2024 UNITY Speakers and Performers
Dr. LaNysha Adams
Dr. LaNysha Adams is a 7-time award-winning author of Me Power and Director of the Student Wellness Center at Santa Fe Community College. Beyond her dedication to education for over 20 years at various levels, she’s a mother of two, language enthusiast, and avid traveler. Dr. Adams holds degrees from California State University San Marcos, Columbia University, and the University of New Mexico. She is a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Advisor and an Institutional Ethnography Board Member of the International Sociological Association. Her passion lies in reshaping professional development as a continual cycle of unlearning, learning, and relearning. Dr. Adams has been featured on prestigious platforms such as The Roland Martin Show, American Heart Association, Reader’s Digest, Fox Business, Washington Business Journal, The Journal of Emergency Medical Services, Bold Journey Magazine, Blavity, Inc., Brown Girl Collective Book Club, numerous podcasts, and various syndicated radio shows.
Dr. Greg Jackson
Dr. Greg Jackson is best known as the creator and host of the podcast History That Doesn’t Suck® podcast. He holds a PhD in history, is a tenured Associate Professor and Senior Fellow in National Security Studies, as well as Fellow of Integrated Studies at Utah Valley University. He is also a frequent commentator in film documentaries including the HISTORY® Channel three-night event Abraham Lincoln, which was Executive Produced by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin and featured former President Barack Obama among other history scholars.
Scott Carter
Scott Carter is Executive Producer / Co-creator of Regional Emmy winning talk show LOVE & RESPECT WITH KILLER MIKE (PBS / REVOLT TV). He was nominated for dozens of Primetime Emmys as Executive Producer / Writer of the first 1,100 episodes of POLITICALLY INCORRECT (Comedy Central, ABC) and the first 16 seasons of REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO), for which he won Producers Guild of America and Writers Guild of America awards. Carter has created and produced talk shows for Lewis Black (Comedy Central), Candice Bergen (Oxygen Media), Kevin Nealon (Spike TV), and most recently, Bob Costas (HBO). His play DISCORD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JEFFERSON, DICKENS AND TOLSTOY has been produced in 26 cities in four countries.
Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore
Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore (also known as “Dr. Friendtastic”) is an author, psychologist, and mom of four, based in Princeton, NJ. She is the creator of the Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic podcast, where she answers questions from children about making and keeping friends. Her blog, Growing Friendships, on Psychology Today, has over 5 million views. Dr. Kennedy-Moore has been featured many times in major media, including Live with Kelly and Ryan and The New York Times. Her recent books include Moody Moody Cars (for ages 4-8), Growing Feelings (for ages 6-12), and Kid Confidence (for parents).
Dustin Ross
Dustin Ross is a New York City-based writer, producer, host, and social commentator. Since 2015, over 60 million listeners have heard him weekly as one third of The Friend Zone podcast collective. For the past three years he has also been heard as co-host of the NAACP Image Award and Webby Award nominated podcast Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams. Dustin has also taken his talents to television, where he is host of REVOLT TV’s entrepreneurial competition series Bet on Black, currently airing its third season.
Dr. Manpreet K. Kohli
Manpreet K. Kohli, MD, FACS is the Director of Breast Surgery for Monmouth Medical Center, affiliated with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health. Dr. Kohli is a Cancer Liaison Physician for the Commission on Cancer, recognized locally and nationally for her work in the field of breast cancer care. She is an early adopter of new technology and created region’s first Lymphedema Prevention Program utilizing Bioimpedance Spectroscopy and MagTrace, and helped launch the state’s first Paxman scalp cooling program to help prevent chemotherapy-induced hair loss. She was the first in NJ to become certified in “Hidden Scar” breast surgery in 2015. She was named American Cancer Society’s “Healthcare Professional of the Year” in 2019. In 2021 she created the nonprofit organization “I Pink I Can” to help provide equality in breast cancer care regardless of financial status. This has helped remove barriers to care for many women in Monmouth County after a breast cancer diagnosis. She strives to provide the highest level of comprehensive and compassionate care to set patients up for along and successful survivorship.
