Theme: Moonshots

Our theme this year is Moonshots -- we believe that progress only comes with those who dare to do something seemingly impossible.

C120
Mission San Jose High School
41717 Palm Avenue
Fremont, California, 94539
United States

Amy Critchett

THE BAY LIGHTS Executive Producer Amy Critchett is passion, energy, creativity, caring and innovation personified. In leading the development and management of Leo Villareal’s largest artwork to date, she built community, grew international awareness and assembled a world-class team to produce this complex and highly creative ongoing iconic piece of public art. She is also Founding Executive Director of THE BAY LIGHTS presenting organization Illuminate the Arts, and co-directed the launch of ZeroOne: The Art and Technology Network and its biannual international arts festival. Amy was part of the initial team that launched and built WIRED Magazine, later holding Executive Producer posts at cutting-edge convergence cable startups ZDTV and Oxygen Media, followed by roles as Director of Marketing for online leaders One Economy and Uth TV and Business Development for the start-up TCHO chocolate.

Ankit Shah

Ankit Shah is the creator of Tea With Strangers, a community organization that wants to make cities feel like neighborhoods by breaking down barriers between strangers. It focuses on what makes us the same over what makes us different, creating experiences to foster meaningful connection, and empowering people to uninhibitedly invite others. Shah created TWS after spending a year bringing together 1000 people for meaningful conversations across the country with a simple idea — “If I don’t know you yet, let’s change that.” Ankit was raised in New York, studied Operations and Marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and likes to run, write, and do nothing in his free time.

Daniel Esbensen

Daniel Esbensen is a computer language designer, inventor, high scalability specialist, and software architect. Primary patent US 5,796,942 — Method and apparatus for automated network-wide surveillance and security breach intervention (the basis for the FBI’s CARNIVORE email snooper and the NSA’s latest Internet data-tapping). Specialties include: rapid development of highly scalable applications, design of high availability systems, rapidly deployable SaaS, SP4GL, database design, RFID, video surveillance, network security, and barcode technology.

Dennis Pocekay

Dennis Pocekay is a retired Kaiser Permanente Physician (Internal Medicine/Occupational Medicine), currently advising HOSA students at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, teaching undergrad Intro to Public Health at UC Davis, and precepting medical students at the Paul Hom Free Asian Clinic in Sacramento. He has long been interested in the social determinants of health.

Heidi Wang

Heidi Wang is a Designer turned Engineer turned Product Manager. She is passionate about inspiring young women to explore Computer Science, so she founded a program called Girls Teaching Girls to Code. In her free time, she loves hiking, cooking, and enjoying coffee with friends.

Jaime Richards

Jaime Richards is a 30-year veteran teacher and writer. His mission is to learn what it takes to live an extraordinary life, live one, and teach it to others. He studies great lives from the past and present, applies their wisdom, and shares what works with as many students as he can. His Kefi Foundation focuses on teaching and sharing kefi’s magic with people around the world, especially the deprived, the disadvantaged and the neglected.

Oliver Yeh

Oliver Yeh is a work in progress. He was raised by two Taiwanese immigrants whose selfless sacrifices gave him opportunities to seek meaning and joy in life. After attending Berkeley and Stanford, he realized he learned far more important lessons outside of the classroom walls and lecture halls. He hopes to play a positive role in the field of education while growing with colleagues and students along the way. He is still learning how to be a better global citizen and how to put pride aside but he tries his best to be genuine and often finds a way to enjoy the moment.

Richie Zeng

Richie Zeng is the cofounder and CEO of Wearhaus, a Berkeley startup developing a new generation of high quality headphones that are more fun and social – they allow users to wirelessly sync up with other nearby headphones and create a private concert experience anywhere they go. He is a Bay Area native and an MSJ alum (2011). He studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley for two years before leaving school to start Wearhaus. His technical experience includes software engineering, product development, and hardware prototyping.