Theme: Seeing The Invisible

TEDxYouth@Camas is a student-run event focused on bringing together bright minds to give talks that are idea-focused, and on a wide range of subjects, to foster learning, inspiration and wonder – and provoke conversations that matter. Our 2019 TEDx theme is "Seeing the Invisible".

Discovery High School
5125 NW Nan Henriksen Way
Camas, Washington, 98607
United States

Adam Lewis

Social entrepreneur

Adam Lewis is a Social Entrepreneur focused on ending homelessness in Portland, OR. He is the Founder (2017) and currently serves as the Managing Director of Street Soccer USA-Portland, a nonprofit that uses the power of soccer to help homeless, refugee and underserved communities discover their strengths, connect to social service agencies and take positive steps forward in their lives.

Amy Sloan

Mental heath advocate

Amy Sloan is a student and lead volunteer at the Oregon YouthLine, a teen-to-teen crisis helpline, where she has volunteered for two and a half years. She is interested in mental health advocacy and exercises this and her other interests through activities such as Speech and Debate. Amy is a senior at Wilson High School, and will be attending the University of Oregon this fall.

Bala Krishnamoorthy

Professor of Mathematics

Bala Krishnamoorthy is a Math professor at WSU. He works on pure and applied problems from topology, geometry, optimization, and data science. He collaborates with surgeons, chemists, agronomists, criminologists, and also consults for industry. He is passionate about popularizing Mathematics. He has been awarded several research grants from the National Science Foundation. He enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the mountains, and doing both those together at times!.

Charlene Williams

Assistant superintendent

Dr. Charlene Williams is a wife, mother, teacher, leader, author and lifelong learner. She currently serves as an Assistant Superintendent for the Camas School District in Camas, Washington. Dr. Williams is a leader and social justice advocate with more than 25 years of experience in education. Her aim is to help educators eliminate opportunity and outcome disparities so each student is able to thrive.

David Scholnick

Professor of Marine Biology

David Scholnick is a Professor of Marine Biology at Pacific University who had the unconventional notion that a better career path than studying charismatic marine mammals would be to examine sickly shrimp. His creative approach to understanding how recent environmental changes in the oceans impacts the ability of marine organisms to fight disease has led to international attention of his work, followed by intense political denigration.

Divya Amirtharaj

Software developer

Divya Amirtharaj has always been passionate about technology, and has been heavily involved with computer science research throughout high school. Most recently, she had the opportunity to continue her research at MIT, and presented her work in cybersecurity at the National Security Agency. Outside of research, you can find her in the pool or among Portland’s many food carts! Divya is a senior at Westview High School and will be attending Harvard this fall.

James Pressnell

Non-profit work

James Pressnell is Executive Director of These Numbers Have Faces. With more than 25 years of non-profit leadership in international development, Jim's mantra is to "Educate, Equip, and Empower" the brightest university students from poor, rural, and conflict-torn communities to become the next generation of African leaders who will transform their communities and countries. Jim's role combines his passion for working with university students with his deep love of Africa.

Mac Potts

Musician

Mac Potts is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Vancouver, WA. In addition to performing across the country, Mac is also the owner of Black & White Piano Tuning, servicing pianos across the Pacific Northwest. Mac is a dynamic entertainer, successful businessman, local celebrity, and a loving husband and new dad — he is also totally blind from birth. Mac loves inspiring others through music and sharing his story.

Sarah Ali

Student activist

Sarah Ali is a passionate student activist who has held local, state, and national leadership roles impacting a collective of over 250,000 people. As a freshman in high school, Sarah decided to launch the Donating to Refugees campaign, a campaign with a mission of collecting clothing for refugees. Through her campaign, Sarah was able to raise over 15,000 pounds of clothing for refugees around the world. Sarah is a senior at Centennial High School.

Tim Hackenberg

Professor of Psychology

Tim Hackenberg is a Professor of Psychology at Reed College, where he teaches courses and conducts research in learning, comparative cognition, and behavioral economics. He is fascinated with animal minds, and works with students to develop methods to uncover what other animals are thinking and feeling.