Theme: Future Shaping

Hear from dynamic and disruptive thought-pioneers who are SHAPING THE FUTURE.

Great ideas come from everywhere. From the far reaches of the galaxy, to the center of the earth, and even under a Mavericks big wave, great ideas and one-of-a-kind experiences are waiting for you at TEDxManhattanBeach. Ignite your curiosity, imagination and creativity and have an amazing day!

Limited number of tickets are available! Get all the details on our website.

Mira Costa High School
1401 Artesia Blvd
Manhattan Beach, California, 90266
United States

Anthony Padnos

Perspective Seeker

Anthony Padnos strongly believes in the power of open dialogue and free expression. Through Model United Nations (MUN), he has developed critical thinking, global affairs and international relations skills. Anthony also leads the MBMSl MUN Club, mentoring students in debate and preparing them for high school programs. Alongside MUN, Anthony is passionate about art and uses it to make a positive impact. His social media posts on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, have gained “AnthArt” a significant following with over 200,000 followers. AnthArt creates shareable content and instructional videos to inspire others. Anthony envisions a world where communication transcends ideological divides and misinformation. He hopes that by promoting free expression through art and fostering open dialogue through MUN, people can reconnect and learn to truly listen to one another.

Aryn Shelander

Foot Archer

Aryn Shelander is a multi-talented artist, trained in the intricate art of Mongolian Contortion and the visionary behind aerial archery. She has graced the stages of renowned talent shows including America’s Got Talent and France’s Got Talent, and captivated audiences across North America, Europe, and the Mediterranean. Raised in San Francisco, Aryn’s upbringing revolved around gymnastics, dance, art, and chess. Her passion for creative expression led her to forge a unique path at UC Berkeley, where she crafted her own degree known as Cognitive Design. Balancing her days designing mobile apps and her evenings training and performing in the circus, Aryn dedicated seven years to honing her craft. She ventured to Mongolia with her contortion coach and this transformative trip equipped her with profound skills and propelled her towards becoming a full-time circus artist, driven by an insatiable thirst to explore the human experience through the captivating medium of Mongolian Contortion.

Cassie Holmes

Happiness Professor

Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, an award-winning teacher and researcher on time and happiness, and bestselling author of Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. Happier Hour is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller, and was selected as an Amazon Best Book of 2022, a “must read” by Forbes, the Washington Post and the Financial Times, and was featured in such outlets as the Today Show, CBS Mornings, CNN, NPR’s Hidden Brain, and GOOP with Gwyneth Paltrow. Holmes’s academic research has been widely published in leading academic journals. The course she developed and now teaches, Applying the Science of Happiness to Life Design, is among UCLA’s most popular for MBAs and Executive MBAs alike. Prior to joining UCLA, Cassie was a tenured faculty member at Wharton, and she has a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Columbia.

Fiona Cousins

Sustainability Visionary

Fiona Cousins holds multiple prestigious roles at Arup, including Americas Region Chair, Arup Group Board member, and Arup Fellow—a distinguished title granted to exceptional leaders who demonstrate remarkable vision and initiative in their work. She is a mechanical engineer by profession and has worked on a wide range of award-winning projects across the globe, including the U.S. Embassy in London and Fulton Street Station in New York. Under Fiona’s leadership, Arup’s Americas Region is dedicated to realizing her shared vision of a sustainable and inclusive built environment by providing expert guidance to clients. Fiona has been recognized as one of the influential leaders in the commercial real estate industry, featured in the esteemed 2023 Commercial Observer Power 100 List, and acknowledged as one of the notable leaders in sustainability by 2023 Crain’s New York Business. She is a Fellow of the CIBSE and a LEED Fellow.

Francine McCarthy

Micropaleontologist

Francine McCarthy is a renowned palynologist and Professor of Earth Sciences and is appointed to the Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre at Brock University, Ontario. Her research focuses on using microfossils to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions (climate, hydrology, water quality, anthropogenic impact, food-web interactions), particularly in meromictic lakes which are excellent archives of continental environments. Her work has primarily concentrated on lakes in eastern North America, She is leading the effort to investigate the potential of the varved sequence in the hydrologically unique Crawford Lake, as a Golden Spike, to define the Anthropocene. This venture has led McCarthy to explore the broader aspects of this topic, and to engage with artists and researchers in the social sciences and humanities as well as community members, including Indigenous leaders, in addition to her fellow natural and physical scientists.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Spoken Word Artist

Malcolm-Jamal Warner is recognized in the entertainment industry for his seasoned acting talents and his accomplishments in music, directing and producing. As an Emmy-nominated television actor, awarded stage actor and Grammy award-winning poet, Warner has established himself as one of the most accomplished working talents in the industry today. The acclaimed and long-running classic series “The Cosby Show” propelled him to national prominence. Currently, Warner captivates audiences on the popular medical drama “The Resident,” airing its sixth season on FOX. Aside from his acting and directing pursuits, Warner is also a talented poet and bass player. In 2015, he introduced his third album, creating a musical evolution merging spoken word and soul music on one cohesive album. His fourth album, “Hiding In The Plain View,” was released in September 2022, earning him a second Grammy nomination in the inaugural category of “Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.”

