About this event
Nestled in Bangkok's most vibrant and forward-thinking district, TEDxThonglor Women is a space where visionaries, disruptors, and changemakers come together to spark conversations that matter.
We believe that the power of ideas can ignite movements, transform industries, and create a more inclusive future.
Our stage is not just for women. It is for anyone with a vision to push boundaries, amplify new perspectives, and build a better world.
Watch the talks
Defining Balance for the Sandwich Generation
Isabel V. Echavarria
Watch on YouTube
(Not) Mansplaining Gender Funding Gaps to Women Entrepreneurs
Paul Ark
Watch on YouTube
She Invests, the World Changes
Nienke Benders
Watch on YouTube
Chasing inner peace
Natalie Glebova
Watch on YouTube
Unmuting Women in the AI Era
Rupali Babu
Watch on YouTube
Coming soonAwkward Today, Brave Tomorrow
Shannon Sharinee Kalayanamitr
Coming soonThe Athleticism of Birth and Beyond
Anna Downs
Coming soonThe Most Important Talk You Should Have with Your Girlfriends
Sara D'Anzeo
Speakers
TEDxThonglor Women brings together trailblazing thinkers, industry disruptors, and bold visionaries who are shaping the world in business, technology, social impact, wellness, and beyond. Our speakers do not just talk about change, they make it happen.
Isabel V. Echavarria
Leadership Coach · Emotional Intelligence Specialist
“Defining Balance for the Sandwich Generation”
Isabel V. Echavarria is a leadership coach who blends emotional wisdom with systems thinking to help individuals and organizations unlock their full potential. With a background in systems engineering and years of international experience, she brings a rare depth of insight into the cultural, personal, and systemic forces that shape relationships and performance. Her talk challenged the myth of perfect work-life balance for leaders managing both aging parents and children.
Paul Ark
Venture Capitalist · Sustainability Investor
“(Not) Mansplaining Gender Funding Gaps to Women Entrepreneurs”
Paul is a venture capitalist focused on sustainability and inclusive climate solutions in Southeast Asia. He is also pursuing a doctorate in business administration, doing research on gender funding gaps in startup and venture capital ecosystems. In addition to his work in venture capital, Paul is an active philanthropist and passionate advocate for girls' education. He is a co-founder and active board director of the Amazing Maasai Girls Project, a U.S.-based 501c3 non-profit organization that aims to fight child marriage by sending Maasai girls in Kenya to high school. Since its founding in 2011, the organization has raised over US$750,000 in scholarship funds and has sent over 120 girls to school.
Nienke Benders
Clean-Tech Finance Strategist · Climate Capital Connector
“She Invests, the World Changes”
Nienke (Nina) Benders is the founder of BrightWise, a strategic advisory helping European clean-tech innovators expand into Asia. With a career spanning international finance, technology, and sustainability, she brings a rare ability to connect markets, cultures, and capital flows to accelerate climate solutions. Her talk reframed the fight against climate change through the lens of money, showing how each of us, as individuals and as women, can turn financial decisions into a force for systemic change.
Natalie Glebova
Author · Motivational Speaker · Former Miss Universe
“Chasing inner peace”
Natalie Glebova is a personal empowerment expert, best-selling author, former Miss Universe, and international speaker dedicated to helping individuals reclaim their confidence, self-worth, and purpose. In her talk she revealed the hidden costs of misplaced trust, reframing healing not as something found in others' approval, but in reclaiming one's voice, boundaries, and self-authority.
Rupali Babu
AI Strategist · Advocate for Gender Equity in Tech
“Unmuting Women in the AI Era”
Rupali Babu brings over 20 years of experience across the private and non-profit sectors. A certified fundraiser and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) practitioner, she is also the cofounder of BCX Design, a behavioral science consulting company providing advisory services, market research, and innovation support. Her talk explored how women's underrepresentation in AI adoption risks reinforcing existing gender gaps, and how intentional engagement with AI can turn the technology into a powerful equalizer.
