Theme: Going Against the Grain

The TEDxNapaValley 2014 event is designed to spark conversation and insight debate about when and why we should ignore the status quo. Sometimes a venture into uncharted territory is fueled by a hardship that must be overcome. Other times, it’s driven by a vision - a conviction to take goals and dreams to the next level.

Napa Valley College, Performing Arts Center
2277 College Way
Napa, California, 94558
United States

Amy Jo Goddard

After nearly two decades of working in the sexuality field with every audience you could imagine, from first graders to adult professionals to college students, Amy Jo Goddard dedicated herself to building a successful sexual empowerment coaching practice for women and couples and facilitating her Women’s Sexually Empowered Life Program. She co-authored the highly successful “Lesbian Sex Secrets for Men” and was chosen as one of GO! Magazine’s “100 Women We Love 2010.” She is currently working on her forthcoming book on sexual empowerment and is directing the film “At Your Cervix” about medical education and pelvic exams. Amy Jo believes sexuality is where our energy begins; if we work on that, it impacts everything else.

Calvin Sanders

Calvin Sanders is a 17 year-old senior at Justin-Siena high school with a strong interest in government and a belief in the old adage, the pen is mightier than the sword. Last summer, he was chosen to represent his school at the American Legion Boys’ State program, where he was elected mayor of his city. Calvin is also an avid water-polo player, mock trial attorney, and pianist.

Cliff Beach

Funk music artist Cliff Beach has been going against the grain musically for more than 10 years in Los Angeles. The Berklee-trained singer/songwriter/keyboardist and DC native has created a style of music he coins as “Nu-funk”, a hybrid of soul, traditional R&B, funk and neo-soul which he performs regularly throughout Southern California. Last summer, Cliff released the highly anticipated “Who the Funk is Cliff Beach?” EP, independently, which was nominated for three LA Music Awards including “Record of the Year” and one Hollywood Music in Media award. Beach also received national press in a featured live review in Music Connection magazine in Nov. 2013.

Darryle Pollack

Darryle Pollack is the co-founder of WHOA! Network, (Women Honoring Our Age), a platform for women to be seen and heard at every age; and a pioneering enterprise for women midlife and beyond. WHOA! is an extension of Darryle’s experience as a pioneer, which includes graduating from Yale in the first class that included women, her groundbreaking work as a television journalist, and her personal journey as a cancer activist. An early adopter and leader for her demographic in social media and blogging, Darryle’s writing appears on many websites, including the Huffington Post.

Garrett Fisher

Garrett Fisher is Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Innovation. He is the author of “The Human Theory of Everything” - a comprehensive redefinition of economics and what motivates human society. He is also the Managing Director of Finance Solutions LLC – a hedge fund, tax and management consulting firm. Formerly, Garrett was CFO & Director of a consulting and venture capital firm where he served in various roles assisting a variety of clients in many industries. He has also worked as Director of Operations and Finance for a global logistics firm and for a boutique international hedge fund law firm. A photographer, pilot and adventurer, Garrett is perpetually creating – whether it is art, adventure or new ways of approaching business.

Kristy Sammis & Cat Lincoln

Kristy Sammis and Cat Lincoln are co-founders of Clever Girls, an esteemed content marketing and native advertising agency specializing in connecting top brands with influential women online. Leveraging 20+ years of Fortune 500 marketing experience with cutting-edge social media immersion, the Clever team have built an award winning practice. In addition to her role as CEO of Clever Girl’s, Cat’s previous experience includes positions at Wells Fargo, ADP and in the non-profit sector. Previously, Kristy led a communication team at Walmart.com and helped launch the BlogHer conferences. In November 2013, Clever Girls was proud to partner with the Bay Area Make-A-Wish to lead the online strategy and execution of the global phenomenon #Batkid.

Kriti Lall

Kriti Lall is a junior at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. From her first mentos-and-soda experiment, she’s always been fascinated by how science can conjure up logical explanations for even the most puzzling phenomena. She began reading scientific journals in sixth grade, and has been experimenting with pipettes and flasks in her garage ever since. Her most recent research involves genetically engineering a new patent-pending strain of bacteria that can be used to remove arsenic from water inexpensively. Kriti was one of 90 Google Science Fair finalists worldwide in 2012, and is one of the youngest scientists to be inducted into the international Sigma Xi Research Society by invitation.

Nelson Guda

Nelson Guda has traveled around the world trying to understand how people move from places of extreme darkness back into the light and express it in his art. The U.S. artist has worked in paint, ink, glass, steel, emulsion and electrons. His latest project, “ENEMIES,” began in East Africa in 2011, where he brought people together from opposite sides of brutal conflicts in the slums of Kenya, the border of Sudan and South Sudan and the killing fields of Rwanda. In the ENEMIES Project, Nelson sees the act of seeking out conflict and resilience as a form of art in its highest sense of expression of the human experience. Nelson holds a PhD in biology and helped found an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Texas in Austin.

Pete McDaniel

Pete McDaniel is a “Publisher of the Year” award-winner, recipient of the Harlem YMCA’s Black Achievers in Industry Award, and Inducted Member of the African American Golfers Hall of Fame and of the National Black Golf Hall of Fame. Pete has penned stories for Golf Digest and Golf World. He is a co-author of the late Earl Woods’ best-selling book, ”Training A Tiger” and co-author of Tiger Woods’ all-time best-selling golf instruction book, ”How I Play Golf.” He also wrote the critically acclaimed ”Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African Americans in Golf.” Currently, Pete is working on the autobiography of his son.

Priyanka Potdar

17 year-old Priyanka Potdar is a multifaceted high school senior attending Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, California. Born of two Maharashtran Indian immigrants, Priyanka learned Marathi, Hindi, and English as a child. She developed an extraordinary passion for medicine at the age of 8 and almost a decade later, Priyanka has grown to be passionate about the medical, sociological, political, and moral contexts of mental illness through research internships and leadership opportunities. A competitive pianist since the age of 9, she has also been involved with a rather unconventional scientific and musical movement, reforming the interface between neuropsychology and the performing arts.

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges Hall is an American Activist best known as being the first African American child to attend an all-white New Orleans elementary school after court-ordered desegregation in 1960. Inspired by her desire to help children achieve their hopes and dreams, she formed the Ruby Bridges Foundation in 1999 to promote “the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences”. She has been recognized around the world for her efforts and was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton in 2001. In 2012, Bridges Hall received an Honorary Degree from Tulane University.

Seval Oz

Known as the chief troublemaker on her team, Seval Oz is Senior New Business Development Manager at Google Inc. She supports all business and marketing efforts for Google’s self-driving technology commercial launch. As part of new business development responsibilities in Google Knowledge, Seval is working on transparency in Government Elections, and spearheaded the efforts for the 2011 national elections in Turkey, Egypt and Kyrgyzstan. She is on the Advisory Board of HealthCorps®, a national health education program for high schools founded by her brother Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife Lisa, and Endeavor.Org, a global high-impact entrepreneurship organization based in NYC. Seval accepted the PWI Women in Technology Award for Courage in San Francisco this year. Seval received her MBA from Wharton Business School, graduating with Distinction, and her BA, cum laude, from Wellesley/M.I.T. in economics and political science.