TEDxVaasa

Speakers

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

• Anna Caldén

  Anna Caldén usually describes herself as an incurable optimist and a disability rights activist. What drives her is the fight for everyone's rights in society and human rights. Anna has extensive experience in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. In her activism Anna wants to be a voice for those who do not have their own in the society. With a background in Social service and disability politics Anna often gives speeches about the position of minorities in society and how to address people with disabilities. With her speeches Anna wants to convey hope, positivity and the ability to be courageous and fearless in all kinds of discussions. Anna currently works at the swedishspeaking disability organisation named SAMS – Samarbetsförbundet kring funktionshinder rf.

• Anssi Mikola

  Anssi Mikola is a Finnish entrepreneur and engineer with more than 30 years of experience building companies across different industries. A few years ago, he set out to tackle river pollution by inventing a device that removes plastic from waterways. The technology worked. The market did not. Instead of giving up, Anssi changed direction. He stopped trying to sell a machine and began working directly with communities, partners, and local operators. He founded RiverRecycle to turn river waste into usable material while creating local jobs in emerging markets. Today, his work brings together communities, governments, and companies to reduce plastic pollution in rivers before it reaches the ocean. Recognised by the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform as a Top Innovator, Anssi is known for his persistence, practical mindset, and ability to adapt when reality demands a new approach.

• Ataur Rahman

  Ataur Rahman is a newcomer turned contributor and future community entrepreneur based in Vaasa. Originally from Bangladesh, he arrived in Finland as an international student carrying more than just luggage. He carried multiple identities, skills and ambitions. For a long time, he was told to “choose one thing”. Instead, he chose to connect them. Engineer. Business Developer. Student. Intern. Founder. Volunteer. Community builder. People connector. Ataur discovered that doing many things is not distraction, it is design. A form of intelligent adaptation shaped by crossing cultures and rebuilding from scratch. He is the founder of Naviro, a platform helping newcomers find belonging before opportunity arrives. In his TEDx talk, Ataur challenges a deeply rooted belief: being many things is not a weakness; it is adaptive intelligence the world has yet to understand.

• Eleonor Hedström

  Eleonor Hedström is an experienced innovation leader with over 15 years of expertise in transforming ideas into business results. Her passion for innovation lies in enabling people to turn ideas into practical solutions that create impact. At Wärtsilä, she currently serves as the Director of Next Business Lab, where she aligns innovation with strategy, champions start-up collaborations, and brings ideas to life through innovation projects. In 2025, Wärtsilä ranked first in the Startup Collaboration Index by the Venture Acceleration Alliance, a recognition achieved through the work led by her team. Eleonor believes innovation should be embedded into daily business workflows, making it practical. As a speaker, she shares actionable strategies and real-world examples to help organisations foster innovation and achieve meaningful impact.

• Hanna Smith

  Hanna Smith is an expert on hybrid threats, preparedness and resilience, strategic foresight, Russia and Eurasia, great-power identity, geopolitics, foreign and security policy as well as multilateralism in world politics including international organisations. Between 2004-2017 as Research Fellow at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, she has acted as an expert to different parliamentary committees. In 2006 she was part of the policy planning unit of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hanna Smith has, amongst others, taught courses at the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland and the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). She has been visiting researcher in university of Birmingham (UK), The Institute of East and Southeast European Studies (IOS), Regensburg (GER) and Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (NOR).

• Khaula Zeeshan

  Dr. Khaula Zeeshan is Technology Researcher, Community builder, Community mobiliser and a social worker. She has fifteen years of experience in the field of teaching science and technology and from the last ten years involved in research, especially focusing on the development of sustainable AI tools and ecosystem for STEM education. She is from Pakistan living in Finland for 17 years. She is a mother of three. She is also a big fan of nature and poetry, loves to cook and travel.

• Maria Östergård Käld

  Maria Östergård Käld is a Finnish finance professional with 20+ years of experience and currently serves as Senior Advisor at LocalTapiola Asset Management. She also serves in several positions of trust within foundations and associations, contributing her expertise to boards and initiatives. Grew up on a small island in the Kvarken archipelago, an place where community, responsibility, and resilience shaped daily life. Those early lessons built her belief in agency, the idea that even in uncertain circumstances, individuals can still influence their direction. She is energised by meeting people and by connecting those whose paths can strengthen one another, which fuels her motivation and sense of purpose. Alongside, she is a mentor for students and as a coach for jobseekers, supporting people through important life transitions. Her TEDx talk highlights how hope begins early in life and why young people need support and encouragement to take action, even when the future feels unclear

• Sara Nyyssölä

  Sara Nyyssölä is a Senior Lecturer in business development, supporting others in developing the skills needed for business growth and innovation. Her entrepreneurial work focused on sustainability-driven ventures. Her work on diversity and inclusion was recognized with the Research and Development Actor of the Year award. Her Aalto University thesis, exploring inclusive and communal sauna business models, was named 2025 Best Thesis by the Center of Expertise on Social Enterprises. Through her research, teaching, and entrepreneurial work, she bridges business innovation with social impact.

• Tanja Piha

  Tanja Piha is a Sales Director, Journalist, Academic Visitor at Aalto University, currently the world’s only female Chair of a Surf Association. She believes that courage begins not only with speaking up, but with acting when it matters most. Her philosophy is - it’s easier to stay silent, that’s exactly when your voice and your actions can create change. She’s raised funds for a children’s hospital, brought together politicians from across parties to make school routes safer, spoken out for fairer, more inclusive workplaces. She approaches her work with a special kind of energy, that turns the ordinary into something contagious, inviting others to join and make change together. At TEDx Vaasa, Tanja draws from her experience in sales and leadership, where true skill is not about persuasion but presence, listening, understanding, and giving words to shared hopes, needs, and expectations. She believes these are the same human abilities that can move the world forward.

• Tuomas Pöysti

  Dr. Tuomas Pöysti is Senior Counsel, Head of Investigations at Geradin Partners, where he leads the firm’s investigations and cross-border trade practice and advises on complex regulatory, compliance, and risk management matters, with a focus on technology, competition and EU law and governance issues and the related litigation. Before joining Geradin Partners, Dr. Pöysti served as Chancellor of Justice of Finland, the supreme overseer of the legality of government actions at the highest level in Finland. His distinguished public service career includes senior leadership roles as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Ministries of Finance and Social Affairs and HealthAuditor General of Finland, and Chair of the Supervisory Committee of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). He is also a Docent in Administrative Law at the University of Helsinki, has an active academic research portfolio and is a frequent speaker on governance, technology, and rule of law -related matters.