Theme: TEDx@West Valley College- A celebration of ideas and community

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).

West Valley College
14400 Fruitvale Ave
Saratoga, California, 95070
United States

Alfredo Matthew III

Founder, Educator, and CEO

Alfredo Mathew III is a social impact leader, entrepreneur, and urban educator who brings over 25 years of experience collaborating closely with nonprofits, government agencies, philanthropic institutions, and businesses to make entrepreneurship more equitable, accessible, and inclusive. He currently serves as the President of the ESO Foundation that is a catalyst for entrepreneurial ecosystem building focused on balancing economic vitality and social benefit to mobilize communities for the Next Economy. He is also the Founder of SPCC.ONE, a platform cooperative that focuses on community wealth building and economic resiliency. Alfredo is passionate about closing the racial wealth gap and embracing 4P partnerships (Public-Private-Philanthropic-People), because he believes in cross-sector initiatives to contribute to healthy and thriving communities.

Cassie Pinkney

West Valley College Alumna and Strategic & Corporate Communication student at Chapman University

Cassie Pinkney is a senior Strategic & Corporate Communication student at Chapman University and a proud West Valley alumna. She loves all types of media and has contributed her love of writing and speaking to her university's newspaper and radio station, as well as her college's honor society. In her free time, she enjoys visiting museums, listening to music, and doing crafts with her friends. Cassie's talk, "Failing Forward", is inspired by her own journey of learning to embrace failure, something she hopes others will take to heart as they pursue their passions.

Erika Vargas

Dean of Health & Human Development

Erika Vargas is a champion waterpolo coach and academic administrator. She is a mentor, visionary leader, and inspiration to athletes, women, and and students. Throughout her career in higher education, she has demonstrated a commitment to student success and life-long learning. Leading and teaching at the community college level has allowed her to celebrate diversity, embrace change, and work collaboratively with others. She has excellent leadership, communication, organization and interpersonal skills.

Jared Fujishin

Professor of Communication Studies, Consultant, and Researcher

Jared is an award-winning lecturer, researcher, and communication consultant with a passion for helping leaders build meaningful connections through elevated communication skills. Since founding Fujishin Consulting, Jared has worked with numerous clients to enhance their leadership influence and connective communication skills. With years of experience, Fujishin knows what it takes to help leaders increase relational capital and rapport. His teaching, grounded in the latest research and communication literature, is synthesized and adapted for high-impact practicality. Moving beyond mere academic rhetoric, Jared desires to help leaders be "different by dinner", teaching concepts that can be put into practice the very day they are learned. While he loves his job and helping come alongside leaders to improve their cultures and themselves, his primary and most important calling is being a loving husband to Sweet Aurora and a devoted father to Asher.

Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza, PhD

CEO at West Valley College

President Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza has over 25 years of education experience in both instruction and student services, mainly within the California community colleges. In her roles as a classified professional, tenured faculty leader, director, dean, vice president, and now president, she has found inspiration in the brilliance, power, and endless potential of community college students. She leads for social justice and liberation, recognizing our shared responsibility to address the historical legacy of racism to create a more just system of access, reward, and long-term equitable outcomes to inspire individual achievement and generational impact. The “obligation gap,” a term she coined, speaks to institutional responsibility. She is co-author of Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges: Theory and Practice in Achieving Educational Equity. President Taylor-Mendoza is also an Aspen Institute Presidential Fellow and American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley Senior Fellow.

Jeramy Wallace

Professor and Author

Jeramy Wallace is a Professor of English at College of San Mateo (CSM) in San Mateo, CA. He has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as president of the CSM and SMCCCD Academic Senates and as a coordinator for the CSM Umoja Community. Jeramy has written and presented widely on race, educational equity, and social justice in community colleges, and he is co-author of the books Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges and Beyond: Theory and Practice in Achieving Educational Equity (2020, Peter Lang) and The White Educators Guide to Equity: Teaching for Justice in Community Colleges (2023, Peter Lang) and is the author and editor of The People’s Stories: Critical; Storytelling for Social Justice. Jeramy’s teaching and research focus on the power of critical storytelling in empowering minoritized community college students and in resisting the racialized, gendered, and classed misconceptions and assumptions about the community college by the larger society.

Ricardo Cortez

Author and Chicano Visioneer

As a native San Josean, I am fortunate to be surrounded by the rich diversity the Bay Area has to offer. In fact, I often incorporate diversity as a mechanism to ensure marketing success. I encourage design that directly appeals to specific audiences through practice that is practical, functional and impactful. I keep a pulse on trends, contemporary issues and changes at the intersection of design, technology and government. My varied experience in public service, teaching and art practice has allowed me to create high caliber work that affects all residents of San Jose and the larger bay area. I bring both preparation and perspective, not only in creating design but also in communication, not only in digital skills but also in intra-disciplinary, not only in my own skills as a creator but also in knowing the needs public service. I have participated in exhibitions across the United States and published internationally.

Will Drewery

Entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO

Will Drewery, an entrepreneur and visionary, is successfully bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the United States to create opportunities for the working class and build vibrant communities—even when most see domestic manufacturing as a losing proposition