Theme: Perception vs. Reality

TEDxThacherSchool launched in 2015 and is limited to the Thacher School community of 260 boarding and day high school students, teachers, staff, alumni, and parents. The event is student organized by an active club and 2015 featured four live speakers from different and engaging disciplines, two recorded TEDTalks, one musician, and a host.

Milligan Center for the Performing Arts
The Thacher School
5025 Thacher Road
Ojai, California, 93023
United States

Ginger Graham

Board Member, CEO, Leadership Coach

Ginger Graham is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company focused on diabetes and obesity. Prior to her time at Amylin, Ginger was Group Chairman, Office of the President for Guidant Corporation, as the company launched the world’s leading stent platform. As a faculty member at Harvard Business School, she taught classes in entrepreneurship. She has also written for Harvard Business Review, and is the subject of two HBS case studies. Today she consults to first-time CEOs in the areas of leadership, strategy, board-effectiveness, and organization-building and serves public and private companies as a board member. She received a Bachelor of Science, with high honors, in agricultural economics from the University of Arkansas, and holds an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard University. She is an avid horsewoman, a former Miss Rodeo Arkansas and the proud owner of 11 registered Quarter Horses.

James O'Neill

Chief of Department, New York Police Department

James O’Neill is the 38th individual to hold the post of Chief of Department for the New York Police Department. He has served as Commanding Officer of the Office of the Police Commissioner, the 25, 44 and Central Park Precincts, the Vice Enforcement Division, the Narcotics Division, as well as the Fugitive Enforcement Division. He has also served as Executive Officer of the 52 Precinct and SATCOM Detective Narcotic Operations. He began his career on patrol in Transit District 1 in 1983, and has previously served as Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Inspector, Inspector, Deputy Chief, and Chief of Patrol. Chief O'Neill holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and a Master of Public Administration degree from John Jay College.

Jon Swift

Musician, Science and Math Teacher, Astronomer

Jon Swift’s musical repertoire, including three widely-circulated albums, one EP, and the soundtracks for several iconic surfing films, began while playing on a neighbor’s piano at seven years old. He has since shared stages, compilations, and soundtracks with the likes of Jackson Browne, Dawes, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, and John Cruz. Making music is an intuitive rather than cerebral process for Jon, and the instruments he plays—including guitar, banjo, and harmonica—were learned through many hours of compositional experimentation. His lyrics carry a spiritual depth, complemented by a maturity gained through his experiences with travel, personal challenges, social dysfunction, and most importantly, nature.

Peter Farrelly

Director, Producer, Screenwriter

A native Rhode Islander, Peter Farrelly quit his sales job and started writing screenplays in the mid-1980’s. After crafting more than a dozen unproduced scripts, several feature rewrites, and the occasional television project, (including a validating credit on Seinfeld), he and his brother Bobby finally got the chance to showcase their talents in 1994 when New Line Cinema let them direct their first feature film, DUMB & DUMBER, which they co-wrote with Bennett Yellin. The Farrelly Brothers continued to define the era with their movies KINGPIN (1996), THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998), OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE (1999), ME, MYSELF & IRENE (2000), SHALLOW HAL (2001), STUCK ON YOU (2003), FEVER PITCH (2005), THE HEARTBREAK KID (2007), HALL PASS (2011), THE THREE STOOGES (2012) and DUMB AND DUMBER TO (2014) A graduate of Providence College and Columbia University, Peter has also published the novels Outside Providence, The Comedy Writer and a children’s book, Abigail the Happy Whale.

Ying-Hui Fu

Professor, University of California San Francisco

Dr. Fu has studied the genetics and biology of neurodegenerative diseases for many years and most recently, has focused her work on human sleep behavior. Despite the fact that sleep is an essential component of the human experience occupying about one third of our lives, little is known about what sleep is and how it’s regulated. It is clear that chronic disruption of sleep leads to increased risks of not only motor vehicle accidents, but also many diseases such as cancer, obesity and diabetes, autoimmune disorders, neurodegeneration, and psychiatric diseases. She and her collaborators reported the first genes and mutations that cause people to be extreme morning larks (lifelong tendency to go to sleep and to wake up very early). Her research team also reported the first families and gene/mutation causing people to be natural short sleepers, with a life-long requirement of only 4-6 hours of sleep per night to feel good and perform at a high level.