Our Team

Our Team

Our dedicated team members all know what it feels like to attempt something new for the first time – especially public speaking (and especially, especially stand up comedy!). Our team has distilled years of experience in STEM and comedy into producing live science comedy shows and running impactful workshops. We believe in the power of humor to break down barriers and rebuild support for and trust in science and we’ve developed a well-tried system for doing just that.

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Taylor Soderborg

Role

Executive Director

Biography

Taylor Soderborg is an expert in the pediatric microbiome (aka baby poop). She received her MD and PhD degrees from the University of Colorado Anschutz School o...
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David Westmoreland

Role

Board Member, former Director

Biography

David Westmoreland is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, where he taught evolutionary biology to undergraduate ...
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Jessie Hanson

Role

Board Member, Former Director

Biography

Jessie Hanson, B.S., B.A, M.A., MLS (ASCP), the National Program Coordinator, is a professional laboratorian and comedienne, with a background in microbiology r...
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Niki Spahich

Role

Co-founder, Board Member

Biography

Niki Spahich co-founded Science Riot in Colorado Springs, CO in 2016. Niki received her PhD in Genetics and Genomics from Duke University. After researching bac...
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Steve Nash

Role

Board Member

Biography

Dr. Steve Nash is President & CEO of Archaeology Southwest, a non-profit research, outreach, and advocacy firm based in Tucson, Arizona. Steve did his first...
Woman with brain model in classroom.
Amy Pearce

Role

Board Member

Biography

Amy completed her PhD in Neuroscience and a certificate in Science Communication from the Australian National University. During that time, she also volunteered...
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Kyle Sanders

Role

Co-founder (Emeritus)

Biography

Kyle earned a Bachelor’s in Space Systems Engineering from the Air Force Academy and currently serves as an instructor pilot with eight years of science outreac...
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