Amy L. Aines

Amy Aines CEO Damianakes Communications

Co-Author Championing Science – Communicating Your Ideas to Decision Makers

Amy Aines teaches scientists and technologists how to explain their ideas so listeners understand. She is CEO of Damianakes Communications, the boutique consulting firm she founded after 20 years in corporate roles in the telecommunications and wireless industries.

During her 40 years as a communications strategist and speaker coach, Amy has helped countless individuals and organizations find the right words to advance their work. She’s handled every imaginable communications challenge and deftly navigated a broad range of high-stakes situations. She is a sought after speaker and workshop facilitator who reinforces principles of effective communication through her engaging talks and courses.

Her consulting work in high tech, biotech, healthcare and telecommunications keeps her in the orbit of scientists and technologists who rely on her counsel to express their ideas in a clear, compelling way. Amy’s had the good fortune of working with clients from Genentech, McKesson, BioMarin, Gilead, Cisco, Vodafone and a variety of emerging tech and biotech firms.

She is the founder of Talking STEM, an online community and curriculum for postdocs and early career professionals who want to learn to communicate with confidence and clarity in the workplace. When she’s not on her laptop, Amy enjoys hiking, cooking, singing with the Stay at Tone Moms, and volunteering as an advisory board member for Quest, a new science center in her community.

DR. ROGER D. AINES

Chief Scientist of the Energy Program and Geochemist

Roger Aines develops climate and energy technologies, working for 30 years in the US national laboratory system. He has delivered and endured countless scientific presentations – recognizing the value of effective communication. Applying his principles for championing science, Roger has helped dozens of funders, collaborators and peers to support his work. He regularly coaches colleagues in the art of presentation preparation and delivery. Roger is the Chief Scientist of the Energy Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Since 1984 Roger’s work has spanned nuclear waste disposal, environmental remediation, applying stochastic methods to inversion and data fusion, managing carbon emissions and sequestration monitoring and verification methods. Roger received research funding from the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, a number of corporations and private foundations to address future climate challenges. He received one of the early round of ARPA-E grants to study carbon dioxide capture.

Roger takes an integrated view of the energy, climate, and environmental aspects of carbon-based fuel production and use. His current focus is on efficient ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and safer methods for producing environmentally clean fuel. He holds 12 patents and has authored more than 100 publications.

Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Carleton College, and Doctor of Philosophy in geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.