the disruptive change of the AI revolution.

• Layne Beachley

  Layne Beachley is regarded as the most successful female surfer in history and remains the only surfer, male or female, to win six consecutive world titles (1998–2003), later claiming a seventh in 2006 before retiring from the World Tour in 2008. A trailblazer for gender equality in surfing, she features in the documentary Girls Can’t Surf, which highlights the sexist culture of the 80s and 90s and her role in advancing pay equity in 2018. Beyond competition, she mentored the Australian Olympic team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, holds three Guinness World Records, serves as Chair of Surfing Australia, and is an Officer of the Order of Australia. Through her Awake Academy, a seven-round online course distilling 40 years of life lessons, she supports others to move beyond fear and fulfil their potential. Having overcome chronic fatigue, depression, serious injuries and self-doubt, Beachley is now a sought-after keynote speaker and mentor known for her resilience, honesty and commitment to helping people find their edge.

• Paul Liknaitzky

  Dr Paul Liknaitzky is Head of the Clinical Psychedelic Lab and a Senior Research Fellow within the Dept of Psychiatry at Monash University. He has played a central role in establishing the field of clinical psychedelic research in Australia, and is Principal Investigator across a nationally leading program of psychedelic trials. He is also the Director of the Monash Psychedelic Education Program. Liknaitzky leads the country’s largest and most experienced team of psychedelic researchers and clinicians, and collaborates extensively with academic, clinical, government, and industry partners nationally and internationally. Liknaitzky founded Australia’s first dedicated psychedelic research laboratory, coordinated the country’s first applied psychedelic therapist training initiative, established and directs the first university-accredited psychedelic education program, and secured the first industry funding for psychedelic research in Australia. He co-convenes the Australasian Research Group on Psychedelic Science, and is a scientific advisor to psychedelic groups nationally and internationally. Liknaitzky’s work is focused on investigating novel applications for psychedelic therapies, translating evidence into safe and effective clinical practice, identifying under-examined risks and ethical challenges, advancing next-generation therapist training, and improving access, scalability, and affordability of care.

• Sughra Shah Bukhari

  Sughra’s work is grounded in numbers, yet shaped by everything that happens beyond them. Having lived and worked across six countries in just ten years, she has repeatedly had to walk into unfamiliar rooms and work out where, and how, she fits. Not by title or credentials, but by instinct. That experience led her to recognise something most of us overlook: a quiet, powerful intelligence that helps us read people, adapt to context, and build belonging from nothing. Now working in tech and finance in Sydney, where AI is part of the everyday conversation, Sughra is interested in what can’t be automated, the human capability we rely on when there’s no clear map. In a world increasingly shaped by machines, she asks: what if the skill you’ve been using to find your place… is the thing AI can’t replace?