Avalon Scarola
Student
Quantum computers are
part of the future. It is almost undeniable. But how
do they work? What does a quantum computer
look like? What do we want them for? Qubits and
Candy Bars will take you through some basics of
quantum computing. Dive into the future, and
learn about how quantum technologies will affect
our lives for years to come!
Cydney Dean
Student
Cydney Dean is a Junior at
Avenues: the World School, in New York City. Her TEDx
Talk is about effective communication, and more
specifically the ways in which we can use video chatting
to communicate in education. Communication is an
important topic because we often don’t think of how we
could use technology with education.
Kelly Brandon
Teacher
Kelly Deckelman Brandon is a Creative
Computation teacher in grades 6-12 at
Avenues: The World School, NYC. She
is committed to bringing computer science education to
all students. During the summer she coaches elementary
and middle school teachers to integrate CS within
existing classroom content as a part of both the STEM
Institute and the Computer Science Department at the
University of Notre Dame. Prior to teaching, Kelly was a
software developer at the Naval Research Laboratory.
She has an M.A.T from Johns Hopkins University and a
B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Notre
Dame
Lauren Schulsohn
Student
Lauren Schulsohn is currently a senior
at Avenues in New York. She has
varied interests, and is planning to study
international relations and theater in
college. This past summer, Lauren flew out to Los
Angeles to take a conservatory style course in comedic
performance at the University of Southern California.
Specifically studying improv, stage-acting, stand-up,
comedic writing, and physical comedy, Lauren
immediately felt that the stage was her home. Lauren will
be speaking about her ambitions to mix both
international relations and comedy to create social and
political commentary. She recognizes the importance of
this work as late-night talk shows have become the
forefront of political opposition, discourse and satire.
Mark Gutkowski
Director of Mastery
Mark joined Avenues in
2015 as the Director of
Mastery and is currently responsible for the
strategic development, execution and evaluation
of this visionary program. An award-winning
educator and program designer, recognized by
both Princeton University and by the New Jersey
Department of Education. Mark’s work focuses on
empowering student autonomy in the classroom.
He received the Avenues Golden Tiger Award in
2018 for the Mastery team’s latest endeavor, the
Mastery Learning System.
Mark Jablonski
Basketball Coach and Trainer
Mark Jablonski is a former
Wall Street executive who is building a second career as
a basketball coach and trainer. His talk focuses on the
virtuous circle of developing skill in order to find passion
and meaning in your work and the importance of
deliberate practice in developing excellence and career
capital.
Olivia Miller
Student
Evidence suggests veganism could
be the solution to some of the worlds’
greatest problems—environmental crisis,
human health and animal exploitation. In a world where
complicated technology and drugs are being developed
at enormous cost to fight these threats, why not look to
the benefits of an ethically sourced, vegan diet?
Oren Schweitzer
Student
Oren Schweitzer is a senior at Avenues New York and
passionate about politics and social justice. His talk is on
the problem with the center-right nature of American
political debate and the need for a political program that
breaks out of that constraining mold.
Rosie O'Byrne
Student
By sharing her personal experience and path to
veganism, Rosie will talk about the unspoken side of
animal agriculture that is more unsustainable and
damaging to humans than you may have thought. You
will hear about the billions of deaths that do not make the
news, the culturally accepted injustices, and the people
directly affected by this issue. Some information may be
easier to run away from than to hear, but keep your ears
open - as well as you mind.
Xiaolin Rong
Student
This TEDx talk is based on
Lin's experience teaching students for the past 5
years of her life. For the past 5 years, she has
dedicated time along with her team to teach
underprivileged students in the countryside of
China and Taiwan, and built a non-profit
organization named Alkaid. This talk is about
Educational Equity through the lens of the stories
of students in those places. Educational Equity is
a topic that does not get enough attention, and
this talk hopes to address these issues.