Shannon Sharinee Kalayanamitr
Tech Innovator · Investor · Advocate
“Awkward Today, Brave Tomorrow”
Shannon Sharinee Kalayanamitr is a trailblazer in Southeast Asia's tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem. With nearly two decades of experience, she has moved from investment banking at Lehman Brothers to launching Lazada Thailand and co-founding Moxy/Orami, one of the region's first women-centered e-commerce platforms. Today, as CEO of 5G Catalyst Technologies and a Partner at Gobi Partners, she drives innovation in smart cities, healthcare, and digital transformation. Her talk challenged the silence around life's most uncomfortable conversations.
Anna Downs
Women's Health Advocate · Maternal Wellness Specialist
“The Athleticism of Birth and Beyond”
Anna Downs is dedicated to reimagining how society views and supports women through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery. With a background in women's health and advocacy, she bridges medical insight with holistic wellbeing, championing an approach that honors both the physical and emotional dimensions of motherhood. Her talk reframed pregnancy and birth as extraordinary feats of human performance, inviting us to rethink health care, culture, and empowerment so women everywhere receive the respect, training, and recovery they deserve.
Sara D'Anzeo
Partnership Specialist · Advocate for Responsible Growth
“The Most Important Talk You Should Have with Your Girlfriends”
Sara D'Anzeo is an Italian-American professional with over 13 years of experience in international development, focused on responsible business practices and gender equality. As a Partnership Specialist at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), she builds regional partnerships that mobilize public and private capital to support women entrepreneurs and advance inclusive growth. Her talk challenged the silence surrounding women and money.
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Community events
In the lead-up to TEDxThonglor Women, we ran a series of activations exploring the theme Unmute the Future. Here is a recap of some of them.
TEDxThonglor Women 2026: What Does It Mean to Unmute the Future?
This soft launch invited our community to explore the power of voice, visibility, and bold visions for the future, with an agenda of deep conversations and reflection alongside changemakers.
Unmuted Voices: A Glimpse Into the Future
We hosted a press launch and community gathering to introduce the speakers of TEDxThonglor Women 2026. This exclusive event offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the voices and stories shaping our theme, Unmute the Future.
TEDxThonglor Women Mini-Event: Unmute Through Art
This mini-event explored the power of artistic expression as a language of truth, emotion, and transformation. Through film, performance, and visual art, the gathering highlighted how art can carry messages that go beyond speech, unmuting stories that have been hidden, unheard, or impossible to explain in words.
Unmuting Women in Thailand: Shaping Community, Capital, and Culture
An intimate, invite-only online panel and networking experience, held on 9 April 2026, exploring how women are shaping influence and opportunity across Thailand through three interconnected lenses: community, capital, and culture. The conversation featured venture capitalist Paul Ark and TEDxThonglor Women organizer Nida Leardprasopsuk, moderated by Emmy Boonsakulcharoen, and closed with facilitated Connection Circles among like-minded members of the TEDxThonglor Women community. It was conducted primarily in Thai with English integration.
Meet the team
Our team is a group of diverse and passionate individuals. Each member's unique skillset, cultural and professional background helped bring this year's TEDxThonglor Women to life.
Nida Leardprasopsuk
Organizer and Curation Team
Nida Leardprasopsuk is the License Holder and Organizer of TEDxThonglor Women. She is a Master Certified Coach (ICF), Couples, Family and Sex therapist, and systems thinker who works at the intersection of identity, relationships, leadership, and human systems. She is the founder of IRL, an app that helps people turn real-world encounters into lasting relationships, and The Compound Collective, a private, personally vetted community that brings thoughtful people together around the dinner table. Both are built on the same conviction that drives her work as a coach and therapist: meaningful connection happens face to face, not through a screen. With a background in business, psychology, and transformational work, Nida is passionate about creating spaces where meaningful conversations spark personal growth, collective awareness, and social change.
