Theme: Curiosity Unleashed

We’re delighted to announce TEDxSavannah 2025 will explore the theme of Curiosity Unleashed. This popular, interactive event featuring local speakers will take place on Friday, May 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium on Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus in Savannah. Doors will open at 8 a.m.

Georgia Southern University, Fine Arts Auditorium, Armstrong Campus
11935 Abercorn St.
Savannah, Georgia, 31408
United States

Amanda Fanelli

Global Citizenship Advocate

An award-winning IB History teacher with 19 years of experience helping students understand their role as citizens, Amanda Fanelli was honored as the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Georgia History Teacher of the Year and the 2024 Sol C. Johnson High School Teacher of the Year. She is passionate about guiding her students to confront the challenges that climate change is presenting to marginalized people around the world and in their own community. Amanda earned a B.A. in History from Roosevelt University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell. A Fulbright Scholar, she is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in Curriculum Theory at Georgia Southern University. In her free time, she enjoys spending time in nature and exploring the beauty of the Hostess City with her family.

Brynn Grant

Economic Development Innovator

Brynn Grant, the CEO of the Liberty County Development Authority, is a Liberty County native who was honored as the 2025 USA Today Woman of the Year for Georgia. She is the former President and CEO of United Way of the Coastal Empire and the former Chief Operating Officer for the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA). Brynn has served on the Board of Directors of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Visit Savannah, Georgia Southern University Parker College of Business, Savannah State University College of Business, Oglethorpe Middle School, Savannah Technical College and Junior Achievement. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Georgia and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Savannah and Leadership Southeast Georgia, where she is a past board chair. She has been honored as the Small Business Chamber of Savannah Community Advocate of the Year, a Girl Scouts of Historic GA Woman of Distinction and a Savannah Technical College Community Star.

Chelsea Sawyer

Emergency Expert

Chelsea Sawyer is the local expert Chatham County leaders call when hurricanes and other natural disasters threaten to impact the area. As the Emergency Preparedness Manager for Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), she plays a key role in disaster recovery planning and operations and was recently honored with the 2024 Community Hero Award for her dedication to building disaster resilience. A Georgia Certified Emergency Manager, Chelsea earned a Masters in Public Administration and Policy from Virginia Tech and is an active member of the International Association of Emergency Managers. She previously served as the Southeast U.S. representative on the Government Social Media Membership Council, where she advanced best practices in crisis communication. She volunteers with the United Way of the Coastal Empire and the Metro Savannah Rotary Club and is a proud graduate of Leadership Savannah.

Cyd Ahlberg

Poet and Multimedia Storyteller

Cyd Ahlberg, also known as CJ Giovanni, is a lifelong poet, talented graphic designer, compelling visual artist and keen-eyed photographer. A Savannah native, she is dedicated to honoring the legacy of storytelling by sharing her story and the stories of her elders with the next generation. Inspired by poets Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez, Cyd delivers moving performances that blend music with spoken word to evoke raw historical narratives and reflect on life’s complexities. Through impassioned spoken word performances, she explores themes including faith, love, mental health, music and the Black experience. She earned acclaim at the 2023 Savannah Grammar Poetry Slam and is a featured artist at community events, including Savannah Day of Peace, Sapelo Island Cultural Day, the Black Moses Freedom Festival, the Savannah Black Arts Expo and the Savannah Juneteenth Fine Arts Festival.

Destiny Mojica-Taylor

Marketing Strategist

Destiny Mojica-Taylor bridges the gap between data-driven strategies and the beating heart of emotion to tell compelling stories that build authentic connections and amplify brand voices. A marketing strategist and talented storyteller, she currently serves as the Marketing Manager for Colonial Oil Industries, Inc., which has been a part of the Savannah community for more than a century. Known for injecting fun into business-to-business (B2B) marketing, Destiny has been helping brands thrive in an ever-evolving landscape for more than 8 years. She has a proven track record of building award-winning marketing campaigns that resonate with target audiences. Destiny earned a Bachelor of International Business and International Marketing from Valdosta State University. She is a graduate of Leadership Savannah and a member of the Metro Savannah Rotary Club.

Devika Kulkarni

Graphic Designer

Devika Kulkarni is a graphic designer whose work is defined by curiosity, humor and a love for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. She believes that everyone has the potential to achieve greatness and is dedicated to transforming lives, mindsets and design processes through her creative work. By seamlessly blending innovation with storytelling, Devika has helped craft identities for a wide range of wellness and lifestyle brands. Her passion for branding and simplifying complex systems also led her to write and illustrate two children’s books: A Twinkling Memory and The Children’s Object Book. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Graphic Design and Visual Experience at SCAD and hopes to inspire other young designers to embrace their creativity and become forces for positive change in their own communities.

