Theme: Legacy

In our modern world today, everyone is so focused on the present that we often forget to look towards the future and create legacies with the intent of making our world a better place. Legacies come in many different forms, whether they are inherited from a predecessor, created by an organization, or formed by personal achievements.

With our theme of Legacy, we seek to:

Recognize those with goals to make lasting societal contributions that will enrich our world.
Ponder how our own legacies have the potential to positively and negatively impact the future and those around us.
Learn to appreciate the legacies our families, friends, and peers have left for us.
Spark interest in the impacts others around us have made
Create legacies to stimulate a dynamic and influential community
Gain appreciation for the legacies others have created and sought to create.
Become inspired to plant and grow our personal legacies with the intention of fostering our own unique passions.

Santa Catalina School
1500 Mark Thomas Drive
Monterey, California, 93940
United States

Amy East

Amy East is a research geologist, part of the United States Geological Survey in Santa Cruz. She has worked on numerous projects involving the removal of dams, including the Elwha Dam and the Glines Canyon Dam, as well as studying other marine geological hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides. Dr. East holds a Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology ; an MA from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program from Cambridge and Woods Hole, MA, and a B.S. in Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies from Tufts University.

Edwin Aoki

Edwin Aoki is a vice president and Technology Fellow at PayPal, where he acts as the company’s Chief Architect. He leads the Strategic Architecture Team, tasked with defining the company’s long term technical roadmap and enabling the technologies that will allow the company to change the future of money. Prior to joining PayPal in 2010, Edwin spent thirteen and a half years at Netscape and AOL as Technology Fellow and Chief Architect, overseeing architecture and technology strategy for many of AOL’s consumer facing products, including instant messaging, mail, mobile, enterprise and developer programs. Edwin’s earlier roles include positions with Intuit, GO Corporation, and Apple Computer. Edwin is a published author and makes his home in California, where he enjoys the Bay Area’s abundance of good food, great wine, and opportunities to enjoy the natural world. When he’s not at work, Edwin is involved with wildlife conservation and likes to spend time with big cats.

Jennifer Marshall

Jennifer Marshall, co-founder and executive director of "This is My Brave," is committed to ending the stigma surrounding mental illness. After being diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar Disorder in 2006, she turned to writing as a way of healing, and her award-winning blog BipolarMomLife was born. Her organization has created a platform, which includes the This is My Brave YouTube Channel, for other people living with mental illness to share their stories and inspire others. Marshall’s ground-breaking approach is beginning to change the discussion and perception of mental illness.

Kimberley Chambers

In 2007, after a freak accident, medical experts informed Kimberley Chambers that she had a 1% chance of walking unassisted again, but she knew she had to prove all the doctors and surgeons wrong. Nominated for New Zealand's preeminent sports award, the Halberg Sportswoman of the Year in 2015, Kim has now completed open-water swims of extraordinary lengths, becoming the third woman, sixth person, and first New Zealander to ever finish the Oceans Seven, seven challenging and risky swims around the world. For the past two consecutive years, Kimberly has been nominated for the World Open Water Swimming Association Woman of the Year Award. On August 8th 2015, Kimberley set a new world record becoming the 1st woman ever to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, a 30-mile swim that took 17 hours.

Shireen Jaffer

Shireen Jaffer is the founder at Skillify and a graduate of the USC Marshall Business School. Shireen is passionate about helping students understand their value and teaching them how to find their success in their own ways. She resides in Northern California and works with educators across the state to ensure that schools are equipping students with the relevant skills needed for them to thrive long-term, inside and outside of the academic environment.

Suzannah Scully

Suzannah Scully is an executive coach who guides thought leaders to achieve their vision and potential. She received her B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and her C.P.C.C. from The Coaches Training Institute and has a background working for large organizations such as Gap, Williams-Sonoma, and The Wine Group. She is a host of the popular podcast Cosmos In You, and she currently coaches executives at companies such as Apple, Sephora and Airbnb to develop their creative, leadership and communication skills.

Tracy Huebner

As the leader of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, Tracy brings a wealth of experience identifying, describing, and researching innovative education practices and trends and connecting researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. She has researched trends in college and career readiness, high school reform, digitally enhanced education, and Common Core standards for organizations such as Google, the Gates Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the CORE districts in California. Previously, Huebner worked at the Harvard Children's Initiative as a lecturer and researcher on complex evaluations for school-based programs. Huebner received an MA and Ph.D. in education from Stanford University and completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University as a Spencer Fellow in Education.