Theme: Growth

TEDxHomesteadHighSchool is an independently organized TEDx event where local speakers, from both Homestead High School and the community, have the opportunity to share their stories with a wider audience to convey and explore new ideas.

Homestead High School
21370 Homestead Rd
Cupertino, California, 95014
United States

Alison Ball

Global Influencer Strategy

Alison Ball manages Global Influencer Strategy for Intuit’s Accountant Segment. An avid supporter of accountants and bookkeepers since joining Intuit in 2004, you’ll often find her at events and on social media sites conversing with and helping progressive accounting professionals to build their brands on the back of Intuit’s strong brand around the world. Personally, Alison is committed to creating a world full of friendly helpful people who not only don’t think it’s weird to pick up trash on the street when they see it, but also go out of their way to help others be more successful. Make her laugh and you’ll have a friend for life.

Gabrielle Darisme

Student

Gabrielle is a junior at homestead high school and will graduate in the year 2020. She has always been a strong advocate for the environment and for animal rights. She currently is the vice president of animal welfare and she often spends her summers volunteering abroad in Costa Rica or Belize. She also comes from a very big and diverse family which has given her insight into a variety of perspectives and cultures which she normally wouldn’t have access to.

Gianna Gonzales

Student

Gianna Gonzales is a senior at Homestead High School who enjoys performing in her choir and a cappella group as well as coaching various sports for Special Olympics of Northern California. She loves science, particularly biology and chemistry, and is excited to extend her education in those fields in college in the upcoming school year.

Lizzie Shipton

Software Engineer

Lizzie Shipton is a Full Stack Software Engineer at Udacity. Before becoming a software engineer, Lizzie was a professional musician and music teacher. She is a yoga lover who lives in Santa Cruz with her boyfriend, dog, cat and fish.

Loy Oppus

Board Chair of FUHS Foundation

Loy Oppus-Moe came to California as a 22 year old exchange visitor from the Philippines, the first in her family to move to the United States. Over the years, she did Product Management in the semiconductor industry, Business Development in the software industry, and is now engaged in promoting STEAM-related careers among high school students. She currently volunteers as Board Chair of the Fremont Union High Schools Foundation and is active in her church and the local Filipino community. She and her husband have four children. They all plan to travel to the Philippines in June to celebrate the college graduation of the youngest child.

Michael Wallerius

Student

Michael Wallerius is a senior at Homestead and is beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to be giving a Ted Talk. A Model UN fanatic and avid fan of Broadway musicals, he loves speaking and performing in front of an audience. Michael would like to thank everyone for coming out as well as the Ted officer team for organizing this event!

Neeraj Senthil

Student

Neeraj Senthil is a senior at Homestead High School who secretly wishes he could travel back in time to his golden childhood years. Why, you may ask? After working with dozens of kids through his service as a martial arts instructor and as an intern for the Boys & Girls Club, he might have grown a little jealous of their capabilities!

Steve Decker

Marketing Specialist

Steve is President of Zooka Creative, an Advertising agency based in Sunnyvale. For 12 years, Steve and his team of wacky creative people have been tackling everything from peanut butter, to enterprise software, to flying cars. Steve has taught graduate level courses on the use of web and interactive technology for competitive advantage and has served as an Advisory board member for the State of California Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency’s division of Science, Technology and Innovation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Visual Media Alliance. Steve has a long noodle phobia.

Sumukhi Pandey

Student

Sumukhi Pandey is a junior at Homestead. She has moved to the USA just about a year back, to begin a new and exciting journey here. She is very passionate about caring for old and homeless people, with special place for cancer patients in her heart. She loves meeting people and knowing the world around me. When she is not doing anything, she listens to music or does anything related to science.

Valerie Hu

Student

Valerie Hu is a Homestead senior who is extremely excited and honored to be giving a TedX Talk. She loves musical theater and leadership and is an active member of FBLA. Valerie would like to thank the TedX officer team for putting the event together and her friends and family for always supporting her.

Vasanthi Holtcamp

Engineer

Vasanthi Holtcamp is an engineering Leader at Adobe Systems. As a technologist, she has held a number of leadership positions in the software industry for over 25 years. She is passionate about technology and education. She has served on the board of Girl’s Middle School in Palo Alto and as an onsite lead for Girls Who Code program. She is a mother of three and lives in the bay area

Zibaa Adil

Student

Zibaa is currently an 11th grader at Homestead High School. She is an advocate for Uyghur rights and participates in support groups for her chronic illness, Achalasia. She also takes an active interest in music and plays the violin and ukulele.