TEDxVCU

Speakers

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

• Alexandria Davis

  Alexandria Davis is a student, small business owner, and advocate focused on improving outcomes for foster youth in higher education. After aging out of foster care, she launched a small pastry business and later returned to college, where mentorship and basic needs support shaped her journey. Now a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, she works to ensure foster youth are supported, seen, and given the opportunity to succeed.

• Daniel Custódio

  Daniel Custódio is a Fortune 500 executive with 20+ years of experience leading large-scale transformation across fintech, healthcare, government, and technology. He specializes in Lean principles and systems thinking to drive sustainable growth and improved outcomes. His work includes contributing to GBMC’s Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award achievement, increasing AllMed’s profitability by 20%, and leading AI and automation initiatives for brands like Discover, Amazon, and GE. He holds a DBA from Fox School of Business, an MBA from Kellogg, and a BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Hamilton College.

• Gretchen Neigh

  A neuroscientist and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine and an alumna of VCU’s Executive MBA program (Class of 2023), Dr. Gretchen Neigh studies how stress gets under the skin—shaping the brain, the immune system, and lifelong health. Her work challenges us to see stress not just as a psychological burden, but as a powerful biological force that influences who we become and how we heal. By bridging neuroscience, immunology, and real-world experience, she translates complex science into insights that matter for both mental and physical health. Beyond the lab, Dr. Neigh is a passionate mentor and scientific leader deeply committed to training the next generation of researchers and advancing science that improves human health.

• Leslie Jarvis

  Leslie Jarvis is a Virginia-based environmental advocate and entrepreneur whose work is rooted in lived experience. After her family’s small business was shut down for capturing rainwater, Leslie was pushed into the world of water advocacy and systems change. What began as a personal fight became a larger mission to challenge outdated systems and promote resilience, equity, and wise water management. Leslie is driven by the belief that environmental solutions should be practical, accessible, and shaped by the communities they serve. Her work focuses on reimagining how we value natural resources in the face of climate change, infrastructure strain, and growing water insecurity.

• Maya Shah

  Maya Shah is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research mainly focuses on public health issues. She is currently researching Intellectual Humility in relation to preventative measures for gun violence. Specifically she analyzes the relationship between Intellectual Humility and traits indicative of a propensity towards gun violence. She has published a paper on this topic in The Cureus Journal of Medical Science. She has also presented at The Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention. Previously, she researched the efficacy of masking in relation to COVID-19 counts. She has contributed to the literature on this topic and her research was published in the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings and used to help form the Living Health Guidelines in the Philippines. She has presented at the American Thoracic Society’s International Conference and the Texas Public Health Association’s Annual Convention.

• Sterling Hundley

  Illustrator and Professor Sterling Hundley has collaborated with clients from NASA to the Grammys to design pictures that speak louder than words. As an illustrator, Communication Arts Professor at VCU, Founder of the creative outfitter company Legendeer and Co-Founder of the Applied Arts Lab at VCU, Sterling has collaborated with an array of clients to unpack the magic of creativity into a framework of logic. From first stage visualization and prototyping to Key Art and marquee movie art, Hundley translates complex ideas into clear and direct visual communication. A VMFA fellow, Artist-in-Residence at VCUHealth, Professor and the recipient of international and national illustration awards from the Museum of American Illustration, Communication Arts and American Illustration, Professor Hundley employs embedded research and a unique ideation pipeline to build ideas that make the unseen seen.

• Yossera Bouchtia

  Yossera Bouchtia is an award-winning filmmaker and educator whose work bridges experimental storytelling, cultural memory, and the experience of the sublime in everyday life. Her films span genres including magical realism, neorealism, thrillers, biopics, drama, and experimental forms. Drawing on her Moroccan-American upbringing, her storytelling bridges East and West, amplifying unheard voices and shedding light on unseen truths. Bouchtia approaches storytelling as a practice of being – an invitation into consciousness, attention, witnessing, and deeper presence. She holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from Columbia University and a dual degree in Cinema and Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is currently Associate Professor and Program Director of Cinema at VCU School of the Arts.