Mary Gallagher

A Very Funny Lady

Mary Gallagher, a Girl Next Door*, made her national late night television debut in 2018 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She recently recorded her first live comedy album, filmed a Dry Bar comedy special and appeared in seasons one and two of Netflix’s Prank Encounters as well as season two of Amazon Prime’s Laugh After Dark. Mary has also guest-starred on popular TV shows like Friends, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, The West Wing, and Fameless on TruTV. Her film roles include starring in Flightplan with Jodie Foster and How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon. She has appeared at various comedy festivals such as New York and Burbank, Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots, Laughfest, and Big Pines. Mary is also an accomplished host, having co-hosted Kelsey Grammer’s World Cup Comedy, Game Show Network’s Faux Pause, and E! Entertainment’s The Short Show. Originally from Wisconsin, Mary graduated from Chicago’s Second City and now lives in Los Angeles.

Michael Agyin

Deaf and disability rights advocate

Son of Ghanian immigrants, Michael Agyin raised in Compton, CA. It wasn't until college that Michael understood he was not alone in the way he experienced life and that there was a word to describe people like himself: Deaf. He quickly became empowered by learning American Sign Language (ASL) during undergrad, he began to see the need for deaf advocacy on campus as well as the larger community. Michael became determined to break the barrier that exists between the Hearing and Deaf worlds. This determination earned him the CSUN National Center on Deafness Outstanding Humanitarian Award. After College, Michael continued working on his advocacy, most recently spending the last five years as a Behavior Analyst for Deaf Youth with Autism. He has also served as a governor appointee to the State Independent Living Council, a volunteer for the California Youth Leadership Forum for Youth with Disabilities and has served as president of Hear Zero (an African-american deaf advocacy group).

Nicole Alexander

Doctor Healer

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Spencer, M.D., M.A., is a board-certified Family Medicine physician who strongly advocates for holistic and comprehensive healthcare for her patients. She firmly believes in the interconnectedness of the mind and body. Dr. Nicole supports her patients in achieving optimal well-being through ample rest and recovery, maintaining work-life balance, fostering healthy relationships, embracing nutritious food choices, and leading an active lifestyle. Hailing from San Diego, Dr. Nicole completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA before obtaining her medical degree from Howard University. She furthered her training by completing a residency at UCLA and earning a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. Additionally, she pursued a fellowship in Integrative Medicine under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Nicole has also received specialized training in urgent care, adolescent health, women’s health, and weight loss medicine.

Sachi Cunningham

Mavericks Photographer

Sachi Cunningham (she/her) is a filmmaker, water surf photographer, and Associate Professor of Multimedia Journalism at San Francisco State University. Her award-winning work has taken her from the deserts of Iraq to the shores of the Amazon. She was recruited to start the first video team at the LA Times, where she covered news around the globe, from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to chasing big wave swells down the coast of California. She has been featured in PBS Frontline, the New York Times and on the Today show. She has also been included in top surf magazines – on Surfline’s list of top filmmakers and on Surfer Magazine’s list of top photographers. She has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master of Journalism from UC Berkeley. A mental health advocate, cancer survivor and mother, Cunningham lives with her husband and 10-year-old daughter in San Francisco, CA.

Viacheslav Zgonnik

Scientist With a Big Climate Solution

For the past twelve years, Viacheslav has dedicated his research to exploring the vast potential of natural hydrogen. He has authored a comprehensive review and groundbreaking publications on this subject, offering a unique perspective on the widespread presence of hydrogen on Earth and its untapped possibilities. Through his startup, Natural Hydrogen Energy, LLC, Viacheslav pioneers the exploration for geologically occurring hydrogen. His success hinges on innovation, imagination, and an entirely new exploratory paradigm. Adapting flexibly to a non-standard, resource-constrained environment, he has achieved a significant milestone by drilling the first deep well in the United States in search of natural hydrogen. His primary scientific focus is on deep-seated hydrogen of primordial origin. Viacheslav firmly believes that the discoveries arising from this field will revolutionize our understanding of the planet’s past and future, providing us with a sustainable source of clean energy.

Winston Iskandar

AI Musician

Winston is incredibly passionate about the fusion of technology and music composition. He is a published author who currently serves as a Music Technology Research Intern in the Collaborative Music Lab at MIT. He also interns at a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Research Lab at Dartmouth College, where he plays a pivotal role in developing a tailored chatbot learning tool for students interested in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Winston is an accomplished and award-winning concert pianist who has traveled internationally to perform at concerts. As the Co-Founder/ President of Mathisi-fy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Winston is dedicated to inspiring and empowering underrepresented students worldwide by providing them with the necessary education and resources to pursue careers in technology. Their innovative curriculum has been implemented in over 30 schools globally and has received support from influential sponsors like Google and NVIDIA.