Meet Your Instructors
Aisha Nyandoro
Aisha Nyandoro is on a mission to holistically and compassionately lift families out of cycles of poverty. As the Chief Executive Officer of Springboard To Opportunities, she uses a “radically resident-driven” approach to end generational poverty. She’s both deeply practical and very impatient–launching the very first of its kind guaranteed income program for single, black mothers in the history of the United States. That effort, Magnolia Mother’s Trust, has been written about everywhere, from The New York Times to Essence, and distinguishes her as a trailblazer in the larger national conversation about economic and racial inequity and moving towards reparations.
She has received multiple honors, including recognition as a fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network and Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
Amanda Machado
Amanda E. Machado is a writer and facilitator who explores how race, gender, sexuality, and power affect the way we travel and experience the outdoors. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Slate, Harper’s Bazaar, NBC News, Vox, and many others. In addition to her essay writing, she also facilitates workshops on anti-oppression and inclusive storytelling for organizations around the world including REI, Patagonia, HipCamp, Kampgrounds of America (KOA), University of California Berkeley, and many others.
Courtney Martin
FRESH Speakers co-founder and chief talent officer Courtney Martin was born and raised in Colorado Springs, and has been called “one of our most insightful culture critics and one of our finest young writers” by Parker Palmer. Her writing has been described as “varied, transformational, and necessary for us all” by Jane Fonda. A two-time TED speaker, she is the author of multiple books, an advisor to the Obama Foundation and The Aspen Institute, co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network, co-founder of Valenti Martin Media, and a proud momma.
Katrina Conanan-Riel
Katrina Conanan-Riel is passionate about the betterment of society and the innovation that gets us there. A natural people-person, and ambassador of merriment and joy, she has parlayed these talents into a dream career curating stages for major brands like TED and The Wall Street Journal. She produces content that lies at the intersection of culture, technology, genuine social impact, and substantive change.
At Chief, an international membership for women in executive roles, Katrina led her creative team to scale the event programming by developing engaging live content. This programming distinguished Chief’s brand and heralded an impressive roster of speakers such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Indra Nooyi, Mindy Kaling, Adam Grant, Esther Perel, and more.
Katrina is a proud, confident first-generation Filipina who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and dog.
Jackson Bird
Jackson Bird is a writer and internet creator dedicated to demystifying the transgender experience. A YouTube NextUp Creator and GLAAD Rising Star Digital Innovator, Jackson shares his and others’ stories on his YouTube channel, jackisnotabird, and in his debut book Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vulture, The Advocate, and more, and his TED Talk "How to talk (and listen) to transgender people" has been viewed over one and a half million times. Jackson lives in New York City, where he hosts the daily podcast, Kottke Ride Home. You can follow him online @jackisnotabird.
Jamia Wilson
Jamia is a feminist activist, writer, and speaker. She joined Random House as vice president and executive editor in 2021. As the former director of the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, Jamia has been a leading voice on women’s rights issues for over a decade. Her work has appeared in numerous outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, Teen Vogue, and The Washington Post. She is the author of Young, Gifted, and Black, Step Into Your Power: 23 Lessons on How to Live Your Best Life, Big Ideas for Young Thinkers, ABC's of AOC, and the co-author of Roadmap for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Advocacy, and Activism for All.
Joshunda Sanders
Joshunda Sanders (she/her) is the author of several books, most recently the children's book, I Can Write the World, and teaches writing at Lehman College. Her work has appeared in Oprah Daily, the Boston Globe, TIME, The New York Times and many other publications. She has taught writing and journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, the New School and The School of the New York Times. She has received fellowships or residencies from Lambda Literary, Hedgebrook, Key West Literary Seminars and the Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing. She lives and writes in the Bronx, NY, where she is from.
Sarika Bansal
Sarika Bansal is an editor and storyteller. She is the editor of "Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel," a book of essays. She is also a mentor with the Aspen New Voices Program, a media and advocacy fellowship for global development leaders. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of BRIGHT Magazine, an award-winning digital magazine that told fresh, solutions-oriented stories about social change. Prior to that, Sarika incubated two social impact publications at Medium, developed curriculum and tools for journalists at the Solutions Journalism Network, and served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times, Al Jazeera America, Guardian, VICE, Forbes, FastCompany, and other publications. She holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She lives in a cottage in a forest in Nairobi, Kenya with her husband, daughter, and elderly German shepherd.
Tiffany Dufu
Named as one of 19 “women who are leading the way” by The Huffington Post—in the company of luminaries such as Hillary Clinton and Diane Sawyer—Tiffany Dufu’s life’s work is inspiring leaders to step into their power. Her book, DROP THE BALL: How Women Can Achieve More by Doing Less (Flatiron/MacMillan), was published in February 2017. Gloria Steinem wrote in the foreword, “Drop the Ball is important, path-breaking, intimate, and brave.” She is also the Founder and CEO of The Cru, a peer coaching service for women looking to accelerate their personal and professional growth. Tiffany is a highly sought-after speaker on leadership, presenting at prestigious events such as Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit and TEDWomen. She lights up any stage that she’s on, with dynamic storytelling and fresh, new perspectives on what it means to be a leader in the world today. Her favorite talks that she loves to give are on the advancement of girls and women’s leadership. She believes, in essence, that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Torin Perez
Torin Perez is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion consultant on a mission to inspire authenticity and inclusive leadership in the workplace. Featured by Culture Amp as a D&I Influencer You Should Know and in Forbes as an Anti-Racism Educator Your Company Needs Now, Torin delivers transformative learning experiences and keynote talks to inspire. He has impacted audiences at PCMA Convening Leaders, Culture Summit, INBOUND, Microsoft, Chobani, and more. Torin is the bestselling author of Who Am I to Lead? The World Is Waiting for You, and formerly led worldwide marketing for DreamAfrica, which was selected for the TED Residency, an incubator for breakthrough ideas.
Vanessa Valenti
FRESH Speakers co-founder & chief executive officer Vanessa Valenti is an entrepreneur, writer, and speaker, who cut her teeth co-founding the award-winning online feminist publication, Feministing.com, in 2004. Over the last decade, Vanessa has worked with a range of institutions and organizations across the globe, including the Aspen Institute, TED, UN Women, the Clinton Foundation, Planned Parenthood and more, producing content development and curation, and delivering speaker coaching and storytelling. She has won several awards for her activist work and Feministing, including the Hillman Prize for Exemplary Reporting that Fosters Social and Economic Justice. She was also the recipient of the TED Residency, where she explored solutions to inspire minds to redesign thought leadership.
When she's not working, Vanessa is unplugging with her two kids and cat in a little Hudson river town in upstate New York.