TEDxBard College

Speakers

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

• Alan Wolfzahn

  Alan Wolfzahn was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, with his mother at age two. The son of immigrants and refugees, Alan’s worldview has been shaped by themes of freedom, belonging, and social justice. His father, Siegmund, escaped Vienna in 1938 and later served in the French Foreign Legion during World War II, becoming a prisoner of war in Japan. Alan’s life has included a wide range of experiences including theater work and acting in New York City to extensive travels across the United States, Israel, and England. He later trained as a chef at The French Culinary Institute and spent nearly a decade working across the country. Since arriving at Bard College in 1999, Alan has found a strong sense of community and purpose. As a student in the BardBac Program, he has embraced his lifelong calling as a writer, with a primary focus on playwriting. Alan lives in southern Columbia County, New York, where he has resided since 2003.

• Alexandria Thomas

  Alexandria is a senior biochemistry major at Bard College. She has been in the Bard network for 7 years attending the Bard Early College High School. Throughout her time at Bard, Alexandria has been immersed in the world of chemistry through much research and lab work and was recognized as a Pinkerton Science Scholar in 2023. Her talk focuses on exploring the bias and underrepresentation in scientific research. These biases have historically been present in many findings or lack thereof. By connecting past injustices to present-day research practices, she challenges audiences to think about who benefits from scientific advancement and whose experiences are overlooked. Later in her career, she aspires to obtain an MD-PhD and study research topics that have a lack of resources and funding, but large impact on communities and bring awareness to equity in research.

• Ayana Fernandaz Pilgrim

  Ayana Fernandes Pilgrim is a Career and Life Transformation Coach, educator, talent strategist, and Founder & CEO of The Talent Cornerstone Co. With more than 20 years of experience leading talent and recruiting initiatives for organizations including Bank of America, Pfizer, Cigna, and Vanguard, she helps individuals and organizations navigate change and opportunity. She serves as Visiting Faculty and Career Advisor for the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College, where she teaches emerging leaders about work, purpose, leadership, and systems change. In her TEDx talk, Ayana challenges the idea that AI and workforce disruption signal the end of meaningful work. Instead, she presents this moment as a transformation that calls for both innovation and timeless human wisdom. Drawing on her faith, immigrant roots, and African Indigenous ways of knowing, she explores how ancestral intelligence and emerging technologies can work together to create a more human-centered future.

• Desiree Lyle

  Desirée Lyle is Program Director at Bard College’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities, where she leads community-based air, water, and soil research programs. A longtime advocate for environmental justice, she works with residents, scientists, schools, and public institutions to strengthen community-driven environmental monitoring and improve access to local air quality data. She also oversees the Community Sciences Lab, supporting collaborative research and environmental education with students and community partners. At TEDx Bard College, Desirée and her colleague explore how community science can build trust, empower residents, and create healthier, more equitable communities through participatory research.

• Emily O'Rourke

  Emily O’Rourke (B.A. ’25, M.A.T. ’26) is a Bard College alum from Houston, Texas, now based in New York’s Hudson Valley. She studied Anthropology and Civic Engagement, focusing on community, belonging, and civic life. After completing her Master of Arts in Teaching at Bard, Emily continued exploring how education can foster dialogue, critical thinking, and connection. Her graduate research examined the Salem witch trials through questions of gender, race, identity, and law. At TEDx Bard College, Emily and Wyland Stephenson will explore friendship and community in the digital age, reflecting on connection, boundaries, and the importance of showing up for one another in an increasingly disconnected world.

• Erin Cannon

  Erin is a senior administrator focused on linking civic engagement, student affairs and the liberal arts. Supports, coordinates, and promotes the wide array of initiatives that define Bard as a private institution acting in the public interest. Creates and sustains programs locally, nationally and internationally that help harness Bard's vast network to connect undergraduates to opportunities.

• Isaiah Smith

  Isaiah Smith is a Bard College graduate with a B.A. in Mathematics and an incoming student in the Bard MBA in Sustainability program. He began his academic journey through the Bard Prison Initiative, where he discovered a passion for mathematics and education. Isaiah is a BPI Educational Fellow '26 and a 2026 participant in Yale University's NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates. His interests include mathematical modeling, sustainability, infrastructure, and educational equity. Through research, mentoring, and tutoring, Isaiah explores how education can expand opportunity and transform lives. At TEDx Bard, he will reflect on transformation, access, and the power of changing the narratives that shape individuals and communities.

