TEDxThunder Hill
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Meet the team

The people behind the ideas.

TEDxThunder Hill is an independently organized event led by a local team committed to creating a thoughtful, welcoming and unforgettable experience.

Vondell Richmond, TEDxThunder Hill license holder and lead organizer

License holder & lead organizer

Vondell
Richmond

Certified AI Consultant • REALTOR® • Educator • Actor-Filmmaker • Former City Councilman

Vondell Richmond is the license holder and lead organizer of TEDxThunder Hill.

He stewards the event’s vision and leads the local team, bringing Uncharted Territories to Columbia, Maryland.

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Vondell Richmond is a certified AI consultant, 5-star-rated REALTOR® with Keller Williams, award-winning actor-filmmaker, educator and former city councilman. Raised by a single mother, he overcame early academic struggles and homelessness to graduate magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University and earn an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University.

Over the past decade, Vondell has trained thousands of leaders through organizations including Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Foot Locker, Landmark Education, Rutgers University and CO.STARTERS. He is also a board-accredited NLP trainer, Certified ScrumMaster, author of College Celebrity and an ordained minister.

Through his work in AI education, real estate and storytelling, Vondell helps people turn possibility into action. As TEDxThunder Hill’s license holder and lead organizer, he is curating a platform where ideas can spark meaningful conversation and community impact.

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Yolanda Vaughn, TEDxThunder Hill co-organizer

Co-organizer

Yolanda
Vaughn

AI Action Strategist • Project Management Professional (PMP) • Workforce Development Leader • Speaker • Consultant

Yolanda Vaughn is co-organizer of TEDxThunder Hill.

She helps people and organizations turn insight into action through practical, ethical AI adoption.

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Yolanda Vaughn is an AI Action Strategist, certified Project Management Professional (PMP), workforce development leader, speaker and consultant dedicated to helping people and organizations turn insight into action through practical, ethical AI adoption.

Her professional background spans higher education, healthcare workforce development, nonprofit leadership, project management, research engagement and community impact. She has led programs that expanded access to training, scholarships, apprenticeships and career pathways for hundreds of learners and workers. Yolanda also helps design and scale programs that strengthen healthcare and human services talent pipelines through partnerships with colleges, employers, healthcare organizations, state agencies and community-based organizations.

As an AI consultant and educator, Yolanda is passionate about making artificial intelligence accessible, practical and human-centered. Known for her “Aha to Action” approach, she helps professionals and small businesses build confidence, create sustainable systems and use emerging technology to increase productivity, improve decision-making and open new opportunities for growth.

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Ken White, TEDxThunder Hill director of partnerships

Director of partnerships

Ken
White

CEO, Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce • Life Mentor • Public Servant • Social Entrepreneur

Ken White serves as director of partnerships for TEDxThunder Hill.

Ken leads sponsor relationships and helps guide the event’s financial operations, building the partnerships and resources that bring TEDx Thunder Hill to life.

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Kenneth White is CEO of the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce. Before taking on the role, he served as senior vice president and relationship manager for Sandy Spring Bank. His career in banking and economic development spans more than 40 years.

Ken has held leadership roles with Signal Financial Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank, Bank of America, Working for Success Economic Development Corporation, The Washington Project, New Day Consulting and Southeastern University’s Center for Entrepreneurship.

He serves on several community boards and has been recognized for his leadership and service by The Daily Record, Leadership Prince George’s, Prince George’s FSC First, the Prince George’s Small Business Initiative Alliance and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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Viviane Okorie, TEDxThunder Hill volunteer and administrative support coordinator

Volunteer & administrative support coordinator

Viviane
Okorie

Entrepreneur • Business Mentor • Marketing & HR Director • Former Registered Nurse

Viviane Okorie supports volunteer coordination and administration for TEDxThunder Hill.

She helps keep the people and behind-the-scenes details connected as the team brings the event to life.

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Viviane Okorie is a former registered nurse turned entrepreneur. She began her career at the bedside, first at Inova Loudoun Hospital and later as a clinical research nurse at the National Institutes of Health, where she learned to stay present in people's hardest moments.

Over the past decade, she has built and run businesses across healthcare and e-commerce, including a healthcare staffing agency and healthcare transportation company. Today, she helps established mom entrepreneurs build businesses that run without them while serving as Marketing and HR Director at Shepherd Ride, a non-emergency medical transportation company she co-founded with her husband in 2016.

Viviane is a speaker who explores failure, discomfort and what happens when we stop leaving the room a few seconds before the lesson arrives.

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Ebube Dumebi-Kachikwu, TEDxThunder Hill business research and design intern

Business research & design intern

Ebube
Dumebi-Kachikwu

16-Year-Old High School Student • Emerging Technologist • AI Enthusiast • Youth Leader

Ebube Dumebi-Kachikwu brings a young, technology-forward perspective to the TEDxThunder Hill team.

He contributed research and design across the sponsorship packet, event program and team planning conversations.

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Ebube Dumebi-Kachikwu is a 16-year-old high school student, emerging technologist and intern with the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce. A junior at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, he is already building an impressive foundation at the intersection of technology, business, leadership and community engagement.

At Good Counsel, Ebube has served in several leadership and service roles, including managing the school's varsity soccer team, serving as Deputy Secretary-General for Model United Nations and representing the African Student Association throughout his freshman, sophomore and junior years.

His professional journey began with Thursday, an AI thrift startup, where he worked remotely in data before advancing to a Community Management Intern role. His experience included organizing and analyzing product information and helping cultivate an online community centered on thrifting, sustainability and culture. He now brings his growing business experience to the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce as an intern.

Outside of school and work, Ebube's curiosity keeps him exploring. His interests include business analysis, reading, sports video editing, website development and programming in Python, Java, JavaScript, CSS, SQL and Swift. He also writes his own AI and technology newsletter.

Guided by the belief that every day offers another opportunity to grow, Ebube represents a generation of young leaders who are already exploring what is possible and developing the skills to help shape what comes next.