TEDxWoodLaneWomen

Speakers

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

• Alice Spencer

  Alice is part of CISL’s Senior Leadership Team and the Executive Director of Education, engaging 7,000-10,000 learners each year – from board directors to entrepreneurs and future leaders. She personally leads work to curate mindset-shifting, strategy defining programmes with a wide range of organisations across sectors and geographies including Tata Group, IKEA, BNP Paribas, Virgin Group, Temasek, Dow and Ahold Delhaize. She has served as the global lead for CISL’s flagship seminar, the Business & Sustainability Programme, founded by Patron King Charles III in 1994 and delivered each year in Cambridge, Singapore, Melbourne and Kenya.

• Caroline Rush

  Caroline Rush is a British marketing and public relations professional who was CEO of the British Fashion Council (BFC) from 2009 until 2025. She began her career in PR and marketing in the early 1990s. Her association with the BFC goes back to 1998, when she consulted for London Fashion Week. She founded Crush Communications in 2002, which later became involved in handling the BFC’s press office among other initiatives. During her leadership at the BFC, she oversaw substantial growth: London Fashion Week’s status among the “Big Four” strengthened, the BFC’s revenue, and sustainability were launched, including the Institute of Positive Fashion and the BFC Foundation. Rush was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015 for her services to the British fashion industry.

• Chloe Guilfoyle

  Chloe Guilfoyle is a Franco-Irish entrepreneur who began her career as a lawyer before building her own startup and leading Femmes Business Angels, France’s largest network of female investors. Through these experiences, she discovered that resilience is forged not in isolation but through cooperation and shared strength. She went on to found Avalon, a modern guild for entrepreneurs, where founders support each other with clarity, trust, and collective intelligence.

• Dee Galen

  Leading the way in brand and product development, clarifying brand positioning and delivering above and beyond specific brand consumer needs, Dee has over 28 years immersed in the beauty sector. Focused on luxury, efficacious products and brands, having worked both in-house and as a consultant to some of the most respected Skincare, Haircare, Wellbeing and Spa houses…Omorovicza, Aromatherapy Associates, Sarah Chapman, Elemis, QMS Medicosmetics, Philip Kingsley, This Works, Mandarin Oriental, Armani Spa, to name a few. Starting her career in the nuts and bolts of the industry at two of the U.K’s manufacturing facilities, learning the commercial aspects as well as clever creative development to meet targets and manage intense client demands.

• Dr Ddnard Napattalung

  Dr. Ddnard Napattalung is a UK and Dubai based global investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, bestselling author, and PhD neuroscience researcher in brain, belief, and self-efficacy with 28 years in mental health and 35 years building high-return ventures. Widowed on New Year’s Eve and left with millions in debt, she turned to meditation, was recognised as a master within seven days, and repaid all debts in seven months. She went on to build 14 diamond stores, education firms, a publishing empire, and a million-copy bestseller, earning the title The Life Compass. Founder of nine global firms in fintech, health tech, and AI, she funds schools, hospitals, and free retreats for thousands. A true visionary, she proves success, joy, and spiritual freedom can coexist.

• Dr. Emily Prpa

  Dr. Emily Prpa is a PhD Nutrition Scientist and author passionate about closing the gender gap in health research. She earned her PhD from King’s College London, where her research explored the therapeutic effects of dietary polyphenols on cardiometabolic risk; during this time she delivered the first study within her group to include premenopausal women in its design. Since completing her PhD, Emily’s work has gone on to inform UK food policy and driven innovation within the microbiome and nutrition field. But her real mission is translating complex science into meaningful stories that empower women to understand their own bodies. Her work sits at the intersection of research, storytelling, and public engagement. She is a Visiting Lecturer at King’s College London, International keynote speaker and the creator of Science & The City, a Substack publication dedicated to women’s health and nutrition science.

• Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su

  Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su served as the first female President of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan (2015–2023), and is now Professor Emeritus of Environmental Health. A distinguished scientist and pioneering leader, she redefined the role of Taiwanese universities in advancing technological innovation and societal progress. Under her leadership, NCKU became the first university in Taiwan to adopt the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for institutional development. She also founded the World University Network (WUN) Global Research Group on SDGs in Asia, creating a platform for international collaboration and shared impact. Dr. Su has consistently championed equity and inclusion, launching initiatives to support women in science and engineering while building alliances in sustainability and global health.

• Joei Chan

  Joei Chan is a Global Brand Director, writer, and speaker who helps people and companies turn their mess into a message. After a decade leading award-winning brand and content teams, she created the M.E.S.S.™ method and the newsletter Brand New to bridge strategy with identity work. Hong Kong–born and Paris-based, Joei advocates that real branding begins with inner alignment, and expands outward into expression. She empowers creators and leaders to rebrand their lives, shed false identities, and build uncopyable brands rooted in courage and clarity in the age of AI.

• Latoya Gabbidon

  Latoya Gabbidon is a Lived Experience Peer Advisor. She possesses practical knowledge of The Homelessness Sector and First Hand Knowledge on Measures of Prevention, Co-production and Collaboration in Efforts to End Homelessness and Rough Sleeping. She currently works and Volunteers extensively with Steering groups in the Homelessness sector. Her other experiences include support Work both in the National Health Service(NHS) and Mental Health Support work through Mental Health Care Agencies. She is also a Business Graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree (Bsc) from the Canterbury Christ Church University,(United Kingdom).

