Come get nerdy with us! Tuesday, November 7th for Nerd Nite Baltimore Eleven. We have three great speakers who will no doubt light up the belgian beer hall AND they just all happen to be amazingly talented and smart women. Come sip and learn and walk away with new brain wrinkle from all this new knowledge! Details below, disclaimer: order of talks may change.

Be there and be square! Nerd Nite Baltimore (NNB) is part of an international community of Nerd Nites in over 90 cities around the world! This event combines imbibing and learning. Anyone with a passion can be a Nerd Nite speaker! Join us for a night of educational drinking! Nerd Nite Baltimore is a bi-monthly event held at a local bar where information combines with fun.

Talks at Nerd Nite are typically 20 minutes with a rollicking Q&A afterward. The barkeeps at De Kleine Duivel will keep your glasses full of delightful Belgian beer and spirits. (This is a 21 and over venue.) Doors open at 6:30ish…event starts at 7:00pm We have a great line up for this month!

Talk #1:

PowerPoint is Boring: Engaging the Adult Learner

Talk Summary: Have you ever sat through a meeting and thought, this could be an email? Do you have to present to coworkers, and get nervous or ramble? Bring a charged phone & get ready to interact with activities and discussion on how to engage the adult learner, regardless of the content. Strategies for overcoming nerves, creating meaningful learning experiences, and creating presentations that wow will be some of the items discussed.

Bio: Irene Bal is a lecturer in Educational Technology at Loyola University Maryland. Prior to joining the faculty at Loyola, Irene worked in a school district in Columbia, SC as an instructional technology coach, where she presented and worked with adults engaging them in integrating technology in their work & life. She has also presented at many state, regional, national, and international conferences, chats, and webinars on blended learning, hour of code, creating technology events, grant writing, engagement in professional development, and Makerspaces.

Talk #2

Scientific Outreach…in Saudi Arabia by Dr. Alex Lockwood

The life and work of a single Western woman in an Arab country with a slowly developing knowledge economy. Alex Lockwood is a planetary scientist turned science communicator, who spent 2 years working in the Middle East before moving back to the US to support the James Webb Space Telescope.

Talk #3:

Using What Works to Improve Youth Well-being, Building Stronger Communities and Support Families

Presented by: Jessie Watrous and colleague

Jessie Watrous is the Director of Evidence Based Practice at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work, Institute for Innovation and Implementation where she is assisting Maryland child welfare and juvenile agencies to improve practice and strengthen their service array. She previously worked at Annie E. Casey Foundation as a Senior Associate on the Evidence-Based Practice Team. At Annie E. Casey, she was a leader in the development of an initiative to improve community-level child well-being, Evidence2Success. She also consulted with state child welfare leaders on system reforms.

Watrous holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, where she concentrated on program evaluation and nonprofit management.