Meet The Team

Hello! I’m Herschel Wilson, a proud Tacoma, WA resident, family man, and tropical plant enthusiast. Graduated Western Kentucky University with a degree in Computer Information Systems. Obtained another degree in Business at Indiana University - Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI). For 14 years, I've shared my life with my amazing wife, Noelle, and our three daughters. Our love for this community inspired us to settle here and open The Painting Panda Pottery Studio, where we’ve been nurturing creativity for the past five years.

Three years ago, I founded Energize Tacoma to give back to this incredible city that has given me so much. Despite living here for just 8 years, I feel immense pride and love for Tacoma, and I deeply relate to its grit and determination.

In my free time, I transform our backyard into a tropical paradise and dive into the world of science and innovation, always seeking to learn and improve. Family is my top priority, and every moment with them is cherished.
 

Noelle, born in South Korea and raised in Indiana, is an accomplished professional with a distinguished academic background. She is a proud alumna of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and holds a Master of Social Work degree from Indiana University. With extensive experience in numerous nonprofits and a substantial career in higher education, Noelle brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her endeavors.

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As a proud mother of three daughters, Noelle stays busy balancing family life with her professional commitments. She enjoys gardening at home and has a deep love for pandas and paint-it-yourself studios, having frequented them in Indiana, New Mexico, and Washington. This love naturally led her to co-found the Painting Panda Pottery Studio.

In collaboration with Herschel Wilson, Noelle provides the creative vision for the business and frequently interfaces with customers. Her welcoming and inspiring presence helps painters feel at home and encourages creativity in the studio. Noelle's unique blend of professional experience, personal interests, and dedication to community enrichment is integral to the success and vibrant atmosphere of the Painting Panda Pottery Studio.

My name is Skyler McVaugh and I have a degree in Environmental Science from Western Washington University. After finishing college I interned with the City of Federal Way in their Surface Water Management department for a number of years before going back to school to obtain a teaching certificate from Western Governors University. I spent the next seven years teaching mainly science but also social studies and a short lived elective course at Truman Middle School. I also had the great opportunity to coach Truman's boys and girls Cross Country team two years in a row during my time teaching there.

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​In my free time I enjoy reading where I tend to switch between fiction and non-fiction every other book. I am also an accomplished athlete having completed two marathons, numerous half-marathons and 5 and 10k races. My 50cc Vespa scooter is also a source of joy for me and if you live in Tacoma you have probably seen me riding it. I am also a strong bicycle advocate and will always be a supporter of increasing bike lanes all over cities here in America.

An emerging writer and director returning home to Tacoma from Los Angeles, CA, Derek Nunn has worked in various departments of film and television production companies for over 15 years, cultivating story ideas and concepts into reality. From award-winning independent production companies such as Steakhaus Productions, Hidden Empire and Animus Films to networks and studios such as Viacom Media Networks, Derek brings a resounding level of excellence to everything he touches. 

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While attending film school in Santa Monica, one of his several professors recognized his writing talent and assisted him in obtaining an internship with one of the most active executives in Hollywood. There he worked as an assistant, providing script coverage and market analysis, becoming recognized for his exceptional talents and overall contribution to every creative team he encountered. 

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He quickly began working as a story consultant for various TV and film projects, script-doctoring and ghostwriting, whilst simultaneously grinding on film sets as a boom operator and working seasonally at the prestigious AFI Fest, among other renowned film festivals around the world. He later assimilated to the corporate side of entertainment, traveling the country as a special events assistant for ViacomCBS. With each opportunity, his proficiency for story and his unique perspective has centered him in rooms with executives and industry personnel from Warner Brothers, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Spike TV, Vh1, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures, BET, Comedy Central and 20th Century Fox. 

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Currently he is shopping his gritty, urban sports classic “PARAGON” based on his experience in the cutthroat subculture of collegiate to pro sports, as well as, a dazzling crime thriller series, EVERGREEN, set against the Pacific Northwest’s drug culture. Starting his own production company in his hometown of Tacoma, WA, Derek Nunn is focused on developing dynamic and innovative stories that showcase uniquely underrepresented groups and demographics for film and television.

April Stapp is an accomplished Professor of Sociology in Tacoma.  Having grown up in an underresourced rural town in Southern California, the unique lived experiences she embodies allows her to bring a critical eye and cultural perspective to her work, including her unending research on racial and historical trauma.

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Her passion for food sovereignty, and by default gardening and farming at various scales, is not merely a personal hobby but central to her lifelong activist and academic journeys.  “The garden is our church,” is a truth she derived from her upbringing, which informs her profound commitment to ecological work.  She seamlessly has integrated this into her academic pursuits and community engagements as reconnecting to and honoring the land is a tool for resilience, health, and healing, both for our communities, and for the earth.

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April's dedication to environmental justice and food sovereignty first germinated having been impacted by a destructive corporate project in her hometown (Erin Brockovich for those who are familiar)—a project that disproportionately devasted her most vulnerable and impoverished community members.   This is reflected in her academic endeavors, where she incorporates critical understandings to environmental and urban inequities into her classrooms, assisting her students in understanding the unique problems that Tacoma faces.  She does so to inspire Tacomans to address environmental and social injustices in all that they do, regardless of career path.

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Her role as an educator and community advocate makes her an invaluable asset to our community, where she continuously strives to inspire and lead by example.