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

Adriana Golden

Adriana Golden is a sophomore at The Branson School in Ross, California. Adriana is the executive director of Knowledge is Power, an organization she founded in 2014 that strives to attain literacy equity for children. Adriana believes that all children should be given a chance to succeed in school, and speaks about her experience and passion in advocating for the closing of the literacy divide due to differences in socioeconomic status.

Arrian Ebrahimi

Arrian Ebrahimi, a junior from Saint Francis High School, has long been exposed to a diversity of religious and cultural influences, which has led him to forge his own path in faith. In his talk, Arrian will explore a new way of looking at faith and discuss how this new view of faith unites us all. Arrian is an advocate of his beliefs, having been a student speaker at his school's interfaith prayer and having spoken at a protest he helped organize.

Chloe Jenniches

Chloe Jenniches is a junior at Sacred Heart Cathedral with passions for teaching as well as the environment. Chloe has created a curriculum called BeeBlooms that integrates these two passions, and, in her talk, Chloe will share the mechanics of her project as well as the journey she undertook to turn her idea into reality.

Chloe Kilroy

Chloe Kilroy is a current junior at San Domenico School in Marin. She has witnessed first hand the flaws in California's psychiatric ward, and the harm that these flaws can cause. In response, she began working with UCSF to created an interactive website targeting teens that takes a different approach to mental health and how we respond to it. Through this website she hopes to change the perspective on mental health, and create an enviornment that is positive, supportive, and most of all, attentive to the needs of the people receiving care.

Claire Dworsky

Claire Dworsky is a senior at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, and as an actively involved student, she has founded the Cyber Security Club at her school. In her talk, Claire shares her experience of being an immigrant, and recounts a close encounter with I.C.E. officers who threatened her safety and threaten the safety of so many others in this country right now.

Grace Dailey

Grace Dailey is a senior at The Branson School in Ross, California. She loves to have meaningful conversations and noticed that many of these conversations happen at night, in the dark, or after something dark has happened. Grace explores why this is and how we can move meaningful conversations out of the dark, through talking about the things we really care about and listening to each other. She hopes viewers will come away the conviction that sharing good conversations connects us to each other like nothing else and they are something we all can have more of in our lives.

Hannah Daijo

Hannah Daijo is a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco, California. Hannah’s experience as a child of divorce has led her to ponder the role of divorce in society. Now, she attempts to explore this question alongside others whose parents have experienced divorce in hopes of raising awareness about how divorce really affects children.

Isabel Scal

Isabel Scal is a senior at The Branson School in Ross, CA. As she prepares to move on to college, Isabel realized that connecting with others and finding similarities between seemingly different people has been a through line in her life (all 18 years of it). Starting with the adoption of her brother from Russia in 2006 and circling back to living and volunteering at The Lord’s House of Hope, an orphanage in Kenya, in 2017, Isabel has gained a tremendous appreciation for the power of friendship and the celebration of our shared humanity. She hopes to share just a little bit of her reflection and how we can all practice kindness one small step at a time.

Jeremy Yun

Jeremy Yun is a freshman at the Menlo School. He is the co-founder of the band WJM, in which he is a guitarist and songwriter. With WJM, Jeremy has performed at various venues, including the United Nations and Burning Man, and has performed on prime NBC TV and the European TV. WJM has donated over $50,000 to children's charities. As well, Jeremy serves on the board of the Purpose Awards and is a nationally-ranked golfer.

Makayla Pearce

Makayla Pearce is a Junior at San Domenico High School in San Anselmo, California. Makayla will share how she overcame self-doubt through embracing her insecurities and finding confidence in herself. She strives to empower the women in her community by vocalizing the power of self-confidence.

Maya Claire Villasenor

Maya Claire “MC” Villasenor is a junior at San Francisco University High School and founder of Noviaris, a non-profit that distributes surplus mobile devices to organizations and individuals lacking access to digital technologies. In her talk, MC will share her experience of learning to challenge expectations, embracing discomfort, and celebrating success.

Rohan Vasishth

Rohan Vasishth is a sophomore at San Francisco University High School, California. Rohan is deeply passionate about how technology can solve some of the biggest problems of our times, and will share his experience of becoming an iOS developer and immersing himself in a world of rapidly growing technology. He will discuss his thoughts on a technologically based future and delve into how our generation can make use of technology in a positive way.

Sam Fisher

Sam Fisher is a first-year psychology major at UCLA. She developed her passion for Spoken Word in high school and has since realized her love for its breathtaking ability to change perspectives and open minds. In her talk, Sam explores the enlightening power of personal expression and urges the audience to find their own voices as well.

Spoken Word Leaders

The Spoken Word Leaders (Leah Graves ’19, Purva Joshi ’19, Shariz Dizon ’19, Emily Fukuda ’18, and Christiana Smith ’18) are students at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Through poetry, they use their voices to inspire activism, give voices to the voiceless, and share their stories.

Terra Baer

Terra Baer is a senior at Albany High School in Albany, California. Alarmed by the widespread ignorance regarding waste issues, Terra has sought to understand the lack of awareness surrounding trash and its implications for our planet on both local and international levels. Through her research, Terra has learned the importance of recognizing our world as a closed system and seeks to shed light on the necessity of paying attention to our own waste sorting habits.

Thomas Kunze

Thomas Kunze is a junior at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California. He is a practicing investor, and is passionate about all things finance and economics. Thomas desires to improve his generation’s fiscal lives and engage their interest in market participation, and through his talk, strives to explain its benefits to the individual and to the world.