Erik Reagan

Executive Coach

Erik Reagan is an entrepreneur and speaker who helps business owners flourish in life while building successful companies. Drawing on his own experience as a founder, he understands the weight of leadership and the unique challenges entrepreneurs face. He’s passionate about guiding business owners through mindset shifts, goal-setting and problem-solving so they can overcome hurdles that stand in the way of their personal and professional fulfillment. Erik’s work centers on uncovering hidden obstacles, defining personalized success and creating practical strategies that move leaders from feeling stuck to thriving. Teaching comes naturally to him, as he comes from a long line of educators, and he’s committed to making every interaction a valuable learning experience. His goal is simple: to help business owners gain clarity, built sustainable success and ultimately lead richer, more balanced lives.

Jacilyn Ledford

Frequency Facilitator

Jacilyn Ledford is a sound healer and practitioner, certified yoga instructor, Reiki master, Vipassana meditator, ordained minister, end-of-life doula and energy guide who is dedicated to supporting individuals on their journey toward inner exploration and peace. Passionate about holistic healing and the transformative power of sound therapy, Jacilyn has studied ancient healing traditions in India and shares the sacred practice of sound healing ceremonies in the United States and worldwide. She performs regularly in Savannah and is the owner of Wind Over Heaven, a sacred space on Tybee Island, Georgia.

Jill Cardenas

Passionate Peacebuilder

Jill Cardenas is dedicated to making Savannah a more conflict-resilient community and serves as the Executive Director of The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire, Savannah’s leading organization dedicated to helping citizens proactively manage conflict, create alternatives to litigation and increase access to justice. Under Jill’s leadership, The Mediation Center has collaborated with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System and the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team to launch the innovative Positive Peer Influencer Program in area schools. She also organizes the annual Peace in the Park event in Daffin Park, which celebrates the power of peace and honors local peacebuilders. Jill helps communities establish their own mediation centers through the National Association for Community Mediation and serves on the State Disciplinary Board of Georgia. She also chairs the Rotary Peacebuilders of Savannah and is a General Civil and Specialized Domestic Violence Mediator.

Laura Solomon

Oyster Farmer

Laura Solomon is an oyster farmer who believes in the power of sustainability, education and environmental stewardship. She and her husband cofounded Tybee Oyster Company, a floating oyster farm on Tybee Island, with the mission to revive Georgia’s oyster industry and to serve as advocates for sustainability in coastal Georgia. Dedicated to inspiring future generations, she founded Education. Community. Oysters. (ECO), a nonprofit organization that connects aquaculture with K-12 education through partnerships with local schools, including Tybee Island Maritime Academy and St. Andrew’s School, and leads teacher training workshops for the Georgia Aquarium staff, the Georgia Association of Marine Education and the Georgia Science Teacher Association. Laura promotes real-world learning and strategic growth as the Director of Growth and Planning at Tybee Island Maritime Academy and serves on the board of St. Andrew’s School.

Oz Yakabovitz

Musician

Oz Yakabovitz is a young musician with deep roots and big range. At just 7 years old, he became the youngest officially permitted street performer in Savannah, playing at the Forsyth Farmers’ Market, where he played acoustic covers of The Beatles and Johnny Cash. Six years later, Oz has evolved into a dynamic multi-instrumentalist with a passion for jazz and a genre-bending repertoire that spans pop, hip-hop and beyond. Whether on guitar or trumpet, his improvisation is bold, expressive and always full of surprises. Live music sponsored by New Arts Ensembles.

Rufus Stephens

Uplifter

An ordained minister and motivational speaker, Rufus Stephens has inspired audiences at the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah State University, the Georgia House of Representatives and the NCAA. A Savannah native, he spent more than 30 years in the food service industry, serving as a corporate executive for a national school food service company and operating a wholesale food distributorship in Chicago. Rufus earned a B.S. in Biology from Savannah State University and pursued graduate degrees at the University of Florida and the National Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained minister for 30 years, he and his wife, Cynthia, have four children and four grandchildren.

Tilicia Mayo-Gamble

Public Health Leader

Dr. Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, affectionately known as “Dr. TMG” to her students, is the Associate Dean for Practice and Research in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist who earned her M.A., M.P.H., and Ph.D. from Indiana University. A caregiver to her husband, who is a cancer survivor, Tilicia has seen the lived-disease experience of caring for a loved one and has taken steps to change it through nearly 20 years of advocacy and research. Her research focuses on implementing community and patient engagement methods to enhance patient-centered care for adults with chronic diseases and marginalized populations. In addition to her research, Tilicia serves as an evangelist and missionary and recently published her first book When the Holy Spirit Calls: Embracing Your Unique Spiritual Gifts.