Theme: Volta

Every story has a pivotal moment—a shift signifying that a change has occurred. In poetry, this moment is captured by a single term: volta, the Italian word for ‘turn.’ Similarly, within all of us lies the potential for a volta—a moment that reshapes how we see the world and ourselves.
At TEDxPenn 2025, we invite you to explore the power of these moments. Join us as we uncover the stories of our speakers, tracing their journeys to the turning points that defined them. Discover their volta and, perhaps, your own.

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
United States

Benjamin Fernandes

Tanzanian Entrepreneur

Benjamin Fernandes Founder and CEO NALA Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. He grew up in Tanzania, earning scholarships that took him to America at the age of 17. Benjamin was the youngest African in history to be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions. Fernandes founded NALA, a fintech startup that is on a mission to build payments for the next billion. NALA operates across 21 countries in Europe, the US and the UK with nearly 150 employees. In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world. In 2023, Fernandes was listed on the Top 100 Changemakers list for Africa. In 2024, Forbes online featured Fernandes on their daily cover with a cover story

Holly Hatcher-Frazier

Doctoral graduate of Graduate School of Education

Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier is best known as the “voice of reason” on the series, Dance Moms. A doctoral graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, she worked in education for over 20 years, as a teacher, administrator and principal before the show. Dr. Hatcher-Frazier served as a positive role model both on and off the reality television show. She enjoys new challenges and inspires others through public speaking and as a podcast co-host. An avid traveler with an adventurous spirit, Dr. Hatcher-Frazier is a digital contributor to Travel & Leisure Asia. She also enjoys giving back to her community and is honored to serve on the boards of City Theater and the Pittsburgh Film Office. Dr. Hatcher-Frazier is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, where she enjoys working with other women who are passionate about service, leadership and scholarship. Her most fulfilling roles in life are those of wife and mother to three fabulous children.

Jaime Teevan

Chief Scientist at Microsoft

Jaime Teevan is Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, where she is responsible for driving research-backed innovation in the company's core products. Jaime is world-renowned for her research into productivity and personalized search and was recognized by TIME as one of the top 100 people to play an instrumental role in AI development and societal advancement. She led the creation of M365 Copilot by integrating AI into Microsoft products, invented the first personalized search algorithm used by Bing, and coordinated the company's hybrid work research during the pandemic. Previously she was Technical Advisor to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Jaime is an ACM Fellow and a member of the SIGIR and CHI Academies. She holds a Ph.D. in AI from MIT and a B.S. from Yale and is an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.

Jett Puckett

Business man and social media star

Jett Puckett is a Penn JD/MBA alumnus, devoted father, and social media star passionate about spreading positivity and love on social media. Jett was valedictorian of both his high school and graduating class at the University of Georgia. He was the youngest person in the JD/MBA program at Wharton and Penn Law. Jett then began his career in investment banking and private equity focused primarily on health care, ultimately becoming an owner in a mergers & acquisitions firm focused on the dental industry. Today, Jett and his wife also own their own social media company, which generate millions of views per month, and their own fashion company. Jett is changing the game—leading with love, authenticity, and unwavering positivity. With their genuine storytelling and heartfelt moments, their videos do more than entertain—they uplift and brighten millions of people’s days. He believes in using his platform to change traditional media and to encourage more creators to be beacons of light.

John Hollway

Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

John F. Hollway is Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and a Senior Fellow at Penn's Positive Psychology Center. His research helps organizations confront challenges and turn negative occurrences into opportunities for quality improvement. He is a national thought leader on the use of root cause analysis in criminal justice and is a frequent consultant to criminal justice agencies and corporations on quality improvement and measurement issues. He is the author of numerous publications, including "Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom," winner of the National Independent Book Award for non-fiction in 2011 and one of the Chicago Sun-Times’ Best Books of the Year. Hollway holds a BA from Penn, a JD with honors from the George Washington University Law School, and a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology degree with Distinction from Penn.

Malaya Ulan

Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate

Malaya Ulan (Freedom Rain) is a sixteen-year-old Filipino-American Philadelphia based artivist. Ulan currently serves as the 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. Malaya Ulan is a multidimensional poet who merges her poetry with dance, film, and visual art. Ulan recently spoke at the United Nations Fourth Review Conference on the Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons with IANSA. She has performed at the Barnes Foundation, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Asian Arts Initiative, Painted Bride, Movement Research at Judson Dance Theatre, Festive Walk Philippines and more. She collaborates with her mother in a collective, AniMalayaWorks. Ulan was awarded the Scholastic Art and Writing gold key for the Philadelphia region in 2023 and first place in the open category for the Youth Film Awards at WHYY for her poetic film Anthem Erased. Her poetry accompanied by paintings has been exhibited at Da Vinci Art Alliance Exhibit and Imperfect Gallery.

Noah Weber

CIO and Founder of Olden Labs

Noah is the Chief Information Officer of Olden and heads the development of our AI and data infrastructure. Previously, Noah was the CTO of Celeris Tx, developing AI-guided protein therapeutics, and a Kaggle Grandmaster, for which he was awarded the Forbes 30U30 in Europe. Noah received his bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in applied mathematics at the Technical University of Vienna, where he also served as a lecturer prior to starting Olden.

Peter Decherney

Photographer and filmmaker

Peter Decherney is an award-winning fine art photographer, filmmaker, and author. He holds the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Chair in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and Director of the Penn Global Documentary Institute. Peter is the author or editor of seven books. He has also written for The New York Times, Forbes, and Inside Higher Ed, among many other publications. His photographs of global Jewish communities have been exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities, and his first book of photography is forthcoming. Peter’s films focus on migration and the political role of artists. He is an award-winning teacher, whose open online course on the history of Hollywood has enrolled more than 80,000 learners. He also holds a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and an affiliation with the Penn Law Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition.