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Fourteen-year-old Charlie Zeitlin passes by the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos every day along his commute to Crystal Springs Middle School in Belmont from his house in Palo Alto. On one such commute, he had the idea that the museum, home to so much aircraft history and quirky decor, would make a great venue for a community event.
Not long after, Zeitlin went ahead and put his idea into action. On Saturday, the eighth-grader hosted his debut nonprofit event — TEDx Baylands Park Youth, where Bay Area-based professionals from different fields shared their personal stories and spoke about causes that drive them.
Speakers at the April 27 event included Stanford University neurosurgeon Dr. Odette Harris; animal rights activist Kate Brindle; psychologist Dr. David B. Feldman, who specializes in hope and trauma; wellness entrepreneur Shizu Okusa, who runs a healthcare company called Apothékary; homelessness advocate Jennifer Friedenbach, who is the director of The Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco; and entrepreneur Shadi Bakour, who runs Pathwater, an eco-friendly water bottle company.
Zeitlin curated this diverse list with a theme in mind; though they all have different backgrounds, the speakers all have one thing in common. “They exemplify healing, which is what our event is all about … personal healing or the healing of our communities,” Zeitlin said in an interview with the Weekly around an hour before the event began. “I think especially in the world today, where it feels like there are also many issues and divisions, something like showing the potential that we have to heal as a community, and to get better, is such a valuable thing to express right now.”
The idea to put this event together came from Zeitlin’s other ongoing project, a podcast called “Straight To It,” which he has been hosting for several years now. In keeping with the founder’s age at the time of its inception, it used to be called “Explain It To Me Like I’m a Ten Year Old.”
On his podcast, he has interviewed 65 experts from different fields so far. “I’ve learned about so many different things, from negotiation to science. I’ve heard all the incredible stories that people had, my guests had, and that are often not shared enough,” he said. “I thought about the power of putting together an event with an audience of Palo Altans in here, hearing the stories from our community that don’t get told, that are so powerful. These are really personal, intimate stories that we can really connect to, learn from.”
To Zeitlin, the TED platform, which enables speakers to be up on stage and tell their story, is “magical.” Driven by his admiration for the Chris Anderson-led brand, a few months ago he applied for, and was subsequently granted, a license to use the TED brand and logo for this event.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our community to come together, learn, connect with the speakers. There’s a lack of events that bring us all together.” he said about the event, which he single-handedly organized and executed, notwithstanding the support he got from his family and sponsors like Prelude, NationSwell and the city of Palo Alto’s Think Fund.
“There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said. “You’ve to think about the venue, stage design, making it look good, sound and video capabilities, production, teleprompters, decorations, getting all the speakers together; I think I’ve had maybe five changes in who I thought was speaking at the beginning and who is speaking now.”
The hardest part, of course, was getting the word out. He said he managed to sell enough tickets to break even.
Plus, the whole effort is a personal one, happening outside of his schoolwork. “I had to miss school yesterday for the rehearsal — (my school is) very supportive,” he said.
He has been a speaker himself at local events like “Young Minds Celebrated,” created by city council member Julie Lythcott-Haims, and Youth Community Service, run by the city. “I was able to share some anecdotes from my podcast and what I’ve learned,” he said about his own experience as a public speaker. “It’s just something I’m really passionate about. I love connecting with people and learning from their experience.”
It’s easy to forget Zeitlin is just a teenager. Where does he get the inspiration and confidence to pursue endeavors like these?
“I have some really incredible role models,” he said. “My sister Julia Zeitlin is a local climate activist; she has hosted plenty of rallies.”
His sister Julia attends Castilleja School in Palo Alto. “I’ve learned so much from her. That has pushed me to push myself to try different things that I usually wouldn’t do,” he said.
Having moved to Palo Alto from Connecticut about six years ago, Zeitlin says the city has grown on him. “It’s such an incredible town, there’s so much energy about innovation and possibilities. People are always doing new things, creating new things. It’s a fun environment to be in. It gets you excited and makes you ponder the question — ‘What can I do?’”
Whatever he chooses to do going forward, it’s evident that Zeitlin’s future is bright.
One of the speakers, Dr. Harris, joked during her talk, “… we’re all going to be working for Charlie someday soon.”
