Brian Kelly is an audio/video designer who has worked with groups across North America for over 20 years. Aside from his corporate clientele, he has mixed and toured with Grammy-nominated Hiatus Kaiyote, Pain of Salvation, and was A2 for the premier run of Tony-winning “Indecent”. With his wife Mary Paul, he owns Rocktzar Productions (www.rocktzar.com), which focuses on live design, studio editing, and event management. His home base is in Connecticut, as sound & video supervisor for NVCC’s theatre program.

Naomi H. Philip is a research scientist at Alexion, New Haven. She received a BA from Bryn Mawr College, majoring in biology at Haverford College. After realizing she loves solving problems in biology, she decided to pursue a PhD in immunology. Naomi investigated how macrophages, cells of the immune system, eliminate pathogenic bacteria at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a PhD in 2016. She conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University investigating how macrophages maintain tissue homeostasis. Outside the lab, Naomi loves to experiment with new recipes and spend time with her family.

Sandhya Prabhakaran, Ph.D., is an Applied Research Scientist at Moffitt Cancer Centre, Florida. Before that she was a Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre and Columbia University. Her Ph.D. in Computer Science is from University of Basel and her Masters in Intelligent Systems (Robotics) is from University of Edinburgh. Her research deals with developing statistical theory and Bayesian inference models, particularly to problems in Cancer Biology and Computer Vision. She has been a STEM mentor since 2016. She has completed 4 out of the 6 World Marathon Majors.

Emily Chew (they/them)  is the Deputy Director of Education & Arts Programs at Yale-China Association.  They facilitate learning through cultural exchange and the arts across New Haven with students from elementary school to college.  Beyond their work, Emily spends time researching and reading as many AAPI written and/or AAPI-centric books to recommend to others and occasionally writing lesson plans that center Asian Americans through art.  

David Pugo, “Pugo”, is an Indigenous American who has over 10 years of producing some of the largest music festivals in the United States. As a strong advocate for marginalized communities, he has also held multiple positions at the local government level including the title of President of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council. As a creative outlet, Pugo also works as a producer and performer with close to 20 years experience as a musician.

Courtney Schmidt, PhD, (she/her) is the Staff Scientist with the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. She collaborates with regional partners to synthesize data, identify research needs, and manages projects and programs aimed at supporting the preservation and protection of the water, wildlife and way of life for all those in the Rhode Island/Massachusetts region. She shares her life with her husband, two sons, mom, and dog in Rhode Island.

Bartosz Kidacki is a computer scientist who specializes in web development and design, and app development. Outside of his work in computer science, Bartosz enjoys playing video games, learning new skills, and exploring new places. He is constantly seeking out opportunities to challenge himself and grow both personally and professionally. As an immigrant, Bart understands the challenges of navigating the American Education system and is passionate about making STEAM education more accessible for the next generation of students.

Maria was born in Ecuador and currently lives in Southern California. Maria graduated from UC San Diego and moved on to Loma Linda University where she earned a Masters and a Doctorates degree in Public Health, with a focus on Health Policy. Maria’s passion lies in healthcare, specifically access to healthcare. Maria has spent the last 10+ years working on community health programs. From helping to administer and obtain funds to run an FQHC community pediatric clinic, to leading the strategic evaluation strategy for a multi-million-dollar program in one of the largest health plans in California, Maria continues her relentless work in increasing access to healthcare for the public. She realizes she can’t fix problems in access to health care overnight but is relentless in her effort to have a positive impact on her community, remembering that with enough resources and the passion to pursue a dream, the apparent unattainable becomes attainable. Maria also enjoys weekend bike-rides with her 12-year old daughter and 12-month old beagle.