Hosted by Hoda Emam and Devon Kodzis
An evening of true personal stories about science from the community of Dallas, TX!
Sometimes our best laid plans go perfectly….and sometimes they require a quick shift, sudden decision, or even a whole new playbook. Four storytellers take to the stage to share a time that they had to pivot!
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:00pm
Stories By:
Chris Brown was born and raised in Detroit, MI. He's always had an affinity for animals, but especially for dogs. Chris spent most of his early childhood sneaking into neighbors' yard to play with their dogs, and gravitated toward the dogs that all the adults and other children were afraid of. In turn, those same dogs became Chris' protectors. Chris' grandfather nurtured the growing passion and began teaching him how to groom desired behaviors even in tiny puppies, and Chris' uncle introduced him to his first protection dog, a Rottweiler/Dobermann mix that showed just how well trained a dog could be. It was invigorating. Dog training became a hobby that persisted into adulthood, and eventually grew into a successful business. Chris' dog training business is now based in Dallas, and he has partnered with a local rescue where he educates both fosters and adopters. Chris and his wife Kay share their home with three lively (former) street dogs, Ellie, Rogue, and Terror.
Emma DeVine is just your average bilaterally symmetrical coelomate. When she’s not busy chasing after her middle school students for their homework, getting shoes stuck in trees unstuck, or cooking up a new science experiments to try out with her 7th and 8th graders, she enjoys spending time with her husband and incredibly spoiled corgi named Toby (also affectionately known as roommate #1 and roommate #2). One creates a lot of trash and the other eats the trash—you decide who is who. She’s obsessed with her dog (seriously, this woman indoctrinated a bunch of 12- and 13-year-old kids to worship her dog at school).
She recently spent the past summer working in a neuroscience lab studying Drosophila fruit flies and the relationship of neurons controlling metabolism and energy homeostasis. Emma also has experience working with zebrafish in the classroom and using them to model fetal alcohol syndrome with her students. Small talk with Emma usually revolves around fish and flies. She was recently named the 2022 Outstanding Rookie Science Teacher of the Year by the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT).
Virginia Kilgore was born in Oak Cliff and raised in Duncanville, Texas. Much of her youth was spent outdoors building forts and playing in the woods. As a teenager she frequently commuted through a town near Dallas with large factories where she experienced air pollution and became aware of the wide spread associated human health and environmental impacts. This inspired Virginia’s self-funded lobby for stronger environmental regulations in Texas.
Virginia traveled as college exchange student to Germany and stayed in Europe for 2.5 years before returning to study further in Texas. Virginia is certified in Alphabiotics, a wholistic brain balancing technique. She also attended Texas A&M firefighting academy at Commerce and continued there as an EMT instructor after receiving a Texas firefighting and EMT certificate. She has worked and lectured nationally and internationally on environmental justice and health related issues
Currently, Virginia is the Executive Director of Water Is Alive Inc, a non-profit organization developing solutions for organic wastes through fermentation and teaching students of all ages how to make biostimulants from agricultural wastes to improve soil and water quality. Virginia is fluent in Dutch, Spanish & English.
Jon Schulz is a data center architect turned beekeeper. In his day job, Jon works to merge high tech subsystems to deliver consistent, reliable and secure solutions for his global customers. As a beekeeper, his fascination lies in the autonomous functions of honeybees that combine collectively to create a thriving colony. Recently, Jon and his wife Amanda launched Blackland Bees, an apiculture business focusing on honeybee rescue, education, conservation and pollination services. Jon and Amanda can be found managing beehives at local community gardens, designing pollinator landscapes for schools and churches, rescuing and rehabilitating bee colonies and supporting Blackland Prairie restoration projects. Jon received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science, while also studying business and Spanish, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently pursuing his Texas Master Beekeeper certification, through Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. Jon and Amanda both grew up in the Dallas area and returned in 2012, after living in Austin, San Antonio and Houston. They presently reside in East Dallas, along with their two children, and manage an apiary of nearly 2 million honeybees!
As a first-generation Chicano in STEM, Stacy Vasquez recognizes the importance of addressing the STEM achievement gap and creating an inclusive space that will inspire students from marginalized groups. His dissertation researched examined the impacts of a multicultural curriculum in a traditional microbiology course. With an academic background in microbiology, Stacy was always interested in learning how the discrete, scientific information was related to issues impacting society. Traditional microbiology courses often place heavy emphasis on rote memorization of discrete facts and focus very little on how the content relates to societal issues. The multicultural curriculum aimed to teach students about various social issues while still managing to teach the objective, scientific content. The relevant topics were intended to spark student interest in efforts to strengthen their academic performance. Stacy has continued implementing culturally responsive teaching practices in my other sciences courses, such as Human Anatomy & Physiology.