2026 Knight Campus Graduate Internship Inclusion Symposium Speaker Lineup

Kimfer Flanery-Rye (She/Her) founded Inclusion Equals and served as an Adjunct Professor at Seattle University. She holds an MBA in Executive Leadership. A sought-after speaker, Kimfer has presented locally, nationally, and internationally for audiences ranging from The Gates Foundation to the World Economic Forum.

Leo Caldwell (He/Him) is an educator, speaker, and communications strategist working at the intersection of storytelling, design, and organizational culture. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Digital Storytelling.  He teaches in the School of Journalism at Ball State University, where he served as a Faculty Fellow in the Office of Inclusive Excellence. Leo also works with biotech startups and pharmaceutical organizations, helping teams think more clearly about communication and audience.Drawing from his experiences as a transgender man raised in rural Indiana, Leo brings a unique perspective to conversations about identity and resilience.  His work has been featured in national media, and he is the creator of the Trans Collective, a storytelling project documenting transgender lives and migration across the United States.  Through keynote presentations, workshops, and facilitated dialogue, Leo helps organizations create cultures where people feel seen and valued.

Renee Chapla (She/Her) is a current KCGIP student in the Semiconductors track. During her undergrad she has also done research in dark matter detection and laser spectroscopy. She was raised in the Silicon Valley in California (which might have influenced her career choices). When she's not doing physics, Renee loves to garden, hike, and go to crafts markets.

Ava Komons (She/Her) is a member of the 2025–26 Molecular Sensors and Biotechnology cohort. She spent her youth living in six countries and attending international schools before graduating from high school in Beijing, China. Ava earned dual bachelor's degrees in biochemistry and psychology from the University of Oregon in 2025. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on proteomic mapping of neural pathways in zebrafish. She is currently an Operations Engineering Intern at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Hillsboro, Oregon, where she supports the manufacturing of electron microscopes.

CJ Bradford (Any) graduated from the Optical Materials & Devices track in 2025. They currently work at Coherent Corporation as a Test Technician assembling light engines for flow cytometers. They reside in Portland with their wife and outside of work, they enjoy performing in musical theatre and aerial circus.