Durham Tech Speakers Bureau

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Durham Tech Home > About Durham Tech > Speakers Bureau

Need a Speaker? Simply Give Your Community College A Call

Need an enlightening or entertaining program? Interested in an informative speaker for your next gathering? The Durham Technical Community College Speakers Bureau may be able to provide just the program you have in mind for your organization, club, school, church, business, or civic group.

Presenters (see the following list) are Durham Tech faculty and staff who would like to visit with your group and share their areas of expertise or interest. There are no charges for any of these speakers. However, please contact speakers as early as possible to request their services. This enables our faculty and staff to schedule engagements around their teaching and work schedules as well as other community service activities and personal responsibilities.

To schedule a program, simply call the person prepared to share information about the topic of your choice. Feel free to leave a voice mail message on the desired speaker's telephone if he or she is not available to take the call. Your call will be returned as quickly as possible.

Please read on for answers to often-asked questions about the Speakers Bureau:

Q & A Is there a charge for calling upon participants in the college's Speakers Bureau?

Durham Technical Community College offers the Speakers Bureau as a service to the community and welcomes the opportunity to speak with groups in the service area of Durham and Orange counties. Because a number of our students are residents of surrounding counties, some of our Speakers Bureau participants are also willing to travel to adjoining counties to provide a program. Also, the participants in Durham Tech's Speakers Bureau are volunteers in this information-sharing effort. They have offered their services to the community because they care about sharing knowledge with area residents.

Q & A How early should I call to schedule a program?

The earlier the better. Most of our faculty and staff are very busy people. In addition to their jobs teaching or supporting education at Durham Tech, many of our faculty and staff are active in their community, have families, and have a variety of demands on their time. Please call the person you would like to provide a program for your group at the earliest possible notice. This will give our Speakers Bureau participants plenty of time to schedule and plan your program - and help you rest easier about scheduling the speaker for your event.

Q & A What information do I need to tell the speaker when I call?

Tell us about your group and give us your contact information so our speakers can be better prepared to respond to your request and also contact you if necessary with any questions they may have before the program.

Q & A What if I get voice mail when I call the speaker I would like to schedule for a program?

Please speak clearly and leave your name and telephone number. Also, remember to say you are calling to request a program through the college's Speakers Bureau. Our faculty and staff try hard to respond quickly to their voice mail messages.

Q & A What if I cannot contact the person I would like to schedule as a speaker?

Feel free to call the Marketing and Communications Department at 919-536-7246 ext. 5205. We will do whatever we can to help you make contact or respond to your need for a speaker.

Q & A What types of programs are available?

The Speakers Bureau Participants List follows. Programs may be scheduled for information about the college, available career programs, and services that help students succeed. Special interest areas for faculty and staff are also the subjects of some programs, such as nature photography, missions trips, and collaborative writing tips.

Requesting a Speaker? Please Help Us Target the Message to Meet Your Need

When requesting a speaker through the Speakers Bureau, please be ready to share the information we need to target our message to your audience. Let us know the following:

Topic desired;
Name of your organization or group;
Date, time, and location of meeting;
Approximate number of persons expected to be attending the meeting or in the audience;
Composition of audience (men, women, teenagers, senior citizens, etc.) and their special interests; and
Name and phone number of the contact person in the organization.

For Additional Assistance . . .

If you have a problem contacting the speaker of your choice or if you need any other assistance in scheduling a program through the college's Speakers Bureau, contact the Marketing and Communications Department at 919-536-7246 ext. 5205.

SPEAKERS BUREAU Participants

Read below for program topics now available through Durham Tech's Speakers Bureau. Simply call the participant of your choice to schedule a program.

Dorothy Brower Brokaw, Assistant to the President, 536-7250 ext. 6002- Volunteers in education and partners in education (public schools);

Randy Egsegian, Program Coordinator, Animal Care and Management/Program Director/Instructor, Fire Protection Technology Program Director/Instructor, Emergency Preparedness Technology , 536-7230 ext. 8062 - Fire Protection Technology opportunities, fire service emergency response training;

Dr. Maria J. Fraser-Molina, Assistant Vice President and Department Head, Arts, Sciences, and University Transfer Department, 536-7223 ext. 8017 - “Frontline Spanish,” a crash course in Spanish designed to help faculty, staff, and administrators respond to Hispanic student’s basic inquiries;

Mary Anne Grabarek, Interim Vice President, Instructional Services, 536-7217 ext. 2004 - Assessment of learning outcomes, the learning college, Educational offerings available at Durham Technical Community College, community colleges as a postsecondary education choice, school-to-work transition;

Julie Hoover, Instructor, Geology/Physical Science, Arts, Sciences, and University Transfer, 536-7223 ext. 8021 - Geology, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, conservation, the environment;

Tom Jaynes, Dean, Counseling and Student Development, 536-7207 ext. 1406 - Disabilities services topics, accommodating lesson plans for students with disabilities;

Micara Lewis, Program Director/Instructor, Teacher Associate Program, 536-7230 ext. 4406 - Education, public schools, youth and community service motivational speaker;

Melissa Lennon, Departmental Secretary, Public Services Technologies Department, 536-7230 ext. 8068 - Drug awareness;

Gabby McCutchen, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning; 536-7231 ext. 8083 - the Durham Tech Teaching-Learning Center, faculty professional development;

Dr. Richard Miller, Program Director/Instructor, Respiratory Therapy, 536-7233 ext. 8124- Asthma-proofing the home;

Tom Russo, Coordinator, Career Services Center, 536-7207 ext. 1410 - Career planning, interviewing skills, résumé preparation, job-seeking and job-keeping skills, managing visual arts organizations, art collecting;

Doug Scott, Program Director/Instructor, Criminal Justice, 536-7230 ext. 8069 - Forensics, judicial systems, police photography, police procedures, substance abuse, and juvenile law;

Margaret Skulnik, Assistant Vice President/Department Head, Health Technologies, 536-7233 ext. 8131 - Health care careers at Durham Tech, nutrition and wellness, Diabetes prevention and management;

Lee Ann Spahr, Discipline Chair/Instructor, Mathematics, Arts, Sciences, and University Transfer, 536-7223 ext. 8036 - "Mathematics and Music" presentation, slide presentation about "Math Anxiety";

Wanda Maggart , Senior Vice President, Institutional Support Services, 536-7250 ext. 6005 - Marketing on a small budget, technical writing, collaborative writing tips, general Durham Tech topics, grant proposal development.

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Durham Technical Community College
1637 Lawson Street
Durham, NC 27703
919-536-7200