TEDxUF

Speakers

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

• Andrew Hiesinger

  Founder of Quant Data

  Andrew Hiesinger is the Founder of Quant Data, a rapidly growing financial technology firm delivering institutional-grade market data and analytics to traders and institutions globally. He began his career in finance on Wall Street and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before serving as an Options Strategist at Nasdaq, where he helped advance market structure and expand listed options products. His work and market commentary have been featured in Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal.

• Ashra Kunwar

  PhD Student at the University of Florida and Rock ‘n’ Roller

  Ashra Kunwar from Nepal is a young and relentless Ph.D. Student at the University of Florida, UN Human Rights Delegate speaker from Nepal, Brand Ambassador for the most reputed Governmental Bank of Nepal, Agricultural Development Bank Limited, and a Singer/ Songwriter/ Founder of the rock band Ashra & The Parables. After completing both her Bachelor’s & Master’s in Environmental Science with Research, she is now doing her Ph.D. degree at the University of Florida, being awarded a Full assistantship scholarship. She is a relentless, goal-oriented person who is willing to go above and beyond on any project related to her expertise. Top 25 selected youth at the US Embassy youth council, amongst 30,000 plus participants, and a civic engagement project awardee. She is still hungry to meet new goals and overcome challenges, and effectively bring success to the team as she works with relentless hard work and introspection, as her two core values in life.

• Jacob Sedesse

  acob Sedesse is an award-winning multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and futurist. Born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, Sedesse graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications. He spent much of his time in college working at NPR and PBS affiliate WUFT News. In February 2026, Sedesse released ‘WUFT at CES 2026:Megabytes and Vegas Nights,” an hour-long primetime made-for-TV special he hosted and produced. The documentary features demonstrations of emerging technologies and meta-commentary on tech journalism through unique storytelling methods. The Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists honored him with the awards for Best Radio News Anchor and Best Radio Newscast. He’s known by colleagues for his passion for bending the rules of storytelling, pushing technology to its limits, and finding ways to include technology in his stories when he can.

• Jacob Sedessee

  Multimedia Content Producer

  Jacob Sedesse is an award-winning multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and futurist. Born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, Sedesse graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications. His academic focus included Digital Film and Television Production, alongside a minor in Digital Arts & Sciences and a specialized certificate in Artificial Intelligence Applications. He spent much of his time in college working at NPR andPBS affiliate WUFT News. His coverage of such stories as NASA’s Artemis I mission played in NPR’s national broadcasts. In February 2026, Sedesse released ‘WUFT at CES 2026:Megabytes and Vegas Nights,” an hour-long primetime made-for-TV special he hosted and produced. The documentary features demonstrations of emerging technologies, as well as meta-commentary on tech journalism through unique storytelling methods including an interview with iJustine.

• Jennifer Ewbank

  Former CIA Deputy Director

  Jennifer Ewbank spent three decades in the shadow world of espionage. As an undercover CIA officer, she ran intelligence operations across multiple continents and served as Chief of Station, leading intelligence operations against America’s most formidable adversaries. Jennifer rose to become the Agency’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, where she led its transformation to build the future of intelligence with AI, cyber, and advanced technology. Along the way, she witnessed a new kind of threat take shape: the quiet, algorithmic manipulation of how people think. Now, as founder of Andaman Strategic Advisors and a board member across cybersecurity and national security companies, Jennifer is focused on what she believes is the defining challenge of our time: protecting the human mind in the age of AI.

• Karlton Dennis

  Tax Strategist & CEO of Tax Alchemy

  Karlton Dennis is a nationally recognized tax strategist, entrepreneur, and educator dedicated to helping business owners and investors build lasting wealth through smart tax planning. As the founder of a leading tax advisory firm, he has guided thousands of entrepreneurs in reducing their tax liabilities legally while scaling their businesses with confidence. Karlton’s passion lies at the intersection of financial literacy and personal freedom—he believes that understanding the tax code is one of the most powerful tools for creating generational wealth. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, he inspires audiences to think differently about money, ownership, and wealth building. His mission is to empower individuals to take control of their financial future, break free from limiting beliefs around taxes, and use knowledge as the foundation for freedom.

• Kelsey Tainsh

  Kelsey Tainsh, CSP has been through more in her 35 years than most will endure in a lifetime. Successfully overcoming a brain tumor at only 5 years of age, Kelsey went on to be a happy, healthy kid and a champion athlete. 10 years later, at 15, it all came crashing down when the tumor returned followed by a crippling stroke. Her friends had disappeared, her right side didn’t function and she became paralyzed with fear and self doubt. Despite her significant physical challenges, she worked hard to pull herself up and charged back into life graduating magna cum laude from the University of Florida and going on to work for one of the most recognized companies in the world – The Coca-Cola Company. Today, this remarkable young woman has become a champion for the rest of us. An Human Experience Advocate, acclaimed professional speaker and para snowboarder, Kelsey travels the world speaking to organizations about the power of persistence, resilience, and self-acceptance.

• Nikkia Gumbs

  Human Systems Architect

  Nikkia Reneé Gumbs, Ed.D., is an author, speaker, and founder of The House of the Sun, a platform dedicated to grief literacy, nervous system repair, and new forms of belonging. A University of Florida alum and former higher education leader, she has spent more than a decade advancing disability advocacy and wellness design. Her debut book, The Invisible Grief of Adulthood (2025), introduces Spell-Lit™, a new literary form that ritualizes grief and rupture. Through her video series Sun Talks, filmed in her pajamas as a deliberate refusal of respectability politics, she brings humor and candor to taboo subjects like loneliness, burnout, and the fear of dying unseen.

• Philip Chang

  Particle Physicist and Professor at the University of Florida

  Dr. Phillip Chang is a particle physicist on a quest to understand the basic substance that makes us—all of us, and everything that surrounds us—so that we may answer the oldest questions: Where do we come from? His fascination began as a child when I read a cartoon science book. It revealed to him that inside atoms were even smaller particles, hidden worlds that most people never see in their daily lives. That secret motivated him to study Newton’s laws, then calculus. Determined, he pursued physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, joining the ATLAS collaboration at CERN. In 2012, he was part of the team that discovered the Higgs boson that allows all of us to exist. Since then, he has also joined the CMS Collaboration, trying to further our understanding of this important particle. He also mentors students and postdocs tackling the immense challenges of tracking particles in this future machine, and he sees in them the same spark of wonder he felt as a child.