Plenary Speakers and Presenters

Plenary Speakers

Tucker Bryant

Entrepreneur, innovation strategist, poet

Ray Suarez

Renowned Broadcaster and Author
Host, On Shifting Ground, NPR Veteran

Scott Tong

Journalist, author, radio host & Co-Host of Here & Now
NPR and WBUR

Dr. Wesley J. Watkins, IV

Founder, The Jazz & Democracy Project
Lecturer, The U.S. Studies Center, Univ. of Sydney

Presenters

Nancy T. Ammerman

Professor Emerita of the Sociology of Religion
Boston University

Constance and Martin Silver Endowed Prof in Data Science
New York University

Shawn Askinosie

Founder and CEO
Askinosie Chocolate

Professor, Director and Author
University of Kansas

Elizabeth Barker

Visual Art Department Head
Lebanon High School

Senior Research Fellow
Catholic University

William Barrentine

VP Sales-Foodservice & Grocery
EA Sween Company

Professor Emeritus | Social and Personality Psychologist
University of Queensland

Professor, Director and Author
New York University

Journalist, Podcast Host
The Atlantic

Professor of Business Law
University of Connecticut

Protection Director
The Nature Conservancy

Orlena Nwokah Blanchard

Entrepreneur and Marketing Executive
CROWN Act

Director of Policy, Daugherty Water for Food Global Instit.
University of Nebraska

New York Bureau Chief
The Christian Science Monitor

Director, American Democracy Project
AASCU | American Association of State Colleges and

Sarah Cunningham

Superintendent, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
National Park Service

Kim-Anh Nguyen Dang

Tae Kwon-Do Master and Director of Education
Duc Dang School of Martial Arts

CEO
Society for Public Health Education

Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis

Director of Health
City of St. Louis

Executive Director, Ctr for Veteran Transition & Integration
Columbia University

Jennifer Carter Dochler

Director of Government Affairs
Missouri Foundation for Health

Chief Strategy Officer
Journeys Metabolic

Patrick Grayshaw

Assistant Professor, Public Health
Carroll University

Zoltán Grossman

Professor of Geography and Native Studies
The Evergreen State College

Mellisa Huffman

Associate Professor of English
Angelo State University

Owner
Ninjackson

Associate Professor - Higher Education, Policy Studies
Georgia State University

Marissa Defratti Kulkarni

Geospatial Specialist
RWE

Equality Organizer (Springfield)
PROMO - Equality in Missouri

Professor of Sustainable Management
IU Int'l University of Applied Sciences - Germany

Andrew C. McKevitt

Professor
Louisiana Tech University

Chapman Rackaway

Chair and Professor of Political Science
Radford University

Program Director/Morning Show Host
Springfield's Talk, 104.1, KSGF

Alyssa Simpson Rochwerger

Product Management Executive
Canvas Ventures and Blue Shield of California

Executive Director
Southwest Missouri Water

Katherine V. Smith

Executive Director, Center for Corporate Citizenship
Boston College

Dean of Religious Life
University of Southern California

Natalie Jomini Stroud

Professor of Communication Studies
The University of Texas at Austin

Programs Director
Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, MO

Kenneth L. Woodward

Awarding-winning journalist and author
Writer-in-Residence, Lumen Christi Institute