Theme: Unleash

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).

TEDxFolsom High School Youth is going to be the first TEDx Youth event at Folsom High. Unleash: The speakers are ready to unleash their inner selves and bring out their hearts to mesmerize you. They are prepared to bring change to the community, to spread that one idea effectively that everybody has been waiting for. The event's purpose is to give the high school students a platform to speak out their stories and emotions and show their spark to the community. They are ready to stand alongside the adults and unleash the hidden power.

The student volunteers and teachers are eager to make this event memorable so that future FHS students are encouraged to participate and take charge of similar events. Prepare to unleash your emotions and be enthralled with great, entertaining talks and performances!

Stay tuned as we update this page with more speakers and performances!

Jill Solberg Performing Arts Center
1655 Iron Point Rd
Folsom, California, 95630
United States

Aekari Chien

Student - Sophomore at Folsom High School

Aekari Chien is a sophomore at Folsom High School. She is a competitor in Academic Decathlon, Folsom Teen Library Council member, vice president of STEM Tutoring, and student fellow for Rhizome's Civic Service Fellowship. She wants to raise awareness on the issues she cares about by connecting humanities skills, such as communication and speech writing, with STEM topics, like mental health. She wants teens today to recognize the importance of support systems in fighting mental health.

Chad Daugherty

Entrepreneur, Athlete, IT Professional

Chad Daugherty embarked on his journey in IT recruiting over two decades ago, driven by a profound passion for connecting top-tier talent with innovative opportunities. In healthcare information technology recruiting, Chad has spearheaded initiatives for numerous prominent practices across the US. His entrepreneurial spirit manifested when he co-founded an IT recruiting startup, disrupting traditional recruitment models and establishing a reputation for excellence. He further ventured into entrepreneurship by founding a film and video production company focused on white-water rafting. Chad thrives in the great outdoors. An accomplished athlete, he excels in rock climbing, ice climbing, white-water kayaking, skiing, and mountain biking. He has also been a white-water raft guide, navigating the thrilling rivers of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, West Virginia, and California. Chad continues to inspire, proving that one can conquer both the professional and the adventurous with equal zeal.

Corina L Limpus

Student - Senior at Folsom High School

Corina Limpus is a senior at Folsom High School, a hopeful marine biologist, and currently enjoys competing in Academic Decathlon. She loves crafting things by hand, whether it be crocheted knitwear or aesthetic art pieces. As a co-founder of FHS's Bible study club, she intends to spend her last year sharing encouragement and compassion with her peers. Also as a teenager, she loves all things sci-fi and superheroes, especially what can be learned from their intense and thought provoking narratives.

Hana Haque

Student - Sophomore at Folsom High School

Hana Haque is a current sophomore at Folsom High School and future lawyer. She can be found competing for Speech and Debate, Model UN, and Academic Decathlon. As an unrelenting cat-lover and a self-aware book-hoarder, her favorite thing to do to relax is to read and harass her cat. Her weekends are filled with volunteering for the library, cleaning her room, and stressing over math.

Hari Srinivasan

Vanderbilt University: PhD Student Neuroscience, Laboratory of Carissa Cascio Affective Sensory Research Lab, Laboratory of Mark Wallace Multisensory Research Lab. NISE Fellow, Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, PD Soros Fellow, Public Voices Fellow @OpEd Project; UC Berkeley: BA (Highest Distinction, Highest Honors) Psychology/Disability Studies, University Medal Finalist. Berkeley Haas Scholar

Hari Srinivasan is a PhD Neuroscience student at Vanderbilt University. He is a PD Soros Fellow, a NISE Fellow at the First Center for Autism & Innovation, and a Public Voices Fellow. Hari completed his undergraduate at UC Berkeley (Psychology and Disability Studies), where he was a University Medal Finalist and Phi Beta Kappa, amongst other honors. Hari has autism, ADHD, limited spoken communication, sensory processing issues, and other challenges that do present significant challenges in his everyday life. He is active in the autism advocacy space and on the boards/advisory boards/scientific advisory of multiple disability organizations. He is significantly vested in seeing real solutions and progress. His journalism and writing includes high impact articles in Time, Newsweek and Fortune. His advocacy has been featured on President Obama’s Instagram on the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and his talks include speaking at the UN and multiple keynotes.

Junyi (Alice) Chen

Student - Sophomore at Folsom High School

Junyi (Alice) Chen is a current sophomore at Folsom High School. She has been playing a traditional Chinese instrument called the pipa for 9 years. In the past, she has won many first place awards with the pipa such as the 2023 United States International Music Competition (USIMC). Alice enjoys playing the pipa as a way to relax and connect with her culture, and hopes to bring Chinese music to the rest of her community.

LaVontae Hill

Associate Clinical Social worker, Storyteller

LaVontae Hill was born and raised in Richmond, CA. He graduated Cum Laude from CSU, Sacramento with a Bachelors in Social Work. He also graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a Masters in Social Work. He is an Associate Clinical Social worker with over half a decade of experience as a Mental Health Therapist and over a decade of experience working with children, youth, and families in impoverished communities. He considers himself to be a Wounded Healer and a Storyteller. In his downtime, he enjoys cooking, watching anime, reading, and creating new fashion aesthetics.

