TEDxSantaCatalinaSchool

Speakers

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

• Belinda Daguio

  PolioPlus Chair

  In her very first year as PolioPlus chair, Belinda Daguio launched the Pennies for Polio campaign, engaging communities in meaningful, grassroots fundraising. Her remarkable work has earned her national and international recognition. Belinda is one of just six recipients of Rotary International's prestigious Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World. Most recently, she received the Polio Warrior of the Year Award, acknowledging her deep commitment to ending this disease once and for all. Each year, she helps lead the Walk Across the Golden Gate Bridge for Polio, a powerful event that began in our region and has now been recognized and replicated around the world.

• Isa Cruz

  Student

  Isa Cruz is a junior boarding student at Santa Catalina School. Her childhood was different from most students as she entered military school at a young age. Her life was then marked by tight schedules, drills, and high expectations. She will discuss her path through these challenges, and how her outlook on life has changed how she views and handles obstacles.

• Marina Hurtado

  Student

  Marina Hurtado is a junior at Santa Catalina School with native-level proficiency in four languages. She has developed a deep appreciation for world languages and cultures through her Mexican-American heritage and her experiences living abroad in multiple countries. When Marina chose to spend her sophomore year abroad as an exchange student in Austria, her primary goal was achieving fluency in her fourth language. However, she quickly realized that language acquisition came hand in hand with learning about herself through the challenges and discomfort presented by immersion in an unfamiliar language and place. She believes this, combined with knowledge of another culture, promotes a broader worldview necessary as we become increasingly interconnected. Since returning to Monterey, she has become an advocate for study abroad programs with the hope that more students will be able to experience the growth and self-awareness that she found during her exchange.

• Nathan Huang

  Founder of Care Kit Community

  Nathan Huang is a high school student and the founder of CareKit Community. CareKit Community is a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing health equity by addressing hygiene insecurity through youth-driven action. They mobilize students to raise awareness and donate essential hygiene products to underserved communities—restoring dignity, improving health, and creating meaningful change. Since its founding, CareKit Community has donated over 1,700 care kits, has 12 active chapters, and has 40 partners including Chipotle, Panera Bread, Kumon, and many other organizations.

• Raegan Russell

  Buddhist Practitioner

  Raegan Russell grew up in Texas, where she spent so much time at the Renaissance festival and playing Dungeons and Dragons that she wound up with a Ph.D. in medieval studies. Since then, she has taught English, history, and humanities in independent schools across the United States. She finished her Buddhist Lay Minister training in 2022.