Capilano University creative writing instructor to advise NASA

NORTH VANCOUVER B.C. – Capilano University creative writing instructor Ryan Knighton will deliver a keynote address to leaders at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland on April 18, 2017.

Knighton is an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter and performer who has taught at Capilano University since 1998. His two most recent books, Cockeyed, a memoir about growing up and going blind, and C'mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark, received numerous award nominations, including the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and the Evergreen Prize. He has been a frequent contributor to This American Life, the Moth and Wiretap. Publications Knighton has written for include the New York Times, Esquire, the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, Men's Health, Canadian Living, the Sunday Telegraph, the National Post and Salon.com. His journalism earned him a National Magazine Award nomination and the Thomas-Lowell Travel Writing Award. He is also a Sundance Lab screenwriting fellow and the recipient of the 2009 Alfred Sloan Prize from the Tribeca Film Institute. 

The focus of the Goddard’s Exploring Leadership Colloquium this year is on the values of authenticity, courage and inclusivity and encouraging transformational conversations. Knighton’s talk is entitled, “Nothing to See Here: Some Thoughts on Blindness and Diversity.”

The Goddard Space Flight Centre is home to the largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists in the U.S. They build spacecraft, instruments, and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system and the universe. 
 
About Capilano University
Capilano University is a teaching-focused university based in North Vancouver, with programming serving the Sunshine Coast and the Sea-to-Sky corridor. The University offers 99 programs, including bachelor’s degrees in areas as diverse as film, jazz, early childhood education and tourism management. Capilano University enrols approximately 11,600 students each year, 8,300 in for-credit programs and 3,300 in non-credit courses. Capilano University is named after Chief Joe Capilano, an important leader of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) Nation of the Coast Salish people. Our campuses are located on the territories of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Sechelt (shíshálh), Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

For more information, or to schedule interviews, please contact: 

Cheryl Rossi
Senior Communications Advisor
Capilano University
t: 604 983 7596
c: 778 879 7119
e: cherylrossi@capilanou.ca 
www.capilanou.ca