February 23, 2015
Wednesday, March 11th
5:00 PM Reception in the Gallery
5:45 PM Doors open to the Nicholson Center
6-7 PM Featured Speakers
Join us for the inaugural MPA Talks, featuring thoughtful presentations by some of our community’s most intriguing members. This speaker series is designed to bring the community together to gain new perspectives from our finest stories. Your heart will be warmed and your brain inspired while celebrating a shared love for MPA.
At this year’s event, you will hear four featured speakers:
- Simin Saba Royesh is an international student from Afghanistan and member of the Class of 2015. Simin will share her journey from Pakistan, where her family was fleeing Taliban rule, to high school in Afghanistan to studying at Mounds Park Academy. She now dreams of becoming the first female president of Afghanistan. She will also share her passionate perspective on women’s rights and her desire to change the common perception of women from wives, mothers and sisters to human beings.
- Dr. Keith Harding is an atmospheric scientist at the University of Minnesota and member of the MPA Class of 2003. In his research Keith uses regional climate models and climate observations to investigate the impact of climate change on Midwestern summer rainfall and heavy precipitation events, land-atmosphere interactions, and the Great Plains Low-Level Jet. He will share his research and thoughts about climate change in the Midwest.
- Brianna Powers is a prolific creative writer and member of the Class of 2010. With a career in writing for the gaming industry, she is also a writer of traditional forms including novel-length works and flash fiction within the genres of surrealism, fantasy, horror and science fiction. She will share how MPA helped her succeed in the competitive industry of creative writing and give us a glimpse inside the video game industry.
- Brian Boyle is an MPA parent from the Class of 2027. Most of Brian’s professional life has been spent in manufacturing, specifically industrial baking and contract packaging. He is a the co-owner of an industrial baking company where he started working as a teenager, in addition to a private label ice cream manufacturer. As a vocal advocate of the maker movement, Brian will share his perspective on innovation and the related skills our children need for the future.
We hope you will join us for this spectacular evening as our speakers bring MPA’s mission to life.
No RSVP is required.
