Theme: Unscripted

Life is not prescribed, and our stories are written as much by the serendipitous accidents that shape our every day as the events we anticipate a mile away. Our main event of the season celebrates those among us who live and work as they improvise with determination and wander with a dream, those who live for the North Star but make of every ordinary day an accidental, deliberate step towards tomorrow – unfazed, unafraid, unscripted.

Loeb Playhouse
128 Memorial Mall
West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907
United States

Britni Eisenmann

Foster Care Program Director

Britni Eisenmann is a 2007 graduate of Purdue University, and a proud wife and mother of two. She has been in the social work field for about 8 years, and is currently directing a foster care program in the Fort Wayne area. Britni is an orphan care advocate, and an avid supporter of caregivers and foster parents worldwide. She is passionate about the non-profit sector, is motivated by her faith, and dreams of a world where healthy families open themselves up to care for at-risk children and others in crisis.

David Cappelleri

Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University

David J. Cappelleri is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Prior to joining Purdue, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. Prof. Cappelleri founded the Multi-Scale Robotics & Automation Lab that performs cutting-edge research on robotic and automation systems at various length scales. Prof. Cappelleri is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2012), Harvey N. Davis Distinguished Assistant Professor Teaching Award (2010) and the Association for Lab Automation (ALA) Young Scientist Award (2009). He was selected for and participated in the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers on Engineering Education Symposium in 2011 and the German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2015 jointly sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the National Academy of Engineering.

Don Heider

Founder of the Center for Digital Ethics & Policy, and the Founding Dean and Professor at the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago

Don Heider is the Founder of the Center for Digital Ethics & Policy, and the Founding Dean and Professor at the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago. Dean Heider is a five-time Emmy-award winner for his work as a producer and reporter during ten years he spent working in TV news before entering the academy. He has written or edited six books, including Ethics for a Digital Age, A Practical Guide to Digital Journalism Ethics,Digital Ethics; Research & Practice, and Living Virtually: Researching New Worlds. Heider has been honored with three university teaching awards. Dean Heider earned his B.A, from Colorado State University, his M.A. from American University and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

Jada Hoerr

Manager at Caterpillar Inc.

Jada Hoerr is a Manager at Caterpillar Inc. Her nearly 20 years at the company have been in Sales & Marketing roles living and working in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Miami, Florida and Peoria, Illinois, home to Caterpillar's corporate headquarters. She currently leads a team working with the Cat Dealer Network driving excellence in Sale, Marketing and Customer Experience. Jada is a Purdue '97 graduate of Agriculture Engineering. She is thankful for Purdue's Women in Engineering programs and is an active member of the Society of Women engineers today. Jada is involved in philanthropic endeavors on a local and global scale. She is an advocate for diversity as an enabler of innovation. Jada is married and has four step-children

Jennifer Jones

Vice President of Rotary International

Jennifer is the President and CEO of Media Street Productions Inc., an award winning television production company in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Jennifer is also the Vice President of Rotary International. At Rotary International, she along with sixteen global directors, oversee the policy, governance and fiduciary responsibilities of the organization's 1.2-million members in more than 35-thousand clubs. One of Rotary International's most recognized communicators, Jennifer has presented keynote addresses and training workshops at hundreds of conferences across North America and overseas. Jennifer also contributes much of her energy to local organizations. She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Governors at the University of Windsor and the past Chair of the Board of Directors at the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has been recognized for Rotary’s Service above Self Award and the Citation for Meritorious Service, the YMCA Peace Medallion, the Queen’s Diamond Jubi

Mike Asem

M25 Venture Capital Director

While earning his B.A. at Purdue University, Mike championed The Anvil, one of the largest student-run coworking space and startup incubators in the world. While at Purdue, Mike was also a Student Fellow for Chicago Ventures, and was named the OnePurdue Scholar for making the largest impact to the Purdue community by a single student. After graduating, Mike led business development at a nanotech startup born out of Purdue then served as Director of Collaborative Relationships for the Purdue Foundry, where he supported business development and talent related activities for startups in the Foundry’s portfolio. He is currently a director with M25, a Chicago based venture capital company. Aside from his passion for working with startups, Mike can often be found making fruit wine, rooting for Chicago sports, and hunting down great sushi.

