Scientists are superheroes!  And those scientist superheroes can be and look like anybody. That's the message of STEAM Superheroes - an organization that creates content, programs, and an upcoming comic book series designed to inspired and motivate youth to pursue careers in STEAM.

In this episode, we speak to STEAM Superheroes team members (and Star Trek fans) Linda Zaruches, Dr.  Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio, and LaShana Lewis about the STEAM Superheroes Comic series, the importance of representation in STEAM, and how scientists are agents of social change. Find out more about STEAM Superheroes and support their comic at https://steamsuperheroes.org/

October is both Mental Health Awareness and National Antibullying Month. Chase Masterson stops by the show to talk about her 501(c)3 nonprofit Pop Culture Hero Coalition, its history, as well as her own super hero origin story.

Pop Culture Hero Coalition uses evidence based video and tools with engaging pop culture references to teach behavior health skills in ways young people find relatable, teaching inclusion and acceptance in hopes to end bullying. For more information or to donate, https://www.popculturehero.org

In our special Trek the Vote episode, Heather Rae Barker interviews Emily Levy, founder and director of Scrutineers, an action-oriented, nonpartisan online community working for USA election fairness & transparency.

Heather and Emily talk about the history of the organization and how they help educate, train, and mobilize nonpartisan election scrutineers.

For more information or to donate to Scrutineers: https://scrutineers.org/about/mission-history/

For more information about Trek the Vote - https://www.trekthe.vote

In late September, we were invited to host a TREKtivism panel at Thunder Bay's ThunderCon! Thunder Bay is Matthew's hometown and he was honoured to be invited back for Canada's first TREKtivism panel and our first TREKtivism booth at a convention!

We were joined by Patrick Kwok-Choon of Star Trek Discovery, the Ontario Klingon Cosplaying group of Peter and Caelan Hutchison, and ThunderCon representative Elise Frizado to talk about fundraising as Klingons, how conventions can support local initiatives, and being neurodivergent on a starship!

You can also support a current ALS research fundraiser spearheaded by the Klingons in memory of Discovery's Ken Mitchell by going to https://alscanadawalktoendals.als.ca/ontario/teamklingon

Catrina Dennis is both a Star Trek and Star Wars fan. Producer, Entertainer and Community Activist, she's championed and spearheaded multiple fundraising initiatives by animating science fiction and table top gaming communities and recently became a character in Star Trek Online.

Catrina’s fundraising efforts include producing Roll for the Arts in support of the Entertainment Community Fund during the writer & actors' strikes, which raised $2000 for the fund in less than six hours; performing on similar fundraising streams for causes like Techqueria, a global nonprofit that benefits Latines in Tech); and participating in a live streamed game of Star Trek Adventures in support of local Seattle tea shop Friday Tea when repairs needed to be made to the shop.

Catrina's site: https://ohcatrina.carrd.co/

John Billingsley hosts a spirited conversation with a live audience about the values of Star Trek and how to nurture community spirit. Guests include Jonathan Frakes, Chase Masterson, Kitty Swink, Trektivism team members Matthew Cimone, Heather Rae Barker, Laurie Ulster, and Yvette Blackmon Tom and guests Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Efaon Cobb, and Randy Frank!

For more information: Hollywood Food Coalition, Roddenberry Foundation

We are joined by Heather Wood (CEO/Chair) and Sonyl Nagale (COO/Vice Chair) of To Proudly Go! To Proudly Go is a 501c3 nonprofit organization formed on March 1, 2021 for the purposes of creating safe and supportive spaces that celebrates science fiction, promotes the LGBTQIA+ community and partners with important community causes to empower and foster a kinder and better world. The organization has raised over 10k dollars for queer positive and anti-bullying organizations through fundraising initiatives like their charity drag shows!

Learn more about To Proudly Go at www.toproudlygo.org

This month, we're honored to welcome Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to the TREKtivsm Podcast. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein, author of "The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred" is an Associate Professor of Physics and Core Faculty Member in Women's and Gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Essence Magazine recognized her as one of 15 Black women Who Are Paving the Way in STEM and Breaking Barriers. Her scientific work intersects particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. Our amazing conversation with Dr. Prescod-Weinstein spans the hunt for Dark Matter, Queer and Black representation in STEM, Palestine, feminism, and aiming for that Star Trek future.

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's site: https://chanda.science

Other Organizations talked about in this episode: Dark Sky International https://darksky.org

African American Women in Physics https://aawip.com/

Heather Rae and Matthew interview Efaon Cobb, previous Trektivism panelist and Deputy Director for the ACLU. Efaon discusses his life story, what led him to practicing law, and how he became involved with the ACLU.

CW: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and police brutality.

ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties

For more information: Hollywood Food Coalition, Roddenberry Foundation

Todd Stashwick stops by the show to talk about his D&D campaign livestream fundraiser for The Pablove Foundation. Todd’s event will be streamed live on Twitch.tv/MiniTerrainDomain on Saturday, April 20 starting at 5:00 PM Pacific (8:00 PM Eastern, 1:00 AM BST).