Theme: Redefining The Future

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).

TEDxCrossroadsSchool
1715 Olympic Blvd
2nd floor, community room
Santa Monica, California, 90404
United States

Cara Natterson

Pediatrician & Author

Cara Natterson is a pediatrician, the founder of Worry Proof Consulting, and the New York Times best-selling author of the country’s most widely-read books about puberty and growing up. What she loves most about her job is translating complex scientific information so that it is understandable and actionable. Natterson teaches tweens and teens in classrooms, speaks to large audiences of the parents raising them, and consults with companies – from start-ups to Fortune 500s – who market to young consumers.

Colin Gruen

Educator & Outdoor Enthusiast

Colin Gruen earned his Bachelor’s degree in Private and Public Outdoor Recreation from the University of Vermont, launching him into a career of outdoor education. He currently works in the Environmental and Outdoor Education (EOE) department at Crossroads where he shares his love and passion for nature with others. Prior, he worked as a Wilderness Therapy instructor in Utah, as an experiential outdoor educator with REI, and as a mountain bike guide in Utah, Colorado, California, and Canada. You can find him elbows deep in gear, organizing hundreds of medical forms, or answering life's hardest questions (i.e., How do I poop in the woods? You want me to hike up that!?).

David Hertz

Architect, Inventor, & Educator

David Hertz is the founder and president of David Hertz FAIA Architects, Inc. and S.E.A., the Studio of Environmental Architecture. Having twice received the American Architecture Award, Hertz is a renowned architecture who is particularly interested in the intersection between food, water, energy, and architecture. Throughout his career, Hertz’s award-winning work has been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), The Smithsonian Museums of Natural History, and the National Building Museum. Hertz is also the recent winner of the 2018 Water Abundance XPrize, a competition to extract moisture from earth’s atmosphere to create safe drinking water.

Jamie Siminoff

Founder & Chief Inventor of Ring

Jamie Siminoff is a successful inventor and entrepreneur who created the world’s first Wi-Fi video doorbell. Since its launch in 2011, Ring has experienced incredible success and growth wherein 2018, it was purchased by Amazon as the company’s second-largest acquisition. With numerous DIY security products dedicated to preventing and reducing crime, Siminoff is revolutionizing the smart home and creating safer neighborhoods throughout the world.

Jenny Jay

Environmental Engineer & Professor

Jennifer Jay earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. Jay is currently a professor at UCLA and a director at CERCE, a UCLA Center that addresses community-based environmental research questions in under-served communities in Los Angeles. Her research addresses a wide range of topics from coastal water quality to antibiotic resistance. However, Jay is especially interested in studying the intimate relationship between our world’s rapidly growing human population and the global environment that makes human existence possible, particularly through the lens of food.

Lola Ellenberg

Environmental Activist and Student

Lola Ellenberg is a senior at Crossroads School and a Climate Reality Leader. In the summer of 2018, Ellenberg worked with the Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit organization founded and chaired by former U.S Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Al Gore. Lola also works with Climate Action Santa Monica, a nonprofit partnered with the city of Santa Monica and is a member of Santa Monica’s Transportation Management Organization advisory team. She is also a part of a student climate emergency coalition and the president of Students for Environmental Action.

Mara Abrams

Social & Civic Innovator

Mara Abrams is the Founder and Co-Director of the Census Open Innovation Labs at the U.S. Census Bureau. Prior to joining the federal government, Mara led Global Partnerships at the Nike Foundation, founded Cuba’s first startup incubator, and was a strategist for the Jaguar Land Rover Innovation Lab. Abrams also co-founded an award-winning organization that taught digital journalism and filmmaking to young people in marginalized and war-torn communities. With deep expertise at the intersection of impact, innovation, and partnerships, Abrams is creating a meaningful impact on people’s lives through data.

Mark Suster

Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist

Mark Suster is currently managing partner at Upfront Ventures, LA's oldest and largest venture capital firm. Prior to joining Upfront, Suster was the founder and CEO of BuildOnline and Koral, both of which were later acquired by Sword Group and Salesforce.com, respectively. With a BA in economics from UCSD and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Suster is well knowledged and highly respected in the world of business. Having invested in and started companies of his own, Suster shares his knowledge of business through his prominent blog Both Sides of the Table, a trusted source for both investors and entrepreneurs alike.

Matthew Klink

Strategic Communications & Political Consultant

Matthew Klink is the president of Klink Campaigns, Inc. where he serves as a trusted strategic partner to help design and implement communication strategies and tactics for corporate and private clients. As a subject matter expert, Klink has appeared on international, national and local television news broadcasts where he has offered political analysis and commentary on a wide range of subjects. Throughout his career, he has worked on fiscal issues in more than 35 countries and previously as a media consultant to candidates for elected office at the federal, state and local levels, as well as statewide initiative campaigns.

Rika Drea & Alan Barstow

Educators

Rika Drea and Alan Barstow currently teach English at Crossroads School and have a combined 30 years of teaching experience. Drea has taught literature, writing, and ESL in Washington, D.C., and Shikoku, Japan. Barstow has taught English and AIDS awareness for the Peace Corps in southern Africa and at-risk youth in Los Angeles's juvenile halls and elsewhere. On shared adventures and mishaps, the pair always turns, as they do in their teaching, to posing thoughtful questions: for example, on the summit of Mt. Whitney, they questioned, "How should we measure the pleasure of climbing verses our environmental impact on this mountain?" In life and in the classroom, Barstow and Drea strive to uncover profound implications hidden within even the most basic questions.

Sean Scott

Shoe Designer & Entrepreneur

Sean Scott, along with his wife, Shannon Scott, and accomplished footwear designer Ryan Gumienny co-founded COMUNITY, a shoe brand company dedicated to providing jobs and supporting nonprofit organizations in downtown LA. As an expert in the shoe industry, Scott understands that shoes aren’t just an article of clothing but rather a vehicle that can help connect and inspire others to take action. By innovating the industry through its socially conscious sneakers, COMUNITY is creating hope and exciting change within the LA community.

Susan Burton

Activist

Following the tragic accidental death of her five-year-old son, Susan Burton’s descended into a world of darkness and despair. Without receiving the support she needed to heal, she turned to drugs and alcohol which led to nearly 20 years revolving through cycles of incarceration. Drawing on her personal experiences, she founded A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project (ANWOL) in 1998 - dedicating her life to helping those who struggle to rebuild their lives after incarceration. Because of her work, Susan has been widely recognized as a leader in the national criminal justice reform movement where she received the prestigious Citizen Activist Award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and was named a CNN Top Ten hero.