• Maria MacDonald

  Maria MacDonald, Director of Strategic Accounts at HYPERVSN, co-owner and brand manager of CULt Hairdressing salon and the founder at PR agency CORD comms. As a Director at HYPERVSN she led projects with the likes of Gatwick airport, Compass group, Swarovski and many more. As the founder and director of CORD Comms, she has led marketing initiatives for leading lifestyle and tech brands,and in the past has worked with renowned names like La Mer, Jo Malone London, McQueens Flowers, and Aveda. Maria has a first hand experience of being a breadwinner, serial entrepreneur and a mother of two young children juggling high profile meetings with nursery runs.

• Marina Davidova

  Marina Davidova is co-founder and Managing Partner of DVC, a community-powered fund backed by over 160 founders and engineers from leading AI companies like OpenAI, Google, Meta, Tesla, and Microsoft. DVC leverages collective expertise and in-house AI workflows to source deals and support its portfolio, including the AI-search deacon Perplexity AI, a breakthrough AI chipmaker Etched, and Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab. Marina’s hands-on leadership oversees DVC’s strategy, investment process, and community. She is also the COO of Humanism.ai, and is recognized for her innovative community-powered investing approach and dedication to empowering entrepreneurs.

• Marine Simonis

  Marine Simonis is a professional freediver specializing in the most demanding depth discipline where every descent tests both physical and mental mastery. Originally from Belgium, Marine is Vice-World Champion 2024 and currently holds all Belgian national records across depth disciplines. Through her dives, she explores the paradoxes that define both the ocean and leadership : freedom and restraint, power and vulnerability, control and surrender. The ocean has taught her that true mastery lies not in avoiding risk, but in managing it.

• Maya Raichoora

  Maya Raichoora is the UK’s leading mental fitness and visualisation expert, dedicated to helping elite athletes, executives, and global brands think, feel, and perform like the top 1%. She made history as Nike’s first-ever Mental Fitness Trainer and has transformed thousands of lives worldwide through her pioneering approach. A renowned speaker, Maya is known for creating powerful, immersive experiences that leave audiences inspired and equipped with tools to reach their highest potential. She is also the author of Visualise, where she shares her groundbreaking methods for unlocking peak performance through the power of the mind.

• Melodie Leung

  Melodie Leung is a Director at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) where she holds leadership roles in creative direction, design and communications. In almost two decades working throughout the practice, she has focused on delivering seminal projects that include award-winning architecture, interiors, product design as well as acclaimed exhibitions at leading museums and galleries around the world. Elected by her peers to the board of the firm’s employment benefit trust, Melodie is helping to drive the company’s commitment to community social responsibility.

• Michaela Burianova

  Michaela Burianova is an award-winning brand marketing expert, business & leadership coach, and speaker, with over 15 years of experience leading global brands and innovation initiatives across Europe. She graduated with honors from the Prague University of Economics and Business and studied at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo and Goethe University Frankfurt. Her work blends business coaching with strategic storytelling, identity-based leadership, and embodied presence — practices she also cultivates as a certified international Les Mills BODYPUMP instructor — to guide leaders and creators in showing up fully, leading with purpose, and building confidence, connection, and meaningful impact.

• Niki Smirni

  Niki Smirni is transformational leadership expert, and founder of Travelgems, Europe’s leading retreat company. For over two decades, she has journeyed from corporate strategy to personal development, collaborating with global pioneers including Deepak Chopra and Esther Perel. Honored with the 2024 National Wellness Visionary Award, Niki created The Method as a framework that bridges philosophy, spirituality, and business for authentic growth. A lifelong student of humanity with two MSc degrees, she empowers growth — both personal and collective — helping people see clearly, act with purpose, and evolve together. She is also a proud mother of twin boys and an international speaker on women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and well-being.

• Olga Chernysheva

  Olga Chernysheva is the Chief Sustainability Officer at DRESSX, the leading digital fashion company. She is a visionary leader at the intersection of technology, fashion, and sustainability. Before joining DRESSX in 2020, Olga founded an NGO in Central Africa focused on tackling plastic pollution. At DRESSX, her work centers on transforming consumer habits from traditional fashion consumption to more conscious, digital-first alternatives - empowering people to explore creativity in the digital realm while making intentional choices in the physical one. Beyond her role at DRESSX, Olga contributes to influential industry reports and speaks at global forums, including the United Nations and major fashion conferences, where she shares her insights on sustainability and the future of fashion. For her, digital fashion is not just a professional pursuit but a personal mission: to inspire people to think beyond the physicality of clothes and lead fashion’s transformation from within.

• Viola Jardon

  Viola Jardon is the Director of Innovation Programmes at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), where she leads global partnerships supporting over 400 sustainability-focused startups. Originally from Taiwan, she is also the finalist of Asian Women of Achievement Award 2023 and a Trustee of a Charity Kakilang focusing on promoting Asian Artists. Outside her day job, she also conducted a research on how gendered networks in venture capital shape access to power, opportunity, and innovation. Her work reveals how women investors navigate male-dominated spaces, building resilient, mission-driven circles that challenge traditional power structures.