Theme: ProtecTED

This event takes place on our Saddle River Day School campus in Saddle River, NJ. We are an independent, PreK3-12th grade school and this is our 9th year running this event for grades 8-12 and faculty. Parents of the speakers are also welcome to attend.
Students started the TEDx club 10 years ago and have continued to make it a student-led and student-produced event. From the tech and video teams to the backstage crew to vetting the talks and of course, writing the talks, everything is done by the students and primarily FOR the students.

Saddle River Day School
147 Chestnut Ridge Rd.
Saddle River, New Jersey, 07458-2803
United States

Aiden Schwartz

Keynote Speaker

Aiden is a student at American University and an alum of Saddle River Day School.

Alex Hollis

Student Speaker

Alex Hollis is a junior in his eleventh year at SRDS. He has been in many of the SRDS theatrical productions and enjoyed the TED presentations, but this is his first time doing a talk. He is excited to talk about the United States and its place in the world.

Annabelle Harrison

Student Speaker

Annabelle Harrison is currently a sophomore attending her second year at SRDS. She enjoys playing basketball and soccer, as well as drums, piano, and guitar. Annabelle is excited to be giving her first TED talk about how music interacts with the autistic brain.

Cece Rozzi

Student Speaker

Cecelia Rozzi is a seventh grader at SRDS. She is an aspiring musician and hopes to change the world starting this year. She started TED this year, but he had always enjoyed watching TED events on tv. She’ll be talking about how bullying is not just harassing someone for their lunch money, but how it also has psychology behind it. She hopes to provide an entertaining and informative talk.

Jane Ma

Student

Jane Ma is a high school sophomore who loves art and travel. A lifelong procrastinator, she will talk to you today about why we procrastinate and how we can break the habit. This is her first year as a TED speaker.

Jessi Sapperstein

Student Speaker

Jessi Sapperstein is a tenth-grader attending SRDS and this is her first year with TEDx in which she will discuss the key to balancing hedonism and ascetic thinking. She hopes a listener will employ something they learned from the talk in their everyday life so as to influence others to do as well.

Jonathan Fromm

Student Speaker

Jonathan Fromm is currently a sophomore at Saddle River Day School. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, debating competitively, and hanging out with friends, but he is now extremely excited to participate in his first TedxTalk. Today he will be discussing a topic that directly affects him each and every day, the difficulties in the life of a Jewish American teenager.

Josephine Brooks

Student

Josie Brooks is a fourteen-year-old eighth grader who loves to learn, dance, and draw. She is an especially passionate oboe player and will speak to you today about the connections between math and music, with a specific focus on how the study of one is correlated with excellence in the other.

Mark Zhang

Student Speaker

Mark Zhang is a junior and also a new student this year at SRDS. He enjoys doing many things like eating, sleeping and simply, living. He tries to make his life as humorous and positive as possible, so today he wants to talk to us about one simple thing: why do we laugh when we experience positive emotions.

Mason Lusk

Student

Mason Lusk is a thirteen-year-old eighth grader who loves school, public speaking, and the great outdoors. An avid reader, skier, and harpist, nothing compares to Mason's passion for sailing and surfing. His love of aquatic activities has inspired him to write a talk about the environmental importance of the Great Barrier Reef and the dangers associated with its breakdown.

Maya Kalendar

Student

Maya Kalender is a fifteen-year-old nature fanatic who loves hiking, skiing, and pretty much anything that takes place outdoors. Her love for planet Earth has impelled her to speak to you today about the connection between climate change and infectious disease.

Michael Pasenchuk

Student Speaker

Michael Pasenchuk is a junior and is currently in his sixth year at SRDS. He enjoys many things like playing video games, writing, skiing, tennis, and golf; but he loves nature in particular. His favorite animals being Dogs ( obvious one ), Sharks and Wolves. That is why for his first ever Tedx talk, he is eager to speak about how we take the wonders of nature for granted, until they are gone for good.

Teddy Basa

Student Speaker

Teddy Basa is a current junior at SRDS. This is Teddy’s first time doing a TEDx talk at SRDS, (ironic), and it is also his first year attending SRDS. He enjoys making art, designing, and playing volleyball. This year, he is discussing the relationship between the heavy topic of trauma and emotional intelligence. He is excited to talk about something that is commonly looked over and offer a perspective on it.