Charissa Meesriyong
Events Team
Charissa Meesriyong is a global operations and strategy leader who works at the intersection of people, systems, and lived experience. With a background shaped by regional leadership across Asia-Pacific and travel-driven storytelling, her work explores how perspective, presence, and human connection shape the way we lead and live. She is passionate about creating experiences and conversations that invite reflection, deepen understanding, and reframe progress as something rooted in care, curiosity, and belonging.
Darika Sommee
Procurement & Events Team
Darika Sommee is a healthcare worker, a passionate advocate for women's rights, and a dancing enthusiast who believes in the power of movement, compassion, and community. She is driven to empower women to recognize their worth, use their voices, and create positive change in their lives and the world around them.
Cin Ye
Events Production Team
Cin Ye is the Founder of ME GOODY, Producer of the LUMINA Bangkok Film Festival, and a passionate film producer. She curates film-inspired events and creative spaces that spark connection, creativity, and growth. Through festivals, screenings, and workshops, she supports emerging voices and inspires purpose-driven lives. Cin is on a mission to show that passion creates prosperity.
Juliamarie Curto
Events Production Team
Juliamarie Curto is a passionate music and culture manager and the co-founder of the software company ROARK. With years of experience as a tour manager for an Austrian orchestra and in the artistic administration of festivals, she works closely with creatives and cultural institutions. Juliamarie is strongly guided by the belief that supporting creatives in their artistic journeys leads to meaningful impact.
Marta Linynska
Design Team
Marta is a multilingual design and development professional with over 10 years of experience across the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Thailand, and Australia. Trained as an architect, she has expanded into strategic and operational leadership, translating design thinking into project development, tech-enabled operations, and future-focused learning environments.
Laura Scherf
Community Team
Laura Scherf is a strategy and technology professional working at the intersection of business data and community-centered systems. Her work focuses on supporting membership-based and mission-driven organizations in strengthening community engagement, participation, and long-term activation. She is passionate about women shaping technology and fostering real connection in a digital world.
Amber White
Events Team
Amber White works at the intersection of community, philanthropy, and purpose-driven events. With a background in nonprofit fundraising, partnerships, and program leadership, she has supported organizations and initiatives that connect people, resources, and ideas to create meaningful social impact. Her work spans sponsorship strategy, donor engagement, and large-scale event development, with a focus on building authentic relationships that sustain long-term change. Based in Bangkok, she is actively involved in community and women-led initiatives and believes that when the right people are connected with the right opportunities, generosity becomes a powerful force for transformation.
Phyu Thazin Thin
Events Team
Phyu Thazin Thin is a third-year Communication Arts student at Rangsit University with a strong passion for human connection and storytelling. She is an official MC of Rangsit University and has experience in event planning and strategic public relations. Deeply interested in active listening, she explores how communication shapes understanding in interpersonal interactions and today's media landscape. She believes media can be a powerful force in shaping society and communities.
Chloe Khin Thant Sin
Marketing Team
Chloe is a fit-tech entrepreneur, content creator, and certified fitness and nutrition coach helping women build discipline, confidence, and sustainable success from the inside out. With over a decade in the fitness industry, she has coached thousands of women worldwide and built a community impacting more than 300,000 women. She is the Founder of The Chloe Condition Platform, EMBODY Activewear, and the Elev8 Fitness App, Executive Director at Real Fitness luxury gyms, and the visionary behind the EMPWR Projects, a mentorship ecosystem designed to help women integrate Brand, Body, and Business. Her mission is to empower as many women as possible to reach their fullest potential, not only in fitness but also to lead, to execute, and to build lives of intention.
Andrei Covalescu
Marketing Team
Andrei is a young professional with a strong interest in philanthropy and community development. Over the years, he has founded and contributed to several volunteer initiatives working closely with major institutions such as Save the Children and Telethon, supporting projects focused on children's welfare and medical research. He also founded one of the most active student organizations in Northern Italy, aimed at helping students transition into the professional world through real-world projects with companies, along with guidance on securing internships and early career opportunities. He is passionate about supporting individuals and local businesses, and often offers pro bono consultations and marketing advice to help them grow sustainably. Currently, he leads marketing strategy and lead generation for one of the fastest-growing startups in the APAC region.
