Emilio Garcia Padron
Community Garden Leader, Entrepreneur & Innovator
Emilio Garcia Padron is a social entrepreneur and community garden advocate, whose journey has intertwined the cultivation of green spaces with the fostering of innovation and team synergy. At 18, he became president of Edible Campus, a society responsible for maintaining an expansive community farm at Lancaster University. Under his leadership, the society grew into the third-largest at the university, receiving the prestigious LUSU Sustainability Award.
Through his experiences, Emilio has demonstrated the untapped potential of gardens, proving that they are not just spaces for reflection, but powerful ecosystems for nurturing creativity, collaboration, and sustainable change. His TEDx talk, “Over the Garden Wall: The Importance of Touching Grass,” aims to spread the idea that green spaces are vital for fostering team culture, innovation, and personal growth, offering a fresh perspective on how to make a positive impact in a fast-paced world.
Ethar Alali
Founder & CEO, ReallyRecycle | Circular Economy Advocate
Ethar Alali, a seasoned technologist, mathematician, and serial entrepreneur, is on a mission to answer that question. As the founder of ReallyRecycle, a sustainability driven venture that redefines clean tech, Ethar is building decentralised solutions to address one of the planet's most pressing challenges: plastic waste. With a no-nonsense respect for science and a fearless disregard for tradition, Ethar has dedicated his career to transformative innovation. His expertise spans social accounting, helical economy design, and engineering decentralised care equipment factories.
At TEDxLancasterU, he’ll unveil how small-scale, sustainable economic models can be the key to reducing plastic waste while empowering communities worldwide.
What does “true sustainability” look like, and why isn’t B Corp certification enough? Ethar’s thought-provoking insights are set to challenge conventions and inspire change.
Isabelle Nuttall
Sustainability Professional at RSK Group | Enactus UK&I Alumni | Social Entrepreneur
Isabelle Nuttall is a passionate advocate for integrating humanity into the professional sphere to foster personal, societal, and environmental growth. Drawing from her diverse experiences at Lancaster University, within start-ups, and in her early corporate career, Isabelle has come to realise that compassion, integrity, accountability, and openness are not just human principles—they are also key drivers of professional success and sustainability.
In her TEDx talk, "The Benefits of Bringing Humanity into the Workplace," Isabelle will share her insights on how embracing emotional intelligence and values-led leadership can transform workplaces and pave the way for a more purposeful, sustainable future. She will explore the challenges and rewards of navigating this path, offering a compelling vision for how individuals can align their work with their values to create positive change.
Karlene Agard
Award-Winning Risk and Value Consultant | Emotional Risk Pioneer
How do you bounce back from failure? Karlene Agard, a celebrated risk and value consultant who has worked on global megaprojects, believes the answer lies in managing emotional risk. An internationally recognised speaker who’s written for Forbes, McKinsey and Entrepreneur, Karlene's journey from Teacher’s Pet to academic disappointment to professional triumph is nothing short of inspiring.
At TEDxLancasterU, Karlene will reveal the crucial connection between resilience and risk management. Drawing from personal setbacks and her expertise, she offers simple yet transformative questions to help reframe failure and move forward. Curious about the tools that shaped her success? You’ll have to hear her story live.
This talk is more than advice—it’s a moment of discovery for anyone ready to turn failure into a stepping stone for sustainable greatness.
Katerina Bénier
External Director at Lancaster Nightline | Psychology Undergraduate | Mental Health Advocate
Katerina Benier is a psychology undergraduate and mental health advocate committed to improving public healthcare, especially in community mental health support. As External Director at Lancaster Nightline, she leads volunteer-driven efforts to provide essential support through helplines like Nightline and Samaritans.
In her TEDxLancasterU talk, Katerina will explore the vital role volunteer-run helplines play in addressing the mental health crisis. Drawing from her experience at Lancaster Nightline, she will highlight the importance of helplines, their limitations, and their potential in shaping the future of mental health care.
Katerina’s unique combination of academic knowledge and hands-on leadership provides her with a valuable perspective on how volunteer work is integral to the mental health landscape.
Nathan Shoesmith
Social Entrepreneur | Strategist | Author | Co-Founder of The Speaker
Nathan Shoesmith is a social entrepreneur, strategist, and author based in the North West of England. A graduate of Management, Politics, and International Relations from Lancaster University, Nathan has worked across a variety of sectors, focusing on creating positive impacts for local and wider communities.
Co-Founder and Director of The Speaker, a youth-led digital media nonprofit, Nathan is dedicated to making often confusing topics more accessible and inspiring young people to get involved in social action. At GC Insight, Nathan works on economic development, social and regeneration projects across the UK - while he additionally offers strategic advice to organisations including YoungMinds.
An author and award-winning social entrepreneur, Nathan has written books that seek to share important stories including Brain Injuries: Our Hidden Journeys and 2020 As It Happened.
Tom Curtis
Creator & Founder of @thingsihavedrawn
Tom Curtis is on a mission to inject joy into the world of social media and beyond. As the 'dad' behind the wildly popular Instagram account @thingsihavedrawn, his lifelike transformations of children's doodles are a celebration of imagination, playfulness, and the power of human creativity.
In his TEDxLancasterU talk, "That's Not How You Draw a Cow," Tom delves into how creativity in children is shaped, and what implications this might have on their future and ours. This thought-provoking exploration offers more than insights into kids’ art; it’s a bold call to reimagine how we cultivate creativity in a world that too often sidelines it.
Expect a passionate rallying cry for a future where drawing is revered and nurtured — not just for our children, but for everyone. Tom’s talk will leave you questioning what you thought you knew about creativity and why the way forward may not be the one we’ve been taught.