Theme: Press Play

The TEDxDesignTechHighSchool 2019 Theme is “Press Play”, in hopes of capturing moments of bias toward action to uplift societal advancement and further technology, entertainment, and design.

Oracle Conference Center
350 Oracle Parkway
Redwood City, California, 94065
United States

Dahlia Levy

Sophomore at Design Tech High School

Dahlia Levy is a sophomore at Design Tech High School. She loves singing, writing songs, acting, and playing guitar. She loves musicals and her favorite is Sweeney Todd. When she is not in a musical, she continues to sing and play guitar in her free time.

David Meltzer

CEO of Sports 1 Marketing

David Meltzer is CEO of Sports 1 Marketing, 2X best-selling author, and a top keynote speaker. He is also a Top 100 Business Coach, executive producer and host of Entrepreneur's #1 show “Elevator Pitch”, host of the Top 5 business podcast “The Playbook” and serves as an advisory board member to over 45 companies and charities. He was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and Variety Magazine's Sports Humanitarian of the Year.

Evan Nierman

Founder of Red Banyan

Evan Nierman is Founder and Principal of crisis management and public relations firm Red Banyan, which provides strategic communications counsel to companies and individuals across a wide range of industries. Throughout his career, Nierman has guided numerous clients through high-stakes, complex situations - from CEOs and senior business leaders to government officials, including a leading candidate during the 2016 Presidential Elections.

Hezekiah Smithstein

Senior at Design Tech High School

Hezekiah Smithstein is a senior at Design Tech High School. At school, he enjoys incessantly bothering people for interviews as Editor in Chief of The Dragon and as a writer for yearbook. When he isn't listening to your deepest secrets, he's probably whispering to chickens as co-leader of the Animal Rights Club. Or, he’s solving world water shortage as a member of the Model United Nations team. Outside of school, he enjoys running, playing the violin, and writing poetry- but whether he is in school or out of it, you can always find him playing a game of chess as the grandmaster of the chess club.

Karan Chahal

Sophomore at Evergreen Valley High School

Karan Chahal is a sophomore at Evergreen Valley High School with a strong passion for business and technology. He is the secretary for the Law Club and part of the Speech and Debate team for his school. At a young age, Karan learned many programming languages, such as Java and Python, and has applied them in multiple projects. One of his main interests right now is to learn about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as he believes that they will play a critical role in shaping the future.

Lana Guernsey

Digital Publications Teacher at Design Tech High School

Lana Guernsey’s professional life has been defined by a series of personal earthquakes that have enabled her to pursue her passions professionally in journalism, communications, healthcare, biotechnology and K-12 education, where she has served as a teacher, curriculum developer, administrator and strategic advisor to many of the most innovative schools in Silicon Valley. She currently teaches digital publications and communications at Design Tech High School.

Zack Ballinger

Motivational Speaker

Zachariah Ballinger is a motivational speaker, author, and career consultant. He speaks on topics including career development, job interviewing, passion & purpose, overcoming obstacles, leadership, and sales. He's a dynamic speaker that can relate to anyone from students to working professionals needing a boost of energy. Zachariah holds a Bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Tennessee. He has 14 years of experience in sales, leadership, motivational speaking, training, and career development.