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2025 Impact Report

In 2025, TED Fellows came together to reimagine what’s possible and build a better future.

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This year's TED Fellows Films

A series of short docs on these incredible innovators, activists, artists and inventors.

The 2025 TED Fellows tackle urgent global challenges in their communities and the world with the support of our global network. Working across four continents, their bold, boundary-pushing approaches include transforming organic waste into bioplastics, teaching a generation of young women to fly, and using satellites to fight food insecurity.

For the past sixteen years, the TED Fellows program has been committed to finding and supporting the next generation of innovators. The fellowship offers communication training, network-building opportunities, professional coaching, and a global platform for remarkable individuals who are pushing boundaries in their fields and tackling the world’s greatest challenges.

Our 2025 TED Fellows join a dynamic and active network — of more than 500 global leaders in over 100 countries — who are driving meaningful change in their communities and beyond.

Here’s a portrait of the world-changing impact this interconnected community achieved in 2025.

2025 Impact

By the Numbers

Once a Fellow, always a Fellow

TED Fellows receive:

Coaching

Our program prepares TED Fellows to take the global stage. Through workshops, communications training, and one-on-one mentoring, our 2025 Fellows honed their skills in public speaking, media relations, and leadership.

Content

This year we launched Season 2 of TED Fellows Films, our award-winning short-form documentary series distributed across TED’s digital platforms and amplifying Fellows’ remarkable work.

Community

Year after year, Fellows say that the deep sense of belonging within a vibrant, motivated, global community is the program’s most valuable offering. Our 2025 Fellows shared this sentiment.

Connection

Over the course of the year, we integrated our 2025 Fellows into the wider TED community, unlocking the power of our global network and connecting them with opportunities for partnership and support.

Briar Goldberg, Director of TED Speaker Coaching, leading a communication workshop for TED Fellows.

Season 2 of the TED Fellows Films featuring the stories of the 2025 cohort.

TED Fellows and Program Director Lily James Olds at the Moleskine's Creativity Pioneers Unconference in Milan.

TED Fellows in Nairobi at the Fellows Community Gathering ahead of Countdown Summit 2025. 

2025 Fellows Success Stories

In 2025, TED Fellows tackled intractable problems and created new solutions.

Shivani Siroya

United States

Financial system entrepreneur

Tala is a mobile-first financial platform unlocking access to credit for people long excluded from the traditional financial system. Since founder Shivani Siroya spoke at TED2016, Tala has grown significantly, with nearly 13 million people using its services to start small businesses, manage everyday expenses, and build financial stability. Through her TED Fellowship, Shivani has continued to evolve Tala’s technology and scale its impact. In 2025, Tala introduced new AI-powered tools including a groundbreaking credit model designed to determine the individualized credit limit that will truly help people succeed. Tala also expanded into three new countries and, through a partnership with retail chain Oxxo, enabled 65 million unbanked people in Mexico to access credit for the first time.

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Joel Bervell

Ghana & United States

Medical mythbuster

One of the only Black students in his medical school program, Joel Bervell turned to social media to unpack the long history of race-based health care disparities — and show what the medical field can do to better serve all patients. Joel’s TED Fellows Film launched in 2024 and he now has 1.4 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. His impact was recognized in a major way in 2025: Joel received the Peabody Award for What Does Racial Bias in Medicine Look Like?, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30, and was included in Time100 Creators as one of America’s most influential digital voices. He also somehow found time to begin his medical residency.

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Andrew Bastawrous

united kingdom

Eye surgeon, inventor

At TED2014, Andrew Bastawrous predicted that we might get our next eye exam on a smartphone. More than ten years later at TED2025, he told the story of how he used his first TED Talk as the springboard to transform that idea into Peek Vision, a social enterprise that uses smartphone technology to radically increase access to eye care around the world. In 2025, his work reached over 6 million people. Over the next four years, Peek Vision aims to serve one million people per week through exciting new partnerships - including a collaboration with Sightsavers as part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vision Initiative.

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Nina Tandon

United States

Tissue engineering researcher

As cofounder and CEO of EpiBone, the first company to achieve human implantation of lab-grown bone grafts, Nina Tandon is a pioneer in tissue engineering. In 2025, EpiBone secured over $2.5 million in U.S. Air Force contracts to advance its regenerative bone and cartilage platform, helping bridge national security and healthcare needs.

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Kotchakorn Voraakhom

Thailand

Landscape architect

At TEDWomen 2018, Kotchakorn Voraakhom shared the park she created to help her home city of Bangkok adapt to its routine flooding. She continues this work today. “Kotch” credits her TED Talk with amplifying her voice and connecting her to global audiences. Her large-scale projects enhance climate resiliency while creating vibrant public spaces, including Asia’s largest urban-farming green roof and the world’s first river-spanning bridge park in a capital city. In 2025, she finished a seven-year transformation of 150 acres of concrete at Thailand’s largest government complex into a green and welcoming space, encouraging foot traffic, incorporating biodiverse green corridors, and designing cooling plant systems to naturally regulate building temperatures for the complex’s 40,000 daily users.

