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).

The Annex Theatre
823 Seymour St
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 3L4
Canada

David He

David Yang He is an avid Grade 11 student from Burnaby, Canada. After going through personal adversity, he founded Regarding Humanity (Rehumanity Foundation) at the age of 14 to connect students internationally to help break down social barriers on topics like gender equality and mental health. Aiming to rally and represent young voices, he has also served on the youth advisory boards of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Burnaby School District, and the CollegeBoard in the United States. Today, David also works as a researcher with students from all across the world through the New York Academy of Sciences to create innovative solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Dilreen Gill

Meet one of our speakers: Dilreen Gill! A world champion shooter and aerobatic pilot, Dilreen has plentiful experience on the TEDx stage. Having delivered two TEDx talks already, one in Vancouver and the other in Dubai, Dilreen will be speaking on the idea of the grass being greener on social media. In an era run by social media and the internet, Dilreen emphasizes the thin line between using social media for good and it destroying our general well-being, self-image and happiness.

Helia Moghaddam

Helia Moghaddam is a high school senior, currently enrolled in the IB program at Port Moody Secondary school. Helia is a competitive public speaker, debater and model UN delegate. Helia spends her free time volunteering and working on her youth development program. In her TEDx talk, Helia speaks on the pressing issues of college admissions and how to resolve selective diversity in post-secondary institutions.

Jack Davison

Jack Davison is a Grade Eleven Student at Meadowridge School, an avid runner and tennis player. Inspired by his father, Jack made a goal for himself when he was just eight years old that he’d complete the Legendary 250km Marathon des Sables in Morocco. Often described as the toughest foot race in the world, MDS racers must carry their own food and sleeping bag, camping in the desert overnight between stages. Not only did he meet his goal, but Jack currently holds three world record as the youngest person to have ever completed the 250km Marathon des Sables in Morocco, Africa along with its two counterparts; the Half Marathon des Sables Fuerteventura (120km) and the Half Marathon des Sables Peru (120km). He’s been featured in numerous news articles and TV stories about his racing endeavours across the Sahara Desert. Aside from his countless running accomplishments, Jack is a national level tennis player, SHAD fellow, and violinist.

Joe Roberts

Joe is a professional keynote speaker and an expert on resiliency and change. In 1989, he was living on the streets of Vancouver as a homeless drug addict. Through perseverance, determination and his resilient human spirit, Joe pulled himself out of the darkness and despair to become a highly respected business and community leader, making millions of dollars for his clients across a variety of business sectors.

Maisie Liu

Maisie Liu is 16 years old and a student about to enter grade 11. With her passion for psychology and philosophy, she hopes to inspire people through improving their mindsets. In her TEDx speech, Maisie will be discussing her experiences and discoveries on prevalent concepts such as loneliness/emptiness and negative perceptions which strongly impacts many people, especially young adults, and the way they choose to live. She believes that, instead of finding solutions from the exterior environment, we should all learn to manage and unbound our emotions (including the negative ones) and communicate/connect with our minds and beliefs. Apart from being a TEDx speaker, Maisie has been playing piano for more than ten years now and received her diploma two years ago; she also enjoys hip-hop dancing and watching movies.

Markus Marosits

Markus Marosits is a Grade 12 IB student, Certified First Responder, theatre actor and World Scholar’s Cup coach with a strong passion for international business and commerce. His identity is very different from many, as his ancestral roots stem from numerous regions across the globe, which have had major influences in his everyday life. Certain encounters Markus has experienced regarding his race have been different from others, with everyone not of multiracial identity being unable to understand the negative aspects of multiracial identity. Having grown up in a multiracial household, Markus discusses the unspoken realities of growing up as an ethnically ambiguous individual, as well as the future of the global mixed-race demographic.

