In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Columbus School for Girls
65 S. Drexel Ave.
Columbus, Ohio, 43209
United States

Angela Rucci

CEO of Tego

Angela is a hardworking student of life. Whenever she feels too comfortable, she will challenge herself to push for new boundaries. As a believer in positive thinking, Angela is determined to accomplish anything she focuses her energy on. Angela observes the world and tries to find ways to approve it. After her assault, she wanted to help protect her loved ones. This need to care for her friends turned into a technology startup, Tego. Now she works non-stop, trying to help people all around the world take care of each other.

Brooke Wojdynski

Founder and Senior Staffer

"Strength through honor, honor through love" is her family motto. Originally from San Diego, Brooke has an obsession with avocados and sunshine. A Buckeye through and through, she is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she studied political science and non-profit studies. Brooke has worked as a senior staffer on gubernatorial, congressional, mayoral, and city council campaigns; including Campaign Manager for Columbus City Council President Pro Tem, and Elizabeth Brown. She currently runs her own political and non-profit consulting firm called Verve Creative where she supports non-profits and campaigns effectively tell their story, increase their loyal volunteer base, and fundraise to make positive impact in the world. She lives with her husband Doug Arseneault in Columbus, Ohio.

Carmen Quatman

Vice Chair of Quality, Ohio State University WMC Department of Orthopaedics

Carmen Quatman, MD, PhD is the Vice Chair of Quality at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. As an Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon, Geriatric Orthopaedic Specialist and Scientist in Aging Research, Carmen has a special commitment to helping others have the best quality of life possible at all stages in life. While Carmen has spent a large portion of her time in the roles of scientist and surgeon, the role she identifies most with is patient. By the time Carmen completed orthopaedic residency she had 12 surgeries due to a traumatic knee injury. This has given her incredible insight into the patient experience and has inspired her to focus her research and clinical care efforts to transform healthcare delivery. In her free time, Carmen loves spending time with her large extended family at their lake house and spoiling her niece and nephews with fun adventures and memories.

Emily Krichbaum

Founder, educator

An expert in American women's history and politics, Dr. Emily Krichbaum earned her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University and authored numerous articles on nineteenth and twentieth-century reformers. Her most recent work on Elizabeth Cady Stanton will be published by the University of Notre Dame press in 2020. For ten years, she taught at Ashland University, where she received both 'Female Faculty Member of the Year' and 'Mentor of the Year' awards. In 2018, Krichbaum founded Remember The Ladies, a non-profit organization that helps teachers and school districts incorporate more women's history into American history classrooms. Most recently, Krichbaum joined the Upper School faculty at Columbus School for Girls and teaches American history and politics. She resides in Bexley, Ohio with her husband, Brian, and their dog, Quincy.

First Responder

Local Band

First Responder is a Columbus based band and the creative project of Sierra Mollenkopf (vocals, guitar), comprised of Cameron Carr (guitar), Collin Geddis (bass), and Zayn Dweik (drums). Together, Mollenkopf’s airy soprano vocals and the bands accompaniment create alternative rock music that is both soft and urgent.

Gabrielle Solange

Singer, songwriter, producer and multi-media artist

Her, at-times uncomfortably honest, yet refreshingly vulnerable, storytelling has enabled her to connect with diverse audiences on controversial issues. And while she loves to have fun on stage, she mostly sees entertainment as a way to heal, educate, and empower. Raised in an artistic family, Gabrielle Solange began creating original songs on an old cassette recorder around age 7. At age 13 she ran away from her abusive home and ended up in the foster care system, shifting homes throughout Ohio until she was permanently placed in an underprivileged Columbus area. Struggling with thoughts of suicide, she found sanctuary at an inner city youth arts program where she was provided resources to hone her crafts and began creating and performing with others, forming a band (Fatty Koo) that achieved mainstream success. Years later, a solo, independent Gabrielle returned to her roots and started RunSong Studios determined to provide youth with the same tools that saved her life as a child.

