2025 Event Speakers
Amy C. Sins
The Superpower of Starting Over - What Crisis Reveals
President and executive director of Fill the needs. Graduated from Loyola University.
Advaith Subramanian
What is Divine Madness?
Advaith is a junior from Dallas, Texas, double majoring in Political Economy and Asian Studies on the pre-med track. His passions bridge science, policy, and global health—with research ranging from computational chemistry to cilia’s role in stress response and improving tuberculosis diagnosis abroad. Outside the lab and classroom, he empowers young students through local STEM initiatives, and somehow still finds time to train for a half marathon. When he’s not studying or running, you might find him playing frisbee or exploring the streets of New Orleans. Please join me in welcoming Advaith.
NYSA Bhat
Cycles in Harmony: Balancing Menstrual Health with Holistic Care
Nysa is a Junior double majoring in cellular and molecular biology and computer science.
Hannah Bajaj
Cycles in Harmony: Balancing Menstrual Health with Holistic Care
Hannah Bajaj is a junior at Tulane University, double majoring in Neuroscience and Computer Science on the pre-medical track. She is the co-founder of Sundara, an AI-powered menstrual health platform that integrates machine learning and holistic wellness to improve healthcare accessibility. At Tulane’s Brain Institute, Hannah researches neural reprogramming for ALS to restore motor function in affected neurons, aiming to unlock new treatment avenues for this debilitating disease. With a keen interest in maternal health, she also leads clinical research studying heart rate variability in pregnant mothers as a biomarker for pre-eclampsia and preterm birth, leveraging technologies to analyze patient health data. Passionate about healthcare innovation, Hannah is dedicated to integrating technology with patient-centered medical solutions to transform healthcare delivery.
Patrick Kalenzi
Is generational poverty a human rights issue?
Patrick was born in Uganda and is a veterinarian and practice owner. He studied veterinary medicine at Makerere University, Uganda.
Nick Nicholson
The Hidden Realities of Weight Loss Medications
Nick led the Nicholson clinic for weight loss and treated, treating more than 25,000 patients. He graduated from the University of Texas medical branch at Galveston.
Jillian Zambon
Creating Safe Spaces: Fostering Resilience and Empathy in Health Care
Dr. Jillian Zambon is a healthcare executive with experience at Dartmouth, Fresenius, and Mercy Hospital. She holds a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership, specializing in healthcare administration, and has expertise in product and project management in healthcare IT. A U.S. Navy veteran, she won Season 6 of The Blox entrepreneurial competition and is a two-time best-selling author. Dr. Zambon enjoys fitness, traveling, and volunteering for the Uyeno Foundation, which supports mental health and education. She has shared stages with notable figures like Dave Seymour (Flipping Boston) and collaborated with entrepreneurs like Wes Bergmann (The Challenge).
2023 Event Speakers
Nicole Smith-Vaniz
“Are You a Positive Person?”
A student at Tulane University, Nicole Smith-Vaniz studies public health and creative writing. She concentrates in reproductive health and has additional interests in cognitive science and philosophy. Nicole dedicates her free time to creating content for her food photography blog and writing horror flash fiction pieces. Hoping to convey a range of perspectives on contemporary matters, Nicole will present on utilizing neuroplasticity to change our lives.
Jonathan Abbo
“Do We Live to Work or Work to Live?”
Jonathan is an undergraduate Senior at Tulane University from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A first generation American, Jonathan is fluent in English, Spanish, and Hebrew. Jonathan is quadruple majoring in Finance, Management, Real Estate, and Design with a minor in Architecture and believes that this unique combination of disciplines gives him a unique insight into the questions surrounding one’s work-life balance.
Meah Matherne
“Are Hookups Healthy?: A Look Into The Dating Scene of College Students”
I am Meah Matherne, a Houston, Texas native majoring in Political Economy and English and minoring in Spanish. I am a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity and work at the front desk of the Student Organization Center in the LBC. I love to read and write, and personally hope to publish a book of my own someday! I am very passionate about love and relationships and am particularly interested in dating culture in the age of social media and changing society standards. I love walking in Audubon Park and my favorite restaurant in New Orleans is Ba Chi (everyone NEEDS to go there).
Jasmine Kiley
“Deconstructing the Jargon Barrier”
Jasmine is from Rochester, NY and is a premed student studying biochemistry and public health. Since her freshman year she has been working in a research lab studying female reproductive health. She has also spent significant time learning how to be an advocate for increasing health literacy. Outside of her academic and professional interests, she loves doing yoga, swimming, traveling, watching football (Go Bills!), and listening to Fleetwood Mac.
Jacob Reed
“How Our Built Environment Enables Social Capital and What We Can Learn From the College Experience”
Jacob is a Tulane Sophomore studying Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Urban studies. After joining the Youth Climate Ambassadors in High School, Jacob discovered his passion for promoting sustainability through policy and advocacy. In college, this passion further evolved as he began to more closely observe the spaces we occupy and question their purposes. Although our built environment is often overlooked beyond the occasional note on aesthetics, Jacob believes that with a more critical lens, we can revolutionize how we organize towns better to promote sustainability, mental health, and social capital. His speech will highlight the overlooked aspects of urban design and assign meaning to them through something we have all experienced…Tulane’s campus.
Wash Fields
“IRL OR URL: Connecting Unhoused People to Resources in the Digital Age”
Wash Fields is a graduate student in the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. They are also a Junior Board member of the Harry Tompson Center, a day shelter for New Orleanians experiencing homelessness, as well as a long-time leader of Students Organizing Against Racism at Tulane. When they are not advocating for housing, health, and self-actualization as human rights, they enjoy painting and exploring the emotional impacts of art.
Ramsey Bottorff
“Genetic Engineering: The Future of Human Reality and Its Ethical Consequences”
Ramsey Bottorff is a student at Tulane University (Class of 2026). She first fell in love with genetics while writing research abstracts about bone morphogenetic proteins at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. Her last big project was a local art installation themed around resurrection biology and its dangers. Ramsey enjoys geeking out about neuroscience and genetics, carving linoleum print blocks, and writing sappy poetry. When she isn't studying at university, she lives in Nashville, TN.
Misha Meyer
“Synesthesia - The Condition I Never Realized I Had”
Misha Meyer (she/her) is a sophomore from central New Jersey and a dual citizen of the Czech Republic. On Tulane's campus, she serves as a Peer Success Leader & Academic Advisor, FY5 and First-Year Experience Brand Ambassador, Vice President of Marketing on the Residence Hall Association, Vice President of the German Club, TUPals Mentor, and 504 Voices linguistics research lab assistant. She plans to pursue higher education to become a clinical psychosexologist. She is also an avid participant in the Ballroom Dance club and the Spanish Department’s Café Conversación. In her free time, she loves to go on unreasonably long walks, unicycle, crochet stuffed animals, binge self-help content, and learn new languages. Oh, and she's a synesthete!
Robert Becker
“AI and the Integrity of our Language”
Hello everyone! I’m Bobby Becker. I'm currently a junior at Tulane University, where I study philosophy and computer science. I am also the founder of the magazine, The College Contemporary, where we publish perspectives, interviews and creative work from college students. And, I created a board game, Barrier Battles, which is sort of like Angry Birds mixed with Chess. It's pretty cool. In my free time, you can usually find me pretending to like David Lynch movies, hiking, and or doing an assortment of hobbies that I'm really bad at: climbing, tennis, cooking, and guitar