Friday, September 11, 2026 – 24th Annual Community Education Breakfast Event

2026 Featured Speaker, Alex Hyler, Lawrence High School graduate, 2009.       

Alex Hyler, Lawrence High School 2009 graduate, and daughter of Drs. Eric and Linda Hyler, grew up in Lawrence, Kansas attending Raintree, Sunflower Elementary, Southwest Junior High, and Lawrence High School. During her time growing up, Alex was a competitive gymnast for over 6 years. Throughout high school, she was active in diving, debate, choir, and forensics, and she participated in the Eutin Sister City’s exchange. Upon graduating from LHS in 2009, Alex was Valedictorian and gave a graduation speech. She went on to attend the University of Kansas earning her bachelor’s with honors in chemical engineering with a minor in German in 2013. At KU, Alex volunteered regularly at the Dole Institute of Politics, led Sellards Scholarship Hall as proctor for two years, and attended nearly every Kansas basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse. Afterwards, she earned her PhD in biomedical engineering from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences in 2018 in Blacksburg, Virginia. While at VT, Alex earned a Fulbright to conduct some of her PhD research in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was named the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year at graduation for her work in scholarship and community outreach, particularly for her time serving as President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. She has expertise in ovarian cancer biology, microfluidics, and device engineering. 

Alex spent 7 years as the Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for CytoRecovery, a dynamic startup working to commercialize new cell separation and recovery technologies. She managed CytoRecovery’s research and technology commercialization portfolios, lead all scientific research projects and collaborations, explored innovate applications, transitioned products to production for market launch, and developed and maintained all customer relationships. While she is still consulting for CytoRecovery, she now serves as a Program Manager for Teleflex Medical, a major medical device company. In her Program Manager role with the Surgical business unit, Alex oversees projects spanning new product development and sustaining current surgical devices in her portfolio. Two of her current projects include transferring manufacturing of a revolutionary gastric stapler for bariatric surgery and nurturing development of novel vessel clip appliers. 

In her professional career to date, she has authored five publications, has four pending patent applications, and has given dozens of conference presentations and talks across the globe. Alex also regularly gives talks and serves on panels advising current high school, college, and internship students.  When she’s not working, Alex enjoys traveling the world (32 countries, 37 states, and counting), watching sports (Rock Chalk, Go Hokies, Go Chiefs), visiting her family, and spoiling her two dogs, Phog and Allie.

Mark your calendars – as you aren’t going to want to miss this one!

Be Sure To Also Check Out Our 2027 Featured Speaker Below!

      Valedictorian Major Sponsors

And A Sneak Peek Into 2027!

2027 Featured Speaker, Jackie Dubois Miller, Free State High School graduate, 2001.       

Jackie Miller has never backed down from a challenge. During her time in Lawrence—and later as a distance runner at the University of Oklahoma—she thrived in grueling distance races. But during college and the years that followed, Jackie faced a challenge far more difficult: Jackie was born with Cystic Fibrosis, and over time, the effects of the disease began to catch up with her, no matter how hard she tried to run away from them.

Through it all, Jackie learned to find joy amidst the pain, discovering that life is about far more than medals, times, and achievements.  

 Jackie met her husband, Adam, during their time at OU, and their journey together led them to a coastal town in South Florida, where they are raising their three boys and enjoying life by the ocean. Jackie is a meteorologist with a California-based company, helping farmers and water managers plan for the year ahead.

 Save The Date: September 2027