Meet the team

The people behind the odyssey.

The educators and innovators who built the Young Extraordinary Odyssey, and who spend the day in the room with your teen.

Founder · YXO

Lily Safrani.

Lily Safrani
Founder, YXOYoung Extraordinary Odyssey

A serial entrepreneur who brings strategic vision and a hands-on approach to complex, real-world problems.

Lily has launched and led enterprises in both the tech and consulting sectors, notably as the Founder and CEO of ExO Speakers and a Contributing Architect at ExO Works, where she focused on disruption and innovation.

Yet her most powerful ventures apply this same exponential mindset to learning and community. Early in her career she launched Sarah and David Interactive, a publishing company that created a full curriculum for teaching Hebrew reading and writing. Inspired by her deep immersion in Silicon Valley culture, she championed the creation of The Innovative School, a progressive elementary school in Miami Beach.

During the 2020 lockdown she co-founded Camp Howland, a “driveway summer camp” born from the immediate need to give neighborhood children structure and social time while creating purpose for home-bound college students. It was a true example of using existing resources for a high-impact community solution.

Today Lily brings that drive to YXO, the Young Extraordinary Odyssey workshop for teens, continuing her focus on cultivating the next generation of innovators.

Serial entrepreneur
Founder & CEO, ExO Speakers
ExO Works
The Innovative School
Camp Howland
Tech mentor · Award-winning director & producer

Natasha Tsakos.

Natasha Tsakos
Tech MentorAward-winning director & producer

An award-winning director, performer and producer pioneering the intersection of arts, technology, innovation and space exploration.

Space & innovation

Founder of SPACE WONDERS, the first theatrical company for space, developing experiences born from the medium of space and felt on Earth. Her flagship production, Paraboles, is the first research-driven performance in microgravity and a cultural prototype for life beyond Earth.

Global impact

She has captivated audiences across six continents, from TED and the Super Bowl with Cirque du Soleil to the G20 Summit, Discovery Channel and Tribeca Film Festival. She speaks at the United Nations General Assembly and Google.

Strategic partnerships

Drawing on work with NASA, MIT and the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, Natasha brings a research-driven approach to artistic innovation.

Singularity University

A graduate of SU’s Global Solutions Program (2015) at NASA Research Park, and winner of SU’s Global Impact Competition, sponsored by Google and NASA.

Youth engagement

Years spent turning “showmaking” into a practical toolkit for young creators: workshops in storytelling, experiential design and creativity with technology, from Telemundo’s Protagonista de la Novela to DASH, the Art Directors Club and Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex. Most recently she sparked a room of 300 eleven-year-old girls at Space Center Houston.

Education

BFA in Theatre (New World School of the Arts / University of Florida), plus a NASA certificate of training (Chamber Flight to FL250), MIT’s New Space Economy program, a NASA L’SPACE certificate, and studies with the IIAS.

Her mission

To create extraordinary experiences, on this planet and beyond, that inspire wonder and awaken new ways of being.

Austin · Oct 24  ·  Miami · Nov 7

Meet them in person.

Spend a full day with the YXO team: AI, entrepreneurial thinking and a personal roadmap for teens 13 to 17.