About Our Team
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Summer Lauder
Summer is from Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from North Carolina A&T with a bachelor’s in Agricultural and Environmental Systems in 2022 and will graduate with a master’s in forestry from North Carolina State in December 2024. Her research focused on a DEI Curriculum Integration Project with the College of Natural Resources at NCSU. Summer has loved science museums ever since she was a kid, and she is passionate about science communication and outreach. She is the current Program Coordinator of the RACE exhibit.
Hugo Romero Sánchez
Hugo was born in Barcelona and grew up in Madrid, Spain, where he earned a degree in Geological Engineering. In 2014, he moved to the United States and began his career at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, serving in various positions such as Coordinator of Public Scientific Programs and AmeriCorps Program Director. Hugo strongly believes the joys and wonders of science should be accessible to all and has developed several programs and initiatives to make the museum more inclusive. His relationship with the RACE: Are We So Different? exhibit began in 2017, when it arrived at the museum. Hugo was responsible for translating the entire exhibit into Spanish and was also a trained facilitator who led several “Cultural Conversations” sessions with exhibit guests.
Michael Lewis (Former Coordinator)
Michael was born and raised in Goldsboro, NC. He is a graduate of NC State University where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a cross-discipline in Public Science Education & Outreach, as well as a Master’s of Education with a concentration in Informal STEM Education. He developed a love for outreach and connecting to underrepresented populations through science education during his first year of college and has been pursuing that passion since then. He first started out as an intern at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in 2017, but now he is the Coordinator of Community Engagement for Underrepresented Populations , having previously served as the Education Coordinator for RACE: Are We So Different? – NCMNS.
Tyler A. Allen, PhD (Former Coordinator)
Tyler, originally from Houston, TX, found his way to North Carolina, settling in Raleigh after a journey of academic and research exploration. Tyler’s formative years were spent absorbing the rich, diverse culture of Houston before moving to Durham, NC, where he completed high school. He then honed his scientific acumen at North Carolina State University, earning a B.S. degree in Biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Comparative Biomedical Sciences from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine. Before joining the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as the Lead Program Coordinator for the “RACE: Are We So Different?” project, Tyler was a Senior Research Associate at Duke University’s Cancer Institute, where he continued to delve into cancer research with a focus on metastasis and cancer health disparities.
University of California – Riverside
Dr. Yolanda Moses
Yolanda T. Moses currently serves as Professor of Anthropology and former Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Excellence at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Moses’ research focuses on the broad question of the origins of social inequality in complex societies using comparative ethnographic and survey methods. Moses served as President of the American Anthropological Association, and Chair of the National Advisory Board of the multi-year national public education project sponsored by the American Anthropological Association and funded by NSF and the Ford Foundation on Race and Human Variation: “RACE: Are We So Different?” The goal of the project is to change the way the nation understands and talks about the meaning and consequences of “race.”
AJ Fletcher Foundation
Laura Collins (Former AJF Fellow)
Laura Collins is from Winston-Salem, NC, and is a recent graduate of Davidson College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in history. Her research focused on historical memory, narrative construction, and North Carolina educational history. She currently serves as a fellow at the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, where she supports research efforts and projects for the foundation and with partner organizations, like the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
