Mike Kunicki & Emily Stremel — Transit Tracker: Breaking down barriers to transit use
Diving into the lessons learned and journey ahead of Edmonton Transit Rider’s
Transit Tracker program. Adapting an open source idea from Seattle to wider use in Edmonton to reduce the barriers to using transit, while bringing it to the forefront of people’s minds.
Bios: Mike is a lifelong East Edmonton resident. He had a diverse career bringing community together in working for non-profits, social enterprises and over half a decade supporting elected officials. Mike joined Edmonton Transit Rider’s board in 2026 to start the Transit Tracker initiative from Seattle to Edmonton.
Emily is the current chair of Edmonton Transit Riders, a volunteer-driven non-profit advocating for an effective, user-friendly, and accessible transit system while building a community of people who are proud of the system they rely on. She believes in the importance of public transit as a method to directly counteract the neoliberal austerity politics that brought about suburbia, car-centric culture, and the related divisions of communities and alienation of the individual from the public space. She has also played too much Cities: Skylines. Besides public transit, she works full time in records and information management in the public sector and spends the remainder of her free time napping with her cat, training as a pro wrestler, and singing in choirs.
Kieran Quirke — Community Care: Considerations for grass-level to operational programs
With a growing awareness for the need for inclusive, safe, informed programming in the public-facing spaces of our cities, this is a talk on things to consider for having a safe and enjoyable event for all involved.
Bio: Kieran has worked in policy strategy, economic development and politics, and social services. In the last five years, he has become known as the Trauma-Informed Crisis Intervention responder and De-escalation Lead for many public events in Edmonton including the International Fringe Festival, International Street Performers Festival, and Dark, and the full-time Community Care manager at Fringe Theatre in Old Strathcona.
Paz Orellana-Fitzgerald — Is there anyone out there? Discovering Pathways to Antiracism in an anti-DEI World
You Need This Box began as an experiment: could a curated, hands-on experience help people engage differently with anti-racism? Six years, a pandemic, and a shifting cultural landscape later, we’re looking back at what we learned—and asking what this work can become in an increasingly anti-DEI world. This is the story of moving from “What can we do for you?” to “What can we do together?”
Bio: You Need This Box is an Edmonton-based team of social innovators exploring new ways to engage with anti-racism. Through social research and development, they create experiences for people to learn, experiment, and imagine what change could look like together.
We love spooky season at Nerd Nite Edmonton. Our fall 2026 season kicks off with a mighty fine variety of talks. Feel free to come in costume. We’ll give out tickets to the best dressed guest!
When: Thursday, October 29th at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
Premee Mohamed — Myconarratology: We Need So Mushroom For This Talk
Why are fungi so often used in media when you could use something else – a monster, a bacterium, a virus, an insect? We will discuss the history of fungi in fiction, lots of examples, a little bit of horror (or a lot), and what a fungal narrative looks like!
Bio: Premee Mohamed is a Nebula, World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, British Fantasy, British Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Crawford awards. In 2024, she was the Edmonton Public Library writer-in-residence, and she has taught at establishments including the Banff Institute for the Arts, the Clarion Workshop, and the Carl Brandon Society. She has judged short fiction contests for CBC and Alberta Views Magazine and can be found on her website.
Frank Florian — The Majestic Aurora: The Myths, Science and Beauty
Did you know that some Canadian provinces are the best places in the world to view the spectacular aurora? Come and explore the wonders of the aurora together as we investigate the history, the science and the beauty behind nature’s best light show! During the presentation, many images and videos will be shown of auroras captures over Alberta by Frank and others from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Bio: Frank Florian is the Senior Manager, Planetarium and Space Sciences at the TELUS World of Science – Edmonton. He has held a variety of positions in the science centre’s programming areas since 1986. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Alberta, with a focus on nuclear and astrophysics as well as a Bachelor of Education degree specializing in secondary education, with a major in the physical sciences and mathematics. Having originally intended to pursue a career in space sciences with Canada’s newly born manned space program, Frank changed his interest to communicating science to the general public through his experiences working part-time as a science interpreter at the then Edmonton Space Sciences Centre while studying at the university. His TELUS World of Science – Edmonton experience has included working as a science interpreter, science demonstrator, community astronomer, public programmer (designing and implementing science camps, computer courses and astronomy courses), planetarium operator and planetarium and laser show producer, Director of Public Programs and VP Science. In his work he has also worked closely with the exhibits department in the design and implementation of some of the current exhibits and has created scientific equipment for use in the science demonstration program. Frank now focuses his attention to the planetarium and any astronomy and space science programming at the TELUS World of Science – Edmonton.
