In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Avenues New York
259 10th Ave
New York, New York, 10001
United States

Alex Farman-Farmaian

Student + Diplomat

Alex is a tenth grader at Avenues: The World School in New York City. He takes interest in foreign policy, constitutional law and contemporary philosophy. His current project is one investigating China’s role in the development of Kenyan infrastructure with a group of peers. Alex is excited to learn more about global systems of democracy throughout high school.

Caia Scarola

Student + Teenager

Caia Scarola, is a freshman in the Avenues high school class of 2025. She's fascinated by the effects of technology on social systems. She pursues many different areas of study, including music, law, psychology, and the sciences. She lives with her parents and older sister in New York City.

Catherine Mellett Felix

Student + Entrepreneur

Catherine "Marie" Mellett Felix is an immigrant from the south of Mexico and a feminist at heart. Her work in activism centers around creating effective and spreadable ways of improving society’s values towards a more gender-equal environment. Coming from Latin america, she has viewed closely the underlying rules that are created to keep women oppressed, some obvious and easier to confront, and some unspoken ways in which society has always functioned and will continue to if there isn’t action from everyone. She will continue her work in calling her generation to act on this and many other current world issues within the foreseeable future.

David Allyn

History teacher at Avenues: New York

David Allyn’s book I Can’t Believe I Just Did That explores the shame-based stories we tell ourselves that interfere with our ability to be happy and to communicate effectively. His book Make Love, Not War chronicles the rise of sexual liberation movements in the 1960s and the stories people told as they opposed those movements. His essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. He has taught at Princeton University, Marymount College Manhattan, and Avenues: The World School in New York City. He holds a BA in Literature & Society from Brown University and earned his PhD in History from Harvard University.

Ingrid Berg

Student + Anthropologist

Ingrid is a high school student who’s interests include paleoanthropology, philosophy, and mathematics. She will be studying at a school in the UK, where she won a prestigious scholarship, for the remainder of her high school years and hopes to attend university in the UK as well. Ingrid has had the opportunity to live in various different places in her life, including Maui, New York, and England, providing her with a mature and diverse perspective of human society.

Jai Jhamb

Student + Comedian

Jai is an Indian-American student, at the time attending Avenues: New York as a senior. Jai strives for only the best, reflected in his physic, habits, and willingness to engage in self-exploration through comedy. Discovering his passion for comedy during high school, Jai has avidly pushed for excellence in his own pursuit of routines, comedy, and identity.

Jonathan Waldorf

Student + Physicist

Jonathan Waldorf, at the time of this video, is a junior in high school at Avenues: The World School in New York City. He has always been interested in math and science, especially physics, and how we can use technology to solve human challenges. He frequently spends time in rural Mississippi, where he has family, and enjoys traveling to other countries. He hopes to study quantum science and engineering in college.

Joseph Weissberg

Student + Behavioral Economist

Joseph Weissberg, at the time of recording, is a senior at Avenues: New York. Joseph is deeply interested in the psychology and behavior patterns within consumers and has centered many of his off campus experiences in discovering said patterns. An avid explorer of the world, Joseph is always willing to learn and create a better space for everyone.

Justin Li

Student + Older Cousin

Justin Li is a Senior at Avenues: The World School, in New York City. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY he has ambitions of becoming a business owner on the S&P 500 as well as a real estate agent. In his free time, Justin loves to listen to music, binge some shows, and gaming. Beyond leisure, Justin enjoys taking opportunities and learning from others. Through his life experiences as a first-generation student, he provides about the joy and struggle of being brought up in an immigrant household. His TEDx Talk is about comparative identity, and more specifically, the ways in which our social identity is constantly influenced.

Kai Breskin

Student + Avid Thinker

Kai Breskin is a value-driven, intellectually curious, and literarily well-read senior at Avenues: New York. He spends his time debating philosophy and religion with friends, as well as exploring cultural practices that go far beyond the scope of high school. Kai has felt the weight and importance of religion throughout his life, being born into a Jewish household and subject to Jewish practices since young. Though much religious and personal turmoil, Kai converted to Catholism, the religion which he still belong to today.

Maeve Baksa

Student + Designer

Maeve Baksa is a 12th grade student from Avenues: the World School in New York who bases her studies in mechanical and electrical engineering. Maeve spends her time outside of school working on a wide variety of engineering and interdisciplinary projects concerned around managing e-waste and increasing overall sustainability throughout her life. Maeve was introduced to 3D printing on a trip to Shenzhen in 2019 where she and a team of Avenues students worked together to create a machine that can print at the scale of an entire room. The beginning of these interests lead her to join the Project: Nibbler team as a research and development fellow, for whom she is giving this talk.

Von Ryan Abrantes

Science Teacher at Avenues: New York

Von Ryan Abrantes is a Science teacher from Valenzuela City, Philippines. He got his degree in Secondary Education, major in Physics, minor in Mathematics from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He has worked in different schools in the Philippines including the University of the Philippines Integrated School. In September 2021, he joined the Upper Division of Avenues: The World School, New York campus as a high school Science teacher, co-coach for the robotics team, and chemical hygiene officer. Von has a wide array of interests which includes music (he plays the piano and the violin), history, literature, comics, and art. He grew up in a culturally rich family practicing the Catholic faith whilst being faithful to their Chinese and traditional Filipino animist beliefs. Von speaks the Bulacan dialect of Tagalog and English. However, his parents, both hailing from the province of Leyte, speak the Visayan language as well.