In the early 1990s, local TV news stations across the U.S. cut their local science beat reporters. About 25 years later, a 2017 Research!America poll revealed that 81% of Americans could not name a living scientist.

In 2017, I used my position of chief meteorologist for the NBC & FOX affiliates in Lafayette, Louisiana to create a 19-part local science series, “Your Weekly Dose of Whoa!”  In “Whoa!” I tried to inspire a trust and appreciation for science through storytelling, by linking science to a sense of local pride and feelings of wonder and awe for the natural world. 

In 2023, I created the 10-part series, “African American Scientists from Louisiana”, which was aired during Louisiana local TV newscasts in 2023 and 2024, and is now featured as a permanent exhibit at the Lafayette Science Museum. I created this series to expand perceptions about who a scientist is, and to highlight role models for young African Americans to see themselves as belonging in STEM.