Meet our amazing speakers

A-Z Time Bio Topic
Aliya Dossa Aliya Dossa 10:25am Aliya Dossa, 17, is on a mission to make the world a little bit happier. After co-founding Youth 4 Tap, an environmental movement designed to reduce bottled water usage while promoting tap water, Aliya realized that success is not about skill or talent, but rather about having the right mindset. Her passions include but are not limited to photography, music, dance, sports and human rights. Aliya was named one of Canada’s top 25 under 25 environmentalists, and writes about youth activism and current events for Youthink Magazine. Aliya believes that a smile can change the world. No matter what you want to accomplish in life, nothing will slow you down more than a negative attitude. Aliya’s talk explains how adopting a positive mindset can help you achieve your dreams, while living sustainably. Aliya will talk about what planting trees and smiling have in common. She will show you how you can live in a sustainable world where the glass is always half full. Sustainability Begins with a Smile
Amanda ColwellAmanda Colwell 11:40am Amanda is an eleven-year old who rocks the house with her drums: “I started playing drums when I was 7 years old. It all started when my dad bought the Rockband Video game. I liked the drums! My dad told me if I beat the game on medium difficulty, I could get a real set of drums and take lessons. After a year, I started playing snare drum with a pipe band. Now I’m playing with the band, competing in solo competitions and in Scotland next summer, still rockin’ out on my kit; and I still love playing
Rockband. Check me out on YouTube amandaondrums.”		 Rocking out on the drums
Andrew HennessyAndrew Hennessy 11:30am Andrew is a curious 12-year-old finding ways tackle everyday challenges using technology: “My name is Andrew Hennessy. I just turned 13 and I love using technology to solve problems. I am fascinated with robotics and mechanical devices. My older brother and I argue over who gets to see the latest issue of Popular Science first. ‘Mythbusters’ and ‘How Stuff Works’ dominate the DVR recordings at home and I am always thinking of new projects to create out of Make Magazine. While I take school seriously, I also play soccer and roller hockey and run cross country. I love cooking with my Mom and playing golf with my Dad.” Turning “Lost” Into “Found”
Brook HarrisBrook Harris 3:15pm There is so much more to this teenager than a voice and her love for music. Her never-give-up attitude stems from facing the tragic loss of her mom at 7 years old. Carried by her talent and the dream to perform on the big stage, Brook turned to her music. At the same time recognizing a genuine care for community and how her music could benefit others. At 13 years old she put on her own fundraising concerts to support homeless and at-risk youth. Brook strongly believes that music possesses the power to impact and move people to do great things. Singing for a brighter future
Cameron HeroldCameron Herold 1:45pm A lifelong entrepreneur who started his first company at age twenty one, the author is the former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
He is also the author of the business book Double Double.
He has three times been the highest rated speaker at MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program. And he currently coaches 10 CEOs from around the world.		 As kids, we dream of doing things. But for some reason, when we become adults, we forget about these dreams and join the mainstream.
Imagine if kids actually learned how to make their dreams come true. Imagine if we taught kids how to be entrepreneurs.
Many kids have entrepreneurial traits. They’re the ones who were selling stuff to the other kids in back in grade school. Unfortunately our education system, and our society as a whole, doesn’t encourage kids to be entrepreneurs. And we’re missing out on huge opportunities as a result.
