Sara Leikin is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at NMSI. She has over twenty years of experience as a teacher, school leader, and consultant. After ten years of teaching, she transitioned to school leadership and was the founding school leader and charter writer for two new schools in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. She spent seven years leading, learning, and advocating for students and families at the education reform table. Following that work, Sara spent four years as a director on a USAID sponsored STEM education initiative in Egypt where she continued to advocate for the rights of students and families and was responsible for the professional development of over 200 teachers and school leaders. Sara received a BA from Mount Holyoke College, a M.Ed in Secondary Education from John Carroll University, and is a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida in Innovation in Educational Leadership.

Sadie Norwick is the Senior Manager of K-8 Programming at the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). She works in close collaboration across NMSI and with key partners to drive improvements to NMSI’s existing programming and to expand access to high quality STEM instruction for all PreK-8 students. Sadie lives in Chicago, IL. Prior to joining the NMSI team, Sadie dedicated over 14 years to providing high quality accessible education for all through formal and informal education in many cultural institutions, classrooms, environmental settings, and communities.

Lisa is a professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she has been actively involved in teaching preservice and inservice teachers for the past 28 years. Lisa is very passionate about STEM education and its integration into the classroom. One of the courses she teaches is a methods course on how to teach science to children in grades K-4. Edinboro University continues to promote collaboration with school districts in our surrounding area. Lisa has been instrumental in collaborating with local school district in the area of STEM education and provides hands-on STEM workshops for cooperating teachers and their field students to support STEM integration into the early childhood curriculum. Prior to teaching in the Early Childhood Department at Edinboro University, Lisa taught at the Miller Laboratory School and other public schools. Her teaching experiences include grades PreK through eight grade, with the exception of first grade. Lisa resides with her husband in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. She has three grown children and is active in her local church and community. She earned her Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Instructional Technology and Design from the University of Pittsburgh, her Med. in Early Childhood with a focus in Clinical Mathematics, and her B.S. in Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education from Mercyhurst University.

Crystal Emery is known for producing narratives aimed at creating a more equitable society. She is the Founder and CEO of URU The Right To Be, Inc., a nonprofit content production company that addresses issues at the intersection of humanities, arts, and sciences. Emery is a member of the Producers Guild of America and New York Women in Film and Television, and was selected in 2019 as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador. She has designed and produced several groundbreaking Virtual Reality Learning Experiences.

Emery has been hailed as “inspiring” by the Los Angeles Times and as a “leader in science and technology” in the Good Housekeeping feature “50 over 50: Women Who Are Changing the World.” She has extensive publishing credits, both independently and with established publishers including in TIME, Variety, Ms.Magazine.com, Rebecca Minkoff Superwoman and HuffPost. Other published works include Stat! An Action Plan for Replacing the Broken System of Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine with a New Paradigm, published by the National Academy of Medicine; the unique biographical essay books Against All Odds: Black Women in Medicine and Master Builders of the Modern World: Reimagining the Face of STEM; and the first two volumes of her Little Man children’s book series.

Wendy Hancock joined the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) in 2004 and currently is the Senior Manager of Programs and Events. She works closely with ASTC members, foundations and government agencies to develop and execute a variety of professional learning opportunities for the informal science education community including face-to-face and online professional development activities, online communities and developing grant award programs. She also and plays a key role in the organization’s member conference bringing informal science professionals from around the globe to the annual event. Wendy is a founding board member of the Innovation Collaborative, a group drawing on the expertise of leading national arts, sciences, and humanities institutions and researchers to impact formal and informal learning environments. She has also served as an advisor on a variety of IMLS and NSF grants including Coalition to Advance Learning in Archives, Libraries and Museum (IMLS) and as the final Principal Investigator for an ExhibitFiles, an online community site for exhibit designers and developers, funded by NSF. Prior to joining ASTC, Wendy held positions at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the International Spy Museum, and was a public high school art educator. Wendy received a BAE from Western Washington University and a MAT from The George Washington University.

Martine Hostin-Black is the Manager of Strategic Innovation at the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). She works in collaboration with NMSI and other partners to rigorous STEM instruction for Pre-K-8. Martine has supported various districts by developing recruitment and sustainability strategies. Martine lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is very passionate about her career in education and is committed to three things: maximizing individual student performance, inspiring students’ interest in learning and instilling a sense of self-worth among all students.

Kathy Renfrew, is an experienced elementary teacher/educator/learner who has been privileged to hold many roles in her career. She was a classroom teacher who was hired by the Vermont Agency of Education as the Elementary Science Assessment Coordinator. In that role she was involved with the drafting, adopting and implementing The Next Generation Science Standards in Vermont.

