Speakers
Vivienne Harr
Big Things Have Small Beginnings: how little people can make a big difference
Vivienne Harr is a 12-year-old from Fairfax who believes anyone can make a positive change in the world. She ran a lemonade stand for 365 consecutive days to raise money to end child slavery, and with the help of her parents and Twitter, her cause went global. She is now the Chief Inspiration Officer at STAND, which aims to reframe philanthropy by helping kids (and grownups) around the world take a stand with the people they love, for the causes they care about.
Baxter Mercy
Live for the Adventure
Baxter Mercy is a high school student at Marin Academy who lives in Mill Valley with his 14-year-old brother, 12-year-old sister, and parents. As a fan of many fast-paced outdoor sports—skiing, lacrosse, mountain biking, climbing Grand Teton—he's no stranger to danger, and has learned that facing and overcoming your fear is one of the best ways to grow as a person.
Belen Fonseca
How I Became my Own Cultural Role Model
Belen Fonseca is a junior at Sonoma Valley High School who doesn’t see a lot of positive role models for smart, talented and ambitious Latina girls today. Fortunately, she’s a proud feminist who’s not afraid to chart her own course. She lives with her parents and two older siblings, plans to become a doctor, and never takes no for an answer.
Payton Pelaez
Stay True to Yourself — Have Your Cake, and Burn it too
Payton’s passion for cooking inspired him to launch a dessert business at age 9, and taught him unexpected lessons about how food impacts our lives, our health, our animals and our community. He’s now a fervent vegetarian, and is creating an edible backyard garden to provide fresh produce to homeless children through a mason jar salad school lunch program. He also enjoys sharing his passion by leading and supporting cooking classes for kids.
Martha Fishburne
Let's Start a Label-Free School
Martha Fishburne is a 7th grade student at Ross School. She has found that it's a lot easier to make friends when you look past people’s labels and actually get to know them. When she was in first grade, she wanted to be a fairy princess, but now she finds public speaking and writing to be more her style.
Christine Heilmann
Connection Needs Conversation
Christine Heilmann is a Marin County native who can’t sit still. She found her passion in sports and teaching, studying Physical Education at UC Berkeley, competing in Ironman competitions around the world, and inspiring kids every day to achieve their best. She’s concluded that if you’re doing what you love, the worst-case scenario is that you’ll enjoy the journey.