TEDxBU

Speakers

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

• Blake Hanrahan

  Blake Hanrahan is a marketing graduate of Boston University Questrom School of Business who accelerated his degree to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. A theater kid turned business student, Blake’s work centers on storytelling as a strategic tool. He currently works in brand partnerships with Universal Music Group’s °1824, supporting marketing campaigns for major and emerging artists. During his time at BU, Blake led a cross-functional team to first place in Questrom’s CORE business development competition, served in various student leadership roles like Resident Assistant and executive produced BUTV’s The Wire, using media as a platform for dialogue and community. Beyond campus, Blake enjoys creating digital lifestyle and mindset-focused content, primarily on his TikTok (@blakehanrahan). He is driven by a belief that staying true to oneself, especially in uncomfortable spaces, is not only transformative but a powerful strategy for long-term success.

• Diya Shah

  Diya Shah is a senior at Boston University's College of Communication studying Media Science, with a double minor in Journalism and Innovation & Entrepreneurship through the Questrom School of Business at BU. After graduation, she plans on working in the corporate world in consulting. She is from Sayreville, New Jersey and she is passionate on spreading awareness about South Asian hate. She is heavily involved on campus as she is a Senior Advisor to her Indian Dance team: BU Fatakada, a Com Ambassador, a Spark ambassador, and a student employee at the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences. She loves to public speak and is an outgoing personality.

• Douglas Hannah

  Douglas Hannah is an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a former professor at Boston University. An award-winning teacher and researcher, he studies how individuals navigate the uncertainty and ambiguity of a dynamic world and build organizations to have impact. As an educator, he's currently working on radical new ways to scale experiential entrepreneurship education, with new modalities and technologies and a focus on increasing access to underserved student populations. When he's not in the classroom, you'll find him building, often with cardboard, wood, and hot glue, with many failures and unexpected twists, as a firm believer that shopcraft is a form of soulcraft.

• Elaheh Bahari

  Elaheh Bahari is a NYC-born creative and emerging voice in the film and music industries. She is graduating from Boston University with a degree in Advertising, with a focus on consumer insights and strategic thinking. Alongside her studies, Elaheh has worked in both the film and music industries, gaining experience across major global platforms. She worked alongside Sundance-winning Iranian-American filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz during her release of “the Persian Version” with Sony, supporting industry outreach, executive meetings with studios, and release-related initiatives. Elaheh also worked at Warner Music Group in London as a Global Digital Accounts Intern, where she supported global digital monetization and rights protection across all platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and SoundCloud. In parallel, she has built an international career in music as a DJ and currently serves as Creative Director for 5ess1ons, a Boston-based, globally active house-music event series.

• Kilee Simon

  Kilee Simon is a junior undergraduate student at Boston University from New York majoring in Political Science with a minor in African American and Black Diasporic Studies. A member of the Kilachand Honors College she is passionate about restorative justice, equity community action, and education. She is the co-founder of the Society of Black Women in Law a nonprofit she launched with her colleagues during her junior year, and the President and co-founder of Soulaan, the generational Black American student organization at Boston University. Kilee previously served as a class representative on the Kilachand Leadership Advisory Board and is currently completing her honors thesis on how race class and language biases influence credibility judgments in U.S. courtrooms. In addition to her leadership roles Kilee has worked as a tutor with the BU Initiative for Literacy Development serving students in Boston Public Schools, and as a research assistant with the Center for Forced Displacement.

• Mona Nour

  Dr. Nour is a TEDx speaker whose talks blend lived experience, clinical insight, and research, delivered with clarity, humor, and honesty. She speaks to public and academic audiences about loneliness, identity, and the ways people learn—often unconsciously—to leave parts of themselves behind in order to belong. Her work invites audiences to move beyond vague longings for connection and toward a more grounded understanding of where and how belonging actually shows up in their lives. She holds a PhD in Counseling & Counselor Education from North Carolina State University, and is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Qualified Supervisor (LCMHC-QS). In addition to her clinical and leadership work, Dr. Nour is committed to public dialogue that makes psychological insight accessible without oversimplifying it. Across settings, her work asks a consistent question: What does it mean to belong without disappearing?

• Stephen Murray

  Stephen Murray, MPH, NRP, is the Associate Director of Overdose Prevention and the Director of the SafeSpot Overdose Hotline at Boston Medical Center and an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. In 2021, he retired as a Lieutenant at a regional ambulance service in Western Massachusetts, and had served as a first responder since 2013, having worked both as a firefighter and paramedic. Stephen provides expert technical assistance around the topics of overdose prevention, emergency medical services, and lived experience workforce to a variety of organizations, county and state governments. In September 2023, he was featured in the multiple award-winning Episode 809 ("The Call") on This American Life and in August 2025, he was a featured spokesperson for the Ad Council and National Council for Mental Wellbeing "Start with Hope" campaign.

• W. Andy Schraegle

  Andy is a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist whose work examines how the brain shapes identity, behavior, and the capacity for change under extreme conditions. As an expert witness in high-stakes legal cases involving trauma and violent crime, he has spent nearly two decades studying how people adapt when safety and self-concept are challenged. Through his clinical practice, Andy has conducted hundreds of neuropsychological evaluations across the lifespan and consulted with attorneys, courts, and medical institutions. His work draws from neuroscience, psychology, and experience working with incarcerated individuals, where questions of responsibility and transformation come into focus. Andy is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Neurology at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and co-founder of The Worthiness Project.

• Wen Qi

  Wen Qi is a junior studying Comparative Literature and Sociology. She hails from Yancheng, a city in the eastern part of China, where red-crowned cranes and elk thrive in reed marshes. From a young age, reading and singing brought her happiness. She arrived in Boston with a heart to see a diversified world, hoping to bring her unique contribution to it. Last year, she served as a FY 101 Peer Mentor to help first-year students adapt to college life. In her honors thesis, she studies how education as a pathway helps older adults transition to later-life. She enjoys deep dives into topics and really appreciates the help she received from her loved ones in the process. In her free time, she likes to explore different cities, make vlogs, draw landscapes, and play tennis!