Theme: Making Waves

Welcome to the TEDxCulverCity event, "Making Waves," where we will explore the power of creating positive change and pushing boundaries to make a difference. Our speakers will share their experiences and ideas on challenging the status quo and taking action for a better world. From creativity, navigating identity, and prison reform, our speakers will inspire and ignite your passion for making waves in your life and community. Join us for a day of thought-provoking talks, engaging discussions, and an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals committed to making a difference. Together, we can create a ripple effect of change to improve our world.

The Culver Hotel
9400 Culver Blvd
Culver City, California, 90232
United States

Ashish Prashar

Political Strategist. Criminal Justice Activist. Writer.

Ashish is known for flipping the script and winning over the most formidable adversary. He is formerly incarcerated and works passionately to change the narrative around people impacted by the criminal legal system and ending prison and policing systems as we know them. Ashish began his career in journalism and moved over to politics, handling communications for the Conservative Party, the Mayor of London, and the Tony Blair Foundation. Ashish also worked on Obama and Biden’s Presidential Campaigns. Ashish brought his political acumen to the private sector, where he has provided counsel to multiple start-ups, ran communications at Ipsos and Publicis Sapient, and was the Global Chief Marketing Officer at R/GA. Ashish is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and sits on the Board of Just Leadership and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice. Ashish has appeared as a regular commentator in media outlets, including CNN, The Guardian, and USA Today. www.ashishprashar.me

Dr. Pamela Mehta

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Dr. Pamela Mehta is a board-certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and founder of Resilience Orthopaedics, a successful concierge practice in San Jose, California. With over a decade of post-residency experience at Columbia University in New York- Dr. Mehta is an expert in advanced surgical techniques for treating shoulder and knee pathology. She is a wife, mom to 3, and passionate about women designing life on their terms regarding career and family. She shares her life as a practice owner, mom, and a woman in a male-dominated field on her social media platforms. She co-founded the Pinnacle Conference for Women in Medicine, which empowers women to lead impactfully in clinical medicine. Additionally, she has served as a medical advisor to several startups and established companies, including Figs and The Good Feet Store. She lends her Orthopedic and Musculoskeletal expertise to developing products, efficacy studies, and marketing campaigns.

Jeff Tan

Ultramarathoner and Innovation Leader

Jeff Tan is a global ultramarathoner, motivational speaker, and visionary innovation leader in Los Angeles, dedicated to helping people overcome their inherited limiting beliefs, unlocking their full potential in all areas of life. Notably, he achieved a remarkable feat (and a very scary idea too) by completing the Antarctic Ice Marathon in the harsh frozen conditions, finally conquering a marathon on each of the seven continents. This extraordinary journey has shaped Jeff's perspective on unleashing the human spirit and serves as a powerful example of what can be achieved with a determined mindset and commitment to an idea that scares you. Jeff currently serves as Director of Co-Innovation at Microsoft, collaborating with Fortune 500 companies to envision and architect transformative solutions to solve their critical business challenges.

Jonathan Elias

Composer, Producer, and Musician

Jonathan Elias was born in New York and started composing at age twelve. While at the conservatory, he began scoring movie trailers, most notably Alien, Ghandi, and Blade Runner. Elias met John Barry, who became his mentor, later introducing him to Duran Duran, which led to various projects with various talents, including Alanis Morissette, B.B. King, Yes, Bono, Johnny Cash, and David Bowie. Elias shifted his focus to advertising— garnering dozens of Clio awards for best music, an Emmy Award for Nike’s "Move," and other advertising trophies for spots like Apple’s “Think Different.” Over the last 40 years, Elias Music has been known for audio brand identities. Their most recognizable work includes Columbia Pictures, Yahoo, the original MTV Moon Landing, Farmer’s Insurance, Liberty Mutual, and FIFA. Elias remains at the helm of audio branding at Universal Music Publishing and continues to educate the new world of sonic branding.

Nicole Cruz

Life and Leadership Coach

Nicole is a certified life and leadership coach and the CEO of Nicole Cruz Coaching, one of the first coaching companies to cater specifically to the needs of the 1st & 2nd generation immigrant community. Over the past 5 years, she has worked with hundreds of immigrants and immigrant descendants, building her business while traveling full-time to over 30 countries. Through a culturally-aware and trauma-informed approach, Nicole helps folks with immigrant roots to become impactful leaders by helping them unlearn inherited generational limits, embrace their complex identities, and unleash their innate power.

Tim Leake

Founder and CEO of Lightbulb

Tim Leake recently took his own advice to commit to an idea that scares him — leaving the comfortable space of full-time employment to start the online platform Lightbulb (www.LetsLightbulb.com), which helps people build their Creative Thinking skills. The company’s mission is to give people a competitive advantage in their career — while having a lot of fun along the way. Before starting Lightbulb, Tim was the Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer for RPA. Before that, he was a global innovation, creative and digital transformation consultant and speaker with Hyper Island. And before even that, he was a Creative Director and Copywriter at agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Dentsu and TBWA/Chiat/Day.