Join us online as we livestream four stories about our brains and our relationships with them from The Tank in New York City in the special show in celebration of Brain Awareness Week! To find more brain-related events in New York City check out ComeBeBrainy.com.
Hosted by Fola Olusanya and Paula Croxson.
STORIES BY:
Maya Maharaj is a content creator born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
Erica Rodriguez is a born and bred New Yorker and first-generation American. She completed her undergrad through Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Queens College and obtained a PhD in Neurobiology at Duke University. She is currently a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute in Columbia University, where she is currently studying how the dynamic social environment shapes emotional behavior in mice. She hopes that this work can eventually shed light on potential interventions for anxiety, depression, and pain, as well as understand the ways we can enhance our day-to-day moments of joy. Always eager to pay it forward, she assists in improving scientific trainee experiences, especially in inclusivity and mentoring. She always seeks to nurture the next generation of budding scientists through mentoring students at various stages from high school to graduate school. In her spare time, Erica also enjoys participating in scientific outreach. When not in the lab, she enjoys escaping to the wild, climbing mountains, and biking and running to her heart’s content. Erica’s buffering social environment comprises of her partner, Tyler and her dog, Mr. Smudge.
Hana Schank is an author, designer, and technologist. She is a Senior Advisor for Public Interest Technology at New America, a think tank in Washington DC, where she works to improve how government serves the American people via technology and human centered design. In addition to her research and design work, Schank is the author of three nonfiction books and a Kindle Single. Her most recent book, POWER TO THE PUBLIC, received praise from Pres. Obama, who called it "worth a read for anyone who cares about making change happen." Hana lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with her husband and two children, where she hopes to write more books that Pres. Obama enjoys.
Jonathan Venegoni currently lives and works in New York, but originally hails from St. Louis, Missouri. While playing music was his first love, he has also performed in and produced standup comedy shows for 10 years opening up for headlining acts around the Midwest. Since he hasn't been able to become famous, he still has a day job in technology sales.