Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Series
Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Series
Past Speakers
2024 - Stephanie Nogueras
 | Nogueras is a deaf Latina actress best known for her role as Natalie Pierce on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth. She has appeared in several films and television series, including Grimm, Unfriended: Dark Web, Criminal Minds, American Diablo, and The Good Fight, Killing It, and Accused. In addition to her acting career, Nogueras is a motivational speaker and the founder of Pepita Productions, which provides support for actors identifying as Latinx/a/o. |
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Lyon Lectureship Series features deaf actress Stephanie Nogueras ’11
Click here to register.
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310 on RIT Campus
Event Poster
[Poster ID: Text: "Deaf, Latina, Actress, Advocate". Star of TV, movies, and Latinx/a/o advocate, Stephanie Nogueras '11. Date/time/location/qr code. Photo: Latina female with long dark brown hair wearing a red tank top with black trim looking sideways.]
NTID’s Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Series features Stephanie Nogueras at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, in the CSD Student Development Center-1300/1310 on the RIT campus. Join us for a moderated Q&A with RIT/NTID alumna Stephanie Nogueras as she discusses her acting career, which was launched with a lucky break while she was an RIT student.
Nogueras is a deaf Latina actress best known for her role as Natalie Pierce on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth. She has appeared in several films and television series, including Grimm, Unfriended: Dark Web, Criminal Minds, American Diablo, and The Good Fight, Killing It, and Accused. In addition to her acting career, Nogueras is a motivational speaker and the founder of Pepita Productions, which provides support for actors identifying as Latinx/a/o.
If you plan to attend this event, please register here: https://forms.gle/MSwRxRpcaTzbE3SM6. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Interpreting services have been requested. Don’t miss this exciting and inspiring evening!
For more information, contact Brian Haak, event manager in NTID’s Office of External Affairs, at behoea@rit.edu.
2023 - Dr. Andrew Manning
 | In 2001, I completed my Ph.D. in Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA. During my thesis work, I developed the world’s first continuous, high precision atmospheric O2 analyser and installed it at the remote monitoring station, Baring Head, New Zealand, where it has continued to collect data since 1999. Atmospheric O2 measurements (together with concurrent CO2 measurements) are a powerful tool for studying the global (and regional) carbon cycle. For example, we are able to partition and quantify the uptake of fossil fuel CO2 emissions by the oceans and land biosphere, and we can explore oxygen, carbon and heat exchanges between the atmosphere and oceans. From 2001-2005, I worked at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Germany, where I was the leader of the “Tall Towers Group”. Here I expanded my work to monitor other greenhouse and greenhouse-related gases such as CH4, CO, N2O, and SF6. We set up multi-species, continuous, automated measurements from very high (up to 300 m) towers in Siberia, Poland, and Germany. Tall tower measurements are a relatively new approach to study regional, terrestrial carbon cycles in continental interiors. I moved to UEA/ENV in 2005 and established the “Carbon Related Atmospheric Measurements” (CRAM) Laboratory as part of COAS. With this laboratory, I brought atmospheric O2 measurement capability to the UK. My group also established continuous atmospheric O2 and CO2 measurements at the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory on the north Norfolk coast in 2008, which is now the longest running CO2 record in the UK. I am and have been a P.I. or co-I. for numerous NERC and EU projects related to improving our understanding of carbon cycle and greenhouse gas science, and their impacts on climate change. Since 2004, I have been leading an international atmospheric O2 intercomparison programme (GOLLUM), which brings together the 11 international atmospheric O2 laboratories from around the world in an effort to link our various measurement programmes. I also manage UEA's "Calibration Cylinder Filling Facility", a facility unique within the UK that provides calibration and reference gases to the atmospheric sciences community. |
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Responding to the Climate Crisis: Is the Whole World Deaf?
Thursday, September 7, 2023
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. ET
RIT Student Alumni Union
Room/Location: Ingle Auditorium on the RIT Campus
Event Poster
[Poster ID: Photo of Andrew Manning on the left, and presentation title, time, date on the right]
RIT/NTID will host the Lyon Lectureship Series featuring Dr. Andrew Manning, a renowned deaf climate scientist, who will give a presentation, “Responding to the Climate Crisis: Is the Whole World Deaf?” on Thursday, September 7, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Ingle Auditorium. Join Dr. Manning for a lecture as he highlights the major issues related to climate change and discusses what causes climate change and how we can respond to this crisis.
