# Xander Simms: Speaker Kit (copy and paste)
**Creative Technologist & AI Filmmaker** · Founder, Digital Storytellers Ink · St. Louis
Email: xandersimmsdesign@gmail.com · Web: xandersimms.com · LinkedIn: Xander Simms · Instagram: @xanderlove.ai

## Short bio (~50 words)
Xander Simms is a St. Louis creative technologist and AI filmmaker. He builds AI-powered creative tools and films that help people find their voice, from The Signal, an AI spoken-word film created with Luma, to the Innovation Gallery, which puts real AI tools in students' hands. He is the founder of Digital Storytellers Ink.

## Medium bio (~100 words)
Xander Simms is a St. Louis creative technologist and AI filmmaker, and the founder of Digital Storytellers Ink. He is a Technical Artist at Meta via Tundra and a Luma AI Creative Partner. His film The Signal, an 11-minute AI spoken-word film created with Luma, explores what it means for a machine to be heard. This fall he built the Innovation Gallery for ConnectSTL's College + Tech Innovation Tour, ten AI challenges built for the 360 high school students registered for the tour to turn an idea into something real in minutes. He spoke at Adobe Create Now during St. Louis Design Week 2026. He holds a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Arts and Entertainment Management from Lindenwood University.

## Long bio (~200 words)
Xander Simms is a creative technologist and AI filmmaker from St. Louis, and the founder of Digital Storytellers Ink. His work starts from one idea: technology is an actuator. It takes what's already inside us, our intention and our signal, and gives it motion and a voice.

He is a Technical Artist at Meta via Tundra and a Luma AI Creative Partner. His film The Signal, an 11-minute AI spoken-word film created with Luma, holds 14 visual styles in one continuous story about a developing consciousness. In October 2026 he built the Innovation Gallery for ConnectSTL's College + Tech Innovation Tour during Digital Inclusion Week: ten short AI challenges, at SLU, SIUE and Webster, built for the 360 high school students registered for the tour to pitch, brand, design and present their own ideas with the same tools professionals use. That same month he spoke at Adobe Create Now during St. Louis Design Week.

Xander's community work with St. Louis nonprofits, including Better Family Life, drives his focus on digital equity and on young people who don't yet see themselves in tech and STEM. He holds a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Arts and Entertainment Management from Lindenwood University. He is a husband and the father of two boys.

## Host intro (read aloud, ~30 sec)
Our next speaker is a St. Louis creative technologist and AI filmmaker. Xander Simms builds AI tools and films that help people find their voice. His film The Signal, created with Luma, explores what it means for a machine to be heard. And this month he created the Innovation Gallery for the 360 high school students registered for ConnectSTL's College + Tech Innovation Tour, putting ten AI challenges in their hands across SLU, SIUE and Webster during Digital Inclusion Week. He's a two-time Lindenwood University graduate, the founder of Digital Storytellers Ink, and he recently spoke at Adobe Create Now during St. Louis Design Week. Please welcome Xander Simms.

## Talks
- **Reality by Design** (Talk · 10–20 min): Technology is an actuator: it takes what's already inside us and gives it a voice. Stories of a voiceless child, a blind designer and an AI film, with one message: you are not alone.
- **Building the Doors: AI + Digital Equity** (Live demo · 3–30 min): A live walkthrough of the Innovation Gallery. Ten AI challenges turn a student's idea into a pitch, a brand or a song in minutes. What it takes to make that access equitable.
- **Intention Over Capability** (Workshop or panel · 30–60 min): How AI films and creative pipelines actually get made: what the machine handles, what stays human, and why taste is now the scarce skill.

## Panel topics
- Digital equity and access
- AI in schools and innovation centers
- Creative careers in the AI era
- Partnerships and funding for community tech

## Recent + upcoming
- Oct 22, 2026: Panelist + featured speaker, ConnectSTL Community, Culture & Impact Celebration · “What's Next” panel · SLU Center for Global Citizenship
- Oct 6, 2026: Speaker + sticker artist, Adobe Create Now · St. Louis Design Week · The Sheldon
- Oct 5–7, 2026: Creator, the Innovation Gallery · ConnectSTL College + Tech Innovation Tour · 360 registered students · SLU, SIUE, Webster
- 2026: The Signal, AI spoken-word film · Created with Luma · @LumaLabsAI · #LumaCPP
- Guest talk with Washington University in St. Louis students

## Credentials
- Technical Artist at Meta via Tundra
- Luma AI Creative Partner
- Founder, Digital Storytellers Ink
- Commissioned artist: Adobe Create Now STL sticker (2026)
- Lindenwood University: B.A. Music, M.A. Arts and Entertainment Management
- 23K+ followers on LinkedIn

## For organizers
- Presents from his own MacBook (HDMI or USB-C), or from yours with a PPTX + MP4 he provides
- Audio out to the house speakers for video
- Reliable Wi-Fi for live demos (the Innovation Gallery runs in the browser); offline backup video provided
- Lavalier or handheld mic, and a clicker if available
- 10 minutes for an AV check before doors open
- Photos and video are welcome. Please tag Xander Simms on LinkedIn and @xanderlove.ai on Instagram.

## Photo credits
- on_stage_adobe_create_now.jpg: On stage at Adobe Create Now · The Sheldon · Oct 6, 2026 · with ASL interpretation · Photo: @allieemagee
- speaking_washu_students.jpg: With Washington University in St. Louis students after a guest talk
- headshot.jpg: Headshot
- the_signal_still.png: From The Signal · Created with Luma · @LumaLabsAI · #LumaCPP
- adobe_create_now_stl_sticker.png: Sticker designed for Adobe Create Now · St. Louis Design Week 2026
- innovation_gallery.png: The Innovation Gallery · built for ConnectSTL
