About Us

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Aleksia Parisi

Aleksia Parisi '29 is a psychology major at Bard from Greece and Albania. She joined TEDx to strengthen her social and communication skills and gain valuable experience in teamwork and problem-solving. She is especially interested in how small ideas fueled by passion and perseverance can lead to meaningful change. Her favorite TED Talk is "Restore your brain with nature" by David Strayer. A fun fact about her is that she can cook a perfect medium-rare steak.

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Angus Lunt-Woodward

Angus Lunt-Woodward ‘29 is a freshman at Bard from Annapolis, Maryland. He is a Global and International Relations major and is an infielder on the Baseball Team. He joined TEDxBard because he saw the opportunity to work with a team in facilitating a conference that would be extremely beneficial to students, faculty, and everyone else who attends. TED talks have always been one of his favorite forms of communication because they always seem to be authentic, thought-out, and meaningful. His favorite TED talk is “The Danger of a Single Story” by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

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Jasper Lavan

Jasper Lavan ‘28 is a sophomore at Bard College, coming from Alexandria, Virginia. He is a Philosophy major and a student organizer with Students Rise Up and the Sunrise Movement. He joined TEDx to learn more about planning engaging and thoughtful events, as well as the work that goes into sharing people's stories and perspectives. In his free time, he is active as a musician and video artist. 

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Jaella Ayisha Mohammed

Jaella Ayisha Mohammed ’28 is a sophomore from Ghana, studying Economics and Public Health. She joined TEDx Bard because she believes everyone deserves to be heard and sees TEDx as a powerful platform for amplifying diverse voices. Her favorite TED Talk is “The Art of Being Yourself” by Caroline McHugh, which resonated deeply with her. One of her favorite quotes from the talk is, “Your only job while you are on earth is to be good at being you"

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Olivia Nestor

Olivia Nestor ‘29 is a freshman at Bard from Massachusetts. She is majoring in Biology and Pre-Health and is a member of the Women’s Soccer team. She joined TEDXBard to gain more involvement on campus, try something new, and gain more experience with organizations such as TEDX. A fun fact about Olivia is that she was also an alpine ski racer for 8 years and is now a ski race coach.
 

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Raahim Waqas (Khan)

Raahim Waqas (Khan) ‘27 joined the TEDx team first as a speaker in 2025 and now as an organizer. He aims to create equitable spaces for dialogue and to platform ideas that often go unheard. He’s passionate about conversations at the intersection of identity, politics, and community, usually fueled by good conversation and strong opinions. If you are reading this, go watch his TED talk and let him know your thoughts!

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Yousef Alhoumsi

Yousef Alhoumsi ’29 is a freshman who comes from Brattleboro, Vermont. He is a computer science and math student driven by curiosity and a love of ideas that challenge how we think. He joined TEDxBard to help create a space where thoughtful, uncomfortable questions can be explored openly. His favorite TED Talk is Do Schools Kill Creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson.

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Chaya Huber

Chaya Huber is a current graduate student in the Bard MBA program in Sustainability, class of 2027, and has provided logistical and administrative mentoring to the TEDxBard team since 2023. Chaya began her work at Bard in 2022 as a staff member for the Center for Civic Engagement, and now serves as the Program Coordinator of the Language and Thinking Program.

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TJ Kostecky

TJ Kostecky is a Men’s Soccer Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Bard College. He believes that Bard students are deeply curious and guided by a sense of service, and is inspired by this opportunity to guide them on this journey as they contribute to something greater than themselves. Talks that resonate with him lean into vulnerability rather than performance, and he looks for speakers to believe in themselves and the message they are meant to share. 

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Thanasis Kostikas

Thanasis Kostikas is a Senior pursuing a degree in Mathematics and Physics. A co-founder of the project, Thanasis has taken a leading role in the budgeting process, sponsor recruitment, and overall curation of the event. 

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Emily O'Rourke

Emily O’Rourke (B.A. ‘25, M.A.T. ‘26) was part of the founding TEDx Bard team in 2023 and worked again as an event organizer in 2025. She believes that everyone has a story to tell, and it is this passing of information that initially led her not only to join TEDxBard, but also to pursue degrees in Anthropology, and later teaching. Now as a mentor, she is looking forward to coaching the new team as they push this project forward and integrate new ideas and approaches. One of her favorite talks in the past was Rolena Richardson’s talk on sustainability, which made her question her own consumption habits and the impact they have on the world. 
 

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Masoma Shoayb

Masoma Shoayb is a Senior majoring in Computer Science with a concentration in Data Science. Masoma transferred to Bard from the American University of Afghanistan. As an Event Organizer, Masoma manages event logistics and co-driects budgeting and finance. 

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Jay Siegal

Jay Siegal is a Senior studying Sociology with a background in communications, development, and public affairs. In 2023, Jay joined the team as Communications Manager and led digital strategy, coordinated with sponsoring organizations on collaborative marketing events, and created graphic content for the day of the conference. 

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Mariia Pankova

Mariia Pankova is a multimedia artist and documentary filmmaker from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and an Assistant Producer of digital content at the Open Society University Network. Mariia edits TEDxBard talks out of a place of personal connection to fellow Bard alumni/ae, and has enjoyed hearing each speaker weave their life philosophy into practical, accessible advice.

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Seamus Heady

Seamus Heady is a documentary filmmaker based in the Hudson Valley, with a background in short-form documentaries focused on the study of human rights. He has produced, directed, and filmed short documentaries on topics including race relations, news media, prison reform, sustainability, and crisis response. At TEDxBard, Seamus served as a video editor of 2025 talks for publication on YouTube.