Marcy Johnson

Club VP of Education, a Pathways Trainer, a District Zoom Master

The year 2023 was Marcy Johnson's "Year of Yes." She vowed to step outside her comfort zone and accept new, sometimes intimidating, challenges to learn and grow. Though Marcy retired from her position in the front office of a middle school in December 2021, her "life of leisure" is busier than ever. In addition to volunteering for two nonprofit organizations, Marcy is a member of two clubs, a club VP of Education, a Pathways trainer, a District Zoom Master, and the Event Coordinator for District 39's 2024 spring conference. Past Toastmasters leadership roles include club Secretary, Treasurer, and district Area Director. Marcy has competed in speech contests, nabbing first place in the 2023 District 39 Evaluation contest and placing second in the 2022 District 39 International Speech contest. She is working toward earning her DTM designation (Distinguished Toastmaster). Over the last several years, Marcy has been on a journey of self-improvement.

Marleaux Flournoy

Senior Executive, Leadership and personal empowerment coach and co-host of a podcast

Marleaux Flournoy is a senior executive, leadership and personal empowerment coach, and the co-host of the Boundaries Without the Box podcast. As a leadership and personal empowerment coach, Marleaux guides his clients through "unlabelling" and "unlearning" to empower them to embrace their unique qualities to cultivate and maximize their inherent strengths. Marleaux coaches leaders to embrace individuality and neurodiversity within their organizations to drive tremendous success by strengthening team cohesion and inspiring collective genius. Marleaux is also a senior executive at a Northern California financial institution and has always been committed to supporting others by helping them optimize their human experience and helping them break through the barriers of their own limiting beliefs. He has spent the entirety of his leadership career building high-performing technical teams using his human-centric coaching principles.

Rajesh Nair

Founder, CEO-EnCube Labs, Engineer, Designer, Serial entrepreneur, and Educator

Rajesh Nair has a diverse background as an engineer, designer, serial Entrepreneur, and educator. His academic achievements include multiple Master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Engineering and Management, UMass, Amherst in Manufacturing Engineering, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Electronic Product Design. The New Hampshire High Tech Council awarded him the Entrepreneur of the Year. He holds 13 US patents. Rajesh has also served as a founding faculty member and Professor of Practice in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Asia School of Business (ASB) in Malaysia, started by MIT-Sloan, and as a visiting scholar at MIT. He researched nurturing young innovators and entrepreneurs from underserved communities and developed the Zero-Maker-Innovator-Entrepreneur framework and training methodology. Rajesh has conducted over a hundred workshops in seven countries for school and university students from underserved communities.

Shohini Chakraborty

Student - Junior at Folsom High School

Shohini Chakraborty is currently a junior at Folsom High School whose dream is to reach people around the globe with her music. She has been singing since she was four years old. She loves listening to artists worldwide and is often awed by different cultures and their music. She has sung in more than ten different languages and continues to explore more. Shohini is the winner of the very prestigious YoungArts 2024 in Voice - Popular category and has qualified for the 2024 All-State Honor Choir where she is going to participate in February 2024. She also had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the Kings Game in the Golden 1 Center, the River Cats Minor league games at Sutter Health park and at the Homeless World Cup Street Soccer, 2023 at Hornet Stadium, Sac State - an international event. Shohini is also a songwriter and producer and has released a six-song EP and a ten-song album which are now on all music-streaming platforms.

Shyama Chakroborty

MSME, The Ohio State University; PhD (Mech. Engineering), Cleveland State University; MBA-University of California, Davis

Shyama C. achieved great heights in diverging fields as an internationally recognized rocket scientist who made pioneering contributions to space and rocket science. Serving the National Academy of Science, the highest scientific body in the USA, which advises the president and the congress of the USA on matters of national significance, flying the legendary Mach 3 Foxbat MiG 25, being trained and certified as an astronaut (cosmonaut), successfully swimming the English Channel between England and France, trekking to the North Pole, climbing to the base camp of Mt. Everest are few of his extraordinary achievements. He was the Chief Engineer/Director of Space Systems of Northrop Grumman Corp., Chief Engineer/Technical Fellow of Aerojet Propulsion Co., and directed several NASA Space programs. He played key roles in major defense and commercial space programs and was the Adjunct Professor of Aerospace and Astronautical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Sid Kumar

Student - Sophomore at Folsom High School

Siddhran Kumar, a sophomore at Folsom High School, is the president and founder of featherLITE, a student-led game studio. He is passionate about technology and how it can enable artists to create awesome things. He is even more passionate about telling awesome stories. You can find more of his work at youtube.com/@wackofeather.

Sudarshana Hore

Electrical Engineer, Passionate Dancer

Sudarshana Hore has a Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, with a work experience of 7+ years in the Power and Energy sector. Currently she is employed in California ISO as a Senior Engineer who works in control room, hence has a rotating work schedule which involves weekend as well as night shift work hours. She loves hiking, skiing, running and is very passionate about dancing. She has been trained in Indian Classical dance form, Bharatnatyam, however, she enjoys any and every dance form.