Theme: Solve for Why

TEDxVillanovaU: Solve for Why will feature original TEDx Talks from Villanova Students, Faculty, and Staff, featuring our honorary guest speaker, Villanova's Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Terry Nance.

Live webstream: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/sites/tedx-resources.html.

Digital pamphlete: https://www.flipsnack.com/tedxvillanovau/tedxvillanovau-solve-for-why.html

Solve for Why - Live Webstream
https://www1.villanova.edu/university/sites/tedx-resources.html.
Villanova, Pennsylvania, 19085
United States

Adriana Gurreri

Adriana Gurreri is a third-year biology student at Villanova University. Born and raised Canadian, Adriana is from just outside of Toronto, Canada. She enjoys motivational speaking and sharing her experiences to improve the lives of others. Adriana aspires to attend medical school following graduation and she looks forward to using her passions to drive her towards new adventures.

Allison Bajada

Allison Bajada is a second-year Presidential Scholar studying both psychology and philosophy at Villanova University. Allison is a long-time public speaker and has given two TEDxVillanovaU talks. She is proud to be a talk show host and business director at Villanova's radio station, WXVU. She is a mother to a pair of red-eared slider turtles named Hobbes and Locke, who both share her belief that eating insects is a great idea.

Briana Taylor

Briana Taylor is an alumna of the Villanova University class of 2015, and she holds a Masters of Public Policy from George Washington University. She currently resides in Washington, DC, where she works as an independent writer and researcher, focusing on topics regarding gender-based violence, mass atrocity, and Genocide. Briana's work has been published in a variety of online platforms and presented in many academic settings. In fall of 2021, she will be enrolled in George Mason University's PhD program, studying Conflict Resolution and Analysis.

Chris Cahill

Christopher Cahill graduated from Villanova University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and in 2012 with a Masters in Education. He went on to teach in different schools along the East coast and in England. Chris then earned an M.S. in Statistics from Texas A&M University and transitioned into his data science. Chris currently works as a data scientist at Travelers Insurance, focusing on Personal Insurance.

Claire Humphrey

Claire Humphrey is a first-year student at Villanova University studying both psychology and gender and women's studies. Claire also competes as a rower on the Villanova Women's Rowing Team. Despite not being a coffee drinker herself, she is passionate about the intersection of active listening, social movements, and coffee shops.

Darryl Reynolds

After playing for the Villanova Men's Basketball team during their historic 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball championship run and graduating in 2017, Darryl Reynolds joined the Philadelphia 76ers Summer League team and played his first year of professional basketball overseas in Poland. Upon returning home, he became injured. The following summer he began his coaching career at Villanova and launched his media company, Stay Tuned Network. He now works as a free lance media personality and public speaker, expanding Stay Tuned Network's portfolio and uplifting Philadelphia's creative scene.

Dr. Terry Nance

Dr. Teresa Nance currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and is the Chief Diversity Officer at Villanova University. Terry's Villanova career spans more than four decades, during which she has served as an administrator, teacher, scholar, activist, and 'support system' for students, faculty, and staff at the university. With her dual specializations in interpersonal communication and multicultural affairs, Terry is an expert in African-American rhetoric and performance, and diversity and inclusion both within and outside of higher education. In 2018, Terry was recognized by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) with the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Distinguished Service Award, for her contribution to diversity and inclusion in higher education. Dr. Terry Nance was featured as TEDxVillanovaU's honorary guest speaker at the 2021 conference, TEDxVillanovaU: Solve for Why.

Liesel Schwarz

Liesel Schwarz serves as Villanova University's sustainability manager. She is responsible for Villanova's compliance with their carbon commitment and she works with faculty, staff, and students to make Villanova a more sustainable place to work, live, learn, and play. Before coming to Villanova, Liesel worked as a sustainability planner. Liesel earned a self-designed bachelor's degree in sustainability planning and development from the University of Rochester and a Masters in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University.

Michael R. Coad

Michael R. Coad was raised in Buffalo, New York and moved to the Philadelphia area to achieve a Masters in Business Administration at Villanova University. He currently works as a consultant for a small firm and has brought his long-time passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion activities that are large and bold into his work.

Tom Edwards

Tom Edwards is an alumnus of Villanova University and a current professor and department chair at Temple University for their engineering, technology, and management program. Tom pursues organizational innovation from the three perspectives of research, practical application, and teaching. He is an engineer, a former industry executive, a college professor, and an "Autism Dad". Tom began to apply management principles to the leadership of employees on the autism spectrum in 2015 when he developed a workshop for industry practitioners looking to build a body of practical knowledge to overcome the complete lack of research on this topic.

Virginia Smith

Dr. Virginia Smith is an Assistant Professor of water resources in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Villanova University. Her research focuses on water in the urban landscape. She is particularly interested in rivers, flooding, sediment transport, and green storm water infrastructure solutions. Virginia joined Villanova from a career in international development, and she continues to work on projects in the United States and abroad. She is the winner of the 2020 Early Career Award for Applied Research from the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) and the 2021 recipient of Villanova's College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award.