Nerd Nite St. Pete-Oct 2026 ASPEC Edition

*Nerd Nite St. Pete will be at Coastal Creative *

Food Trucks open at 6pm:

Carupano Kitchen: https://www.carupanokitchen.com/

Learning hits different with a drink in your hand and smart people around you. Nerd Nite is a worldwide phenomenon, popping up in over a hundred cities, including right here in St. Pete.

Each month, three passionate presenters take the stage for fascinating and fun 20-minute talks on things they truly geek out about. You will get to sip cocktails, eat from local vendors, mingle, laugh, and follow curiosity wherever it wanders.

Think of it as a lecture series that ditched the podium and grabbed a beer instead.
Drink. Learn. Connect. Come for the fun facts, stay for the conversations, and leave knowing something you didn’t when you walked in.

Doors open at 6pm. Presentations begin promptly at 7pm.

Tickets are $6.91. All tickets will be sold online.
No need to print tickets: Give us your name and we will check you in.

Check out this month's speakers:

October Nerd Nite is sponsored by ASPEC Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College

Nelson Lees

The Ultimate Flex & That "Embarazado" Thing

As the Chinese proverb says, learning a language is like opening an extra window to look at the world. In a world of AI-driven algorithmic sameness, competency in a foreign language makes us a standout...in a positive way. Learning a foreign language supercharges the brain, improves our memory and sharpens our focus. Oh, by the way, why not delay dementia symptoms by an average of five years while we're at?

Nelson Lee is a retired multilingual senior executive who is most comfortable at the intersection of business and government. He had the good fortune to live, work and study around the world, kicking off his international trajectory with a visit to Brazil's indigenous tribes in the Amazon River basin at the age of 10, where he went into survival mode with tribal dialects and a smattering of Portuguese. Nelson served as Vietnam-era U.S. Army captain with both conventional and special ops units, including service in the Panama Canal Zone. Oh, and by the way, he also had the good fortune to be directed by George Clooney in "The Ides of March."

Dr. Janet Zadina

How Your Brain Learns: Plasticity, Growth and Change at Every Age

Learn about the science of brain plasticity and how your brain continues to evolve throughout your life span. Explore how experience reshapes your neural pathways and how you can influence your brain in remarkable ways. During this presentation you will actually build a new neural network and see visual demonstrations through brain imaging of what is happening inside your brain as you learn. Discover what is required by you in order to learn and create these changes. Gain insight into the aging brain and what supports growth and adaptability later in life.

Dr. Zadina is a cognitive neuroscientist and international presenter who translates complex neuroscience for the public and for educational reform. Her primary areas of expertise are the learning brain, language learning in the brain and the effects of anxiety, stress and trauma on the brain. A recipient fo the Society for Neuroscience's Science Educator Award, Janet has presented over 500 talks on neuroplasticity and she is the author of "Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain," among other books.

Dr. Robert Miller

Old Brain, New Tricks: What Neuroscience Reveals About Staying Sharp

What has modern neuroscience revealed about how our brains developed and how they actually function? How do we use this new information to keep our brain functioning at a high level as we age?

Robert Miller is a board certified physician in internal medicine and radiation oncology. He was the director of three cancer centers and introduced new techniques, including Gamma Knife and Cyber Knife radiosurgery in the Tampa area.
Dr. Miller set up and maintained one of the largest medical web www.aboutcancer.com or www.youtube.com/c/robertmillermd -and he was a pioneer at the national level, establishing the field of Palliative Care Medicine.