Michele Payn and Amy Hays created Science Story Speak to change the way science is communicated in and about agriculture and natural resources – bringing together 60+ years of combined expertise in science communication, adult learning, environmental education, and agricultural advocacy.
Science Story Speak helps you relate in a more meaningful way. Join Michele Payn and Amy Hays to learn a system to connect the value of your work in today's world. They bring together elements of emotional intelligence, neuroscience, learning theory, generational IQ, environmental ethos, issues, and story design in the agriculture and natural resources space.
What Amy & Michele each bring to Science Story Speak
Amy's expertise:
- Finding your why
- Emotional intelligence
- Developing personas
- Generational IQ
- Knowlege brokering
- Adult learning continuum
- Natural resources perspective
- Behavior change
Michele's expertise:
- Making science approachable
- Identifying target audiences
- Understanding hot buttons & motivation
- Bias & information literacy
- Relating on an emotional level
- Neuroscience around food & farming
- Creating conversation
- Issues in agriculture & nutrition
Michele & Amy collaborated to create Science Story Speak to change the way science is communicated in and about agriculture & natural resources. They bring unique skillsets, deep knowledge, and fun to variety of audiences!
Amy Hays – Science Story Speak Co-Author
Amy is an ecologist who connects science, people, working lands, and decision-making as founder and principal consultant of For Science Sake. She is known for helping professionals make sense of complex science, navigate generational perspectives, and turn research into practical, on-the-ground action. Amy equips leaders to communicate more effectively, build trust, and work across differences to solve real-world challenges.
She brings more than three decades of experience across natural resources, production agriculture, wildlife conservation, landscape analysis, and water resource management. Amy has worked in research, outreach, and leadership roles with the Oka’ Institute at East Central University, Noble Research Institute, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, focusing on connecting science, stakeholders, and decision-making.
Amy’s work centers on generational intelligence, adult learning, and the human dimensions of conservation. She has developed programs and authored publications that help leaders understand how values, life experiences, and generational perspectives shape motivation, communication, and teamwork. Her workshops integrate adult learning principles and learning design strategies to create meaningful engagement and outreach, equipping participants to apply management and ecological concepts directly to environmental problem-solving.
Amy brings both scientific rigor and empathy to her work, helping others recognize how people experience the world differently, and using that insight to build stronger teams, partnerships, and conservation outcomes. She and her family live on a small acreage regenerative ranch in Oklahoma, where she is raising the next generation, both two-legged and four-legged, while staying closely connected to the land and communities her work is designed to serve.
Michele Payn – Science Story Speak Co-Author
Michele Payn, CSP, connects the people and science of food and farming as principal of Cause Matters Corp. She is known for being a community catalyst, a passionate advocate for global agriculture – and touching hearts to move minds. Michele equips people to have tough conversations, whether about science, farming, food, or mental health.
She has raised millions of dollars for FFA and 4-H, worked with farmers and ranchers in more than 25 countries and built a business to serve the people of agriculture for 25 years, earning the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation given to only 900 people in the world. Her training work has centered on science communications, agricultural advocacy, critical food issues, and mental health.
Michele is the author of three other books: IPPY gold medal winner and Amazon best seller Food Bullying, IPPY bronze medalist Food Truths from Farm to Table, and No More Food Fights!. She also co-hosts the Food Bullying podcast to help bring the science of farming to the nutrition space. Michele most recently created Agriculture's Growth Journal to help address mental wellness in the agricultural community.
Her degrees are in Agricultural Communications and Animal Science from Michigan State University, where she also worked in the Reproductive Physiology Laboratory. She is a lifetime Holstein breeder, an avid Spartan living on a small Indiana farm with her 'city slicker' husband, and a mom chasing her runner daughter around the country. Michele connects farm + food, brains + behavior, and science + story on social media as @mpaynspeaker.
Take the next step with Science Story Speak
- Explore Science Story Speak training formats – from 45-minute sessions to multi-day immersives
- Browse all 17 chapters of the Science Story Speak workbook
- Watch participants describe how it changed the way they communicate
- Talk to Michele & Amy about a custom training – or place a bulk workbook order
- Order individual or bulk copies of the Science Story Speak workbook
- Listen: Michele & Amy on connecting agriculture & nutrition science communication (Food Bullying podcast) communications on the Food Bullying podcast