TEDxDelNorteHighSchool

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Aditi Bharadwaj

  Student

  Student at Del Norte High School

• Alia Hsu

  Founder

  Alia Hsu is a 16-year-old artist and founder of The Rainbow Rock Project and The Stellar Project. She began spreading kindness at age 7 by leaving hand-painted rainbow rocks around her community, raising over $15,000 for charity. Today, Alia continues her mission through The Stellar Project to inspire hope and support teen mental health by leaving out handmade kindness bracelets. In her talk "Art as Hope," she shares how small acts of creativity can break generational cycles and remind others they are never alone.

• Anishka Sanghvi

  Student

  Anishka Sanghvi is passionate about STEM, innovation, and creative problem-solving. She is especially interested in how AI and cybersecurity are shaping the future and transforming the way we live and learn. Anishka is driven by curiosity and a desire to explore how technology can create positive, lasting change in the world.

• Ashlyn Lipori-Russie

  Founder

  Ashlyn Lipori-Russie is the creator and host of Ask Ashlyn, an SMS and social media-based solution to news avoidance that invites users to ask questions about the news, as if speaking with a journalist friend. Ashlyn is an Emmy-nominated journalist with a diverse background that spans investigative, broadcast, and digital news, as well as content management and strategic communications.

• Bonden Harriss

  Student

  Student at Del Norte High School

• Christopher Li

  Entrepreneur

  Chris Li is a Los Angeles–based entrepreneur, educator, and mental-health innovator. After earning his MBA at USC, he cut his teeth in Deloitte’s strategy practice and later steered multi-billion-dollar Chinese investment funds. A five-time founder with two exits, Chris now teaches business strategy at UCLA and leads SAY!T Mental Health, a nonprofit pairing peer-led campus clubs with a gamified app that’s already cut daily stress by 29 % with beta testers. Supported by Adobe and in discussion with YMCA LA for pilot launch, Chris is on a mission to make mental-health prevention resonate with Gen Z.

• Nisa Thomas

  Student

  Teen mental health is in crisis. But what if the tools contributing to that crisis could be reimagined to become part of the solution? In this powerful talk, student innovator Nisa Thomas shares the story behind ProsperTEEN, her AI-powered app that transforms technology from a source of stress into a source of support. Discover how data, empathy, and technology come together to build resilience, reduce stress, and transform teen lives one habit at a time

• Prashant Anilkumar

  Entrepreneur

  Prashant Anilkumar has worked over 13 years in the technology industry, and loves to dabble in various creative pursuits. He brings together the worlds of business, art, and AI, to spark unconventional thinking and help unlock fresh perspectives. In this talk titled "Thinking like Picasso in the age of AI," he explores the realms of modern creative possibility, through the artistic lens of Pablo Picasso’s work.

• Saanvi Dogra

  Student

  Saanvi Dogra is a dedicated student leader at Del Norte High School, passionate about empowering youth to drive meaningful change in their communities. With a strong commitment to health, education, and environmental sustainability, she actively works to raise awareness and inspire action on these critical issues. Saanvi has shared her insights through panel discussions and keynote speeches at prominent conferences, including the National Youth Leadership Council, USC Leadership for Change, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

• Samuel Zewdie

  Student

  Samuel is a high school student and the first-generation son of Ethiopian immigrants. His passion lies in bringing visibility to the mental health struggles of immigrant children—stories often left untold. He speaks from personal experience about the weight of responsibility placed on kids growing up between cultures. With clarity and heart, he hopes to use the TEDx stage to make other immigrant youth feel less alone.

• Tarik Oguz

  Student

  In this talk, Tarik Oguz introduces a novel approach to microRNA (miRNA) analysis that challenges conventional paradigms. By focusing on miRNAs with moderate dysregulation, his work reveals previously overlooked layers of clinical insight, particularly in the context of diseases such as lung cancer. Tarik Oguz is a student at Del Norte High School with a deep passion for scientific innovation and social impact. In May, he represented his research at the International Science and Engineering Fair, where he earned fourth place in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics category for his pioneering work on microRNA analysis. Beyond his scientific pursuits, Tarik is a well-rounded scholar and community leader. He is actively involved in STEM education, community service, and athletics - including basketball, swimming, and taekwondo.