Peter Fadde

Professor and Director of the Learning Systems Design and Technology (LSDT) Graduate Program at Southern Illinois University

Peter Fadde is professor and director of the Learning Systems Design and Technology (LSDT) graduate program at Southern Illinois University. Before his academic career, Peter was a professional video producer and served for 13 seasons as athletic video coordinator at Purdue University, where he earned masters and doctoral degrees. Dr. Fadde originated the Expertise-Based Training (XBT) method that has been used to train expert situation awareness in domains ranging from sports to firefighting to classroom teaching. He has presented more than 60 academic papers and published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters, along with the Amazon e-book The Sixth Tool: Training Pitch Recognition. Dr. Fadde co-founded and serves as Chief Science Officer of gameSense Sports, a start-up company that produces computer-based sports expertise training products.

Raaja Nemani

Co-founder and CEO of Bucketfeet

Raaja is the co-founder and CEO of Bucketfeet where he oversees the company's growth and development. Founded in 2011, Bucketfeet is a footwear company that collaborates with a global community of artists to design limited-edition shoes with the goal of sparking meaningful conversations to create a brighter world. Alongside co-founder Aaron Firestein, Raaja is focused on empowering a community of 40,000 artists from more than 120 countries to share their stories and perspectives using the universal language of art and the shoe as their canvas. After four years in the finance industry, Raaja decided to pursue his lifelong dream of backpacking around the world. While traveling in Argentina, Raaja met Firestein and purchased a pair of his hand-designed shoes. After seeing the strong response the shoes received throughout his journey across six continents, Raaja saw the potential to create an innovative fashion platform.

Rayvon Rouche

Director of the American Studies Program at Purdue University

Rayvon Fouche is currently Director of the American Studies Program at Purdue University. He has previously taught African American Studies, American Studies, History, and Science & Technology Studies at Purdue University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Washington University in St. Louis. He was born and raised in the Chicago area. He lives with his wife and son in central Indiana. As a cultural historian of technological invention and innovation, Rayvon Fouché explores the multiple intersections and relationships between cultural representation, racial identification, and technological design. As a scholar and public speaker, he has actively worked to clear away the misinformation about black inventors. His current book project examines how sport governing bodies use technoscientific power and authority to authenticate athletic performances.

Rod Williams

Associate Professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University

Rod Williams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. He received his B.S. in Wildlife Science in 1996, his M.S. in Conservation Genetics in 1998, and his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Genetics in 2007 from Purdue University. Rod is broadly interested in the ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. His research interests focus on using a combination of field and laboratory methods to: 1) investigate habitat selection and use in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, 2) characterize amphibian and reptile mating systems, 3) examine the factors influencing amphibian malformation

Shawn Duncan

Director of the Lupton Center

Shawn Duncan is the Director of the Lupton Center, the training and consulting division of FCS | Focused Community Strategies, a community development organization in Atlanta. He has a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary where he focused on pedagogy’s for social engagement. He is the Co-Founder of EIRO, a nonprofit catalyst of local partnerships for the greater good. He is a part of the Strategic Planning Team for the Terminus Collective, which organizes and equips leaders for the flourishing of Atlanta. Shawn is also on the Advisory Board for the International Journal of Urban Transformation.

Shireen Hafeez

Founder of Deaf Kids Code

Shireen Hafeez is the founder of Deaf Kids Code. Her root in Deaf causes goes back to the diagnosis of her own son. She spent many years being involved with heavy advocacy and activism on a variety of levels that have included efforts in lobbying for insurance companies to cover hearing aids for babies and children diagnosed. She has been a guest lecturer at Purdue University for years, and has served on the boards for several organizations; which support this population. She embarked on a new initiative aimed specifically to impact the severe unemployment/ underemployment gap in the deaf/hard of hearing community. She started this nonprofit organization to help students and educators realize that computing skills will shatter the barriers that have prevented those from obtaining full economic and social participation. Based on the first principle that the ‘digital age is the great equalizer’, she considers herself an ‘itinerant STEAM stimulator’. Traveling around from various regions