The Team

General Inquires (nseeds@uw.edu)

Current Team Members

About Our Team

Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D. (principal investigator) has been involved with precollege neuroscience science education since 1997. He is currently a Research Associate Professor (Depts. Bioengineering, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Graduate Program of Neurobiology and Behavior) and the Executive Director of the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering at the University of Washington.

Kristi Straus, Ph.D. developed the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience laboratory activities for students to do in their classrooms and manages other aspects of this project. She is currently doing research in the lab on the effects of plant extracts on Lumbriculus heart rate and hopes to submit a paper for publication on this topic soon. Kristi has been involved in teaching health education, environmental education,and marine biology since 1998. Currently, Kristi also teaches environmental studies through the Program on the Environment at the University of Washington.

Shaun Taylor, M.Ed. (web developer) has been developing science education programs for 30 years. He is currently the Director of Production at Educurious.org, also a STEM developer for Edvation.

Marcia Johnson Witter, M. Ed. (Teacher Programs) has taught, coached and advised at the K-12 level for over 35 years. Her work has focused on youth athletics, specials needs students with developmental disabilities, the highly capable and kids 'at-risk'.She is a founding member of the Women's Bioethics Project www.womensbioethics.org and was a National Advocate for the Allen Institute for Brain Science www.alleninstitute.org. Marcia is a 'teacher on call' at Seattle Country Day School, www.seattlecountryday.org. and currently evaluates and advises K-12 education, principal leadership and professional development programs in the San Francisco Bay and greater Seattle areas

Kristen Clapper Bergsman, M.Ed. (science curriculum consultant) founded Laughing Crow Curriculum LLC (www.laughingcrowcurriculum.com) in 2001 to support science education organizations in the development, design, and publication of innovative curricula. Since then, she has helped produce dozens of science curriculum products on topics as diverse as global health, bioinformatics, bioethics, environmental law, and sustainability.

Dr. Laura Collins, from the Center for Research and Learning (CRL), was selected as the external evaluator for the project because of her extensive experience in program evaluation and research, as well as her expertise in education, curriculum, and instruction. At the CRL, she has directed the evaluation of many grant-funded programs including the MESA – Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, Youth Take Heart (SEPA), and Increasing Gender Equity in Computer Science with the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NSF) among others.

Mrs. Brigitte Tennis is the founder and headmistress of Stella Schola Middle School. A product of the Lake Washington School District, Brigitte attended the University of Washington on an academic scholarship, completing her bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and in Education (K – 12) and master’s equivalency in K-12 Education. Brigitte Tennis has been teaching in the Lake Washington School District for 32 years. In 2004, Mrs. Tennis was selected as a DisneyHand American Teacher Honoree, and in 2006 she accomplished her National Board (NBCT) certification as a nationally recognized professional teacher of excellence in English.

Jennifer Trygstad, M.A.Ed (Organizational and Social Media Assistant) provides logistical support for Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience, supporting classroom teachers and sharing program news through social media. She worked in K-12 education for over twenty years, mostly working with middle school students in out of school time programming including Community Learning Centers, all-girl education, and theatre programs. She is a certified Middle Level Humanities teacher and received her Masters in Education from Antioch University Seattle.

This project was supported by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research and administered by the National Institute on Drug Abuse through Grant Number R25DA033011.