TEDxCUNY 2023: Who We Are

Kristina Gowin-Lora is the Associate Director of Wellness and Counseling at Macaulay Honors College. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with dual Master’s degrees in Psychology and Psychological Counseling from Columbia University. Kristina believes in working collaboratively with people through a recovery-oriented and self-directed approach to help them reach their full potential and to feel empowered.

Mila Burns is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Latin American & Latino Studies at Lehman College, CUNY, and Associate Director at the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at The CUNY Graduate Center. For two decades, she has worked as a journalist in Brazil and New York and served as editor-in-chief of América News.

Amy Morales-Lara is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work degree from the Silberman School of Social Work at CUNY Hunter College, as she works toward becoming a counselor for the diverse youth of the Bronx. Amy is also a Cabrini-Hunter clinical fellow, published playwright, and emerging singer-songwriter.

Amara Lakhous is a bilingual novelist in Arabic and Italian. He holds a PhD in Humanities from the University of Rome, La Sapienza where he completed a dissertation entitled “Living Islam as a Minority.” Most recently, Lakhous joined as a professor at the Italian Studies Department at Yale.

Sherman Browne is a painter of perspective. As CEO of AIMHIGH, he helps audiences enhance their vision for the future by improving their MAPPS (Mental, Academic, Personal, Professional, and Social) outcomes. As an authority on leadership, youth empowerment, and the psychology of motivation, Sherman has been recognized as a leading voice of inspiration both nationally and internationally.

Gina Keatley is an esteemed authority on the subject of nutrition and the culinary arts. When Gina isn't working on TV food segments, she is giving out tasty treatment to her patients at Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy or slicing into culinary culture as a university professor at CUNY. Her most recent adventure includes use of her skills in culinary innovation as CEO for The Sicilian Olive Leaf Tea Company.

Arvolyn Hill is an Outdoor Educator and Herbalist. She is the Manager of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden where she creates nature-centered programming for kids at the New York Botanical Garden. Arvolyn is also an herbalist and teaches herbalism workshops throughout the city.

Emily Rice is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York, faculty in the Physics Ph.D. Program at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a resident research associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Emily is the CEO of space-inspired fashion brand STARtorialist.

Bryan Tapia is a CUNY student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who hopes to go to law school after graduation. Bryan hopes to inspire many people across the globe who come from low-income neighborhoods like he did.