2025 Speakers

Formerly a senior research scientist at Yale, Irish born J. A. Scott Kelso holds FAU’s Eminent Scholar Chair in Science and was the Founding Director of its Center for Complex Systems. He has won many national and international awards for his research on Coordination Dynamics, the science of how living things, from cells to people, are coordinated.

Katie Williams, a marine conservationist and Director of Marketing at Ocean Rescue Alliance International, leverages her education in Business Psychology and MBA to pioneer underwater sculptures that double as reefs. She works to help restore coral ecosystems and educates communities, showcasing the synergy between art, science, and conservation.

Dr. Ian Enochs is a coral reef ecologist and inventor with more than 70 peer-reviewed publications. He leads the coral program at the NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and has worked all over the world, from sunken volcanoes in the Marianas to the urban waterways of Miami. 

Lisa Stein, a retired US Air Force Captain and decorated Combat Veteran, piloted AWACS surveillance aircraft on global National Security and Desert Storm combat missions. A University of Miami graduate with degrees in both Mathematics and International Studies, a true trailblazer.

John Thomerson is a visionary entrepreneur, innovator, researcher, and educator with expertise in business, psychology and neuroscience, mathematics and statistics, natural sciences, engineering, and art. As the founder and CEO of the RIDE Institute™ and Pet HealthCare Innovations™, 

Karmiah Smith, a junior at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, believes in the power of creative expression. Co-president of her school’s Slam Poetry team, she is also an award-winning editor for The Muse, her schools newspaper. She inspires to explore topics relevant to today’s society through her written and spoken word.

Jessica is a certified Parenting Coach, Yoga, Meditation Instructor, and founder of the Find My ZenFam movement. With a passion for supporting parents in their everyday struggles, she developed strategies that enhance communication and collaboration by addressing our emotional wellbeing. 

Aline Silva, holds an MBA with a focus on Marketing and Communications. Originally born in Brazil, she grew roots in South Florida where she explored first hand, the power of kindness, doing good not only lifts others but also fuels our own happiness—creating a beautiful, endless loop where joy begets more joy. 

Eric D. Berg is a postdoctoral researcher at the College of Science and the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic. With a background in both formal logic and social epistemology, his research on propaganda and extremism lives at the intersection of technology and social-political philosophy.