TEDxFordham University

Speakers

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

• Adam D. Orford

  Environmental Law and Policy Expert

  Adam D. Orford is an expert on climate change, clean energy, and environmental law and policy. His interdisciplinary research focuses on legal strategies for deep decarbonization of the global industrial economy, with work examining clean energy development, carbon credit trading, and the regulatory frameworks governing greenhouse gas emissions. Orford’s scholarship has appeared in Ecology Law Quarterly, the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, the Georgetown Environmental Law Review, and Frontiers in Climate Change. Previously, he was an assistant professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law. Before entering academia, Orford practiced in environmental and regulatory litigation, representing both public and private clients.

• Brandon Kim

  Innovative Entrepreneur

  Brandon Kim is the co-founder of Brevitē, a direct-to-consumer brand that creates award-winning and sustainable backpacks for photographers and creatives. Kim co-founded the company with his two brothers. Together, they bootstrapped the company, grew a 2.5 million-plus global social following, and earned industry recognition from Forbes’ 30 Under 30, Inc. 5000, Inc. Best in Business, iF Design Award, Good Design Award, International Design Excellence Award (IDEA), and Red Dot Design Award. Through a blend of creativity, strategy, and purpose-driven design, Kim and his brothers continue to scale Brevitē as a fast-growing brand committed to impact and innovation.

• Fadi Skeiker

  Theatre Artist and Scholar

  Fadi Skeiker is a theater artist, author, educator, and scholar of applied and socially engaged performance. He is chair of the Department of Theatre and Visual Arts at Fordham, where he teaches courses in performance, community-engaged art, and theater for social change. His work bridges artistic practice and civic dialogue, drawing on participatory methods, storytelling, and image-based performance to explore the themes of migration, memory, and belonging. Skeiker’s body of work ranges from small-scale share-backs at migrant community centers to large-scale staged productions in national and regional theaters. He has presented creative and scholarly works at international convenings across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Skeiker holds a PhD in performance as public practice from the University of Texas at Austin. Both his creative and scholarly work focus on how performance can cultivate empathy, public conversation, and collective imagination across differences.

• Giacomo Santangelo

  The Market Interpreter

  Giacomo Santangelo, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, as well as the director of the International Political Economy Program at Fordham University. He is an economist with training in quantitative and qualitative research and analysis with more than 20 years of teaching experience at various universities in the New York City area. A frequent media contributor, Santangelo has appeared on NBC, CBS, and Fox News, as well as in U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, and Fortune. In February 2024, he was a guest on the Indian Parliamentary News program Global Debate to discuss the recent trend of tech layoffs. In 2020, he published Macroeconomics: Big Things Have Small Beginnings, a macroeconomics textbook geared toward the Global Business Honors Program class he teaches at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham. Santangelo’s research focuses on international economic growth, trade, development, and labor.

• Jennifer Cassetta

  Modern Sensei

  Jennifer Cassetta is a global keynote speaker, high-performance coach, podcast host, and author of The Art of Badassery: Unleash Your Mojo With Wisdom of the Dojo. Trusted by global brands to inspire their teams, Cassetta delivers empowering experiences that help leaders achieve modern-day peak performance through ancient wisdom, without burning out. Equipped with a third-degree black belt in martial arts, a microphone, and a passion for empowerment, Cassetta has brought her transformative programs to companies like Apple, American Express, Nike, and Visa. She’s been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Doctors, and the TEDx stage. Her upcoming book, Secrets of the Sensei, will be published by Tarcher/Penguin Random House in 2027.

• Jie Ren

  Algorithm Detective

  Jie Ren, PhD, is an associate professor of information, technology, and operations and director of the MS in Business Analytics program at the Gabelli School of Business. Her research focuses on social media, crowdsourcing, the sharing economy, cybersecurity, and generative AI, particularly AI bias. She has published more than 30 academic journal articles and presented internationally at academic conferences and the United Nations. She co-chairs a HICSS mini-track on social media in marginalized contexts and hosts the podcast “When Tech Meets Ed with Prof. Jie Ren.” She is also an oil painter.

• John Craven

  The STEAM Catalyst

  John A. Craven III is an associate professor of education at Fordham University whose passion lies in advancing science and STEAM education, developing curricula, and designing learning environments that help students think deeply about the world. For nearly three decades, his work has centered on helping teachers rethink how science is taught and experienced. From early work in informal learning environments and international service to his current collaborations with teachers and schools, Craven’s career has focused on bridging scientific knowledge with meaningful learning experiences. More recently, his work has turned toward exploring the crossroads between emerging technologies and innovative pedagogies. As both an educator and a tinkerer with new tools, he is interested in how rapidly evolving technologies—from AI systems to digital learning environments—can be used to help people ask better questions, experiment, and remain engaged learners throughout their lives.

