Ann G. Merchant
Senior Director, Creative Engagement Communications Programs
Ann Merchant is the Senior Director for Creative Engagement Communications Programs at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC where she leads the institution’s innovative portfolio of outreach activities designed to contribute to an increased public understanding of science. Her more than three decades at the NAS have provided her with a variety of unconventional challenges, all of which serve the institution’s mission-driven goals and objectives. With a special interest in promoting science, engineering, and medicine through non-traditional channels, she was instrumental in launching and now overseeing The Science & Entertainment Exchange, the NAS program that connects entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to inspire better STEM stories and improved depictions of science characters. She also has responsibility for LabX, an NAS flagship outreach initiative that seeks to engage millennial audiences that typically demonstrate only a moderate affinity for science content by generating eclectic, entertaining, sometimes unexpected programming. Additionally, she produces the institution’s large-scale public events such as the first-ever Nobel Prize Summit, TED@NAS, the USA Science & Engineering Festival, and Family Science Day at the NAS. Her early career was in academic and trade science publishing. When she first joined the Academy, she served as marketing director for the publishing division, where she and her staff promoted and marketed more than 175 new titles every year, and where she managed a thriving foreign rights program.
Keri Stoever
Associate Director
Keri Stoever (she/her) is the Associate Director of LabX. Keri was the Public Programs Manager of the former Marian Koshland Science Museum and previously spent 5 years as a Research Associate with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine working on environmental and toxicological studies. In addition to her time at the National Academies, Keri has worked to help the public connect with science through museum education positions with the Smithsonian National Zoo and the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. Keri received her B.S. in marine biology from Stockton University and her M.A. in museum studies from Johns Hopkins University.
Joshua Gleason
Game Designer
Joshua Gleason (he/him) is the Games Guy at LabX. Joshua has worked as an interactive experience developer and designer creating immersive and instructional experiences in AR, VR, and XR at places like Johns Hopkins University, MICA, and Fujitsu Telecommunications. He has also worked as an educator and consultant at The George Washington University instructing and lecturing on the different tools and practices essential in Digital Storytelling as well as running GW’s CREATE Digital Studio. Additionally, Joshua spends his free time creating digital and physical games, art, and unique interactive experiences. His work has been shown at exhibitions and festivals like JHU Extreme Arts Exhibition, Slingshot Festival, RTX, MAGFest, PAX, and elsewhere. Joshua received his B.F.A. in Interactive Arts with a Minor in Animation/Illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art.
Nawar Nemeh
Social Media & Marketing Manager
Nawar Nemeh (he/him) is the Social Media/Marketing Manager at LabX – engaging with a wide breadth of stakeholders to further LabX’s wide-ranging impact. Previously, Nawar spent almost five years as a journalist and social media manager at Radio Free Asia, where he revamped the organization’s English social media presence across several platforms. Growing up in Damascus, Syria, he has a deep appreciation for the value of accessible science education to a burgeoning civil society. Nawar received his B.A. in Public Policy and Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also worked on several local elections campaigns. Outside of the National Academies, Nawar writes on a volunteer basis for The Objective, and enjoys reading historical fiction, and watches arguably too much YouTube.
Dr. Chloe and Monsieur Roi Merchant
French Sleep Psychologists
As a pair of eminent sleep psychologists, Dr. Chloe and Monsieur Roi are the only LabX staff who can be commended for napping on the job. Much to the envy of the rest of the team, this dynamic duo does some of their best research when they're simply too tired to keep their eyes open. This work represents a late-in-life career change for the pair: Dr. Jake received his dogtorate studying the impact of trash on the canine digestive system while Monsieur Roi worked as a backyard archaeologist for a number of years. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks of the trade?
Sophie Stoever
Marine Biologist
Sophie's primary expertise lies in the watery realm of marine biology, which means while the rest of the LabX team is behind their computers, Sophie can often be found frolicking in the sand all in the name of science. She's one lucky son of a beach.
Dax and Scully Gleason
Official Canine Play Testers
Daximus Maximus (Dax) and Lady Scullandria (Scully) are the newest members of the LabX team and are the offcial canine play testers for all of LabX’s interactive content and experiences. With a strong and expansive backgrounds in dissembling any and all household objects, they make the perfect QA team as they can take any interactive experience apart down to it’s most fundamental components. In their free time they enjoy engaging in freestyle barking poetry and eating what ever falls on the floor.