Theme: Share Your Idea. Change the Conversation. Shape the World.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Sister Caroline Collins, DC, Theater
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
1055 Ellis Street
San Francisco, California, 94109
United States

Andre Menchavez

Andre Menchavez is a young advocate born and raised in San Francisco. He has seen HIV/AIDS ignorance amongst his peers and the risky position society has put itself into due to the rise of social media matchmaking apps. Andre hopes to fight that ignorance through knowledge: eliminating stigmas, educating the youth of the risks at hand, and reminding our society that even though there is a treatment there is no cure.

Carolyn Scott

Carolyn Scott has always had a passion for imagining, designing and building. As such, she is drawn to math and science, but also to the arts, and loves exploring the places where they overlap. In her talk, she will explore how the physical aspects of construction and design intersect with society and family. When she's not dreaming up her next creative project, Carolyn likes performing onstage as a singer and actor in chorus and drama productions. She is a member of the cross country and track teams, and enjoys drinking tea and reading everything from novels to newspapers in her spare time.

Carter Pauline Roa

Carter Pauline is a junior at SHC who performs for the theater and the choir programs. Her passion for the performing arts started when she was very young and hopes to perform outside professionally one day. As a young girl she has always been described as independent and strong. This was an amazing compliment and she always questioned why some girls aren't told the same. Her topic was inspired by the events that she witnessed growing up, and she's happy that now she gets to share the importance of developing a strong, independent young woman.

Christopher Sauvageau

Christopher Sauvageau is a junior at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory who has always had a passion for music and math. He has enjoyed arranging his own music and teaching himself guitar. Pushing his limits and diving deep into matrices or fractional calculus feed his curiosity. Chris is the director of the Testostertones, a male a capella group; manages the TEDxYouth@SHC website; and is trying to become an Eagle Scout. Navigating a myriad of paths, Chris tries to strike a balance between his many interests to bring harmony to his life.

Dylan Brown

Dylan Brown is a proud 16-year-old San Francisco Bay-Area native. He has been empowered to speak up about the effects of racism on not only his own life, but also the effects it has on countless black youth around the country. "I want my story to be heard, to not only resonate with my audience, but to call them to re-examine the role racial bias plays in their life. I want them to walk away with an understanding of what it is like to live in a society that will define who you are and judge what you say before you have even spoken one word."

Eric Wang

Eric Wang is a senior at San Mateo High School, He teaches problem solving techniques at his local middle school, contributes code to open-source software projects, and has conducted original research in stellar evolution and hyperdimensional geometry, currently in the process of publication. As an agnostic, Eric has always been interested in how humans’ perceptions of the world are shaped by internal and external factors. He hopes to encourage people to examine the interactions between themselves and society.

Jackie Foti

Jackie Foti is a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral and has lived in San Francisco her entire life. She is a competitive athlete with a passionate interest in the psychology and spirituality behind happiness. As a woman in today's society who has struggled with self-concept and the opinion of others, Jackie has learned the value of being mindfully in-tune with her inner self. She intends to continue her passion for this topic by majoring in Psychology in college.

Janani Krishnan-Jha

Janani Krishnan-Jha is a senior at San Mateo High School. She received a 2015 National Scholastic Award in Writing at Carnegie Hall, interned for Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and earned multiple awards in the realm of public speaking. A passionate public speaker and practicing Hindu, she feels thrilled to bring the issue of religious bias illuminating possible solutions. Janani plans to continue her advocacy next year as a member of the Class of 2020 at Harvard College.

Kinga Hope Csikszentmihalyi

Kinga is a sophomore at Sacred Heart Cathedral. She loves soccer, photography, music, and solving the problems she sees in the world. Ever since her little brother was diagnosed with autism, she has had a passion for changing people’s views on the disorder. Through all this, she has been able to create a great relationship with her brother and with other amazing people in the autism community. Kinga believes that raising awareness about the beauty of autism is the first step to opening up opportunities for all people who are on the autism spectrum.

Liliana Steeg

Liliana Steeg, a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, California, is deeply passionate about the social justice issues surrounding poverty and homelessness. Lily will share her experience of working to address the matter in the San Francisco community through the distribution of sleeping bags via Warm Corazones, an organization she co-founded. Her work on the Warm Corazones team has taught Lily not to be overwhelmed into inaction, but rather to strive to instigate change in her community.

Michael Legon

Michael Legon is currently a junior at Marin Academy in San Rafael, California. He is a professional jazz pianist, starting at the age of 9 and quickly taking up the styles of the great jazz musicians. He currently plays in a jazz trio called Blue News and performs at concert venues all over the Bay Area. It was through his work in his trio that he began teaching music at Cascade Melody Music School, teaching jazz to students of a variety of ages and skill levels. In his free time, he enjoys playing jazz piano as well as discussing foreign films, classic literature, fashion, and political philosophy.

Priyanka Vitturi

Priyanka Vatturi is a senior at James Logan High School in Union City, California. Most of her time is taken up by school work and studying, but in her free time she is an avid musician and fitness junkie. In JLHS she serves as varsity members in cross country, track and field, and speech and debate. Priyanka wants to use the tools she has gained throughout her years as a student to challenge to sociological boundaries placed in front of her. Along with supporting many social issues, she feels very strongly about sexism towards women, as she has first hand experience with this issue. She knows the limitations that are involved in changing this and wants to be a youth ambassador for gender equality. Through her talk she wants to inspire those to challenge their own boundaries and limitations; because together we are an unmatchable force. She hopes that, using this event as an outlet, she will be able to spark change and conversation on a national and global scale.

Rachael Yuen

Rachel is a Senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, California. Through some of her classes such as "Living and Dying" and "Prayer and Spirituality", she has learned to look at life in new and positive ways, and turn her weaknesses into superpowers. Like many of her peers, she has endured ups and downs and is learning to love herself more and more everyday. She hopes to inspire others to do the same.

Riley Chagniot

Riley Chagniot is a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. She is a part of the softball team and on the Spirit Rally Board at SHC. She has found herself in comedy; she is trying to make individuals happier and use her comedic skills to change the world. Diagnosed with ADD at age 9, Riley is not an "average" student. Her creativity, humor, and artistic abilities make her profoundly unique.

Tomás Saldaña-Mitre

Tomás Saldaña-Mitre is a junior at SHC and has a developing passion for cycling and engineering, which he hopes to combine in the future to make something really awesome. As a founding member of I2, an innovation and inquiry program at SHC, he enjoys to collaborate with his peers. Tomás spends a large portion of his free time riding bikes or researching cycling in the hopes of understanding the sport that motivates many. "I want to just remind everyone that although we may only hear about the racing or the competitive aspect, bike riding is an accessible and super fun activity that anyone can try and that anyone can make a lifetime passion out of. I only started riding a bike seriously a few years ago and since then I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life just riding around my own community, something that anyone can try and enjoy too."

Vita Solorio-Fielder

Jovita (Vita) Solorio-Fielder, class of 2017 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco, has an intense fascination with human sexuality. With her involvement in the speech and debate team and intrigue with American politics, she desperately hopes to change the world someday. In her free time, Vita loves reading, writing, volunteering with local non-profits, and checking Gavin Newsom's Twitter. As a strong advocate for comprehensive sex education, she hopes to share her passion with the world and hopefully spark a change in the sex education conversation.