Theme: Recovering and Rebuilding

VA employees from across the Department are invited to join the TEDxVeteransAffairs weeklong event taking place September 20-24 at 12:30 p.m., eastern time, each day.

The theme for this year’s event, Recovering & Rebuilding, represents our resiliency and innovation in the face of adversity as individuals and as an agency, including throughout our continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From VA field employees and those at VA central office to Veterans, celebrated authors and acclaimed artists and coaches, this year’s TEDx event continues our trend of speakers from various walks of life representing a diverse range of interests and viewpoints.

Some of this year’s TEDx speakers include:
• A VA social worker who helped develop a virtual connection program for lonely and socially isolated Veterans
• An internationally acclaimed artist tells us how she came to go on a quest to paint a veteran from each state and what she learned in the process
• A Death Doula who is working to change the way we talk (and think) about death
• A Marine Corps Veteran who stepped on an IED in Afghanistan shares the habits he has used to embrace his new life’s challenges
• An executive director for homeless services challenges us to "undesign" our homeless crisis
• The 101-year-old widow of a WWII veteran takes us on a journey of several watershed events in her life
• A New York Times bestselling author makes the case for how each life can impact events half a world away

VA Central Office
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
room 230
Washington, District of Columbia, 20420
United States

Aakshi Agarwal

Co-founder, TeleHealth Access for Seniors

Aakshi Agarwal is a senior at Yale University studying Molecular Biology and Political Science and is a co-founder of TeleHealth Access for Seniors. TeleHealth Access for Seniors is a student-founded non-profit that began in March 2020 to deliver devices to low-income patients and has since expanded to donating over 3000 devices across 26 states, providing technical support, and implementing programs to improve social isolation. Aakshi is passionate about healthcare policy and reducing inequities in healthcare and hopes to continue to pursue avenues to bridge these gaps for veterans.

Andy Andrews

Author

Andy Andrews is an author and speaker whose work has appeared on The New York Times bestseller lists in the categories of Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Nonfiction, Business, and Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous. Dave Ramsey called him "our generation's Mark Twain" and he is best known for the international bestselling books The Traveler's Gift and The Noticer. ABC's Good Morning America named The Traveler's Gift "one of the five books you should read in your lifetime." He has written over 26 books and sold more than 20 million copies around the world. His books have been translated into over 40 languages. Andrews regularly speaks for corporations, organizations, athletic teams, and the U.S. Military. Andrews releases a weekly podcast, "The Professional Noticer" that has subscribers from more than 100 countries.

Arjun Verma

Co-founder, TeleHealth Access for Seniors

Arjun Verma is a junior at Lake Highland Prep, in Orlando, Florida. He is a co-founder of TeleHealth Access for Seniors, a nonprofit organization that collects and donates devices to increase access to virtual healthcare. Arjun is the captain and an avid member of his school’s debate team. He also volunteers with the MORE Foundation to fund the planting of trees in deforested regions, researches solar circuits with a mentor at UCF, and plays piano.

David Walker

TEDx Host + VISN 7 Director

2019 TEDx Speaker Alum

Deborah McCallum

Senior EEO Attorney Advisor

Deborah McCallum has been with the VA as an attorney since 1989 representing the Agency in all aspects of personnel law. She is a nationally recognized expert and trainer in the areas of disability law, sexual harassment prevention and effective management skills. She holds a B.S. degree in physics and chemistry from the University of Maryland, a B.A. degree in pre-law from the University of Baltimore and a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, from which she graduated magna cum laude.

Denis McDonough

Secretary

Welcoming Remarks

Donna Walker-Muhammed

Program Manger + Death Doula + Health Coach + Group Fitness Instructor

Donna Walker-Muhammed began her VHA career in her hometown of New Orleans, LA. She currently works in the Healthcare Operations Office. Over her 30-year career, Donna has learned the importance of taking inventory of your life and learning to coach yourself by yourself to tap into your inner coach power. As a Death Doula, she is an activist to change the way we talk about and view death, and how we care for our dying.

Ella Tomlin

Student + Volunteer

coming

Eric McElvenny

Team USA Paralympian + Husband + Father + Post 9/11 Vet

Eric McElvenny is a lucky husband and proud father of three. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2006. While serving as Marine in Afghanistan, Eric was wounded during combat operations suffering the loss of his leg. This injury led to a new journey into competition to include eight Ironman triathlons. Eric looks forward to sharing his story from the military to these finish lines and the habits we can use to embrace life's challenges.

Heidi Marston

Executive Director, LA Homeless Service Authority

Heidi Marston is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority where serves as a leader in the effort to reduce homelessness across Greater Los Angeles. She sits on the Leadership Alliance for the National Alliance to End Homelessness and served on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Agency Review Team for the Biden/Harris Presidential Transition. Heidi joined LAHSA in February 2019 as Chief Program Officer after serving at the VA in several roles, including Director of Community Engagement and Reintegration and Special Assistant to the VA Secretary under President Obama.

Jeannette Feldman

Experiencer of Life

Born in 1920, Ms. Feldman is the widow of a WWII veteran, mother of three adult children, and retired VA volunteer of 28 years. She also possesses a century of wisdom she passes along judiciously.

Katie Delacenserie

Historian + Podcaster

As Historian for the Veterans Health Administration, Katie preserves and promotes the stories of the people, places, events, and innovations surrounding the largest integrated health care system in the United States by interpreting VHA’s impact on the lives of fellow Americans, veterans, and the world at-large. Prior to joining VA, Katie held positions with the Naval History and Heritage Command and the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. A native of Wisconsin Katie holds BA from the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire and an MLS from the University of Maryland. In 2019, she was named a Fulbright Specialist.