Abstract & Short Bio (docx)
Dr. Manning is a deaf internationally recognized environmental scientist who specializes in climate change. He has worked at the School of Environmental Sciences and the University of East Anglia (UEA). At UEA, Manning established the “Carbon Related Atmospheric Measurement (CRAM) Laboratory” and teaches the next generation of students about the urgency of importance of climate change. He holds a Ph.D. at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from the University of California in San Diego and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Canterbury.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Interpreters will be requested.
For more information, contact Brian Haak, event manager in NTID’s Office of External Affairs, at behoea@rit.edu.
We hope to see you there!
2023 - Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz
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Dr. T Alan Hurwitz is the former president of NTID and Gallaudet University. Dr. Hurwitz’s book details his rise to leadership at NTID and Gallaudet University and discusses the challenges he faced as a deaf person and events and experiences that shaped his personal and professional life. He tells the story of turning points and life lessons that serve as a guide for a younger generation of deaf people and encourage them to achieve the highest goals.
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Let's Go In: My Journey to a University Presidency
LBJ Dyer Arts Center
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Lecture: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Book Signing: 5:30 p.m.
Join us for the RIT/NTID Lyon Lectureship Series with Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz.
Lecture is free and open to the public. Registration is not required for this event. Interpreters have been requested.
For more information, please contact Brian Haak, events manager in NTID’s External Affairs Office, at behoea@rit.edu.
Event Poster
[Poster ID: Photo of book, Let's Go In, by Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz on left with author's photo on cover, series and information for this event on April 20, 2023 in the middle. RIT/NTID logo at bottom right in an orange banner.]
RIT/NTID will host distinguished speaker Dr. T Alan Hurwitz, former president of NTID and Gallaudet University, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, 2023, in the Dyer Arts Center as part of the RIT/NTID Lyon Lectureship Series. Hurwitz will give a lecture related to his latest book, “Let’s Go In: My Journey to a University Presidency,” published by Gallaudet University Press. Following the lecture, Hurwitz will sign copies of the book. Free copies of the book will be given to the first 75 attendees.
Hurwitz’s book details his rise to leadership at NTID and Gallaudet University and discusses the challenges he faced as a deaf person and events and experiences that shaped his personal and professional life. He tells the story of turning points and life lessons that serve as a guide for a younger generation of deaf people and encourage them to achieve the highest goals.
2023 - Daniel Durant
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Daniel Durant, is an RIT/NTID alumnus. He is an American stage and screen actor, with a breakthrough starring role as Moritz Stiefel in the 2015 Broadway revival of "Spring Awakening." He has also appeared on Disney+’s “Dancing with the Stars." Most notably, Daniel had a major supporting role in the Academy Award-winning film "CODA."
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Movie Screening: CODA
RIT Ingle Auditorium
Thursday, February 16, 2023
“CODA” Movie: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Q&A Session: 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Event Poster
[Poster ID: Photo of Daniel Durant on the right. On the left is event information for February 16, 2023. Below that is text describing the "CODA" film.]
Daniel Durant, RIT/NTID alumnus and star of the Oscar-winning movie “CODA” and Disney+’s “Dancing with the Stars,” will visit RIT Thursday, February 16 as part of NTID’s Lyon Lectureship Series. Join Daniel for a screening of “CODA” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Ingle Auditorium, and then stick around for a conversation with Daniel after the film from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
“CODA” is the story of 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) and her family. As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family, which includes her deaf brother, Leo, played by Durant. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion for singing at the Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents, played by Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin.
Registration is required for this event. Interpreters have been requested.
For more information, please contact Marissa Woodruff, assistant director of NTID Alumni Relations, at Marissa.Woodruff@rit.edu.
We hope to see you there!
