Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group Announces Regional 2018 Dreammakers and Risktakers Award Recipients

PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, a business-led organization showcasing the regional Tri-Valley ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurism, honored 14 student award recipients at the 2018 Dreammakers and Risktakers Awards event at The Palm Event Center in Pleasanton.

The eighth annual event celebrated the Tri-Valley's youngest innovators, and the awardees represent school districts all across the Tri-Valley region and Las Positas College. "We are inspired and amazed by these young dreammakers and risktakers," said Lynn Naylor, CEO of Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group. "Their projects are not only technically advanced, but they include social innovation components, they demonstrate true grit, and a heartfelt desire to make the world a better place."

These fourteen young leaders were honored for their creativity, technology and innovation:

    --  Dublin High School student inventors Neha Harpanhalli and Christy Koh
        designed the Stay On Course commercial mobile application specifically
        for high school students to help them measure their progress toward
        fulfilling the requirements needed to graduate with their desired
        diploma.

    --  Las Positas Middle College student Sarah Whalen is a Livermore resident
        who was honored for writing and directing a science fiction film titled
        The Risen. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France
        this past summer in the category for Emerging Filmmakers.


    --  Amador Valley High School seniors Varsha Madapoosi and Bryan Luo created
        a food scrap recycling program that now plays a vital role in the school
        district's Integrated Waste Management Policy.


    --  Granada High School seniors Andrew Lau and Ashley Zhuang were first
        place competitors at the Cisco Cup competition, and received third place
        honors at Code Quest sponsored by Lockheed Martin, showcasing their
        creativity, innovation and teamwork.


    --  Las Positas College student Natalie Dutra self-published her debut
        novella, The Apple Guardian, which was written in the experimental
        thriller genre, and also won a Next Generation Indie Book Award.

Students from five schools all across the Tri-Valley region collaborated on a project that brought together Biomedical Science and Engineering Design students working across school sites and across school districts to produce a working heart valve prototype. The cross-curricular high school team was connected by the Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program and those honored included Joshua Beatty (Dublin), Theresa Colberg (Livermore), Luke Doueihi (Dublin), Megan Johnston Livermore), Ian Lederer (Dublin) and Blake Moddelmog (Dublin).

An eighth annual event, the 2018 Dreammakers and Risktakers Awards were created by Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) to honor young innovators who are innovating the future while fearlessly pursuing their dreams. ITV honors young risktakers as essential contributors to the Tri-Valley innovation ecosystem.

About Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group

Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) is a collective of leaders and influencers committed to connecting the businesses, educational institutions, research labs, and civic leaders in the Tri-Valley region. ITV has positioned the region as a technology and innovation powerhouse, outpacing the Bay Area mega-region in both job creation and economic growth. The Tri-Valley today is home to more than 450 technology companies and has a regional gross domestic product (GDP) of $42 billion, comparable to that of the Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area.

The Tri-Valley region is comprised of 5 communities - Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and San Ramon, located in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

SOURCE Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group