Jamie Schiff

Director of the Program for Young Children at Columbus School for Girls

Jamie Schiff, Ph.D. is the Director of the Program for Young Children at Columbus School for Girls. She has been working with children, families, and teachers for over 16 years. Most recently, she served as an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Capital University, where she taught several courses, including Early Literacy and Literature for Early Childhood, Pedagogy: Integrated Language Arts for Early Childhood, and Content Area Literacy. While pursuing her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, she was a teaching assistant, guest lecturer, and field supervisor for undergraduate and graduate students in education. Before earning her Ph.D., Jamie taught first and second grade while completing her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at Jacksonville University. Jamie also facilitates professional growth opportunities in the Reggio Emilia approach for teachers in central Ohio.

Janice Bonsu

Medical Student

Janice M. Bonsu is a medical student, Trustee at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. She received her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University and earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout her education, Ms. Bonsu has represented her peers in a variety of positions, including serving as a former executive president of the Student Government Association at Johns Hopkins University and a justice on the Inter-Professional Council at Ohio State. Additionally, she has participated on several academic search committees, working groups and institutional audits.

Kent Johnson

CEO, Highlights for Children

Kent S. Johnson is Chief Executive Officer of Highlights for Children, Inc. and the great-grandson of the company’s founders, Garry and Caroline Myers, who began Highlights magazine in 1946. Highlights for Children creates content and experiences that engage, delight and foster joyful learning in children, all in service of creating a kinder, more empathetic and more optimistic world. Highlights for Children reaches millions of children, families and educators in over 50 countries, in dozens of languages and across content platforms and formats.

Marilena Melas

ABMGG Clinical Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellow

Coming from Lefkada a beautiful island in Greece, Dr. Marilena Melas earned her doctoral degree in Cancer Biology and Genomics from USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles in May 2019. Currently, she is an ABMGG Clinical Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellow at the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio. As a passionate and perseverant scientist who loves to help people, Marilena works to inspire others to believe in the beauty of their dreams. Her future career goal is to become a director of a Clinical Medical Genetics lab focusing on the translation of genomic discoveries into clinical and therapeutic applications in the field of Personalized Cancer Genomics.

Paula Penn-Nabrit

Entrepreneur, founder and author

Paula Penn-Nabrit has always been serious about living a holistic, 3D life. Married for 36 years, 8 months, and 22 days, Paula and Charles Nabrit crafted a “two shall be one flesh” union. Paula left her job in 1986 to start PN&A, Inc., a small management consulting firm. In 2003, Random House published one of her books on the topic of raising her three sons, Morning by Morning: How We Home-Schooled Our African-American Sons to the Ivy League. Years later, Charles convinced her to launch Telos Training, Inc., a 501(c)(3) dedicated to the support of women’s 3D lives. The organization’s biggest project to date is The Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden at The Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, which opened in 2014. She and her eldest sons co-manage the garden and sell organic produce for $1lb. A daughter, sister, wife, mother, entrepreneur, author, Sunday School teacher, widow, garden manager, cook, and amateur artist Paula Penn-Nabrit remains serious about her 3D life.

Rehgan Avon

Founder and CEO of Women in Analytics, and Head of Solutions at Mobikit

Rehgan Avon is Head of Solutions at Mobikit, an analytics and automation platform for mobility and connected vehicles. With a background in integrated systems engineering and a strong focus on analytical technology, Rehgan has worked on architecting solutions and products around operationalizing machine learning models at scale within the large enterprise. Rehgan’s previous experience has been fueled by a passion for early stage startups and product development, and has taught courses in data science and web development at MBA programs nationally. She is the founder and CEO of Women in Analytics, an organization that increases visibility to women impacting the analytics space by providing a platform for women to lead the conversations around the advancements of analytical research, development, and applications. She remains active and involved in fostering collaboration around emerging analytical methods and technologies, and is the recipient of Columbus CEO’s Future 50 award.

Shara Hutchinson

Motivational speaker, founder, and author

Shara Hutchinson is the author of I STILL Want to Be a Mom: An Inspirational Guide to Help Women Struggling with Infertility. She is also the founder of the I Still Want To Be A Mom Foundation . This organization was founded to educate, inspire, and support women diagnosed with infertility. After an 8-year journey with infertility and loss, she is on a mission to raise awareness on these topics while encouraging those affected.