GEMFEST 2019

Keynote Speakers

Kamie Crawford

Victoria Garrick

Kamie Crawford is a Multi-Media Journalist, Television Host, Producer, Model, Entrepreneur and former Miss Teen USA with a love for all things beauty, fashion and pop culture. Working as a model in a fashion world that deems anything over a size 4 as “plus sized” has sparked Kamie’s desire to spread body positive messages to men and women across the globe. Kamie pitches, produces and guest hosts segments on Pix 11 News in Manhattan, ABC News 8’s CT Style and served as the host for People Magazine’s daily show, “People Style Tracks.” Kamie helped create and starred in her own hit lifestyle docuseries, ‘F in Fabulous’ on BET, and currently works as a special guest co-host on MTV’s hit show, Catfish. After being crowned Maryland’s first Miss Kamie is a graduate of Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Studies and double concentration in Digital Media and Television Broadcasting, proving that beauty and brains should always go hand in hand!

USC volleyball player and mental health advocate Victoria Garrick will speak about her experience with the pressures of being a high level female athlete. She plays the libero on her college team, which is a highly competitive Division 1 team. She is passionate about issues that face young women today including body image, anxiety and depression, and at GEMFest 2019, she will discuss how she has overcome these challenges in the past. She aims to destigmatize mental health issues and help all women support one another. Additionally, in the past, Victoria gave a TED Talk about women's empowerment with a concentration on mental health. Lastly, she is a broadcast and multimedia journalism major, and with a handful of other girls and at USC produces her own podcast “Skipping Practice.” She hopes to encourage all young girls to follow their dreams and pursue their passions in life despite what anybody else may think or say.

SOCIAL MEDIA PANEL

Taylor Hiskey

I have always been in the business of storytelling. I started my career doing just that with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from California Baptist University, but quickly discovered the possibilities within the ever-expanding world of Social and Digital Marketing. For the better part of 10 years, I have helped develop brand stories through social and digital media across multiple verticals, including tech and entertainment.

Kenzie Piper

Kenzie is a 21 year old influencer living in Los Angeles, CA. She started with her lifestyle YouTube channel and recently dove into the podcast world with her “I Love You So Much” podcast where she speaks to entrepreneurs, influencers, thought leaders and anyone who inspires to be better. Kenzie is passionate about people, lifestyle, wellness, health, style, self development, and teaching girls how to grow their confidence and follow their dreams. She has worked with brands such as Target, Sephora and Chevrolet.

Alexa Losey

Alexa Losey is an influencer, actress, and mental health advocate. She is best known for her work on Relationship Status (2016) and Jessica Darling's IT List (2016). Losey produces regular episodes of unscripted content on her hugely popular YouTube channel. She is also well-know for her corporate endorsement work with brands including Macy's, Starbucks and Covergirl. She is passionate about destigmatizing mental health disorders and teaching girls how to grow their confidence.

HEALTHY HABITS PANEL

Daisy Renteria

Personal Trainer

Daisy is a certified personal trainer and Head Coach at the Orangetheory Fitness of Corona Del Mar. She is certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) with a focus in functional whole body training, as well as an Orthopedic Exercise Specialist through American Council of Exercise (ACE) with a focus on myofascial release, and women specific training. She has received training from some of the elite in the industry such as Exercise Physiologist Fabio Comana, World Champion Rower, Josh Crosby, and Associate Professor in the Division of Kinesiology, Dr. Scott Cheatham. Forever a student in life and enjoying an active lifestyle, you can find her playing beach volleyball, road biking long distances, hiking big peaks, climbing, stand up paddle boarding, traveling, and exploring nature.

Sadie Radinsky

Teen Food Blogger

Sadie Radinsky is a 16 year old food blogger who runs the website and blog Goodies Against the Grain. She started eating gluten-free/Paleo when she was 9 years old and it changed her life. She went from being sick all the time, to having loads of energy and health! She started making and sharing her own recipes on her blog, and now she promotes healthy body image, self-care, and confidence.