Nathan Head

Nathan Head is a Gr.12 student currently attending Dr. Charles Best Secondary School. At school, he is very interested in the sciences, as well as math. He has a very strong passion for space exploration and engineering. Ever since Nathan was a kid, he has loved space and creating objects, making his future career path very clear for him. Nathan’s goal is to be selected as an Astronaut, combining space and engineering. Over the past year, Nathan has been continuously working towards his goal of becoming an astronaut by designing and launching his own 3D Printed Model Rockets. To this day, Nathan has built and launched five of his own rockets. At his school, Nathan is the head of Charles Best Rocket Club, which has built and launched one rocket, achieving over 900 ft in height. Besides school and rocket design, Nathan is also a member of the Climb Base 5 competitive rock-climbing team. He has completed 4 times for Team BC at Canadian Nationals. Nathan is very excited to share his passion for space and what he has learned from building his own rockets at this years TEDxYouth@SeymourSt.

Nicolette Addesa

Nicolette Addesa is a Senior Account Executive at Edelman, an independent communications marketing agency, where she specializes in helping clients build trust, advance and protect their reputations, and foster purposeful stakeholder relationships. She has translated a life-long love of storytelling into a career developing communications strategies, crafting smart messaging, and securing valuable media opportunities for her clients. She brings an entrepreneurial spirit to Edelman having recently managed her own communications practice where she helped small businesses achieve their communications objectives. Prior to starting her own business, she managed communications for ADGA Group Consultants in Ottawa having come from working with the City of Ottawa where she handled media relations, social platforms, and crisis communications. Nicolette is also on the Executive Committee of the non-profit organization, Young Diplomats of Canada, serving as their Director of Communications. YDC is a national, non-partisan, youth-led non-profit organization that aims to break down barriers of decision-making at the highest levels of global diplomacy. YDC hopes to mainstream youth engagement in big policy discussion within spaces such as the G20 and G7 meetings. When she is not teaching yoga or visiting art galleries, Nicolette enjoys giving back to her local and global community. She is a University of Ottawa Alumni Regional Council member and is a Director on the Board of Connexion Internationale de Montréal.

Priya Sivakumar

Priya Sivakumar is a 15-year-old student at Meadowridge School, a public speaker, and advocate against plastic pollution. Ever since a young child, she was determined to help spread awareness about the plastic crisis and has since published a children’s book about ocean pollution and has spoken at several events around her community. Apart from her love for the environment, she also enjoys acting and dancing and has been doing so since the age of 6 by participating in many lead roles in public plays and performances. Through her passion for the performing arts, she hopes to inspire other students to take action against the plastic pollution crisis that our world is facing.

Rochelle Okoye

Rochelle Okoye is a world-renowned Professional, Hollywood Stunt Woman, and Actress, Best Selling Author, Motivational Speaker & Co-Owner of Tristar Vancouver Martial Arts. Rochelle grew up as an International Gymnast on the Great Britain Gymnastics Team and was a 2000 Olympic hopeful. After retiring from gymnastics, Rochelle graduated high school a year early and attained a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Northern British Columbia. Following her graduation, Rochelle began working with children with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, and behavioural problems. Although an extremely rewarding job, Rochelle was missing her athletic endeavours. She began competing and fighting in Brazilian, Muay Thai, as well as Amateur and Professional Boxing. From there, Rochelle fell into her current Professional Stunting and Acting career. Rochelle can be found, both on the big screen and your television, starring in numerous Hollywood, Blockbuster Movies and Television shows, such as, the X-men Franchise, War for Planet of the Apes, Deadpool, Twilight, The Flash, Supergirl, The 100, Arrow, just to name a few. Rochelle’s books and motivational talks focus on guiding others, on how to tap into their magic, stand in their power through overcoming their adversities, to create the life of their dreams. After facing and conquering a life full of adversity and succeeding, Rochelle is an advocate for women empowerment and helping to heal humanity; she speaks to our youth, future generations and adults and is a walking example of how you can turn a life of adversity into a life of diversity, power and abundance. She teaches others that light can only be understood through the wisdom of darkness, and through introspection and self-love we are all capable of becoming the best versions of ourselves. You can purchase her Best Selling book, ‘With Every Damn Brick,’ on Amazon.

Vivian Tan

Vivian is constently involved in her school and her community, a part of various sports, clubs and organizations. She started volunteering when she was thirteen and after seeing its ability to bring people together to create change, she found it was her passion. On September 21st, VIvian will be speaking on the idea of defining oneself and the different perceptions of a single indivdiual. Vivian's storytelling takes a uniqe route of a common topic and turns it into an enthralling and intellectual one.