Keynote Speakers
Opening Keynote (Wed and Thur)
Dan Meers
Dan Meers goes to work each day like many other men, dressed in a suit. The only difference is that instead of wearing a tie with his suit, Dan wears a tail. You see, Dan is a professional mascot. Dan began his career in 1986 at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Dressed as the school mascot, Truman Tiger, it didn’t take long for Dan to establish himself as one of the top college mascots in the nation. After finishing second in 1988, Dan was selected the nation’s #1 college mascot at the 1989 National Collegiate Mascot Championships. As graduation approached, Dan began to receive offers to use his talents at the professional level. After graduating with honors, Dan decided to trade in his tiger stripes for bird feathers and began his professional career as Fredbird, the mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Although many thought Dan’s “bird legs” were a perfect match for his costume in St. Louis, Dan stayed only a short time. He was offered a job in professional football and decided to exchange his bird suit to become a wolf.
Today Dan is widely known as KC Wolf, the official mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. He travels throughout the United States and the world entertaining thousands of people both in and out of costume. Dan is in high demand not only as a mascot but also as a humorous and motivational speaker to audiences of all ages. His enthusiasm, optimism and love for life are contagious and makes Dan an inspiration to all those he meets.
After listening to Dan, you realize that what makes him so truly special is his genuine desire to motivate others to enjoy life as much as he does. The constant smile he wears comes from within. The humorous message he shares has encouraged thousands to strive for the best in life and enjoy it each and every step along the way.
Closing Keynote (Wed and Thur)
Dr. Scott Tinker
Scott brings industry, government, academia, and nongovernmental organizations together to address major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. After 24 years as Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and State Geologist of Texas, he became Director Emeritus in 2024. Scott is a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, and CEO of Tinker Energy Associates. Scott is founder and Chairman of the Switch Energy Alliance, whose educational materials appear from schools to board rooms globally, and with Director Harry Lynch co-produced the award-winning documentary films Switch and Switch On, which have been screened in over 50 countries.
Scott is the executive producer and host of PBS Energy Switch, an energy and climate talk series, appearing in over 100 million households nationwide, and host of Earth Date, featured weekly on over 460 public radio stations in all 50 states. In visits to some 60 countries, Scott has given over 1100 speeches and lectures, and presented a TEDx talk on The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment. Dr. Tinker serves on public company boards and science councils, Trinity University’s Board of Trustees, and is an angel investor. He’s widely published, has served as president of several international professional associations, and is an AGI Campbell Medalist, AAPG Halbouty Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, AIPG Parker Medalist, and a Geological Society of America Fellow.