The world needs entrepreneurs. They are the ones who dream things up, then set out to do them. If more kids were told that they could make their dreams happen, and more of them turned into entrepreneurs, there wouldn’t be a single problem in this world that we wouldn’t know how to solve.		 Raising Entrepreneurial Kids
Dale StephensDale Stephens 3:08pm At 19, Dale Stephens leads UnCollege, the global social movement changing the notion that college is the only path to success. In May 2011, Dale was selected out of hundreds individuals around the world as a Thiel Fellow. The Thiel Fellowship recognizes the top global changemakers under the age of twenty. He is a sought-after education expert appearing on major news networks including CNN, ABC, NPR, CBS, and Fox. Stephens’ first book, Hacking Your Education: Tune in, Opt out, Start up, will be published by Perigee/Penguin in early 2013. I never went to prom. I missed out on middle school drama. While my peers sat in class, I found mentors, built businesses, worked in Silicon Valley, constructed a library, and lived in France. I created my education from the world around me. Hacking my education prepared me with the 21st century skills — initiative, passion, hustle, and motivation — to thrive in our modern global economy. From Snow Men to Social Movements
David KrismerDavid Krismer 10:15am David Krismer, at 13 years old, is a prize-winning filmmaker, an accomplished pianist, and a lover of new technology. Living in Comox, Vancouver Island, David’s school day starts at home when he logs on to a virtual world where he solves problems along with teams of other kids from around the world. On most days, his school day is bookended with a workout in the morning and a hockey game or swimming in the afternoon. For fun he teaches robotics at a local after-school program. Our education system was designed to train kids to work in factories, doing repetitive tasks, even though that economy has long since been eclipsed by a new world of rapidly changing technology, where work is often done by teams of specialists momentarily collaborating on a project basis. David Krismer tells his story of engaging in 21st Century Education, where technology facilitates creative learning in a mostly self-directed virtual world. The goal of this education is not conformity and a common development of broad-based skills, but rather building an individual’s strengths in preparation for global economic and democratic citizenship. 21st Century Education
Derek LinDerek Lin 2:45pm Derek is an optimist who tries to make the most of every moment: “My name is Derek, and I am 12 years old. I live in Vancouver with my sister, my mother, my father, and my dog. In my 12 years of living, I have gone over many obstacles. But almost a year ago, I pretty much went over Mount Everest while the other obstacles in my life were hills. With the help of doctors, nurses, my family, my teacher, and my classmates, I was able to slowly conquer the obstacle and continue with life.” In this talk, I will be speaking about many different things such as thoughts that I had during, before, and after treatment, things that happen at hospitals, cool/interesting incidents that occurred, and how it feels mentally and physically to live with a serious illness. A frightening reality
Francis ArevaloFrancis Arevalo 10:00am Francis Arevalo is a spoken word poet, who was the inaugural 2009 Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam Champion, and most recently a 2011 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Top 12 Finalist. He and an amazing group of friends have evolved together, combining all artistic talents and skills, to create the “Speak!” Talent Showcase and “A Night with Friends.” He hopes everyone to comes along for the ride. Speak! (Poetry from the heart)
Haile ThomasHaile Thomas 2:05pm Haile is a young chef who loves to share her passion for cooking with other kids: “My name is Haile Thomas, I am 10 years old. I enjoy riding my bike, swimming, tennis and yoga. I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen with different foods and spices. I began helping in the kitchen when I was five years old, and now I get to share everything I learn at home and from others with kids everywhere through my online cooking show, Kids Can Cook. I am a proud Youth Advisory Board member with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and I’m super excited about my Healthy Girl Adventures Club, which I created and just launched online. When I am not cooking and engaged in physical activities, I enjoy reading, writing short stories and playing dolls with my little sister, Nia.” A Gourmet Chef in Every Child
James SunJames Sun 11:17am James Sun is a passionate young entrepreneur who loves to speak and build strategic plans to grow businesses and organizations. Going into Grade 11, James hopes to bring his custom apparel business, DigitizedTees, to six figures next year and realize two national initiatives with OneProsper International and Junior Achievement of Canada. Being a C student until Grade 7, James has transformed through adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. He loves to share his stories to inspire others to unlock their potentials. He truly believes that the only way to enrich oneself is to enrich others. James will speak about the three drivers of entrepreneurial minds. Through his stories of transforming from a C student to a business owner opening up franchises in BC and Nova Scotia after his start-up three month ago and a leader of two national initiatives with two national charities, youths will gain a better understanding of how to adopt the same entrepreneurial mindset that James adopted to unlock their own potential. James will not only talk about the three drivers of entrepreneurial mindset, but will also convince youths that they are best suited to adopt it. Using the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Unlock Youth Potential
