2023 Speakers

Jim Jordan

Jim Jordan, English teacher at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco since 2000, is an experienced College Board Consultant and AP English Language Exam Reader, Table Leader and Question Leader. He promotes the cross-disciplinary value of rhetoric at national and state conferences and has presented at the College Board’s National Forum. Jim earned a BA in Broadcast Journalism from SF State University and an MA in Catholic School Leadership with a California English Teaching Credential from the University of San Francisco.

John Gribowich

Fr. John Gribowich, a religious studies teacher at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, previously taught at Allentown Central Catholic High School in PA and founded the "Central City Project" for social justice initiatives. He's active in the Catholic Worker Movement and co-owns the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm in PA. Fr. John earned his undergraduate degree in history and theology at DeSales University and has graduate degrees in art history and library science from Pratt Institute. He also has an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. His interests include meditation, reading, running, and the music of Bob Dylan.

Alexander Golden

Alexander Golden, a junior at The Branson School, is passionate about financial literacy and believes it's important for everyone to be financially literate. He's teaching a two-week financial literacy course at his high school and will be teaching basic economic concepts to middle schoolers this summer. Alexander advocates for mandatory financial literacy classes in all middle and high schools, as he believes the disparity in financial knowledge is a significant contributor to economic inequality. He hopes his TEDx Talk will inspire schools to start incorporating financial literacy classes into their curriculum.

Sofia Gupta

Sofia Gupta is a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. She discusses her experience growing up with Ayurveda and contrasts this with modern, commercialized versions of ancient Hindu spiritual practices on the media nowadays. She encourages people to be mindful of the fact that modernized cultural/spiritual practices are often modified to sell to large audiences, so inevitably, substantial historical context and authentic meaning is missing.

Faith Pan

Faith Pan is a sophomore at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep and involved in TEDxYouth. She has a passion for learning, speaking, and leadership, and is exploring various fields in medicine and STEM. Faith took AP Psychology and found it both interesting and influential to one's perspective. Her TEDx talk delves into the psychological perspective on stress through the covid experience.

Logan Graves

Logan, a Bay Area high school junior, shares his passion for learning and AI. He highlights how AI mirrors human thinking and reveals where our ideas fall short. Incorporating human ethics into AI is a major challenge Logan discusses. He hopes to inspire others to tackle this important issue.

Amiya Stroumza

Amiya Stroumza, a junior at Lowell High School in San Francisco, is an advocate for creating a positive impact on the environment. She founded SolAir LLC, a company focused on exposing and increasing awareness to new technology to mitigate the spread of airborne pathogens. Amiya also created the Environmental Health and Safety Committee at her school and a local branch of the national Jewish Youth Climate Movement at her synagogue. She has been awarded the Honorary Service Award by the California State PTA and hopes to inspire others to join her mission for a healthier, more sustainable future through her TEDx Talk.

Harrshwin Sivakumaran Thanagarj

Harrshwin Sivakumaran Thanagarj is a sophomore at Las Lomas high school who has a passion for public speaking and is involved in various speech-related activities on his campus. He is also a known procrastinator who rushes to finish tasks. In his talk, he aims to discuss the problems with rushing and provide solutions for people to apply in their own lives.