Michelle Liu ‘22

Michelle is a sophomore at Brown University concentrating in Statistics and Sociology. Throughout the past years, she has worked at numerous non-profits including Two Bridges, The Ocean Project and Trenton Special Advocacy Group, and at local newspaper publications such as the Hamilton Post. She currently researches at Brown's Population Studies center studying health disparities in China. Michelle seeks to tell and share stories through all these experiences using the synergy of data analysis and ethnography. In her talk, she weaves her passions for advocacy with TBD. 

Madeline Griswold ‘21

Madeline is a junior at Brown University concentrating in Computer Science, with a focus on Machine Learning. She has participated in Brown’s Computer Graphics and Reinforcement Learning research groups and interned as a Software Engineer at Bloomberg. Madeline’s passion lies in CS education, as she has taught many elementary, middle, and high school students how to code. Outside of technology, Madeline enjoyed showing people around campus as a science tour guide and taking photographs around the city. 

Yunni Cho  ‘21

I am a dual degree student at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design. I major in Interior Architecture and RISD and double concentrate in urban studies and cognitive neuroscience at Brown. Through my education, I explore interdisciplinary nature of design and question the boundary of space through its history and perception. 

Prof. Jerome Arul

Prof. Geoff Capraro

Geoff Capraro, MD, MPH is a practicing Brown Emergency Medicine physician who wants to bring the power of emergency antidotes to the public. He is actively working on opioid overdose prevention through his founding of NaloxBox, his engagement in the naloxone work group of RI Governor Raimondo’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force, and his research on impending overdose sponsored by the NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose. He values his deep collaborations in these efforts, gladly serves as a mentor for Brown and RI programs in entrepreneurship and innovation including Brown’s Breakthrough Laboratory, Brown medical school’s Scholarly Concentration Program, and the Social Enterprise Greenhouse.

Roberta Powell

During her treatment for breast cancer 14 years ago, Roberta Powell was confronted with the difficulty of making informed health decisions. Comprehending medical terminology, understanding the nuances of her treatment plan and grasping the significance of the lab values was overwhelming. Consequently, after completing her cancer treatment at 45 years old, Roberta changed careers; returned to school to become a nurse educator. Based on Roberta’s 8 years of nursing experience, she has created a powerful health preservation tool that simplifies complex health data, provides drug interaction alerts and supports health-agency.

Jessica Burbank

Jessica Burbank makes the case for integrating democratic principles with economic decision-making⁠—a transformation she argues is necessary for human progress. This perspective is informed by her background in data-driven public policy, international history, and political economy. Her work ranges from piloting  development programs with a focus on sustainability and sociocultural relevance, to lecturing in the International Studies department at Wells College under Dr. Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo. 

Mirabella Roberts ‘20

Mirabella Roberts, or Bella for short, is a Senior at Brown University studying Literary Arts and Public Policy.  Bella is the CEO and Founder of Rhode Island based non-profit, Art to Reduce Mental Health Stigma. Bella is a writer, entrepreneur, and problem-solver. A native of Maryland, Bella loves to travel, cook Georgian food, and compete in slam poetry competitions. 

Prof. Connie Crawford

Connie Crawford is a teaching artist in theatre and horse practices. As an actor, she graduated with honors from The Juilliard School. Connie also studied acting with Uta Hagen and Bobby Lewis, improv with The Groundlings and the Meisner technique with Larry Silverberg. As a horsewoman, she has studied and practiced Tom Dorrance’s approach to working with horses for 18 years. Some of her greatest teachers include Bryan Neubert, Libby Lyman and Harry Whitney. Connie has worked as an actor, a director and a teacher in many venues. At Brown University, she is the Marsha Z. West Director-in-Residence at Rites and Reason Theatre in the Africana Studies Department and a lecturer in the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies Department. As an actor, Connie has performed on Broadway and in theaters across the United States. She appeared on Saturday Night Live, on TV daytime dramas and currently acts with the radical performance troupe NightDrive in New York City. She teaches and directs in theaters, colleges, universities, independent studios and K-12 classrooms, public and private. Connie connects across species boundaries, working with horses and humans, facilitating interspecies communication workshops nationally. In Rhode Island, she leads equine workshops with Brown University faculty, medical students and with independent acting students. In these workshops, humans interact with horses to attune their powers of perception and to develop their tolerance for ambiguity. These interspecies interactives enhance the human’s communication skills and build productive partnerships by strengthening the human’s ability to respect all partners. Connie’s articles and photographs on interspecies communication have been published in national publications.