Jeremy DaborJeremy Dabor 11:10am Jeremy Dabor is a first-year undergraduate student at McGill University. His education, however, goes far beyond the classroom. After graduating high school from the Ontario Science Centre Science School in September of 2010, Jeremy participated in a wide range of research projects in the fields of medical biophysics, molecular genetics, infectious disease, medical education, speech-language pathology, and pharmacology. Through his research experience, Jeremy believes he has gained a unique skillset that has enlightened him about the advantage of conducting research at an early stage in education. As the acting Director of the International Student Editorial Board at the CYSJ, Jeremy hopes to bridge the gap between conventional (textbook) science and its applications in research. Why is the sky blue? Why does water have no colour, smell or taste? When Jeremy was a kid the world was a never ending road of discovery. Each turn revealed something new, something to explore, something to question and wonder about. As Jeremy grew, he found that many of these connections between real-life phenomenon and scientific theory could be arrived at through the research following the scientific method. In Jeremy’s experience, he had the unique opportunity of perusing research without first having a strong understanding of the all the theory behind that research. Jeremy refers to his experience as “backwards learning” given real life experience in science (through research) normally comes after extensive learning of theory associated with it. He believes backwards learning is a concept promoted by the Canadian Young Scientist Journal and not only positively impacts memory functions, but also promotes self-directed learning. Backwards Learning
Kishal SholzKishal Scholz 1:58pm Kishal is a ten-year-old girl with a passion for creative writing: “I like to ride my bike up and down hills, I love to swing on monkey bars, but the two things I truly adore the most are writing and reading. When I grow up I want to be a novelist, and also make newspapers and magazines, and maybe write scripts for movies too. When I was very little I made picture books. Then I started adding a few words to my stories. Now I have written many books. I’m constantly writing out all of my ideas!” Write Now
Sarah JamiesonSarah Jamieson 10:35am Sarah is a freelance do-gooder of all things bucket list and philanthropically inclined: (a) Coach, (a) Compassion Warrior, (a) Superhero Humanitarian, (an) Ultarunner, and (an) Advocate for Play. Sarah is a social crusader with a ten year passion project to raise $1 million dollars before the age of 35. Harnessing the power behind the sports philanthropy movement, her RUN4ACAUSE goal is simple: to showcase the direct impact WE can make by empowering our youth to transform their world by mobilizing them to engage in cultural exchange, gain a global perspective, and create and lead social change through the art of SUPERHERO sport and play. The modern day superhero surge is upon us, a call for a ‘re-invention’ into a new era of global and ethnic identity of social crusaders. There is a superhero in all of us; one who keeps us grounded, gives us strength, makes us noble and unlocks the desire to make a difference. Superheroes continue to capture our imagination in mainstream society and are imbued with superhuman powers that challenge the laws of space and time offering us a glimpse into our hidden potential towards ‘saving the world.’ We are the SuperHuman-itarians.” The Re-Invention of the Modern Day Superhero – The Superhuman-itarian”
Victoria WeeVictoria Wee 2:12pm Victoria is the national youth director and funding assistant director at We Canada, a nation-wide initiative for sustainability that brings diverse Canadian voices to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. She is a member of the Canadian Environmental Network’s Youth Steering Committee and the Jane Goodall National Youth Leadership Council. In the summer of 2011, Victoria embarked on an Arctic expedition to expand her knowledge of the world, its wonders, and the environmental, societal and cultural challenges we face. She founded and directs an online newsletter, and coordinates an international student declaration for submission to the Arctic Council. Crossing the Circle
Zoya JiwaZoya Jiwa 2:58pm At age 17, Zoya is a compassionate individual who is determined to make a positive difference in the world around her. She is dedicated to leadership-oriented roles focused on humanitarian efforts locally and globally. Zoya is enthusiastic about topics such as body image, homelessness issues and environmental sustainability. Her accomplishments include running as a torchbearer in Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympic games and attending the Minerva Foundation’s ‘Learning to Lead BC’ Conference. In addition, Zoya contributes hundreds of hours of volunteer service to her school, community and the Ismaili Muslim community. People aren’t born knowing what beauty is. Instead, the images projected to us as we grow up create our definition of ‘beauty.’ Now more than ever, young girls and boys are being exposed to our society’s image of ‘perfect’ beauty. In most cases, however, this image is unattainable. The media certainly plays a role in the self-esteem and body image issues relating to young people, but we allow ourselves to be affected by what we see in a magazine or on TV. So, what is true beauty? It comes from within; be prepared to feel empowered by Zoya’s presentation! Simply You