Theme: Development

During the primal ages of humanity, high mortality rates were accompanied with disease and ineffective treatments. The development of penicillin provided an efficient, safe, and preventative cure. This is just one example of how advancement has revolutionized a global concept. Development of all types redefines preconceived notions with new innovations and ideologies that substantially change the way we perceive the world. The TEDxYouth@ArchesPoint speakers will deliver talks relating to the growth of various fields, ideas, concepts, and methodologies that have a profound impact on the identity of our contemporary society. This event is located in the Dallas (DFW) county.

Virtual
Arches Point at Parkside
Irving, Texas, 75063
United States

Bianca Benitez

AP Biology Teacher and Holds a Chiropractic Degree

Dr. Benitez is a beloved faculty member of Coppell High School and inspires her students every day with her passion for teaching AP Biology. Dr. Benitez holds a BS in Kinesiology from UT Austin, a BS in Anatomy from Parker College of Chiropractic, and a Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker College of Chiropractic. After graduating from Parker College of Chiropractic, she was hired as a clinic doctor the student clinic. There, it was her responsibility to teach and monitor student interns in physical examinations, diagnosis, and patient care. Dr. Benitez fell in love with teaching. Her contract ended and she worked in a few offices and spent time deciding if she should open her own clinic. A few different jobs later, Dr. Benitez found the alternative certificate for teaching program. With that, she realized she could merge her background with her love of teaching.

Ella Atkins

Professor in the University of Michigan's Aerospace Engineering Department

Dr. Ella Atkins is a Professor in the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Department where she directs the Autonomous Aerospace Systems (A2SYS) Lab and is Associate Director of the Robotics Institute. Dr. Atkins holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. She is an AIAA Fellow, private pilot, and Part 107 UAS pilot. She served on the National Academy’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and the Institute for Defense Analysis Defense Science Studies Group. . Dr. Atkins has built a research program in decision-making and control to assure safe contingency management in manned and unmanned Aerospace applications. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of AIAA Journal of Aerospace Information Systems (JAIS) and a member of the 2020-2021 AIAA Aviation Conference Executive Steering Committee.

Emma Zafari

High School Student

Emma Zafari is a high school junior at The Marlborough School from Los Angeles, California. She is the co-founder of Teens Find Middle Ground: an organization that hosts biweekly Zoom discussions with teens from across the country with differing political beliefs on controversial issues in order to gain empathy and understanding. Furthermore, she is the West Coast Content Director at Foreign Policy Youth Collab: a non-profit that highlights youth voices on global issues to help to bridge the gap between politicians and teens across the political spectrum where she writes opinion editorials for International Policy Digest and founded Foreign Policy Youth Collab’s podcast entitled “Time out! Let’s Talk Policy.” Additionally, she was selected as a student journalist to cover the 2020 Iowa Caucuses from a youth perspective.

Jaanvi Shah

High School Student

Jaanvi is a junior at Coppell High School. She has a passion for social change and has exhibited this passion through her participation in various organizations. She serves on the state board for Texas March for Our Lives, and she is the president of her high school chapter. She also competes in public forum debate to further her passion in public policy. In addition, she mentors middle school students for Global Elementary Model United Nations (GEMUN) and has served as a GEMUN chair for the past two years. She is also active in her religious community as the Young Jains Association president. Jaanvi has also interned for Representative Julie Johnson for the past year.

Josie Jun

High School Student

Josie Jun is a high school junior at The Harvard-Westlake School from Los Angeles, California. Along with Emma Zafari, she is the co-founder of Teens Find Middle Ground. At school, she founded the Political Discussion Club to facilitate a safe space for political discourse within her school community. She has interned on a Los Angeles city council member’s campaign and is also a part of the Mayor’s Youth Council in which she works closely with fellow council members to advocate for causes relevant to youth in the city of Los Angeles. Furthermore, Josie volunteers weekly over Zoom to tutor elementary students. In her free time, Josie loves to play volleyball, hang out with friends, go to the beach, or read a really good book.

Madhalasa Iyer

High School Student

Madhalasa Iyer is a rising junior from Plano, TX. She is a debater, a writer and a chess player! She has won the Scholastic Gold Award at the Nationals and the New York Life award for her writing pieces. She is also a recipient of the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) by the EPA. Madhalasa is ranked in the Top 100 girls her age for chess. She was the Best Orator in the DFW area speech contest and serves as her Forensics Club Vice President. She is extremely interested in mental disorders and the implications of the disorder in the social and psychological world. In her free time she likes reading books like "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" and classics of Jane Austen.

Rishab Kattimani

Middle School Student

Rishab Kattimani is a student at Hays Middle School, in Prosper ISD. He loves playing soccer on his team, and enjoys it. He is also an avid reader of anything he finds interesting, and he always loves to share that knowledge. He has been learning technology, coding, AI, etc. enthusiastically since a very young age, and as he learns a new technology or program, he shares his findings on his YouTube Channel with over 2000 subscrivers. He also loves speaking at live technology or coding summits and events. He recently spoke at an international symposium about Python, a programming language.

Sanaalee Troupe

High School Student

Sanaalee Troupe is a student at the Waldorf School of Garden City as well as activist and organizer who is passionate about creating a trajectory for youth, BIPOC, and marginalized activists in the field of environmentalism. Sanaalee wishes to pursue a career in politics and has had the honor of interning with six various elected officials, who are members of our legislative system to further environmental and racial policies. In 2019, she created the Cleaner Oceans Institute that is bringing awareness to and fighting for environmental justice through intersectional means and diverse intergenerational knowledge-sharing. She is also the Director of Logistics for This is Zero Hour NYC, where she has led organizing initiatives for different climate strikes and rallies in NYC. Sanaalee Troupe’s work primarily focuses on critical race theory, abolishing the oppressive systems affecting people of color, and environmental justice.

Tessa Charlesworth

Social Psychologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at Harvard University

Dr. Tessa Charlesworth is a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University and a social psychologist studying how our thoughts and feelings about how social groups are formed and changed over the course of history and individual development. She answers these questions by drawing on a diverse set of methods from psychology, sociology, computer science, economics, and more. Hailing from Victoria, BC, Canada, Tessa completed her B.A. in Psychology at Columbia University in New York City, and her PhD in Psychology from Harvard University under the mentorship of Professor Mahzarin R. Banaji.