
● Our Team
Proven Builders
and Creators
The Plenary, Co. is driven by a core team of multidisciplinary leaders working with a fast-growing community of 100+ specialists, experts, and creative collaborators.
The Plenary, Co. is an ever-growing community of multidisciplinary leaders and changemakers committed to creativity, informed futures, and the constant re-imagination of what's possible. From our full-time staff, to our advisors, directors, creatives, contributors, partners, patrons, volunteers, community members, and more — our work is fueled by collaboration.

We are blessed to have scholars, advocates, and experts lend their voices and stories to our programs.
⬤ Featured Guests and Conversations
We often invite leading experts, artists, and advocates to participate in or speak at our events. While our focus is always on community activation and exploration, we believe that the right voices can help to frame and inspire conversation and real world action. We want to extend a thank you to all of our guests for generously sharing their time, ideas, and expertise with our community!
Scholar & Advocate, STEAM Connection
”Using the Power of Robots to make STEAM more Accessible”
Inventor & Educator, STEAM Connection
”Using the Power of Robots to make STEAM more Accessible”
Impact Designers
Invited Speakers at “Design Principles for Driving Change”
⬤ I Am A Scientist Features
Our I Am a Scientist program features the stories of STEM / STEAM professionals from across fields. Below are some of the scientists who have generously contributed their stories to the initiative.
Population Geneticist & Storyteller
⬤ Acknowledgements
Contributing Subject Matter Experts
The Plenary, Co.’s model depends on contributions from countless scientists, scholars, and practitioners, many of whom contribute unknowingly through their publicly available works. We want to particularly thank and acknowledge those individuals who have kindly dedicated their time and expertise to help inform our works:
Note: Experts are in no way responsible for the accuracy of The Plenary, Co.'s content.
Gerson Abesamis, EdM, Designer
Lisa Schnoll, EdM, Product Manager
Susan Smiley, EdM, Media Producer
Hillari Fine Sasse, MA, Ethnographer
Astrid Willis Countee, Data Anthropologist & Technologist
Caroline James, Director of Sustainability
Chris Alice Kratzer, Director, Owlfly LLC
Jasmine McAdams, MS/PhD student at UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group
Julie Lesnik, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Melissa Pappas, Founder, Emerging Creatives of Science
Shyama Vermeersch, PhD, Researcher, University of Groningen
Sofia Wang, Co-founder, MycoWorks
Suzanne Pierre, PhD, Founder, Critical Ecology Lab
Aquatic Ecologist & Assistant Professor, Anonymous
Ashanti M. Davis, MA, Artist, Change & Community Experiences Designer, Pueblo
Astrid Willis Countee, Data Anthropologist & Technologist
Crystal Dilworth, PhD, Neuroscientist & Science Communicator
Hana Ayoob, Science Communicator & Illustrator
Megan Erin Miller, Co-Founder, Practical by Design
Megan K. Halpern, PhD, Associate Professor, MSU
Melissa Pappas, Founder, Emerging Creatives of Science
Rachel Ropeik, Independent Educator & Facilitator
Rahul Bhargava, Assistant Professor, Northeastern University
Professor, University of Michigan (Anonymous)
Scientific Multimedia Producer (Anonymous)
Tinkering Specialist, Exploratorium (Anonymous)
Astrid Willis Countee, Data Anthropologist & Technologist
David Kelley, PhD, Computational Biologist & Machine Learning Specialist
Gracie Ermi, Machine Learning Scientist at Impact Observator
John Zimmerman, AI Professor
Theresa Harris, Program Director, AAAS
Charles Fadel, Founder of Center for Curriculum Redesign
Maya Bialik, Educator and researcher
Melanie Trecek-King, Associate Professor of Biology, Massasoit Community College
John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
Sara Yeo, Associate Professor, University of Utah
Data Scientist & Dad