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Yohanis Riek

South Sudan

Medical doctor, entrepreneur

Yohanis Riek battles critical healthcare gaps in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country and one of the most medically underserved places. 2025 brought several new obstacles: severe funding cuts from USAID and threats from the civil war in neighboring Sudan required Yohanis to tap his TED Fellows community. He rallied his peers at two gatherings, securing new international aid partnerships. He’s also the subject of an upcoming TED Fellows Film, which will raise global awareness of his innovative use of medical drones to distribute medical-grade oxygen, essential medicines, and blood products to tens of thousands of people. While overcoming these immense obstacles, he also began a general surgery residency.

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Aparna Hegde

India

Maternal health innovator

In her 2021 TED Talk, Aparna Hegde highlighted how simple, mobile‑based voice calls can empower pregnant women with timely care and life‑saving knowledge — bridging massive gaps in healthcare infrastructure. This year, she built on that vision in India by teaming up with a Google researcher to train an AI model to learn which women would benefit most from personal intervention. Tested with a pilot group of 100,000 women, the model kept roughly 30% more women engaged throughout the outreach program and significantly increased expectant mothers’ proactive adherence to health guidelines — directly supporting healthier pregnancies and better outcomes for mothers and babies.

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Coming together

The majority of TED Fellows say that a “sense of belonging” is one of the most important things the TED Fellowship gives them. This vital sense of community is one of the reasons that in-person regional gatherings are more important than ever, allowing Fellows to connect and support one another. In 2025, we hosted 11 gatherings in eight countries, bringing together 170+ Fellows.

Nairobi, Kenya

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of Countdown Summit 2025.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Fellows gathered for an intimate workshop and dinner together in Abu Dhabi.

Vienna, Austria

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of TEDAI Vienna 2025.

Mumbai, India

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of TEDx Global Idea Search in Mumbai.

New York City, US

Fellows gathered for an evening of dancing and connection during Climate Week in New York City.

Vancouver, Canada

Fellows gathered at TED2025 for the flagship conference.

Atlanta, US

Fellows gathered in Atlanta for the second ever TEDNext 2025.

London, UK

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together ahead of TEDxLondon.

Washington, DC, US

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together in DC.

Los Angeles, US

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together in LA.

Nairobi, Kenya

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of Countdown Summit 2025.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Fellows gathered for an intimate workshop and dinner together in Abu Dhabi.

Vienna, Austria

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of TEDAI Vienna 2025.

Mumbai, India

Fellows gathered for a workshop and dinner together ahead of TEDx Global Idea Search in Mumbai.

New York City, US

Fellows gathered for an evening of dancing and connection during Climate Week in New York City.

Vancouver, Canada

Fellows gathered at TED2025 for the flagship conference.

Atlanta, US

Fellows gathered in Atlanta for the second ever TEDNext 2025.

London, UK

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together ahead of TEDxLondon.

Washington, DC, US

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together in DC.

Los Angeles, US

Fellows gathered for an intimate dinner together in LA.

In 2025, TED Fellows inspired and educated a global audience.

Fellows Films

Season 2 of TED Fellows Films built on award-winning success, transporting viewers to the communities where Fellows turn visionary ideas into world-changing impact.

Podcasts

TED Fellows Films were adapted for the TED Talks Daily podcast, reaching over 12 million monthly listeners and introducing Fellows’ work to broader global audiences.

TED Talks

For many Fellows, their journey began with a TED Talk, a stage they revisit. Negin Farsad, Chris Bahl and Beck Brachman captivated audiences at TED2025.

Social Media

Across social platforms, TED Fellows amplified their vision and connected with global communities. Joel Bervell reached 1.4 million followers, and Isadora Kosofsky shared documentary videos on dementia.

Night of the Fellows Live Performance

In this entertaining evening of talks, comedy, games, and performance by a Grammy-award winner, Fellows inspired the TED audience and formed lasting connections.

Fellows in the News

“I’m a part of 15 different fellowships and the TED Fellows program by far creates the most sense of connection and community.”

Mitchell S. Jackson

2016 TED Fellow, Pulitzer Prize winner

Change is in the air.

It’s exciting to see that two years after our strategic reimagination, the new programs and initiatives we launched are making a difference in the lives of TED Fellows and helping to spread their important and innovative work.

From Nairobi to Mumbai, Vienna to Vancouver, Abu Dhabi to Atlanta – TED Fellows are catalyzing change across sectors, including tech and AI, education and economics, science and health, arts and culture. TED is dedicated to amplifying this work in every way we can, knowing that the TED Fellows are creating the systemic shifts our world desperately needs. 

We’re also thrilled that our very own Logan McClure Davda is the new CEO of TED. Logan has been an enthusiastic supporter of the TED Fellows since she helped create the program almost two decades ago. As our new leader, she personifies so much of the kind of change the TED Fellows program stands for, including building bridges where others see barriers.

In this new chapter for TED Fellows, we believe in not only supporting and connecting these innovative leaders, but in sharing their ideas with the next generation – those building the future. 

Creativity and imagination may now be the most vital skills of all in crafting a vision for tomorrow where everyone can thrive. 

We hope you’ll join us in championing and following these extraordinary TED Fellows.

Lily James Olds

Director, TED Fellows

We are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters for their generosity.

We invite you to join them in championing these innovators.

Ballmer GroupBezos Family Foundation

Anonymous

Bradley Tusk

Kathleen Donohue & David Sze

Gerry Ohrstrom

In Kind: Mark Dwight, Rickshaw Bagworks

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