Meet the Panel
We are pleased to introduce our panelists for Bring Your Own Brain! Celebrating Neurodiversity in STEM Careers on April 28, 2021.
Carolyn Phillips - Moderator
Carolyn P. Phillips is internationally recognized in the fields of assistive technology, inclusive design, accessibility and disabilities. Carolyn serves as Co-Director of Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at Georgia Tech (CIDI) and Director & Principal Investigator of Tools for Life, Georgia’s Assistive Technology (AT) Act Program.
As a person living with specific Learning Disabilities, Carolyn has dedicated her time and energy to promoting independence of all people, including those with disabilities, through advocacy, education, assistive technology and systems change. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, her Master's Degree from the University of Kentucky, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Texas Tech University. Carolyn loves living in Atlanta, Georgia with her partner of over 20 years, their two children, along with their rescued family of two dogs and three cats.
Caroline Connell
Caroline Connell manages support and documentation for Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies at Virginia Tech. She has experience as an engineer, international ESL teacher, reporter, technical writer and trainer, and higher education instructor. Connell has her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, master's degrees in communication and curriculum and instruction, and is working on her Ph.D. in Human-Centered Design. Throughout her career she has worked to promote understanding between groups divided by profession, nationality, and religion.
Sam Farmer
Sam Farmer wears many hats, among these, father, husband, musician, computer consultant, and autism spectrum community contributor. A resident of Easton, Massachusetts with a late diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, he writes blogs and articles, records coaching videos, and presents at conferences and support groups, sharing stories, ideas and insights as to how one can achieve greater happiness and success in life despite facing challenges and adversity which often interfere in these pursuits. A Long Walk Down a Winding Road: Small Steps, Challenges, & Triumphs Through an Autistic Lens is his first book, published in 2019.
Johnathan Flowers
Johnathan Charles Flowers is a visiting assistant professor of Philosophy at Worcester State University. His current research expands upon his doctoral work on the affective ground of experience and embodiment through American pragmatism, phenomenology, and East-Asian Philosophy to develop an affective poetics of personhood. Flowers also focuses on pragmatist and cross-cultural approaches to machine intelligence, consciousness, and science and technology studies, specifically with a focus on algorithmic bias.
Rua Williams
Rua M. Williams is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University. They earned their Ph.D. from the Human Centered Computing program at the University of Florida’s Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering department. Their research areas include bias in human computing, fidgeting and mobile devices, and virtual and augmented reality interventions for debiasing. In addition, Williams has over a decade of experience in video game design, user experience design, 3D modeling, animation, and visual effects. They live in West Lafayette, Indiana.