Sarasota Military Academy, a local public charter school, has released a list of celebrity guests and industry experts scheduled to present during the annual “Inspire Project” curriculum, a program created by Sarasota Military Academy (SMA) Outreach Director Todd Brown, Ph.D. 

The Inspire Project, which focuses on the topics of Health, Equality, and Earth, includes the “Operation Outbreak,” a program that has received international attention as Dr. Brown was invited to present at global conferences including the 2019 Global IB Conference held in New Orleans and the 2019 Shekou SDG’s Education Conference in Shekou, and Shanghai, China. 

This year, the Inspire Project has been expanded to include both the SMA high school and SMA Prep middle school campuses. One of the notable speakers includes “Operation Outbreak” supporter and Time Magazine's Person of the Year and Most Influential People in the World, Dr. Pardis Sabeti. While many of the speakers appear in person, several guests participate in the program through video chats, allowing cadets and staff to interact in real-time with talented speakers across the globe. 

Project Health speakers include Sebastian Junger, a #1 New York Times Bestselling author and an award-winning journalist, contributing editor and a special correspondent at ABC News; Aarti Sequeira, former news (CNN) and documentary (HBO’s “Sand and Sorrow”) producer turned Food Network, host and cookbook author; Jordan Reeves, inventor and creator of “Project Unicorn” who pitched the idea to “Shark Tank” investors during an appearance on The Rachael Ray Show in 2017; Lauren Findley, YouTube star, fitness competitor and model; and Dr. Raf Ratinam, a medical illustrator from Australia, creator of 2D/3D illustrations/animations for surgeons.  

Project Equality speakers include Christopher Sean, an Asian-American actor appearing on CBS’s Hawaii Five-O and the recent award-winning, Star Wars Resistance; Sonia Purnell, a journalist and bestselling author and Christina Unkel, the FOX Women’s World Cup rules analyst, and one of only three FIFA-license female referees representing the United States Soccer Federation. Project Earth speakers include Kate Brooks, an award-winning photographer with work featured around the world for human rights campaigns; Les Stroud, Canadian Screen Award-winning producer, creator, and star of the hit TV series Survivorman; Dr. Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D. a.k.a. “Canopy Meg,” an American biologist, educator, ecologist, writer, editor, and public speaker and Dr. Tracy Fanara, an engineer and staff scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. 

About the project.