Beth Sterling Lee — A Spooky Chocolate Conspiracy?
Chocolate and Halloween go together like witches and broomsticks, or pumpkin spice and lattes. However, you may have noticed that the chocolate bars in your baskets are more tricks than treats. Perhaps your previously decadent candy bars are now “chocolate flavoured,” and taste like a ghost of their prior selves. Is this a sudden realization that your taste buds have grown up? Or are there spookier forces at play?
Bio: In the life I allegedly have outside of work, I have two cats who have trained me well. I bake while talking my husband’s ears off about the kinetics of bread staling, and attempt to not kill houseplants. I once spent three evenings organizing my fountain pen inks by the resistor code colour scheme, and have no regrets. I can usually be found with my nose stuck in a fantasy novel, with some sci-fi for breadth.
Zita Dube-Lockhart: Your Brain On Bonds: Community, Connection, and the Science of Resilience
The Science of Resilience explores how stress shapes our minds, bodies, and communities, and why human connection plays in resilience, healing, and growth.
Zita (they/she) works at the intersection of mind, body, social environment, and clinically significant levels of overcommitment. They hold an MA in Counselling Psychology and an embarrassingly complicated relationship with their voicemail.
Zita is a Nerd Nite Edmonton alumnus, co-owner of Action Potential Fitness, co-founder of the Centre for Trauma Informed Fitness, and a counselling therapist at the Alberta Wellness Centre for Eating Disorders, bouncing between roles in what can only be described as interdisciplinary chaos.
You can call Zita many things… but they’d really rather you text instead.
Evan Westfal: The Relationship Between Homosexuality and Fecundity: Why Being Gay Helps a Species Survive and Reproduce
In this talk, Evan explains to you why being gay really helps different animal species survive. Have you ever wondered why homosexuality has persisted through millions of years of evolution? Shouldn’t being gay lead to less reproduction? Is being gay natural? All these answers and more will be offered in a talk that is playful, intellectual, and hella gay!
Evan Westfal (he/him) is the Programs Manager for the Fyrefly Institute for Gender & Sexual Diversity housed within the University of Alberta, he chairs the Rainbow Alliance Youth Edmonton Committee, and has served as a curriculum advisor for the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN). Basically, Evan is professionally gay!
Allison Hadley: The Rainbow Connection – Exploring the Intersections Between Queer Culture and Nerd Culture
When a queer person does not have any 2SLGTQIA+ mentors or community in their life, how do they find belonging? It is often in the safe(r) spaces of nerdy fandoms where acceptance in fantasy settings can turn into a sense of real life belonging. Why are so many trans people drawn to Deep Space Nice and Fallout: New Vegas? Is Dungeons and Dragons inherently queer? The answers may not be as simple as you think.
Allison Hadley is a podcast host, author, activist and drag performer. She is passionate about building community resilience through queer joy. She is also a big ol’ nerd who grew up on science fiction and tabletop roleplaying games.
Mike is a lifelong East Edmonton resident. He had a diverse career bringing community together in working for non-profits, social enterprises and over half a decade supporting elected officials. Mike joined Edmonton Transit Rider’s board in 2026 to start the Transit Tracker initiative from Seattle to Edmonton.
With a growing awareness for the need for inclusive, safe, informed programming in the public-facing spaces of our cities, this is a talk on things to consider for having a safe and enjoyable event for all involved.
You Need This Box began as an experiment: could a curated, hands-on experience help people engage differently with anti-racism? Six years, a pandemic, and a shifting cultural landscape later, we’re looking back at what we learned—and asking what this work can become in an increasingly anti-DEI world. This is the story of moving from “What can we do for you?” to “What can we do together?”
Why are fungi so often used in media when you could use something else – a monster, a bacterium, a virus, an insect? We will discuss the history of fungi in fiction, lots of examples, a little bit of horror (or a lot), and what a fungal narrative looks like!
Did you know that some Canadian provinces are the best places in the world to view the spectacular aurora? Come and explore the wonders of the aurora together as we investigate the history, the science and the beauty behind nature’s best light show! During the presentation, many images and videos will be shown of auroras captures over Alberta by Frank and others from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