Koushik Reddy

Interventional Cardiologist

Dr. Reddy completed his general and interventional cardiology fellowship training at Winthrop University Hospital in Long Island, NY. After 10 years of interventional cardiology, he changed his focus towards cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention. He is a member of American College of Cardiology’s working group on nutrition and lifestyle. He serves as a board of director for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He is the founding Co-Chair of the VA/DOD member interest group and the Cardiology member interest group under the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He is board certified in Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology and Lifestyle Medicine He established two preventive cardiology clinics. He is deeply committed to the idea of health promotion and disease prevention, using lifestyle and nutrition related tools. It is with this passion and commitment, he boldly challenges his patients with – “I have a carrot and a stent, you pick!”

Leah Kedar

Executive Coach + Partner, The Kedar Group

Leah has provided over thirty years of leadership development support for Government, NGO, and private corporate clients in the US., Europe, Asia and Africa. She specializes in supporting leaders and their teams and is widely respected for her ability to bring diverse teams together to produce results under challenging circumstances. With backgrounds in sociolinguistics, ethnography, ontological coaching and intercultural models of understanding, Leah brings exceptional depth and breadth of experience to her work with clients grappling with the challenges of a transient and ever-changing global working environment.

Linda Hervieux

Journalist + Photographer + Author

Linda Hervieux is Paris-based American journalist and photographer and the author of Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War , the critically acclaimed story of D-Day’s only African-American combat soldiers, who were effectively written out of the history of the Normandy invasion. Tom Brokaw called FORGOTTEN "utterly compelling," and Douglas Brinkley said "all Americans should read" this battalion's journey through segregated Jim Crow America to unexpected freedom in Britain and France. Hervieux has lectured extensively on the African Americans of D-Day and World War II with appearances at Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, the Imperial War Museum in London, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., among others. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, TIME, Daily Beast, New York Daily News, and nbcnews.com.

Lori Murphy

Social Worker

Lori Murphy has been a social worker with the Columbus VA since July 2017. At the start of the COVID pandemic, Lori partnered with seven other VA staff members across the country to develop the Compassionate Contact Corps program. This social prescription program matches VA volunteers with Veterans who report feeling lonely through weekly phone calls. Lori has helped to mentor 80 other VA sites to establish their own programs. She earned the Secretary’s Honor Award for her work on this program. Lori Murphy has been a social worker with the Columbus VA since July 2017. She currently works as a Caregiver Support Social Worker. Lori worked in a variety of community social work settings providing counseling and case management. She also program development focused on improving social engagement in isolated refugee communities. She earned her Masters of Social Work from Ohio State in 2012. Lori received a Secretary's Honor Award for her work with Compassionate Contact Corps in 2021.

Mary Whyte

American Figurative Artist

Ms. Whyte is known internationally for her watercolors of contemporary people. Her works are in private, corporate, university and public collections nationwide, and have been featured in numerous media outlets including CBS Sunday Morning, PBS and NPR. The author of seven books including We the People: Portraits of Veterans in America, Whyte’s work has also been featured in many international publications, including periodicals and books in China, Russia, France, Germany, Canada and Taiwan. Recipient: Portrait Society of America's Gold Medal, the Carolinas Freedom Foundation’s Freedom Award, and the South Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts, SC’s highest honor in the arts. Recipient: 2020 National DAR Medal of Honor and the 2020 NSDAR Women in the Arts Award. In 2021 Mary Whyte received an honorary doctorate degree from Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 2019 Whyte founded the Patriot Art Foundation as a means to honor and inspire veterans through the arts.

Mitra Gobin

Chief, Center for Development & Civic Engagement

Mitra Gobin is the current CDCE Chief in Tampa, Florida, with 10 years of federal service. He has been a leader, manager, and trainer for other healthcare professionals across the hospital enterprise and nationally within CDCE. Prior to the VA, Mr. Gobin worked as a hospice Music Therapist where he also established local professional development opportunities with the intention of creating a more collaborative community of psychosocial professionals. Mr. Gobin expresses a passion to foster growth and inspiration for people to become authentic leaders embodying integrity and joy in their work.

Nicole Gilbride

Deputy, Outreach Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

A public servant for over 10 years, with experience at the Department of State, Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is passionate about communications, change management, stakeholder engagement, and recruiting and retaining millennials in the federal workforce. She currently works in VA's Office of Information Technology.

Nikkole Weiss

TEDx Host + Social Worker

2020 TEDx Speaker Alum

Noah Omura

Student + Volunteer

Noah Omura is a 13 year old in 8th grade who attends Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, SC. He loves biking, talking with his friends, graphic design, and listening to music at the gym. He hopes to someday major in Business at the University of South Carolina.

RimaAnn Nelson

TEDx Host + VISN 10 Director

2019 TEDx Speaker Alum

Sabrina Clark

TEDx Host + Director for VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement

2018 TEDx Speaker Alum

Shane Whitecloud

Veteran + Public Affairs Officer

Shane is a Public Affairs Officer at VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System for the past two years. Prior to joining VA, Shane was a rock radio personality on Rock 104.5 for 23 years and radio show/podcast, American Warfighter Radio. Shane is also a public speaker on topics of substance abuse, suicide, and military sexual trauma. He is a father of 3 boys and a grandfather. Shane has recently started working on his autobiography.