Kelsey Rose

Aurora Kaye

Obstetrician/Gynecologist

Psychologist

Kelsey Rose is a member of Sage Hill School’s class of 2006; while at Sage Hill she was a three season varsity athlete for all four years. Kelsey attended Claremont McKenna College where she majored in Science and Management and played Varsity Soccer and participated in Varsity Track and Field for four years. In 2011 she started medical school at UCLA. She found a passion for women's health and decided to become an Obstetrician/Gynecologist. She graduated from medical school is 2015 and began her Ob/Gyn residency at UCLA. She will finish her training in Ob/Gyn in June 2019. She hopes to continue her career at an academic hospital, where she can not only see patients but also teach medical students and young doctors.

Aurora is 26 years old and currently in her third semester at USC's Master of Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Rossier School of Education. Before starting her graduate program, Aurora worked in publicity at a major label in the music industry. After realizing her innate passion for mental health and serving others, she decided to change her career path. Upon leaving the music industry, Aurora volunteered at Vistamar School in El Segundo for over a year, assisting the counselor with a Health & Wellness curriculum for the ninth grade students. She co-facilitated lessons about self-regulation, sexual health and consent, gender roles, social media, and more. Aurora is dedicated to supporting adolescents, individuals, and families and is motivated by a desire to foster resiliency and hope in those around her.

FIND YOUR DRIVE ~ Special 2 Hour Workshop

About Girls Driving for a Difference
Girls Driving for a Difference (“GDD”) is a non-profit organization founded to empower girls to become the leaders and change-makers of tomorrow through design thinking, a problem-solving tool that helps girls think outside the box and about ways they can help others and make an impact. From workshops to summer camps, GDD has collaborated with over 200 schools, organizations, and communities in 12 different countries and in 4 languages, reaching thousands of girls around the world. Geared toward girls ages 10-15, GDD workshops are 2 hours long, Fun, and filled with inspiration and color. In Find Your Drive, girls identify their strengths, discover their unique leadership style, and create their own mission statement for improving the world. During the summer of 2018, GDD hosted a week-long summer camp (Girl Possible) at Stanford University for 50 middle-school girls with the support of 12 high-school counselors.

Natalya Thakur
Co-Founder of Girls Driving for a Difference

Natalya is currently pursuing her MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and MPP at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is passionate about the intersection of financial inclusion, innovation, and women’s empowerment. Previously, she was at BlackRock where she worked in their ETF division and in their fintech start-up. She also ran the design thinking program at BlackRock, served on the firm's Blockchain Working Group, and was Co-Head of the San Francisco Crypto Forum. Natalya also serves as a design thinking consultant and is the operating chairman for the Women's Club of Silicon Valley. She earned a BA in International Relations from Stanford University.

Rachel H Chung
Co-Founder of Girls Driving for a Difference

Rachel is a design strategist, passionate about crafting memorable and empowering product experiences for growing startups and global corporations. In addition to Girls Driving for a Difference, she works at AngelList where she design products for venture capital and is an active advisor for Pair Eyewear, an online retailer of children’s prescription glasses. Previously, Rachel has started SAP New York’s in-house design consultancy where she advised multi-billion dollar companies on product innovation, led education strategy for intrapreneurship programs, and researched design cognition in the Stanford Psychology Language and Cognition Lab. She and these companies have been featured in Fast Company, Oprah Magazine, IDEO Futures, TechCrunch, Ms. Magazine and SXSWedu. Rachel is an alumna of Sage Hill School (2011) and Stanford University and currently lives in San Francisco.

The Confetti Project

The Confetti Project is a photography series that profiles amazing humans doused in confetti, while exploring what they celebrate. 2,000+ people later, this project has not only become an Instagrammable moment, but a visual study on human identity and a space for unencumbered expression, shedding light on how vital it is to stop and check in with ourselves, while exploring our passions, pleasures, inspirations and motivations. In an achievement-oriented and future-centric world, we all experience universal feelings of doubt, fear and frustration but what keeps you going? The Confetti Project aims to provoke a space that brings back the divine art of play, surrendering to the present moment and celebrating yourself amidst every moment of your precious, mortal life.
Artist, photographer and creator of The Confetti Project, Jelena Aleksich will lead an intimate workshop along with co-founder Megan Hey that shares the story about how the project began, why daily celebration is crucial for our wellbeing and how you can find gratitude in your everyday life. You will experience firsthand the power of confetti and how it can change your mood instantly as we embark on a group bonding circle. Afterward, each participant will take her own confetti portrait with Jelena as we bring back the divine art of play, surrendering to the present moment and celebrating yourself amidst every moment of your own life.