2019 - Russell and Melody Stein
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Russell Stein - Russell Stein was introduced to entrepreneurship at an early age; his Deaf father owned a watchmaking business in New York and Florida. Russell saw firsthand the trials and tribulations — and the benefits — of being a small business owner. After attending Gallaudet University to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Russell began his career by working in relay services at Relay America and then Communication Service for the Deaf. He quickly moved up through the ranks in operations, advertising, and marketing, where he executed expansions while generating revenues of $1 million per month. In 2011, he and his wife Melody embarked on a new adventure: co-founding Mozzeria, a Deaf-owned-and-operated Neapolitan pizzeria in San Francisco. Today, he continues to work with Mozzeria while operating Yantern. As an outgoing businessman, entrepreneur, visionary and mentor to many in the Deaf community, Russell is passionate about bridging the gaps in deaf employment nationwide. Known and admired for his astute business visions and bold moves, he has received awards such as the prestigious 2016 Amos Kendall Award from Gallaudet University and the 2019 Bay Area Disability Changemakers award. Melody Stein - Born into a family of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, Melody Stein is a third-generation business owner. Her family has primarily run restaurants since 1980 in Hong Kong. Her parents relocated to America in the 1980s so that Melody and her brother Joseph could attend the California School for the Deaf. Frustrated by the lack of an upscale Shanghainese restaurant in the area, Melody’s father opened a restaurant in San Francisco — and that’s when Melody knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps. Melody holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from San Francisco State University, and has served in management positions with Communication Service for the Deaf, including in human resources, programming, project management, and public/community relations. She co-founded Mozzeria in San Francisco with her husband, Russell, in 2011, which became Mozzeria, Inc., in January 2018 with locations coming soon. A dynamic and savvy entrepreneur, Melody has received awards such as the prestigious 2016 Amos Kendall Award from Gallaudet University and the 2019 Bay Area Disability Changemakers award. |
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Getting a Piece of the Pizza Pie: The Story of How We Launched a Successful Business
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Presentation: 5-6:30 p.m.
Dyer Arts Center, LBJ Hall
Rochester Institute of Technology · National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Event Poster
[Poster ID: Photo of Russ and Melody Stein standing in their shop, text below gives lecture title and meeting details.]
Russ and Melody Stein will talk about their journey of launching Mozzeria, a successful San Francisco-based pizzeria with all Deaf employees. Russ and Melody are now educating others about deaf entrepreneurship through their new venture, Yantern. Come learn about their inspiring story of beating the odds and creating a winning formula for success
Presentation in ASL - Interpreters have been requested. | Light refreshments will be available.
For more information, contact Scot Atkins at wsanbt@rit.edu
Lecture Video
2019 - Stephanie Vik
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Stephanie Vik, Lead Web Designer RYNO Strategic Solutions, Phoenix, Arizona Brave enough to travel across the country, Stephanie came to RIT/NTID to pursue her dream of being a designer. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Graphic Media Publishing with a minor in Advertising. While working full-time at a commercial real estate brokerage firm, she freelanced and designed hundreds of blogs and websites. Stephanie is celebrating her 6th anniversary with RYNO Strategic Solutions, a full-service nationwide Internet marketing company. She resides in North Phoenix with her dogs and boyfriend, anxiously waiting for her sister Lauren to graduate from RIT! |
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A Great Education, Determination and a Cookie Cake Landed My Dream Job!
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
4 – 5 p.m.
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310
Rochester Institute of Technology · National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Brave enough to travel across the country, Stephanie came to RIT/NTID to pursue her dream of being a designer. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Graphic Media Publishing with a minor in Advertising. While working full-time at a commercial real estate brokerage firm, she freelanced and designed hundreds of blogs and websites. Stephanie is celebrating her 6th anniversary with RYNO Strategic Solutions, a full-service nationwide Internet marketing company. She resides in North Phoenix with her dogs and boyfriend, anxiously waiting for her sister Lauren to graduate from RIT!
Presentation in ASL. Interpreting services have been requested. Light refreshments will be available.
For more information, contact Andrea Zuchegno at ammnvs@rit.edu
Lecture Video
2018 - Michelle Koplitz
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A 2008 graduate of RIT, Michelle Koplitz works for the U.S Department of Health and Human Services as a project officer for the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program. Health-minded, Michelle earned her Master’s degree in Health Education and Health Communications, worked at the Society for Public Health Education, and is a certified yoga instructor and SCUBA diver. Michelle has served on the board of the Deaf in Government non-profit organization and currently lives in Washington, DC.
