| Board of Directors | ||||||
| President | Danielle Tomerlin | danielle@tomerlin.com | ||||
| Vice-President | Dan Heim | dan@heimhenge.com | ||||
| Secretary-Treasurer | Disa McAlister [Primary Contact] | 480.241.8750 | disa@themoss.org | |||
| Deanna Biddulph | ||||||
| George Catone | george@resetstudios.com | |||||
| Richard E. LaPorta | ||||||
| Dr. Wayne Pryor, Ph.D. | Wayne.Pryor@centralaz.edu | |||||
President: Danielle Tomerlin
Former Coordinator for ASU/UGEC Global Institute of Sustainability, and Sustainability Consultant for Rio Salado College.
MPA in Public Administration, studying for PhD in Urban Sustainability
Grant writing from 1-5 million, specializing in writing, researching and publishing.
Vice President: Dan Heim
Dan has been writing about science for over 25 years, the first 20 while engaged in teaching at schools from frigid Wisconsin to sunny Arizona. He earned his degrees in Physics and Ecology from UW Green Bay in 1974, with education certificates in Physics, General Science, and Mathematics. Teaching any subject for that amount of time enhances one’s understanding and provides new insights on a daily basis. Seeking to share this accumulated wisdom, he retired from formal teaching in 1999 and founded Heimhenge Enterprises. Its mission is to communicate his insights to other teachers via innovative multimedia content.
The author of several works in the areas of physics and astronomy including: Chapter Zero, Physics Sourcebook, Easy Field Guide to the Southwestern Night Sky, RB5X: Mission to Mars, and Space for Thoughts was his first astronomy column.
Secretary/Treasurer: Disa McAlister
Non-Profit and Community Inclusion Specialist
The product of two scientists, Disa was raised on fossils and historical cultures. She hopes to bring museums back as a vacation destination for following generations.
Her years as a Program Coordinator at a Community Development Corporation taught her the best way to offer service to a community is to simply ask the community what they’d like to see more of. After a year of teaching twice-monthly workshops for loan seekers, she created a Small Business Symposium to bring together 9,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and all of the resources they would need under one roof for one weekend a year. Finding better ways to get the same information out (”How can we make this easier to understand and complete?”) has become second nature.
When science was threatened in elementary schools, she initiated several math and science lectures (Math and Science Get You Places!) to take into elementary school classes to inspire independent learning. Studies show that if the first introduction to science happens in late middle or high school, that person’s interest is minimal for life. Simply being able to name the animal/leaf/bug on a sidewalk is encouraging a healthy curiosity in the world around them.
Education, inclusion and making the process easier are what Disa likes to focus on.
Deanna Biddulph
An Arizona native, Deanna specializes in print advertising. A proud Prius owner and animal lover, she is looking forward to helping develop policies and procedures to care for small native animal life that MoSS will be responsible for.
George Catone:
George Catone, an Arizona registered architect since 1998, created the design firm Reset Studios in 2005.
Born in Pittsburgh, he received his professional degrees from Kent State University, and spent the first part of his career in Pennsylvania designing large educational facilities. He relocated to Phoenix in 1996, and worked most notably as “second-in-command” for two of the Valley’ signature boutique architectural design firms before launching his own studio. George has a successful background balancing award-winning design and effective construction detailing, as well as an arts-based tradition that allows him to be actively involved in an unusual range of design activities and relationships.
Richard E. LaPorta
Owner of San Tan Tax, Accounting and Business Consulting
Dr. Wayne Pryor, PhD:
Instructional and interest areas: Currently involved in NASA missions to the planets. Hobbies include hiking, mountain climbing, and of course stargazing.
Education: A.B. University of California at Berkeley 1983 in Physics and Applied Math Ph.D. University of Colorado at Boulder 1989 in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences