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).

Whitney High School
16800 Shoemaker Avenue
Cerritos, California, 90703
United States

Charvi Irava

Charvi Irava is currently a junior at Whitney High School, and she is beyond excited to present her talk about the topic of Mind-Wandering in which she hopes to dive deeper into such a common phenomenon. In her free time, she loves to play guitar, hangout with her friends, watch Netflix, go on runs, and dragonboat. In the future she hopes to pursue a career in finance and data analysis.

Damaris Diaz

Damaris Diaz is from the WHS Class of 2000, USC Class of 2004, and Harvard Law Class of 2007. She is the daughter of immigrants, the mother of dragons (4 beautiful kids), and a karaoke queen. After nine years in commercial litigation at law firms in New York and Los Angeles, in 2016 Damaris joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Damaris is Deputy Chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, targeting violent gangs, human traffickers, and child exploiters. She is also Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Committee at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and coach to her kids’ t-ball teams. Damaris can do all these things only with the help and encouragement of her amazing (and huge) Dominican family and her awesome (and handsome) husband Donald. But her biggest claim to fame is being Denise Hunter’s BFF.

Delara Tehranchi

Delara Tehranchi is currently a senior at the Archer School for Girls, where she runs a youth-to-youth tutoring program for L.A.’s foster youth. After becoming a foster sister during the pandemic, Delara felt moved to start Coco’s Angels, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that cultivates opportunities for Californian foster families. As Seventeen Magazine’s 2022 Voice of Change Honoree, Delara appeared on Dr. Phil as well as in Medium and Ms. Magazine to advocate for marginalized youth. Leveraging this opportunity to amplify community-centered efforts, Delara invites everyone to find their own unique moment to better the world around them.

Dineth Senanayake

Dineth Senanayake is a sophomore at Whitney High School who loves the sound of his own voice and has luckily found an outlet for that. He likes to bring discussions of important issues to the table by starting conversations through speech and debate. Meanwhile, during his downtime he enjoys tennis, Dungeons & Dragons, and birdwatching. His love for all things animals means he one day hopes to find a career in helping them.

Ellie Ta

Ellie Ta is currently a Junior at Whitney High School and she is super excited to share her talk about the wonders of friendship! When she’s not at school, Ellie loves participating in Mock Trial, playing video games with her friends, drawing, and playing tennis. She is very grateful to her family for encouraging her to give a talk and to her friends for giving her something to talk about.

Jen Prudhome Booker

Jen Prudhome Booker is the Senior Manager of Digital Site Experience for a Fortune 300 company and graduated from Whitney High School nearly 20 years ago with the Class of 2003. An adventurous husband and toddler keep Jen on her toes and dare her to go the distance. With the ebbs and flows of the time, she is constantly reminded to build on the foundation of great women and men that came before her. With respect to what lays ahead for her family and future, she wants to invest in the best version of herself while continuing to advocate for others. On any given month, Jen enjoys traveling the world while catching up on a few in-flight films including "Bullet Train"; Benito "Bad Bunny" Antonio Martinez Ocasio is a good actor, who knew?!

Monicka Manni

Monicka Manni, a current sophomore at Whitney High School, is passionate about exploring the field of medicine and understanding the effects environmental factors have on human health. Outside of school, she enjoys learning a type of Indian classical dance called Bharatnatyam, pitching on her high school softball team, and tutoring students in the subject areas of biology and math. She thoroughly enjoys reading books ranging from various genres with an explicit bias for the Harry Potter series, being a self-proclaimed Gryffin-claw.

Nyla Surti

Nyla Surti is currently a senior at Cerritos High School and is ready to share her experience as a Muslim American in her talk and learning what it means to be courageous. As a young adult, she aspires for a degree in Global Business to explore ideas of globalization, international relations, and market research. Outside of academia, Nyla is typically doing henna art for her instagram page, going to visit her grandparents in Santa Monica, and binge-watching reality television shows.

Sai Reddy

Sai Reddy is a senior at Cerritos High School and is looking forward to sharing his perspectives on embracing opportunity. A published author, award-winning filmmaker, and political candidate, you can find Sai on a remote hike, at the gym, or organizing events for his nonprofit, A Roof for All, in hopes of eliminating homelessness in the greater LA area. He plans to become a physician in the future.

Sara Wong

Sara Wong, a Chinese American senior at Gretchen Whitney High School, has long anticipated being on stage speaking. She loves immersing herself in the realms of tennis, piano, photography, dance, and more. In the future, she aspires to become a business representative or a forensic scientist, but to be honest, she just wants to be with other people and help the world. In her free time, you can catch her taking a nap, hanging out with friends, eating pho with her mom, mindlessly scrolling on her phone, or hiding from her two hyperactive dogs.

Shravya Sethi

Shravya Sethi is a striving 8th grader at Whitney High School with a passion for roller skating, table tennis, and dancing. She is an enthusiastic learner and hopes to follow her dreams and become a neuroscientist one day! When she’s not in school, you’ll find her listening to Billy Joel or playing one of the three instruments she’s learned. As a public forum debater, Shravya loves public speaking and sharing her thoughts. She is also an avid reader and writer who loves to delve into stories, so she is excited to share hers at Whitney High School’s TEDx 2023 event!