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How Human Rights Can Influence Positive Change in Public Health
Monday, April 16, 2018
Presentation: 6-7 p.m.
Q and A: 7-7:30 p.m
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310
Deafness has historically been viewed as something to diagnose and treat. It is this same medical model that has also largely left the health care sector untapped by the Deaf community as a possible career option. Michelle Koplitz knew at an early age that she wanted to work in the health care field, however it was her experience at RIT that helped her realize she wanted to work at the crossroads of health and deafness. She found this intersection in a public health career with the federal government. Now with emerging cognitive neuroscience research findings around language acquisition and an increased awareness of social justice, we come to an understanding that we are moving into a new framework of deafness that is rooted in human rights. We explore what this opportunity means and how Deaf Gain can be leveraged to influence positive changes in public health - and in society’s understanding of what it means to be human.
Lecture Video
2017 - Mark Davis
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Mark Davis is a computer numerical control (CNC) machinist at East Side Machine, Inc. in Webster, New York. He earned his associate degree in Computer Integrated Machining Technology (CIMT) from RIT/NTID in 2004 and got his dream job at West Coast Choppers custom motorcycle shop in Long Beach, California. Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences from RIT in 2017 and resides with his family in Greece, New York.
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Life in a Silent World is No Obstacle!
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Presentation: 6-7 p.m.
Q and A: 7-7:30 p.m.
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310
Mark will share his experiences working as a deaf machinist in a predominantly hearing industry. He has learned to face obstacles and he continues to shock and surprise his hearing counterparts with his skills and abilities. Mark has not allowed communication differences to be a barrier. He readily adapts to many different communication styles and knows the importance of being patient!
Lecture Video
2017 - Sasha Lakshmi Ponappa
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Sasha Lakshmi Ponappa has been an advocate for more than a decade to eradicate violence within Deaf communities in Rochester, New York, Oakland, California, and Washington, D.C. She is the director for the Program for Deaf Adults at LaGuardia Community College, where she supports deaf, hard-of-hearing and deafblind students in furthering their educational goals, and making their collegiate experience inclusive and accessible. Ponappa received her bachelor's degree in social work from Rochester Institute of Technology and her master’s degree in social work from Gallaudet University, and lives in New York City with her husband, two children and a fur-baby, and is a proud member of the beautiful and vibrant Deaf culture.
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Finding Social Justice a Meaningful Home in Academia
Monday, May 1, 2017
Presentation 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Q&A 8:00 - 9:00 PM
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310
This lecture will explore how to find social justice a meaningful place in academia where students, faculty and staff are embraced for their intersectional identities. Attendees will gain insight and tools on how to cultivate social justice principles to further enrich the lives of students and the community served. The presenter will draw from her own experiences as a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and how it started a lifelong journey of becoming a proud social justice warrior.
Lecture Video
2016 - Thomas Otto-Bruc
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Thomas Otto-Bruc - Owner, Route 66 Promotions Thomas Otto-Bruc is the owner and founder of Route 66 Promotions (http://www.route66promo.com/), a company that specializes in screen printing, embroidery, promotional services and design services. Mr. Otto-Bruc earned an associate’s degree in business technology from RIT/NTID in 2004. After graduating from RIT, he became a real estate broker for Rent Manhattan in New York City, New York and later became owner of a QuickDrop Ebay Store in Tampa, Florida. He currently serves as a partner and board member of Convo Relay Service and a board member of Deaf, Inc. Mr. Otto-Bruc and his family reside in St. Louis, Missouri. |
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The Route to Imagination and Possibilities
Monday, October 3, 2016
Presentation 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Q&A 8:00 - 9:00 PM
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310
Thomas Otto-Bruc will discuss his journey from being an NTID student to becoming a successful business owner. He will explain the importance of networking and working collaboratively with others as a team. Thomas will share insights into the commitment and goals of successful business owners. He will also give some tips and advice for your future success. The presentation will end with a question and answer period during which you can learn more about Thomas and Route 66 Promotions.
Lecture Video
