Meet your 2024 Speakers!
ANGELATEEPLE
Angela Teeple (@angteeple) a dedicated teacher and coach for over two decades, made a bold transition in 2022. Leaving her longstanding career, she embraced her dream of inspiring others through various mediums: founding a non-profit, starting the ‘Elevating Resilience’ podcast, and writing a book. Her non-profit (@allin.athletes) is a testament to her commitment to fostering inclusive and supportive environments in athletics, with a strong focus on mental fitness. Angela’s podcast extends this mission, sharing stories of resilience and personal triumphs. Her book, an extension of her journey and insights, aims to inspire and empower a broader audience. Angela’s approach is deeply grounded in her own experiences. She combines personal narratives with professional wisdom, making her a relatable and compelling voice on topics of resilience, growth, and empowerment.
MATTHEWZAKRESKI
Matthew “Dr. Matt” Zakreski, PsyD (@drmattzakreski) is a professional speaker and clinical psychologist who specializes in working with neurodivergent (gifted, 2e, ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, etc.) people. He has spoken over 500 times all over the world about supporting neurodivergent people in all walks of life, from schools to college to the workplace. Dr. Matt specializes in taking knowledge of the brain, human behavior, and clinical psychology and making that accessible and practical for people to improve their lives. Dr. Matt received his Doctorate from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology (IGCP) in 2016. He is the co-founder of The Neurodiversity Collective.
GRACESWEENEY
Grace Sweeney (@grace.catherine.sweeney) is a 16-year-old triple threat who has a passion for the arts. Throughout her career as a young child and teen actress, she has learned what it takes to believe in herself and believe in others. When Grace was just 14 years old, she lost her beloved mother to a fierce battle with COVID-19. Grace was heartbroken and had to navigate through the rest of her 8th-grade year and the beginning of high school without her mother by her side. Nevertheless, Grace grew to be resilient and strong in honor of her mother’s legacy. She went on to win the Betty McElmon Humanitarian Award and the Fine Arts Vocal Award at her 8th Grade graduation. Grace is thriving as a current Sophomore at Shore Regional High School involved in several activities, sports, and clubs, notably being a student representative to the Board Of Education. She can’t wait to take the stage this June!
SAMCONNER
Samantha Conner is a 16-year-old sophomore at Shore who has an immense passion for the medical field. When not working on academics, she can be found on the dance floor as a competitive dancer. Despite facing the setback of tearing her ACL, she remains determined to come back stronger. As the co-president of the Medical Career Club, she enjoys inspiring others to pursue their dreams in healthcare. With a high-achieving mindset, Samantha strives for excellence in all areas of life.
ALICESIMONSON
With three decades of experience as an educator in French, Spanish, and ELL instruction, Alice Simonson (@srhsgoesglobal) is deeply passionate about enriching the learning experience and broadening the horizons of all students. Her journey in education has been defined by a commitment to excellence, a dedication to fostering global awareness, and an active involvement in her professional learning community. She wholeheartedly believes in the transformative power of language and culture learning. Driven by a desire to make the learning process more engaging, meaningful, and accessible, she is constantly trying to equip her students with the linguistic and cultural tools to navigate an increasingly interconnected world. As she continues her journey in education, she remains committed to inspiring a lifelong love of learning, fostering global citizenship, and empowering students to become effective communicators and cultural ambassadors in this ever-changing world.
NATALIETORO
Natalie Toro (@natalietoro) is a third-year medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown, NY. She was born and raised in New Jersey by her grandparents, and graduated from Shore Regional in 2014. Being raised by an older generation exposed Natalie to health disparities and disadvantages that her family were experiencing. She tried to bridge the gap by translating at physician appointments and educating her family on medications, disease processes, and so forth. This inspired Natalie to be the first person in her family to enter the medical field to create real change for families similar to hers. She attended Monmouth University where she majored in Biology with a minor in Statistics. Natalie continues her work with underserved communities as serving on the executive board for the Latino Medical Student Association and the Student National Medical Association. She hopes to continue addressing health disparities and becoming a culturally competent and socially conscious emergency physician working in the frontlines.
DANAMOUTIS
Dana's (@danagmoutis) journey towards effective leadership began early, attending "Leadership Training Camp" during middle and high school. This experience instilled in her a relentless curiosity to continuously enhance her leadership skills and empower those around her with functional leadership strategies. After graduating from American University in 2013, she spent five years working within the film industry before transitioning to the dynamic world of start-ups. Over the past four years, she has been managing the renowned "Candlelight" concert series at Fever across the Americas region. Additionally, Dana founded the Scalable Concepts team, dedicated to transforming innovative ideas into scalable realities. Dana was recently featured in the Secret Media Network's "The Women Behind Some of the Top Events in the World" as a celebration of women in the entertainment industry for International Women's Day.