Kathy returned to MA as an elementary science coach for a school district. Currently Kathy is an education specialist for the Wade Institute for Science Education, a virtual coach for Sibme, an EdReports reviewer, a science volunteer in a 2nd grade classroom and soon to be NMSI coach.

Kathy is an active member of CSSS and NSELA. She is a board member of MSELA and a member of the MA District Leaders Network. She is a vocal advocate for the need of quality science instruction in elementary classrooms

Kathy attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for her undergraduate degree in Human Development. She followed that with a M.Ed in Professional Teaching and a MS in K-8 Science Education. Kathy was a National Board Certified Teacher as well Presidential Awardee in Elementary Science.

Vince Stewart is Executive Director of the California STEM Network, a statewide coalition of business, government, community, and education partners committed to expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) opportunities for all children in California. In this role, he also oversee the Bay Area STEM Ecosystem. Vince has more than two decades of experience in public policy and was appointed by Governors Brown and Schwarzenegger to senior education policy positions. Prior to joining Children Now, he was Vice Chancellor for External Relations for the California Community Colleges. Vince came to the Chancellor’s Office from The James Irvine Foundation, where he served as a Senior Program Officer and managed a grant portfolio focused on aligning secondary and postsecondary education and preparing all students for both college and careers. Vince spent more than a decade advocating for the University of California, serving as Associate Director of Institutional Relations with the Office of the President, Director of Federal Government Relations for UC Davis, and as a legislative advocate with UC’s office of State Governmental Relations. Vince began his career in education policy as a government relations representative for the California School Boards Association.

Glennon is STEAM Program Director at the CDE Foundation. He has been and continues to be a leader, strategic thinker and program manager in large school districts and nonprofits focused on youth development.

Prior to joining CDEF, Glennon led strategic initiatives at Portland Public Schools that included launching 6 new MakerSpaces, engaging 7th-grade students with Career and Technical Education experiences, and creating a trauma-informed continuum of care to support students facing substance use and mental health challenges. At the Colorado Charter School Institute, he led programming for students experiencing homelessness, at-promise youth, and emergent bilingual students. During his Education Pioneers Fellowship at the Los Angeles Unified School District, he supported the implementation of the district’s new professional development and evaluation system. Before working for K-12 agencies, Glennon led dynamic programming for at-promise youth and people with disabilities at the nonprofit U.S. Sailing Center.

Based in Long Beach, Glennon actively volunteers at local nonprofits in the region. He also enjoys sailing, snowboarding, surfing, cycling, photography, and movies. He earned his M.B.A. and B.A. in Communication from the University of Southern California.

Hailing from Houston, Texas, Shane Nicole Woods graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a degree in Biology. She also holds a Master’s degree in Middle Grades Science Education and further extended her learning to include educational administration and project management. Ms. Woods had the pleasure of working in Fort Worth ISD for over 17 years. During her tenure with the district, she served as a middle school teacher for five years at J.P. Elder where she was also tasked with being the department chair and lead content teacher. Shane also held the positions of Assistant Principal, Dean of Instruction, and Middle School Science Specialist. For over six years, Ms. Woods was the K-12 Science Director and managed a multi-million-dollar budget that ensured every student had access to a properly outfitted science lab and learned a standards-aligned curriculum taught by teachers who were supported with on-going professional learning. She also served as a co-lead contributor for new STEM courses, STEM dual credit pathways and STEM summer experiences including job shadowing.

Shane Woods has been in her current position as Director of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas STEM Center of Excellence for one year. The STEM Center of Excellence is a 92-acre living laboratory where girls of all ages can explore and develop their competence and confidence in science, technology, engineering and math – all while cultivating essential skills such as confidence, resilience, leadership, risk taking, and problem solving. Throughout the year, K-12 co-ed students from school districts across North Texas come to the camp to develop their STEM identity, recognition and competence. Ms. Woods plays an integral part in ensuring that all children, especially those who are Girl Scouts, are changing the workforce pipeline in STEM to meet the need for female voices, engagement and leadership in the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy.

Ms. Woods continues to go above and beyond for the STEM community as an active member of several local, state and national educational committees. She is the Board Treasurer for the Fort Worth Regional Science & Engineering Fair. She acts as an informal education advisor for the Botanical Research Institute of Texas Education Advisory Committee, the Women Leading Technology Sorority, the Grand Prairie Young Women’s Leadership Academy T-STEM Advisory Board, Texas Ecosystem STEM Executive Committee and the Lancaster Business Advisory Committee. For the Texas Science Education Leadership Association, Shane served two terms as the President from 2017-2019. In June 2020, Shane will begin her three-year term as the Board Treasurer for the National Science Educational Leadership Association. She is also a frequent speaker at local, state and national science expos and conferences for teachers and school administrators.