Madeline Black: Superintendent, W-A-Y Academy

Thank you for supporting our inaugural season full of wisdom, direction and passion delivered directly to you from some of the most amazing guests ever! We look forward to bringing you more interesting guests in the field of STEM this summer.

Mr. Daniels has worked in many facets throughout his career. From being a chemist, and learning about what it truly means to be a scientist to teaching at Michigan State University. A Detroit native and Detroit Public School graduate, who is passionate about educating children in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He has championed companies for over a decade, because leadership is another gift that he possesses. Sit back and enjoy the knowledge and wisdom of Mr. Fletcher Daniels.

From teacher to principal to superintendent. Madeline has pursued her passion for educating America’s youth for over 20 years, and she’s not done. Sit back an enjoy the vast experience of an educator, who is living her dream.

Travis Albert is a native of Baton Rouge, LA and Class of 1999 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Robert E Lee High School. Mr. Albert attended Xavier University and later found interest in welding. He later pursued his interest by attending and graduating from Capital Area Technical College, now known as Baton Rouge Community College in 2010. Soon after he began his career as a combination pipe welder and for 10 years. In 2017, Travis used his talents to start his own business, Royalty Welding and Metal Fabrications, which has been growing and very successful. He has also volunteered his time to teaching and certifying youth in welding at Broadmoor High School over the last two years. Seeking to serve his community more, he started a non-profit organization called Building Better Futures BR in order to mentor young men on how to obtain successful careers through other avenues outside of college. Travis Albert was elected 2nd Vice President of NAACP Baton Rouge Branch in 2018 and recently re-elected to serve his second term.

With an engineering career spanning over 30 years, experience, wisdom and guidance are key descriptions of what to expect from Mr. Donnie Williams’ podcast. As a Civil Rights era graduate from Southern University and subsequent experience working with products such as oil, soft drinks, candy and rice, he has witnessed change (and lack of change) in engineering and will provide guidance for how to navigate through this developing field. Listen in to learn tips on how to define professional and personal success.

Technology Professional with experience in project management, design, testing, implementation, and administration of a wide range of systems and technologies. Robert has strong analytical skills with a strong understanding of infrastructure architecture, possesses vast experience in troubleshooting, and strong interpersonal in excellent communication skills, overseeing various projects of various sizes and scope. He has also effectively advised clients on hardware and software solutions that best meets their needs. In conclusion, he assist clients with the planning and deployment of systems, upgrades, cloud migrations, cloud integrations, and modifications based on Microsoft’s best practices model.

A Stanford graduate, with over nine years experience in gaming at Microsoft, and currently serving in management at Amazon. A Native to the Seattle area with over 20 years experience in technology in Automotive, Telecommunications, Aerospace, Medical, and Consumer Electronics industries. Passionate for bringing more women and youth from underrepresented communities into the area of technology. Serving as a board member for the Technology Access Foundation, Co-Chair for the Stanford Black Alumni Seattle & NW Regional Chapter, Professional Mentor for the YearUp organization, Industry Panelist for IGNITE Worldwide, and does speaking engagements throughout the Puget Sound. She is a believer that we can all make a difference through small acts everyday.

This episode in one word... Wisdom. At every turn it floods your eardrums through every experience from childhood to adulthood. Dr. Norwood brings her truth straight at you like a locomotive. Powerful, insightful, and a little different is how she’s perceived, but anyone would be motivated by her passion after listening to this episode. With over 26 years in the educational field we just want to know... When is the book coming out?

She oversees all aspects of Graduate and Undergraduate Education at the Detroit Medical Center. Her career in medicine began over 27 years ago and she has held various leadership roles at the DMC; including Chief of Emergency Medicine at Harper Hutzel Hospital and Interim CEO-President of Harper Hutzel Women's Hospital and Chief Medical Officer for both Harper Hutzel hospital & Detroit Receiving Hospitals. A key reason for much of her success in any initiative she leads is her commitment to always put the needs of the patient first.

A wife, mother, and a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of leading startups, creating operational infrastructure, and scaling using lean methodologies. She also brings competencies in organizational leadership by way of building and leading high performing teams, crafting and implementing policy, and tactical procedural reforms to promote efficiency, and planning the strategic allocation of resources to support growth and sustainability. I know what you’re thinking... Wow! She means business. So, sit back an enjoy your next STEM-ish episode.