oUR 2023 sPEAKERS

Colby Jackson - Alternatives to Antidepressant Medication for Gen Z.

Colby Jackson is a senior at Missouri S&T on track to graduate with a B.S. of aerospace engineering in May 2024. “Around February of 2023 I first had serious thoughts of serious depression,” he says, “and through counseling and the power of prayer, I was able to find a savior and a means of reclaiming my life. He is a student employee at S&T, involved with Rolla Masonic Lodge #213, and attends St. Patrick Catholic Church.

J Scott Christianson - Calculating the Cost of the Sky

J Scott Christianson is an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia Trulaske College of Business, where his interests are focused on the impact of emerging technology on society and geopolitics. Prior to joining the college, he was an entrepreneur with decades of experience deploying intricate information systems. He currently serves as the college’s director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where he helps students turn their ideas into profitable products and services.

Jameca Woody Cooper, PhD - Are You Unconsciously Raising the Next School-Shooter?

Dr. Jameca Woody Cooper is a counseling and criminal psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience. She is a full-time clinician and criminal/forensic psychology consultant as the owner and founder of Emergence Psychological Services in St. Louis Missouri. Most of her career has been dedicated to community activism, social justice, and public education. Dr. Woody Cooper’s work as a change agent in mental health and in the community drives her interest in strategies to address youth and school violence.

Mary DeMichele - Improv Gets Your Brain and Life Online

Mary is a certified educator, consultant, and author whose work in education, clinical and professional settings has helped thousands of people take those first critical steps in the world of improv. DeMichele is featured in Psychology Today, Forbes and the documentary, “Act Social-Using YES AND to Save the World from Within,” starring Collin Mochrie of the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” . A certified academic and special needs teacher, DeMichele is the author of books, published research, articles, and her blog and courses at OneRuleImprov.com. DeMichele has her master’s degree from Syracuse University.

Nicole Roberson - Leaders: Your Chain is Only as Strong as Its Weakest Links

Dr. Roberson joined Missouri S&T as the vice chancellor of diversity, equity, & inclusion and chief diversity officer in November of 2022. She oversees the departments of equity & Title IX (ETIX) and strategic diversity initiatives (SDI). Roberson has over 20 years of experience in equal opportunity, diversity, Title IX, and inclusion where she has held various leadership positions in higher education including director of equal opportunity & diversity and dean of business & information technology. She is the Midwest Region Director for the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) and is a Distinguished Toastmaster through Toastmasters International. Roberson holds a Ph.D. in organizational leadership from Regent University, MBA with an emphasis in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management, master’s degrees in human resources management and project management, both from the Keller Graduate School, and bachelor’s degree in strategic management from the University of North Texas.

Brian Watson - Letting Go of Fear is Being Creative

Brian Watson is a self-taught sculptor with no formal art training. He is the owner and partner of a sculpting company that creates larger-than-life, metal artworks. His background includes time as a US Navy nuclear power submariner, previous owner of an ornamental copper company, and 10 years of argon-based plasma research and development. He currently resides with his family in Augusta, Missouri.

Anthony Birchler - From Ideas to Masterpieces: The Power of Sketching In Design Innovation

Anthony E. Birchler PE is vice president of sales engineering at A. Zahner Company in Kansas City, MO. Birchler’s 39 years of professional experience in all aspects of facades is well respected. He consults and collaborates with owners, architects, engineers, and construction managers to develop bespoke complex metal façade solutions utilizing Zahner assist methods. These methods involve all available tools to communicate, refine, and ultimately fabricate the facades. Free-hand sketching is the foundation upon which these solutions rest.
Since 1997, he has been responsible for the design and implementation of many of the patented systems used to complete bold architecture throughout the world. Birchler earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T).

Ebony Reed - FEARLESS – Grief, the Price of Love, is a Shared Experience.

Ebony Reed is a national media executive and journalist who lost her fiancé and partner, NFL journalist Terez A. Paylor, when he died in 2021 at age 37. Ebony will share statistics and information about the loss of a partner/spouse from the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and discuss her own experience to help reduce stereotypes, grow acceptance for counseling and spur more compassion and understanding for people who have experienced the loss of their life partner. She is based in Kansas City, Missouri., serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of The Marshall Project, co-teaches an MBA class at the Yale School of Management and is co-writing a book for HarperCollins on the wealth gap. Ebony's talk is for everyone, not just those who have experienced grief, the price of love.

Sarah Cox - Compassionate Innovation: Health Care’s Magic Elixir?

Sarah Cox, a pharmacist and clinical associate professor with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy has seen the problems within health care firsthand both through practice and as a family member to a patient. Dr. Cox's academic research focuses on how human-centered design can solve messy, complex problems and drive innovation in health care. She has grants focused on technology commercialization and teaching pharmacy students innovative problem-solving skills.

Katie Brown - Starting Every Child on a Pathway to Lifelong Wellness

As an experienced nutrition practitioner, academic, entrepreneur, and dairy industry executive with international expertise in nutrition and agriculture, Dr. Brown is driven by the power that diet has on health and helping unleash that power for good. She understands the value of impactful partnerships and innovative programs in solving public health challenges for a better world today and tomorrow. Dr. Brown is a registered dietitian nutritionist and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nutrition and a doctorate degree in education. She’s an author on numerous manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals has presented at over 130 national and international professional conferences, and is a contributor to trade and consumer media.