Speaking

Talks for rooms that don't all start from the same premises

I speak to corporate leadership teams, conferences, and boards about science literacy, misinformation, and what it actually takes to lead people across a genuine belief gap — because I've lived on both sides of one.

2025–2026 marks 100 years since the Scopes Trial — a timely hook for any audience thinking about where the evolution-education fight stands now.

Signature topics

Keynote

Misinformation is a business risk, not just a classroom problem

How the erosion of science literacy shows up in your workforce, your customers, and your public trust — and what leaders can do before it reaches your organization.

Keynote

Leading people who don't start out agreeing with you

Lessons from a career spent moving between a creationist upbringing and a career defending evolution education — a working model for leading across genuine conviction gaps.

Panel / Fireside

The STEM pipeline starts earlier than you think

What's actually happening in U.S. classrooms around evolution and climate education, and why it matters to any organization that hires scientists, engineers, or informed citizens.

Keynote

Scopes at 100: what a century of litigating evolution teaches us about truth under pressure

Marking 100 years since the Scopes Trial, this talk traces the throughline from a 1925 Tennessee courtroom to today's misinformation landscape — and what it means for any institution defending evidence-based decisions.

Workshop

Changing a mind without losing the relationship

A practical session on persuasion and trust-building drawn from decades of evolution-education advocacy in some of the most resistant audiences in the country.

Audience fit

Best suited for

Leadership offsites

Executive teams navigating internal disagreement, culture change, or public trust challenges.

Conferences & summits

Innovation, education, science communication, and civic-engagement programming — including SXSW-style crossover audiences.

Boards & funders

Briefings for boards and philanthropic partners evaluating investment in science education and public trust.

Selected past engagements

2026

Binghamton University — Evolutionary Studies Program

2025

Syracuse University — K.D. Nelson Lecture Series

2025

Vanderbilt University — Invited Address, Evolution Education 100 Years Since Scopes

2025

SUNY New Paltz — Spencer Mass Memorial Lecture

2025

Association for Science Teacher Education International Conference — Keynote, "Fearless Science"

2018

Smithsonian Institution

Ongoing

Expert panelist, NPR Science Friday

Bring this to your stage

Tell me about your audience and the date, and I'll follow up with fit and availability.