TEDxUniversity of Leeds

Speakers

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

• Adityavarman Mehta

  PhD Researcher at the University of Leeds

  PhD Researcher in the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds, working at the intersection of conflict, peacebuilding, and global health. His current research examines global health diplomacy as an instrument for peacebuilding during the LRA war (1986–2006) in northern Uganda. He holds an MSc in Global Health from Duke University, where he studied barriers to integrating the uterine balloon tamponade into South Africa and Ghana's health systems for managing postpartum haemorrhage. His BA in Sociology and Religion, with a minor in Global Health, Cultures, and Society, is from Emory University. He previously served as Chair of the Student Advisory Group and International Student Ambassador for UKCISA, representing over 600,000 international students and shaping policy through discussions with government, UKCISA's Board of Trustees, and education sector committees.

• Balbir Singh

  Artistic Director Balbir Singh Dance Company

  Founder of Leeds-based Balbir Singh Dance Company, he has developed a touring organisation with national and international reach, creating original productions that move fluidly between stage, studio and civic space. Key works include Synchronised for the Cultural Olympiad, Decreasing Infinity, The Wise Ones and Reflections of an Indian Dancer. Balbir is a Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute at Durham University. In 2012, Balbir Singh Dance Company became a National Portfolio Organisation with Arts Council England, marking a significant milestone in the company’s sustained contribution to UK dance. He has mentored over 100 emerging artists and established Nayak, a digital platform opening access to classical Indian dance training across disciplines and geographies. In 2026, Balbir Singh received an MBE for services to dance.

• Catherine Warr

  Filmmaker

  Catherine is a leading young historian with a significant online presence, ready to expand into established factual programming. She has built her history-themed YouTube channel to almost 13,000 subscribers and 800,000 global viewers, engaging audiences with a confident, articulate presentation style. She has featured in national YouTube campaigns, was named one of HistoryExtra's Top 30 Historians Under 30, and has contributed to programmes for the BBC, Channel 4, and the Royal British Legion. She is also the author of A Yorkshire Year, published by Carnegie in 2023. She also edits her own documentaries and produces podcasts and digital content for freelance clients. Since 2021, she has worked with the British Association for Local History, editing content and helping others produce their own.

• Dr. Vania Dimitrova

  Professor of Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, Deputy Head of School

  Professor of Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, Deputy Head of School for the School of Computer Science at the University of Leeds, and Co-director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence for Medical Diagnosis and Care. In the past, I was President of the International Artificial Intelligence in Education Society and continue to be engaged as a Society's secretary.

• Gareth Timmins

  Founder and Managing Director of Nought Point One

  A former Royal Marines Commando and ex-Director of Leadership Programmes and Operations at The Halcyon Club a high-performance retreat for elite thinkers and corporate leaders, Gareth brings deep operational credibility from environments where clarity, judgement, and behaviour are tested daily. A bestselling author of two acclaimed books on mindset, high-pressure leadership, cognitive restructuring, and rapid decision-making, Gareth now works as a consultant and performance strategist. His work helps individuals and organizations cut through chaos, rethink how they lead, and unpick the mental baggage that quietly limits performance under stress. He offers a grounded yet counterintuitive perspective on human behaviour and challenges conventional resilience narratives, advocating instead for cognitive endurance. A crew member of the ROW4MND endurance campaign, an ongoing, multi-year mission to raise awareness and funding for motor neurone disease.

• Lee McAteer

  CEO Camp New York

  Lee McAteer is a British entrepreneur, investor, and speaker known for building and scaling youth-focused global brands. Starting with just £4,000 from his student loan, he grew a portfolio of over 35 brands across travel, recruitment, events, and digital marketing, achieving a combined turnover of £34 million before successfully exiting the group in 2021. Widely recognised by international media as “Britain’s Best Boss,” Lee has been featured in outlets including The Daily Mail, The Mirror, BBC etc. He is the co-founder of brands such as AmeriCamp and Camp Thailand. Lee has played a key role in sports and entertainment. Up until recently he was the co-owner of PROGRESS Wrestling and DEFY Wrestling, one of the largest independent wrestling companies helping develop talent featured on WWE and AEW platforms before selling out to WWE Alumni Nikki Cross and Big Damo. Been an Associate Director at Tranmere Rovers Football Club alongside former FA CEO Mark Palios for the past nine years.

• Nick Holmes

  VP Avalere Health

  Nick Holmes is the VP of Learning & Culture at Avalere Health and a PhD researcher in Organisational Behaviour on a mission to make work more remarkable. He designs high-impact cultural experiences that fuse science, storytelling, and practical tools leaders can use immediately. His work sits at the intersection of culture, growth, and human experience, helping teams build organizations that scale sustainably while creating joy, trust, and momentum for their people. Multi-award-winning in the HR field and in demand as a keynote speaker, Nick is best described as a culture imagineer who captivates and inspires audiences. Talk title: Joy is not found Joy is not something you find. It's something a culture builds, and in an age engineered to keep us scared and scrolling, learning to build it is the most radical thing you can do.

• Sue Wickison

  Scientific Illustrator, Botanical Artist

  Born and raised in West Africa, Sue first learned to look closely at the natural world while collecting plants with their father in the bush. A degree in Scientific Illustration in London sharpened this eye for observation, later honed over nine years as a freelance illustrator at Kew Gardens. A 2015 visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, where floral rather than geometric patterns covered the walls, sparked an 8-year self-funded journey to find and document the Plants of the Quran from Oman's Jebal Akhdar mountains to the deserts of Sharjah. The project became a collaboration across faiths and disciplines, uniting botanists, scholars, Kew, farmers, and everyday people. The result, Plants of the Quran: History and Culture, is now in its 5th reprint and was celebrated with a 5-month solo exhibition at Kew a body of work exploring where botany, faith, and art converge.