WORKSHOPS

Public Speaking

Taught by the CO-Founders of Empower HerFuture
Marie-Nicole and Madeline

Empower HerFuture Public Speaking specifically emphasizes the importance of public speaking for young women. We believe that, before all else, it is vital to analyze why public speaking is such a nerve-racking fear for so many people. The fact that women face different challenges than men when it comes to public speaking is rarely addressed. While exploring this idea, we will analyze how women and men are taught to behave differently in social settings, especially when it comes to body language. With this information, we can begin to change the ingrained ways we are taught to make our bodies small, and develop confidence to combat the fear of public speaking. During this workshop we will also break down what qualifies a good speech and how to implement these characteristics into our own speeches. Finally, we will put these skills into practice through different public speaking exercises.

Intro to Coding

Taught by Hana and Miya Stauss
who are two current juniors at Sage Hill!

Did you know that by learning to code, you can create games for you and your friends to play, make your own websites, create apps and so much more?! Coding is a common language that can help you to connect with people all over the globe, and might even kick-start a cool career (college graduates with computer science majors earn on average 40% more than other university degrees – wow!) Spend a workshop falling in love with the world of code beginning with Ruby! This workshop covers the fundamentals of Ruby, from data types to if-statements, aiming to inspire the coder in every girl. Let's get coding! This workshop is led by Hana and Miya Stauss, Sage Hill juniors and founders of the school’s OC Coder Club. Both are extremely passionate about helping girls learn to code and is eager to be your guide in this hands-on workshop.

My Story My Way

Taught by Kemiyondo Coutinho
a Ugandan playwright, actress and filmmaker

Forbes Africa 30 under 30 recipient, Kemiyondo Coutinho has been writing and acting for the African woman since age 17. Her one-woman shows dealing with gender inequity toured internationally and warranted her an invite from The Gates Foundation to perform at their headquarters. She has directed numerous music videos and Kyenvu marks her debut as a Film Director. Frustrated with the lack of female directors in the industry she decided to take on the role to inspire other female filmmakers to do the same. Kyenvu is currently in the festival circuit and won the Oscar Qualifying award Best Short Film at the Pan African Film Festival in 2018. She is the inaugural recipient of Kevin hart's Laugh Out Loud filmmaking fellowship and recently premiered her film GREEN at the American Black Film festival. Known for her multiple disciplines in the arts, Kemiyondo was featured on CNN for her work in the arts in the segment African Voices as well as on BBC for her culture shaking film Kyenvu. Currently based in Los Angeles, is now the recipient of the prestigious E11 Green Card awarded to individuals of extraordinary ability who demonstrate that they are at the top of their field in their home country. Kemiyondo will teach you about the acting exercises she uses when creating and producing shows and movies. She will tell you about her journey to become an actress and filmmaker, and tell you how to be the creator of your own story.

Creativity for Self-Care

Taught by Felicia Baskin
a Content Strategist at Pinterest

Get creative with Felicia Baskin, Writer and Content Strategist at Pinterest. We’ll do some fun writing exercises and talk about ways to bring more creativity into your everyday life. Felicia will also share what it’s like to work at Pinterest, a website used by 250 million people to find inspiration and try new things.

Hula-Hooping

Taught by Haley Rovner
who is the youngest certified professional hula-hooper in the United States!

Haley Rovner is the youngest certified hoop instructor in the United States and has traveled across the globe demonstrating her amazing talents (see her in action: https://youtu.be/GEViCgJqNn8) – learn some of Haley’s tips and tricks to start hooping for fun and exercise in her GEMfest workshop.

Yoga

Taught by Coach Connolly
The Sage Hill Wellness Coordinator/Yoga Teacher

Sage Hill School’s Wellness Coordinator, Mer Connolly, will lead this workshop on how to use yoga and mindfulness to relieve stress, increase focus and memory, improve posture and discover your highest potential.