Wednesday, August 12

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Keynote

Brooke Paup

Brooke Paup was appointed to the Texas Water Development Board by Governor Greg Abbott on February 22, 2018 and confirmed by the Texas Senate on March 13, 2019.

Prior to her appointment to the Board, Paup served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for the previous four years. While there, she led a team of legislative professionals to address statutory tax reforms.

Paup is formerly the Deputy Division Chief of Intergovernmental Relations and former Special Assistant for Policy and Research for the Office of the Attorney General, where she worked on legislative issues, special litigation, and public finance—notably House Bill 4 and Senate Joint Resolution 1 in the 83rd Legislative Session, which created the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT). Paup has 14 years of state government experience.

She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Symphony League, and the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Auction Committee. Paup earned a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor from Texas Tech School of Law.

She lives in Austin with her husband, Spivey, and their two children, Henry and Heidi.

Presentation Topic:

Defeating Drought & Fighting Flood - Texas Takes on the Future

"Texas is a land of perennial drought interrupted by the occasional devastating flood.” Isaac Cline (Texas State Meteorologist, 1927). Texas has always dealt with highly variable weather, but unlike 90 years ago the state’s growing population of 30 million people must weather the storms to ensure the world’s 10th largest economy by GDP keeps rolling. Learn how the TWDB fulfills its mandate to secure future water supply and mitigate flood risk through a comprehensive model integrating science, planning, and financing.

Thursday, August 13

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm | Keynote

Melissa Marshall

Melissa is the founder of Present Your Science, a consulting company that provides on‐site group workshops, conference sessions, and 1:1 coaching. She is on a mission: to transform how scientists, engineers, and technical professionals present their work. That’s because she believes that even the best technical ideas are destined to remain undiscovered unless presented in a clear and compelling way that sparks innovation and drives adoption.

For over a decade, she’s traveled around the world to work with Fortune 100 corporations, institutions and universities, teaching the proven strategies she’s mastered through her consulting work and during her time as a faculty member at Penn State University. Melissa is the go‐to expert that places like NASA, the American Heart Association, Pfizer, and Harvard Medical School consult when they need to present their world‐changing research.

In 2019, Microsoft recognized Melissa’s work in dramatically changing the way technical professionals use PowerPoint to present their science by naming her a Microsoft MVP or Most Valuable Professional.

Presentation Topic:

Talk Nerdy to Me: Strategies for Successful Technical Communication

Have you ever tried to talk about a new technical project, only to be met with blank stares from your audience? Are you tired of the lifeless, text heavy, bullet-pointed slides that make up most presentations? Did you ever have a slam-dunk winner of a technical proposal go in front of a key stakeholder only to be rejected because they didn't "get it"? Join our keynote speaker, scientific presentations expert Melissa Marshall, to learn some practical strategies to immediately transform your technical presentations! Go from blank stares to buy in with your next talk.

Melissa is internationally known for her popular TED Talk entitled "Talk Nerdy to Me" which has over 2 million views (and counting!)