TEDxChantilly HS

Speakers

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

• Adegbenga Bankole

  Adegbenga Bankole is Division Chief of Rheumatology and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations at Carilion Clinic and Professor of Internal Medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He is a past president of the Virginia Society of Rheumatology and the founding program director of the VTCSOM Rheumatology Fellowship. He mentors pre-medical students, medical students, and Ph.D. candidates and has served on committees with the ACR, ABIM, Rheumatology Research Foundation, and Medical Society of Virginia. His work includes systemic lupus erythematosus and clinical trials, including living cell therapies. He trained in the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

• Afaf Campbell

  Afaf Campbell is a keynote speaker on leadership and authentic communication. She was the 2022 Toastmasters District 29 International Speech Champion and the 2026 National Speakers Association–DC Chapter Last Story Standing Champion. Her work examines how the meaning people attach to experience becomes belief and how those beliefs shape identity, voice, decisions, and leadership. Drawing on her own experience of questioning beliefs she had mistaken for facts, she helps audiences separate experience from interpretation.

• Carmem Domingues

  Carmem Domingues is a techno-realist AI strategist and former White House senior AI advisor with nearly two decades of experience across the private and public sectors. She has advised Goldman Sachs, Delta Air Lines, HSBC, Oliver Wyman, the World Bank, the OAS, the IADB, and the White House. She built the White House AI Training for the Federal Workforce, reaching more than 3.3 million civil servants and military personnel, and launched the first bilingual, multi-platform AI education and communication initiative. Her research examines AI’s impact on human cognition, critical thinking, and relationships.

• Damien Specht

  Damien Specht is a partner in Government Contracts and Public Procurement at Morrison Foerster in Washington, D.C. He advises clients on government-contract transactions, regulatory counseling, teaming agreements, disputes, and bid protests. He has played a significant role in more than 200 government-contract transactions for industry leaders, private-equity firms, and entrepreneurs. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA for Government Contracts and GovCon M&A and recognized as a Legal 500 Leading Partner, he has served as lead counsel in high-stakes bid protests before the GAO and U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He holds a B.A. from Grinnell College and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School.

• Gary C. Cooper

  Gary C. Cooper is the co-founder and executive chairman of Palmetto Infusion, a board director, and co-owner of Interim Healthcare of Florence, South Carolina. He has more than 30 years of experience as a healthcare entrepreneur and servant leader, with expertise in mergers and acquisitions integration, culture, and change management. He received the 2020 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Southeast Award and is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Success Paradox. He holds a B.S. in Economics from Wofford College and a Master of Health Administration from the University of South Carolina.

• Jen Golbeck

  Jen Golbeck is a professor in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, as well as a computer scientist, AI ethicist, and journalist. Her research spans artificial intelligence, social media, surveillance, and extremism, with a focus on how technology influences people and democracy. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and master’s degrees in computer science, psychology, and AI ethics. She trained at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge.

• Paula Ferrada

  First Colombian woman to complete a general surgery residency in the Harvard system, and the first Acute Care Surgery Fellow at Shock Trauma. President-Elect, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma; Governor, American College of Surgeons; elected member, American Surgical Association. Appointed by the Governor of Virginia to chair the Commonwealth's EMS Advisory Board. Master Surgeon Educator: her point-of-care ultrasound courses have trained surgeons and first responders worldwide. 145+ peer-reviewed publications; Associate Editor, American Journal of Surgery. Pioneered a circulation-first approach that is redefining trauma resuscitation.

• Ravi Ramamoorthy Iyer

  Ravi Ramamoorthy Iyer, MD, is a Harvard-trained physician-scientist, author, and educator with a 42-year career. He founded ActivPower Inc., The Iyer Clinic, and IR-FocalPoint and serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Ayora Health. He previously served nine years as a hospice director and four years as chairman of a 225-bed hospital. He has written ten books on leadership, strategy, and human performance, created the Neuroalignment framework for focus and resilience, and holds patents in human and veterinary therapeutics.

• Rishitha Mantri

  Rishitha Mantri is a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and a breast cancer research intern at the George Washington University Cancer Center. She researches the reversal of tumor hypoxia in breast cancer using a nano-perfluorocarbon system and studied iron metabolism and cancer stem-cell traits as one of 12 nationally selected Clark Scholars. She co-developed a nanoparticle-based cardiac regeneration system and is first-place nationally in Toshiba ExploraVision. She co-authored a breast cancer abstract published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and aspires to become a physician-scientist exploring how nanoscale tools sharpen cancer detection and treatment.

• Robert Gourdie

  Robert Gourdie, Ph.D., is the Heywood Fralin Endowed Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech and founder of Xequel Bio and The Tiny Cargo Company. His work translates discoveries in cell-to-cell communication into new therapies for human disease. He is an NIH Outstanding Investigator Award recipient, a fellow of AIMBE and the American Heart Association, and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. He has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and over 50 granted patents. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and completed postdoctoral training at University College London.

• Russell “Haj” Ramos

  Russell “Haj” Ramos has more than 36 years of IT leadership experience across the public and private sectors. He leads Ginnie Mae’s enterprise technology, IT solutions, and Business Process Improvement initiative. He previously served as Deputy CISO at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including 15 months as Acting CISO, and established the HUD Office of Inspector General’s first security organization as its inaugural CISO. He also spent eight years at the Executive Office of the President/White House working on information assurance. He holds a B.S. in Business Management from Virginia Tech.

• Shalika Kothuri

  Shalika Kothuri is a rising sophomore at Chantilly High School with a passion for sports medicine and soccer. She is a student researcher and patent holder whose work advances athlete health and injury prevention. She is a TEDx speaker and winner of the TiE DC pitch deck competition. She is also a classical dancer, Carnatic musician, and competitive soccer player.

• Siddharth Karnati

  Siddharth Karnati is a rising senior at Clarksburg High School, an EMT, and a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant. He founded Bio360AI, a health digital twin–based mobile app, and presented health digital twin research at IEEE ICHI 2026. He was named a Maryland “The 24” Emerging Scholar and received a Maryland State Science Fair award. He also founded Spectrum Guardians to support students with autism through mentorship and life-skills programs. A two-time AAU Junior Olympics qualifier, he competes in varsity track and field and football and authored More Than Grades: Purpose Over Performance.

• Srinivas “Srini” Attili

  Srinivas “Srini” Attili is an independent P&L executive and advisor. Most recently, he was a Fortune 500 executive vice president and named executive officer leading a $1.7 billion civilian government portfolio spanning health, law enforcement, border protection, transportation, financial services, and state and local government. He previously served as a partner at McKinsey & Company, a principal at Deloitte Consulting, and a leader of IBM’s public-sector application services. A 2026 Wash100 honoree, he has more than 20 years of experience in technology consulting and systems integration and holds multiple U.S. patents in business intelligence and data analytics.