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).

St. John's School
2215 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada

Closing

Opening

Part 2

Andrew French

An 18 year old who has successfully negotiated wholesale deals with major multinational corporations, Andrew French has worked his way from after school shifts at minimum wage jobs to Vancouver boardrooms through Quarry, his innovative clothing start-up. Aiming to empower youth by providing them mentorship, connections, and capital, French has worked with young professionals to help reshape their perception of professional success. From patience to profit, his unique professional outlook has taken French to a diverse range of positions in entrepreneurship, politics, social media, film and writing.

Andrew French

An 18 year old who has successfully negotiated wholesale deals with major multinational corporations, Andrew French has worked his way from after school shifts at minimum wage jobs to Vancouver boardrooms through Quarry, his innovative clothing start-up. Aiming to empower youth by providing them mentorship, connections, and capital, French has worked with young professionals to help reshape their perception of professional success. From patience to profit, his unique professional outlook has taken French to a diverse range of positions in entrepreneurship, politics, social media, film and writing.

Andrew French

An 18 year old who has successfully negotiated wholesale deals with major multinational corporations, Andrew French has worked his way from after school shifts at minimum wage jobs to Vancouver boardrooms through Quarry, his innovative clothing start-up. Aiming to empower youth by providing them mentorship, connections, and capital, French has worked with young professionals to help reshape their perception of professional success. From patience to profit, his unique professional outlook has taken French to a diverse range of positions in entrepreneurship, politics, social media, film and writing.

Drew Vodrey

Drew Vodrey is an energetic teacher teaching at St. John's School in Vancouver looking to help the adolescent transition into young adulthood with a focus on academic rigor, open-mindedness, and technology. He believes that middle and high school experiences are difficult enough, and that a teacher should be both a model and a leader for students to emulate and trust. He is the Vice-President of the BC Debate and Speech Association.

Duncan McCue

Duncan McCue has been a reporter for CBC News in Vancouver for over 15 years. His news and current affairs pieces are featured on CBC's flagship news show, The National. He's also an adjunct professor at the UBC School of Journalism, and has taught journalism to Indigenous students at First Nations University and Capilano College. McCue was awarded a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 2011, where he created an online guide for journalists called Reporting in Indigenous Communities. Before becoming a journalist, Duncan studied English at the University of King's College, then Law at UBC. He was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1998. Duncan is Anishinaabe, a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in southern Ontario. He lives with his wife and two children in Vancouver.

Jenna Reed-Cote

Jenna emerged from her own personal health challenges to become a leader, role model and mentor for people facing complex health issues. Born with Spina Bifida, a condition that among other things left her partly paralyzed, Jenna has beaten the odds time and time again - forging her own paths to personal and professional success and earning a second-degree black belt in Karate along the way. Determined to help others see how far their inner strength can take them in times of adversity, Jenna founded Phoenix Attitude, a mobile-friendly website that helps its users build the confidence they need in mind, body and spirit to navigate their medical adventures. In her “spare” time, Jenna also volunteers at BC Children’s Hospital and Canuck Place, serves on the Board of the Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of BC and has been nominated for the 2015 YWCA (Metro Vancouver) Young Woman of Distinction award.

John Wang

John is an entrepreneur who has traveled to over 40 countries across almost every region from Africa to the North Pole, and starting businesses and adventures along the way. Growing up in a two-culture family with an English professor father and a celebrity mom who published books on child education, John realized early on the power and importance of bridging communication gaps. An academic overachiever, he finished high school early and began auditing classes at UBC Law school by his grade 12th year. In high school, he started charity fundraisers for earthquake victims, raising over several thousand dollars. As a result he was presented with awards by the Richmond mayor, given interviews with various news sources, and elected as “Leaders of Tomorrow” by Richmond News. Working as a market research interpreter for major corporations and organizations like Volvo, MasterCard, HSBC, and UNICEF, he gained insight to the communication and cultural gaps that are created between societies.

Roan Reimer

Roan is a young person from East Van who enjoys gardening, playing roller derby, educating on transgender issues, organizing arts festivals, slam poetry, fishkeeping, and in general doing more than they really have time for. They are a non-binary transgender person, identifying outside the gender binary and using they/them/their/themself pronouns. Roan was active in a campaign in the spring of 2014 to pass a revision of the decade-old policy securing the safety of students and staff of the LGBTQ+ community within Vancouver public schools. They are on the committee that wrote the revision, and were the first speaker at the public consultation meetings regarding the policy. Since then they've spoken on panels and at conferences both about the policy and the experience of being trans.

Ryan Cho

Ryan Cho teaches at Terry Fox Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, BC. He developed classroom Climate Justice Curriculum Resources for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, exploring how climate change issues connect to the issues of inequity and fairness in British Columbia. He spent years as a Curriculum Coordinator for the Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership where he designed, coordinated and facilitated curriculum and workshop sessions for a three-week residential social justice and environmental sustainability-themed youth leadership program. Ryan currently sits on the anti-poverty committee with the BCTF Committee for Action on Social Justice. As a writer, Ryan received a Golden Leaf Award from the Canadian Educational Press Association for his piece Privatization and privilege comes at a price, in which he discussed how poverty in BC is exacerbated by the privatization of public education.