• Marc Conte

  The Climate Economist

  Marc Conte is a professor in the Department of Economics at Fordham University, with a primary research interest in environmental economics. Professor Conte has published papers in the top journals in his field, such as the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, as well as in some of the top natural science journals in the world, including Nature. Over his career, Conte has received more than $4 million in support of his research from the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Defense Fund. He is a lead author on the forthcoming Biodiversity and Climate Change Assessment commissioned by the United States Department of the Interior. In 2024, Conte was appointed by the New York City Mayor’s Office to the Panel on Climate Change to play a lead role in authoring the panel’s fifth assessment report.

• Marija Kundakovic

  Bio Decoder

  Marija Kundakovic, PharmD, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Fordham University. Her lab focuses on hormonal and environmental factors driving sex differences in depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Kundakovic has been at the forefront of psychiatric epigenetics research since early in her career. Her lab discovered sex-specific epigenetic regulation in the female brain as a function of the ovarian cycle, providing a new molecular framework to study the female-specific susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. More recently, Kundakovic’s lab established the postmortem tissue biomarkers to study cellular and molecular changes in the human brain across the menopausal transition. Her research has been published in top-tier scientific journals and she is an elected member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and an executive committee member of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences.

• Michael Dowling

  Visionary Public Health Leader

  Michael Dowling is one of healthcare’s most influential voices, taking a stand on societal issues, such as gun violence and immigration, that many healthcare leaders shy away from. As CEO emeritus of Northwell Health, he serves in an advisory capacity, supporting the advancement of key public health initiatives and focusing on teaching and writing. Dowling served as Northwell’s first president and chief executive officer for more than 23 years before transitioning to his role of CEO emeritus in October 2025. His extraordinary tenure was characterized by significant growth, industry innovation, and a steadfast commitment to enhancing health for all. Dowling has received many awards over the years. In 2025, Time recognized Dowling as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Health. In 2022, he was ranked No. 1 on Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.

• Natalie Anderson

  Powerhouse Reality TV Star

  Natalie Anderson is the winner of season 29 of CBS’ Survivor and runner-up of the all-winners Survivor Winners at War season. She has also competed on the CBS reality competition series The Amazing Race, MTV’s The Challenge, and the current Emmy-winning reality show The Traitors on Peacock. On screen, Anderson is known for her physical prowess, mental strength, and fierce competitiveness. While competing, Anderson has showcased perseverance and her ability to navigate setbacks in high-stress, high-stakes situations with unapologetic pursuit. With more than 10 years of competitive reality TV experience, Anderson not only shows up, she shows up to win. Off-screen, Anderson is a CrossFit coach and personal trainer, a twin, and an aunt. She wants to inspire young girls and women to find their strength and feel empowered in their bodies. Raised in Sri Lanka, Anderson graduated from Fordham University in 2008, where she majored in business administration and played club rugby.

• Sam McGrath

  AI Philosopher

  Sam McGrath is an assistant professor in Fordham’s Department of Philosophy. His research occupies the intersections between philosophy, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. At Fordham, his classes have included Philosophy of Human Nature and Technology and Values, and next spring, he will teach a graduate seminar on the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. He completed his PhD at Brown University, with a dissertation titled “Representing Reality: From Logical Empiricism to Large Language Models.” At Brown, he was a member of the Language and Thought Lab and completed an ScM in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences. Prior to Brown, he earned an MPhil from Trinity College, Dublin, and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. Originally from Miami Beach, Florida, he spends his free time playing basketball or at the beach.

• Yilu Zhou

  The Tech Analyst

  Yilu Zhou, PhD, is an associate professor of information systems at the Gabelli School of Business. She is the director of the MS in AI in Business (MSAIB) program. Her research interests focus on FinTech, Fashion AI, GenAI applications, and Information Security. Her research methodologies include natural language processing (NLP), LLM, machine learning, and deep learning. She is a principal investigator of projects supported by the National Science Foundation to study mobile app security and safety for children. Zhou received a PhD in management information systems from the University of Arizona, where she was also a research associate at the Artificial Intelligence Lab. She received her BS in computer science with honors from Shanghai Jiaotong University.