About

Mrs. Westerhausen is the Gifted Specialist for the Legacy GIFTED Program since 2018. She also teaches JH Robotics and Technology-K4 Teacher at Legacy Traditional School's Queen Creek Campus (Go, Patriots!).

With a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, Masters degree in School Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Education with Math as area of concentration in the Philippines, she has been an educator for over 30 years. She has also taken tech-cert programs on Database Admin & Devt. Her education certification areas include Middle School Math Education, Gifted Education, and Administration.

Recently, she has co-written articles on the success of Project AMP (App Maker Pro), a Mobile App Development Program through ASU's PRIME CENTER, being involved in the project for 5 years. 

On the side, she has been a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and NASA Heliophysics Education Ambassador for Arizona. As such, she coordinates and facilitates workshops at many Astronomy events in schools and communities. She also founded the Astronomy Club @ Eastmark (ACE) and runs monthly/quarterly astronomy events with the community.

Mari  has been part of the AZ Educational Technology Committee. She has also part-taken in reviewing National Geographic JASON Project Curriculum for both Tectonic Fury & Terminal Velocity courses. She was an online facilitator for the AZ Teach 21 Course with ASSET-IDEAL based in ASU. In the past, she had presented at major national and local professional conferences: NSTA, AATM & NCTM, AAGT, and AzTEA, among others.

She loves spending time with her wonderful family. Together they like to go on road trips, hiking, biking, camping, and stargazing.