Ma. Jamaica Cardeño
Marketing Team
Jam Cardeño is the Founder and CEO of Delegate to Elevate, a virtual assistant company that helps business owners reclaim 10+ hours per week by delegating backend operations and appointment setting. She specializes in supporting fitness coaches, gym owners, and high-ticket service providers in scaling to consistent $30K to $50K months without burnout. Originally built in the Philippines and now expanded to the U.S., Jam has helped 150+ entrepreneurs streamline their operations and grow with the right systems and team in place.
Iasmina Szabo (Mina)
Marketing Team
Iasmina Szabo is a video editor, a writer and a strategist, depending on the day and the brief. The common thread is psychology: why people stop scrolling, what makes them trust a face on a screen and how to turn a messy real feeling into something worth watching. From Romania, now based in Bangkok.
Melissa Yap
Marketing Team
Melissa Yap is a global branding, content, and marketing professional with over two decades of experience spanning APAC, North America, and the EU, working for brands including Coca-Cola, MINI Cooper, and the Australian Open. She is the founder of Destination Dossier, a creative and content studio serving design-led, culturally-fluent hospitality and lifestyle brands. She currently resides between Los Angeles and Chiang Mai.
Ahaana Bisarya
Research Team
Ahaana Bisarya is an IB student at NIST International School with a passion for economics and psychology. Currently pursuing Higher Level studies in these subjects, she is deeply interested in understanding how decision-making and behavior shape the world. With strengths in analytical writing and problem solving, she enjoys learning about real-world issues and exploring new ideas.
Megha Jindal
Speaking Coach
Megha Jindal is a speaking coach for TEDxThonglor Women, a communications coach, and an angel investor. As a coach, she works with executives and founders to enhance their impact in high-stakes communication moments. As an investor, she backs early-stage start-ups across Asia Pacific and Latin America. Her work is informed by over 20 years of experience across investments, public speaking, events, and community-building, spanning both corporate and non-profit environments. She is made in India, established in Bangkok since 2013.
Fursey Gotuaco
Speaking Coach
Fursey is a six-time District Champion, winning in Districts 25, 85, and 128 in Table Topics, Evaluations, and the International Speech Contest. In 2020, 2022, and 2024 he reached the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, and was a Finalist in 2022 and 2024. In August 2020 he won District 25's Toastmaster of the Year. Fursey is an Executive Speech Coach who has been teaching theatre and speech for over 30 years. As a Toastmaster for over five years, he has shared his insights on successful speaking around the globe, including China, Mauritius, Greece, Australia, Canada, and his home state of Texas.
Emmy Boonsakulcharoen
Master of Ceremonies
Emmy helps businesses and individuals unlock their fullest potential by weaving mindfulness into the heart of leadership, strategy, and growth. An advocate for mental health, she helps individuals, teams, and organizations reconnect with what truly matters. With a background in creative communication and social and behavioral change communication, she now works at the intersection of mindfulness and capitalism. Through corporate wellness consulting, meditation teaching, and immersive brand experiences, she helps companies become more conscious, aligned, and impactful, inside and out. Her mission is to make mindfulness not just accessible, but actionable.
Become a Sponsor
Connect with like-minded leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs in an environment built for collaboration and inspiration.
Global recognition
TEDx is an internationally recognized brand known for cutting-edge ideas and impactful storytelling. Your business will be associated with one of the most influential platforms in the world.
Exclusive audience access
Engage an elite, high-caliber audience of entrepreneurs, executives, creatives, and thought leaders from various industries.
Brand visibility and thought leadership
Position your brand at the forefront of innovation, aligning with changemakers and visionaries shaping the future.
Community impact and social responsibility
Supporting TEDxThonglor Women showcases your commitment to empowering voices, fostering inclusivity, and driving positive societal change.
If you would like to explore sponsorship opportunities for upcoming events, we would love to hear from you.
Contact us at tedxthonglor@gmail.comWith thanks to our partners
