Speakers

Daniel Alcazar-Roman is the Associate Director for the Center for K-12 Science at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Kevin Anderson is the Science Education Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. 

Kimberley Astle is the Associate Director of Elementary Science and Integration at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington State.  She serves on the Board of Directors for NSTA as the Division Director of Professional Learning in Science Education, on the Board of Directors for NSELA, and co-chairs the CSSS Ad Hoc Committee on Supporting Elementary Science. 

Andrea has been the Science Coordinator for the Idaho Department of Education for 2 years.  Prior to working at the IDE Andrea taught for 17 years.  She has taught a variety of grade levels 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th and the gambit of middle school science areas.  The last year and a half she has been experimenting with AI to see how it can make her job easier and also decrease the load on teachers.  

Judie Beccaro is the Content Integration and Special Education Specialist in Science for the Georgia Department of Education. This is her 29th year as an educator and her teaching experience includes being a classroom and special education teacher and an elementary science coach. In her spare time, you can find her enjoying time with her family and new puppy, reading, and anything that involves nature. 

Philip Bell is a professor of the Learning Sciences & Human Development and holds the Shauna C. Larson Endowed Chair in Learning Sciences. He is executive director of the UW Institute for Science & Math Education focused on equity-focused innovation in K-12 STEM education, and he is co-director of the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Science of Learning Center. 

Shafiq Chaudhary is the Director of Math and Science at the New Mexico Public Education Department. Shafiq taught middle school mathematics and science for eight years before joining the Department. He has reviewed reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Jennifer Childress Self is the Science Review Lead at NextGenScience, focusing on building understanding in the field of the features vital to science education systems. Previously, Self served as the Director of Instructional Support for Science at Achieve. Self holds a PhD from the University of Texas. 

Howard is the K-12 Integrative STEM Specialist for NCDPI. He loves embedding creativity into all he does. Howard received the NC Science Teachers Association Distinguished Service in Science Education in North Carolina - Administrator Award and recently authored an article for the NC Museum of History’s Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine.

Casandra has been a state science supervisor since August 2021. She is also a doctoral candidate in STEM Education at Boston College. Casandra has worked as a middle school science teacher, worked with pre-service teachers, and supported the development of OpenSciEd professional learning. 

Debra works as a K-5 science consultant in the Division of Academic Standards at NCDPI. She has a Ph.D. in STEM Education. Environmental and global education are passions that she has cultivated throughout her work and educational experience. She has contributed to NSTA  publications and peer-reviewed academic journals. 

Nancy Hopkins-Evans, Associate Director for Program Impact and Senior Science Educator at BSCS Science Learning leads its strategy for broad and equitable impact.  Prior to joining BSCS in 2022, she held roles as Senior Director of Science and Director of Curriculum and Instruction at school districts and non-profit educational organizations.

Heather Johnston is the Project Manager for Science and Engineering Education at the Oklahoma State Department of Education and has served in that role for almost four years. 

Angela is the Science Education Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education. She has over 20 years of experience working in school districts across Michigan, California, and Minnesota as a teacher, researcher, and professional learning provider. She is passionate about supporting teachers in more equitable phenomena-driven science instruction. 

Chris Like is the Educational Program Consultant for Science at the Iowa Department of Education. 

Tana Luther has been a Science Specialist for the Louisiana Department of Education for almost four years and holds a Master’s of Educational Leadership from Southeastern State University. Her current projects include the OpenSciEd High School pilot and a classroom assessment community of practice with educators from across the state. 

Brett was a high school science teacher for 20 years, the state science specialist, and the curriculum director at the Utah Office of Education for 15 years.  Brett served on the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Board on Science Education for 8 years.  He served on the committee that developed the Framework for K-12 Science Education committee and was a lead writer on Next Generation Science Standards.  Brett co-directed the committee that developed the NASEM  report  Investigations and Design at the Center committee.  He has written four books specific to science teaching and learning.  

Tiffany Neill, is a Curriculum Manager at OpenSciEd, leading a project funded by Amazon Future Engineers, a Research Scientist at the University of Washington, and director of a teacher pathway program at the University of Central Oklahoma. Previously, Tiffany was the Director of Science Education in Oklahoma and President of CSSS from 2017-2019. 

Prior to joining the Learning in Places project, Breigh served as an educator and ed leader for the last 16 years, most recently as Director of Math, Science, & STEM at Louisiana Department of Education from 2018-2023. Breigh has earned several honors for her contributions to STEM education, including the Essie Beck Rising Star Award, Disney Planet Challenge Grand Prize, a Grosvenor Fellowship, and Council for Elementary Science International’s Muriel Green Award. 

Jamie Rumage (she/her), M.S., serves as the Science Education Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education. In her role, she strives to elevate educational equity by supporting a statewide science education system that intentionally broadens the participation and engagement for each and every student. 

Jenny Sarna is the Director of WestEd’s NextGenScience project. Her work focuses on building partnerships and scaling the project’s tools and resources for science leaders, curriculum developers, and educators. She supports district and agency leaders with planning, implementing, and evaluating science education programs with a focus on equity and access. 

Dr. Schweingruber is a nationally recognized leader in leveraging research findings to support improving science and STEM education policy and practice. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and anthropology, and a certificate in culture and cognition from the University of Michigan. 

Dipa is the Senior Director of Curriculum at the Museum of Science in Boston. She has spent her career grappling with the challenge of how to design motivating, engaging, and equity-oriented STEM curriculum materials for students across the K-16 spectrum. 

Dr. Stephens is the associate board director for the Board on Science Education and is an accomplished study director having led several consensus studies on K-12 STEM education. Dr. Stephens received her PhD in psychological and brain sciences with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University.  

Molly Talbot had been with the Louisiana Department of Education for three years and currently serves as the Director of Science and Environmental Education. She graduated from Louisiana State University, earning her Education Specialist degree. Current projects include the OpenSciEd Elementary pilot and supporting the Louisiana Environmental Education Commission. 

Benita works as a Secondary Science Consultant in the Division of Academic Standards at NCDPI. She earned a master’s degree in Biology Education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Benita has a passion for developing strong relationships as the foundation of everything she does, both professionally and personally. 

Leanne Weber is the Science Education Consultant at the Michigan Department of Education. 

Vanessa Wolbrink is the Associate Director of WestEd’s NextGenScience project. Wolbrink supports state and district leaders who are working to develop a comprehensive roadmap for science learning, and helps guide their implementation of science standards, including instructional materials and assessment efforts.