Organization Conversation LIVE from WORKBENCHcon 2022: Tamara Robertson, Maker Science, and Nick Householder, Midnight Science Club (Organization Conversation, Episode 9)
Nick Householder and Tamara Robertson, now co-collaborators on Midnight Science Club, joined host Richard Grove in the booth at WORKBENCHcon 2022. Nick and Tamara each describe how they each discovered their passions and followed them despite not seeing many role models, their advice to young people want to get into science and engineering, the value of failure, and much more. Organization Conversation is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Tamara Robertson, Maker Science
Tamara Robertson was born and raised in a military family in Eastern, NC. As a small child, she had a very vivid imagination and a wish to explore the world around her. She very early on became an observer of humans in their natural elements which added to her storytelling ability. As a youth, she spent a large amount of time with her father watching Star Trek and tinkering in the garage – rebuilding engines, up – keeping the family cars and building / renovating homes.
She learned her love of machinery, as well as all things technical, from her time working with her dad.
With a sharp mind for detail and efficiency, Tamara was able to quickly excel in her career as a licensed Chemical & Biomolecular Engineer which afforded her the ability to truly see the world and gain experience in global tech transfers, process & facilities design, pandemic vaccine manufacturing, patented additive technology development, and product design for some of the top Fortune 500 companies. Tamara has found that she loves to utilize the design and beauty of the world around her to help create designs and tell stories.
Tamara resides in Los Angeles, CA where she continues to work as an Emmy nominated Executive Producer, Science Host, Engineering Consultant, SAG-AFTRA Actor and Wardrobe Designer. In her downtime, she volunteers as a board member for a number of STEM organizations across the US, utilizes Superhero Science to get kids excited about careers in STEM, and lends her Science and Maker skills to a number of non-profit organizations. She also enjoys scuba diving, backpacking, rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding, and spending time with her Shop Dog Dexter.
Connect with Tamara: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Midnight Science Club
Midnight Science Club strives to make engaging, original science content. Our commitment to making science accessible has resulted in over 150K followers on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook – and we’re just getting started!
From presentations at the Royal Institution of Great Britain to STEAM workshops in Saudi Arabia, and even live science demos at Cons and Festivals – Midnight Science Club delivers captivating live performances sure to delight and inspire any audience.
MythBusters, The Tonight Show, and MacGyver are just a few of the high-profile television programs that the team at Midnight Science Club has provided science consulting and science demonstration fabrication services for. They pride themselves on delivering captivating science that communicates complex concepts in a signature style that anyone can understand.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Nick Householder, Midnight Science Club
Nick Householder is a co-host and lead builder on the Science Channel television show Street Science. It’s a fantastic team of people passionate about science and sharing the love of it with the world. He uses his aerospace engineering background and communication skills to share scientific concepts using examples anyone could understand. He also runs the Street Science build shop – designing the science demonstrations used for the show and leading an awesome team of builders in fabricating those demos.
Nick’s experience designing and building science demonstrations for television goes beyond Street Science. Since October 2017 has has been a science consultant for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He works with the team at NBC to design and build science demonstrations which resident science expert Kevin Delaney uses to entertain and educate the Tonight Show audience.
Before his time in television, he spent five years working as a civilian in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a ‘Weapons Test Engineer’ – he designed, planned, and executed complex weapon tests. That experience gave him the skills needed to conduct large, dangerous science demonstrations in a safe and controlled way.
Nick attended Auburn University for both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both of which are in Aerospace Engineering.
Nick is always looking for new projects, so don’t hesitate to contact him if you think he’s right for the job!
About Organization Conversation
Organization Conversation features interviews with movers and shakers in storage and organization, from professional organizers to the creative and talented Brand Ambassadors who use Wall Control products every day. You’ll hear tips, tricks and how-tos for storage and organization, as well as receive first access to Wall Control promotions. We talk with our suppliers and partners to give you a look behind the scenes at how we operate, what makes our family-owned and operated brand tick, and some of the fun and interesting insights that go into making our business run. We love our guests, as they are engaging and entertaining with interesting experiences to share. By focusing on those guests and the amazing stories they tell, we hope you will be enriched and find your time listening to the Organization Conversation podcast as time well spent.
Organization Conversation is hosted by Richard Grove, and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and others.
About Richard Grove
Richard Grove‘s background is in engineering but what he enjoys most is brand building through relationships and creative marketing. Richard began his career with the Department of Defense as an engineer on the C-5 Galaxy Engineering Team based out of Warner Robins. While Richard found this experience both rewarding and fulfilling, he always knew deep down that he wanted to return to the small family business that originally triggered his interest in engineering.
Richard came to work for the family business, Dekalb Tool & Die, in 2008 as a Mechanical Engineer. At the time Wall Control was little more than a small ‘side hustle’ for Dekalb Tool & Die to try to produce some incremental income. There were no “Wall Control” employees, just a small warehouse with a single tool and die maker that would double as an “order fulfillment associate” on the occasion that the original WallControl.com website, which Richard’s grandmother built, pulled in an order.
In 2008, it became apparent that for the family business to survive they were going to have to produce their own branded product at scale to ensure jobs remained in-house and for the business to continue to move forward. Richard then turned his attention from tool and die to Wall Control to attempt this necessary pivot and his story with Wall Control began. Since that time, Richard has led Wall Control to significant growth while navigating two recessions.
Connect with Richard:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
About Wall Control
The Wall Control story began in 1968 in a small tool & die shop just outside Atlanta, Georgia. The first of three generations began their work in building a family-based US manufacturer with little more than hard work and the American Dream.
Over the past 50+ years, this family business has continued to grow and expand from what was once a small tool & die shop into an award-winning US manufacturer of products ranging from automobile components to satellite panels and now, the best wall-mounted tool storage system available today, Wall Control.
The Wall Control brand launched in 2003 and is a family-owned and operated business that not only produces a high-quality American Made product but sees the entire design, production, and distribution process happen under their own roof in Tucker, Georgia. Under that same roof, three generations of American Manufacturing are still hard at work creating the best tool storage products available today.
Connect with Wall Control:
Company website | Facebook | Instagram
