Marice Alcantara is a Filipino-Australian cancer researcher at the City of Hope with a doctorate degree in Immunology. She has lived in 3 countries and is passionate about inspiring the next generation of scientists!

Toni Ricci is an entrepreneur, dance instructor and choreographer. She founded The Elite Dance Center in Woodland Hills CA and has educated hundreds of students, has an award winning competitive dance team, a pre-professional ballet program and more. She continues to teach and inspire young dancers and encourage them to always go for their dreams.

Tej Patel is a senior at North Hollywood High School. Through his research work at the Cedars Sinai and Cleveland Clinic Neurosurgery Department, he and his group has been able to engineer tools that could assist hospitals with patient care. He looks forward to sharing his story and encouraging students to pursue research.

Michael Yoon is a junior fascinated by the inefficiencies that exist in his hobbies, his time management, and his academic lifestyle. After attempting to clinically "fix" all of these perceived imperfections, he discovers a way to block out all the noise and stay true to his goals. He's thrilled to share his discovery on the TEDx stage.

Prahi Shah is a 10th grader at North Hollywood High School with a passion for public speaking and writing. As a very observant person, she has noticed a major thing holding her friends, family, and even herself back is a fear of judgment and the unknown. She is eager to share her insights and views with everyone at the TEDxNHHS Youth event!

Donghee "Danny" Kim is an 11th grader at North Hollywood High School, who tries to immerse himself in his greatest passion, marine biology, as much as possible. Danny and his mother recently faced an extremely unusual circumstance: a potentially dangerous experience with sharks in Hawaii. He learned a valuable lesson about responding when confronted with fear of the unknown, and looks forward to connecting his main interest with a message for all others through TEDxNHHS.

Ixchel Brainin Godinez is a high school senior with ambitions of becoming a chiropractor. Ixchel passionate about leadership, community, philosophy, and the role love can play in all these fields. She is overjoyed to be sharing her story and insights with the world through TEDxNHHSYouth.

Valter Khondkarian is a senior at North Hollywood High School. Born in Armenia and raised in Russia, he possesses unlike standards and diverse perspectives, as well as experience working and interacting with a fundamentally different society. The TEDxNHHS event provides a great opportunity to share and discuss his view on the American system.