Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Series Past Speakers

Troy Michael Kotsur is an American actor. Born deaf, Kotsur made his acting debut in the late 1980s working with the National Theatre of the Deaf. Troy was also a member of NTID's traveling performance troupe, Sunshine Too, in the 1990's.

Troy Kotsur has been acting and directing for over 20 years. Deaf since birth, he was raised in Mesa, AZ. In his career he has had critically acclaimed performances in major films, a lead role in the Broadway run of a Tony Award-winning play, and numerous memorable roles on Television.

Troy has garnered rave reviews for his leading role in the 2021 feature CODA, which was awarded Best Ensemble Cast at Sundance. He is credited with being one of the prime reasons for the feature's festival success, which lead to its $25 million sale to Apple. Previous to this, Troy had a supporting role in The Number 23 starring Jim Carrey, and in subsequent years became known for stand-out performances in indie features.

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.

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.

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.

https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/andrew-manning

From Gallaudet: https://gallaudet.edu/science-technology-accessibility-mathematics-public-health/renowned-deaf-environmental-scientist-warns-of-consequences-of-climate-change/

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.

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."

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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.

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.