• J. Renay Loper

  J. Renay Loper is an educator and impact strategist who teaches leadership and organizational change in the Bard MBA in Sustainability and NYU Wagner’s Executive MPA program. With 25 years of global experience, she has advised organizations including Levi Strauss, GlaxoSmithKline, NBCUniversal, Pfizer, and Moody’s on leadership and social impact initiatives across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Her work explores how leaders are shaped through uncertainty, cross-cultural experience, and change. A published author and podcast host, Renay focuses on developing the inner capacities needed for lasting systems change. At TEDx Bard College, she challenges traditional ideas of leadership, arguing that the most effective leaders are those transformed by the world they seek to change.

• Jonathan Becker

  Jonathan Becker is Acting President of Bard College, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Director of Center for Civic Engagement, and Professor of Political Studies. Over nearly three decades at Bard, he has helped shape the College's global network of liberal arts institutions and founded the Center for Civic Engagement, advancing democratic participation, educational access, and civic leadership. His work has expanded opportunities for students through initiatives including Bard's international partnerships, Bard Prison Initiative, Bard Early Colleges, and programs supporting displaced students worldwide. A scholar of politics, media, and international education, Becker is a leading advocate for higher education as a public good. At TEDx Bard College, he explores how education can cultivate more informed, engaged, and civically minded citizens prepared to strengthen their communities and democratic society.

• Lily Griffin

  Lilly Griffin is a biologist, environmental steward, and musician who grew up on Long Island and currently lives in Kingston, NY. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2022 with a BS in Biology, and has been working in the Hudson River Watershed for the past three years to improve water quality and work with community members to improve their local environment. She currently continues this work as a Community Sciences Lab Technician at the Center for Environmental Studies and Humanities at Bard. Lilly looks forward to combining her interests in art, community, and science to build a healthier future.

• Mariia Kondratiuk

  A Ukrainian Bard College student covering the lived and research experiences related to trauma healing. The culture of positivity now often affects survivors negatively because it creates unrealistic standards of full recovery and doesn’t take individual differences in account. Psychological support and therapy organisations in Ukraine are faced with the need to work through an unsafe environment, contrary to the usual post-trauma suggested methods since the country is continuously affected by wartime and social crisis. The talk will reveal findings from Razom with You, United Help Ukraine and other NGOs in developing realistic and human-centered approaches. The results can be applied to vast majority of life circumstances outside of war.

• Pearllan Cipriano

  Pearllan Cipriano is the Sports Information Director at Bard College, where she leads athletic communications, digital storytelling, and social media strategy. Since joining Bard in 2023, she has expanded the visibility of Bard Athletics through creative storytelling and student-athlete features. In 2024, she was named one of College Sports Communicators' "30 Under 30." As a woman of color and member of the LGBTQ+ community, Cipriano is passionate about representation in sports media and highlighting student-athletes as scholars, leaders, and individuals beyond the game. She serves on national leadership committees promoting diversity and inclusion in athletics communications. At TEDx Bard College, she explores how intentional storytelling can shape culture, strengthen communities, and redefine the narratives surrounding collegiate athletics.

• Philip Lindsay

  Philip Lindsay is Program Manager of the Democracy Innovation Hub at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College. His work focuses on democratic innovation, civic participation, and strengthening representative government through citizens' assemblies. Drawing on the political thought of Hannah Arendt and the history of Athenian democracy, Lindsay advocates for incorporating civic lottery and deliberative assemblies into modern governance. At TEDx Bard College, he explores how giving everyday people a greater role in decision-making can strengthen democracy, build public trust, and create more responsive institutions.

• Vishal Parkash

  Vishal Parkash is a junior at Bard College pursuing degrees in Finance, Economics, and Mathematics. His work explores how financial systems shape access, opportunity, and economic inclusion. At Bard, he serves as Chair of the Fiscal Committee, Lead Civic Ambassador, and Co-President of REM & Company, leading initiatives in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and social impact. Originally from Pakistan, Vishal has launched youth-led initiatives supporting education, disability advocacy, and financial inclusion across multiple countries. His work has reached more than 15,000 people through mentorship, workshops, and community programs. At TEDx Bard College, he reframes financial literacy as civic infrastructure, showing how entrepreneurship and financial knowledge can expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and foster economic belonging.

• Wyland Stephenson

  Wyland Stephenson is a composer, writer, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of politics, history, and performance. A graduate of Bard College with degrees in Music Composition and Politics, he is currently pursuing graduate studies in composition at the Peabody Institute. His creative work spans musical theatre, opera, cabaret, and concert music, often examining questions of power, identity, and social change. Alongside his artistic practice, his research focuses on urban decline, public memory, and civic identity, including an award-winning thesis on Baltimore’s post-industrial challenges. At TEDx Bard College, Wyland joins Emily O’Rourke to explore friendship and community in the digital age, reflecting on connection, boundaries, and the importance of showing up for one another in an increasingly fragmented world.