Teach the Geek: Public Speaking and Communication Skills for Technical Professionals

Ayori "Selfpreneur" Selassie was a panelist at the 2018 Blacks in Tech conference. She spoke with such gravitas on the panel that I knew I wanted to interview her. After rebuffing a guidance counselor's advice to study African-American studies instead of computer science, she has embarked on quite a career in the technology space. She has worked in engineering, sales, and marketing, culminating wi...

Much like one of my former guests, Andrew Kelley, Patrick Sweet is an engineer with business savvy. A bachelor’s in electrical engineering and a MBA are proof of that. I came across Patrick via another former guest, Thomas Anderson. Thomas put me on to Patrick’s website, engineeringandleadership.com, whose goals is to help engineers become the leaders they want to be.     Learn more...

Dr. Nehemiah Mabry is smart. He has a PhD in Structural engineering from NC State. Dr. Nehemiah Mabry is a worker. He works as a bridge design engineer. But did you know he got bars, too? He’s a STEM poet, weaving his love of STEM and poetry into distinct masterpieces. He’s also the founder of STEMedia, whose goal is to inspire underrepresented kids to consider STEM fields.    You can re...

While I wasn’t able to attend his presentation, Andrew Kelley was a presenter at the inaugural Blacks in Technology conference. He was speaking on raising capital, a topic of interest to many entrepreneurs trying to grow their businesses. While he has an MBA, his bachelor’s and master’s degrees are Mechanical Engineering. How does Mechanical Engineering and raising capital come together?  &nb...

As a professional coach, Kanika Tolver gets her greatest joy from helping people realize who they are and where they wish to be. She does her work as CEO of Career Rehab, LLC. She’s also a speaker, whose topics include how to make a career change into tech, how to make 6 figures in tech, and A Game-Plan for African Americans in the Tech Industry. She’s quite qualified to speak on tech, as she has...

Dr. Tracy Fanara took her love of science from the lab to in front of the camera. In addition to being the Manager of the Environmental Health Research Program at Mote Marine Laboratory, she has been featured on shows such as Mythbusters: The Search and Xploration Awesome Planet.  Her current venture, Inspector Planet, provides environmental education to folks of all ages.   Follow her o...

Jared Arms is the founder and CEO of Kylar.io, which, among other things, partners with 60 companies across the US to help reduce gun violence and promote STEM skills in the Black community.    Check him out at kylar.io

From developing characters to Developer Evangelist, Chloe Condon has made quite a transition. Once a stage actor, she now works in the tech field. Listen in as we discuss her journey.    To learn more about Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeCondon.

Grad student. Podcaster. TEDx speaker. These descriptors definitely apply to Margot Wohl. You know what else describes her? Delightful guest on my channel.    Catch Margot on Twitter at @Brains_n_Bugs

Girls are underrepresented in STEM. Chemical Engineer Stephanie Espy is trying to change that. Her book, STEM Gems, exposes girls to 44 different STEM professionals. She also runs MathSP, providing math and science coaches to students. Over a decade into entrepreneurship and she's doing great!   Interested in learning more about the book? Go to http://stemgemsbook.com/ .

If you want to be a guest on a podcast, it can be a chore to find appropriate podcasts. Tom Schwab and his company, Interview Valet, eliminate that problem by matching podcast guests to podcasts.   I enjoyed talking to Tom, from his days in the military to his current venture.    Check out interviewvalet.com/geek to learn more.

Programmers can be jerks sometimes. April Wensel is looking to change that with her company, Compassionate Coding. She provides keynotes and workshops on emotional intelligence and its importance in improving productivity and a company's bottom line.    Follow April on Twitter @aprilwensel  Check out her website at compassionatecoding.com

Stephanie Humphrey is a unicorn. She worked as an engineer for over a decade and then gave it up a life in front of the camera. She’s a technology expert who has appeared on HuffPost Live, Good Morning America,  and The Harry Show. And if that wasn’t enough, she started Til Death Do You Tweet, a seminar offered to both kids and parents about kids’ social media habits.

Jay Miller’s story is an interesting one. After dropping out of college and giving up on a career as a musician, he joined the military as a data network technician. After leaving the military, he became a system administrator and developed a love for productivity. He now uses his knowledge of productivity and development concepts and his military training to help developers improve their producti...

Anthony Fasano is a civil engineer, a professional engineer and the founder of the Engineering Management Institute.  It’s a company focused on helping engineers become effective leaders through content and corporate training.  The website contains free articles, two podcasts (The Engineering Career Coach Podcast and The Civil Engineering Podcast) and a YouTube series, Engineering Career...

Business strategy expert Joon S. Han, founded Better San Diego, a strategic alignment company, and served as its strategy specialist until recently retiring from active client work to focus on helping small businesses through his book "Get Ahead by Giving Back" and the accompanying world-class training event "Give Getters Rule!"   Joon is also the Co-Host of "Your Biz Rocks" - a highly-acclai...

Jessica am an entrepreneur, technologist, writer and philanthropist who is passionate about people, products and building community. In 2014, she co-founded New York On Tech (NYOT) with her best friend, which is an organization that creates pathways for underrepresented students into degrees and careers in tech.  She has contributed to Huffington Post, Univision and LinkedIn. In her work, she...

Sasha Ariel Alston, known as the STEM Queen, is the author of the children’s book "Sasha Savvy Loves to Code". From Washington, DC, she is a college student majoring in Information Systems with a minor in Marketing at Pace University, Lubin School of Business in New York. With eight successful information technology and business internships at Infor, Microsoft, and Everfi, she is a sought-after sp...

Thomas A. Anderson is a a licensed Mechanical Engineer with 10 years of experience that enjoys helping other engineers improve and discover their communication skills to obtain the career of their dreams. I use my talent and experiences to provide the best possible future for others. I am proud to be a Professional Engineer. I am passionate about promoting licensure, ethical, lawful practice of en...

About Justin Shaifer -  A NASA and NOAA scholarship recipient, Justin Shaifer graduated with the highest GPA in his Marine and Environmental Science Department. After serving as student body president at Hampton University, he dove headfirst into his dream of making science fun! He has given talks at the Smithsonian Museum, multiple universities, and is featured on several radio segments and...