Sydney Montgomery
Sydney Montgomery (Forbes 30 Under 30) is the Executive Director and Founder of the faith-based nonprofit organization, Barrier Breakers®, which is dedicated to increasing access to, and success in, higher education for BIPOC and other marginalized students. Barrier Breakers® has worked with 7,000 students on the college and law school admissions process. Sydney holds a B.A. in English from Princeton University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Certificate in Independent Educational Consulting from UC Irvine, and a Certificate in Anti-Racism in Urban Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association and the Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors. Sydney is currently an MDiv/MACEF candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary. She speaks and leads workshops on issues of educational equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, corporate, and faith-based settings. Sydney is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council and has been featured in Inc., Forbes, FastCompany, Medium, and CNBC, among others.
Eric Nuzum
Eric Nuzum is the cofounder of Magnificent Noise and creator of iconic podcasts. Over the past 18 years, he has made podcasts that routinely top the charts, appear in yearly “best of” lists, win awards, and generate hundreds of millions of downloads. He was instrumental in creating NPR’s original podcasting efforts in 2005 and remained that effort’s chief creative and strategic force for the following decade, leading NPR to become the largest distributor of podcasts in the world. Eric developed some of NPR’s most successful podcasts, and continued that record of success during his tenure at Amazon as the leader for short-form content and podcasting at their Audible division. Eric’s book titled Make Noise: A Creator’s Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling, was released by Workman Publishing in 2020.
Dr. Joseph Romm
In 2009, Rolling Stone named Dr. Joseph Romm one of 100 “people who are reinventing America.” He has a Ph.D. in physics from MIT and is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. In the 1990s, Romm helped to oversee the U.S. Department of Energy’s work on climate solutions, ultimately serving as Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy—a $1 billion program funding work on solar, wind, biofuels, bioenergy, geothermal energy, energy storage, hydrogen, and advanced vehicles. In 2009, Time named him “Hero of the Environment″ and “The Web’s most influential climate-change blogger.” Romm worked with the director James Cameron on the Emmy-winning climate docuseries “Years of Living Dangerously.” He has authored ten books, including two on storytelling. CNN host Van Jones has called Romm “the communicator’s communicator.”
Dr. Jawad N. Saleh
Dr. Jawad N. Saleh, PharmD, MCSO, B.S., BCPS, BCCCP, is a recognized pharmacy leader and currently serves as the Chief Pharmacy Officer and Assistant Vice President of Clinical Operations at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor for the St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and acts as a mentor for future pharmacists. Dr. Saleh received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from St. John’s University, and is currently pursuing his Master of Science degree in Clinical Operations from Harvard Medical School. He has presented numerous topics on both a national and regional level at organizations such as ASHP, FAH, UGM and Becker’s Healthcare. He also sits on several advisory boards to facilitate and improve innovative products coming to market. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the hospitals Opioid Stewardship Committee and worked on countless quality initiatives within the organization. He currently holds a position on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leadership council and is a contributing member of numerous committees within the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Erin Maguire
TEDxAsburyPark audience favorite Erin Maguire returns to emcee the event. Erin is a comic, actor, writer, podcast host, and all-around good time gal. She’s been seen on Gotham Live, ESPN, and the Game Show Network. Her comedy advice podcast, Dear Pod, charted among comedy pods on Apple®. Erin appears nightly at clubs in NYC and she has been featured at the Woodstock Comedy Festival, Women in Comedy, Laugh Your Asheville Off, and the prestigious Lucille Ball Comedy Festival for the grand opening of the National Comedy Center.
Alexander Simone and Whodat? Live Crew
Alexander Simone is the grandson of the legendary “Nina Simone” and leader of the Asbury Park based band.