Meet Haley Beekman. At Discovery Education, Haley works on Corporate Education Partnership programs with topic areas spanning from STEM, Social Emotional Learning, Body Confidence and Workforce Readiness for K-12 students.

Haley has been working on the Young Scientist Challenge for 3 years - and she absolutely loves getting the opportunity to learn from these young scientists!

Haley is originally from Tampa, FL and graduated from the University of South Carolina with degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Now, Haley lives in Washington, DC.

Meet Karina Chavez. As 3M’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Karina Chavez leads several functions including strategy, brand, design, sponsorships and events, and communications for the $32 billion science-based company.

Throughout her life and career, Karina has lived and worked around the world. She joined 3M in 2008 as a marketing and public affairs manager for 3M Mexico, and has held roles of increasing responsibility in the United States, Asia and Latin America.

Karina led strategic planning for the company’s international operations and served as managing director for 3M Indonesia. In 2017 she was named global business director for 3M’s home improvement business, until 2020 when she became senior vice president for customer operations. In November 2021, Karina assumed her current role as senior vice president and chief strategy officer. Prior to 3M, she served as a business leader and consultant for various companies in Mexico and Belgium.

Meet Betsy Clawson. Betsy is an Events Professional with over 20 years experience. Her portfolio includes planning large-scale fundraising galas, premiere screenings, award programs, receptions, competitions, and other corporate events. However, Betsy is happiest when working with children, which is why supporting the Young Scientist Challenge for 15 years has been a highlight of her career.

Although not a certified teacher, Betsy has volunteered her talents to teach children during weekly Sunday School class. One of her joys is seeing her once-tiny students grow into mature and capable adults / pre-adults.

During the COVID-19 pandemic Betsy found a new outlet for her creativity as a regular presenter on a grass-roots community educational sharing site, Quarantine Academy.

Meet Maura Fay. At Discovery Education, Maura supports programs covering subjects ranging from STEM to physical education. This is Maura's first year working on the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, and she is so excited to be involved in this program!

Previous to joining Discovery Education, Maura worked in Sales at Discovery, Inc. (now Warner Brothers Discovery). Maura also has a background in children's television production and development, and she loves working with kids.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Maura graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Communications. She currently lives in Philadelphia and is always looking for a new city to explore!

Meet Ally Fernholz. Ally Fernholz joined 3M in November of 2021 as Corporate Sponsorship Leader in the Global Strategy Group. She leads key sponsorships including the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, Minnesota Vikings, University of Minnesota, Minnesota United, Nobel Prize Outreach, The 3M Open and more.

Ally has 10+ years of sponsorship experience including the National Hockey League and the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx. Prior to joining 3M, Ally led experiential marketing efforts as an Account Director at a local Minnesota agency, CLAMOR.

She received her education at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI with an MBA and a Bachelor's in Marketing with a minor in Sports Management. The New Jersey native currently lives in Lake Elmo, MN, with her husband Jake and daughter Stevie. Ally is expecting her second daughter in October.

Meet Andy Hennig. Andy Hennig is a native Minnesotan and 2nd generation 3Mer.

A 3Mer for 19 years, with the past 5 years as an Innovation Center Host, he has also lived in Europe twice for a total of 5 years, and now resides in the TC Metro area with his wife and 3 children.

He holds a BA in Physics and Mathematics from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. He loves singing, stage acting, and watching the family perform music and play sports.

Meet Sarah Hirsch. At Discovery Education, Sarah works with organizations like 3M to build access and equity in K-12 education through inspiring opportunities like the 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

Sarah works with Social Impact Partnership programs with topic areas spanning from STEM, Agriculture, and Workforce Readiness.

Prior to her current role with Discovery Education, Sarah held the role of Director of Marketing at Governors State University, where she oversaw higher education brand management.

Sarah holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature, both from Governors State University. She lives in Munster, Indiana, with her family of five, and loves visiting National Parks and spending time with their dog Chandler.

Meet Scott Kinney. Discovery Education’s CEO Scott Kinney has spent more than 25 years supporting the success of all learners through a variety of roles in both public education and the business world.

Prior to his current position, Scott served as Discovery Education’s President of K-12 Education, and before that, he held the role of Senior Vice President of Education Partnerships. During his tenure at Discovery Education, Scott has played a key role in a number of the organization’s innovative initiatives, including the creation of Discovery Education’s professional learning business, the establishment of Discovery Education’s master’s degree in instructional media, and the growth of the company’s award-winning professional learning community, the Discovery Educator Network.

Scott Kinney regularly consults with high-level education leaders and policymakers and has testified before Congress on the future of learning. An accomplished public speaker and author, Kinney has keynoted countless education conferences and has contributed articles and opinion pieces to various education publications.

Before joining Discovery Education, Kinney spent 15 years in public education, serving at the school district and regional service center levels. Kinney has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at the university level and has served on numerous education-focused advisory boards.

Scott earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bloomsburg University and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Meet Jonte Lee. Most recently featured on Amazon Studios eight-part docuseries “Regular Heroes”, Jonté Lee, current fifth grade teacher and former high school Chemistry teacher, has inspired so many beyond his classroom with his love of science and STEM.

You may recognize him from Good Morning America or ABC WJLA-TV News after he turned his kitchen into a chemistry lab during remote learning this spring to motivate his Calvin Coolidge High School students.

Jonté has been teaching in DC Public Schools for eight years. This former marketing specialist discovered the joy of teaching when volunteering with the Big Brother Big Sister program. He followed his passion and became a full-time high school science educator by completing the Ready to Teach certification program at Howard University.

Through teaching, he found his life's passion and cannot see himself doing anything else. Teaching science allows him to make meaningful connections with students while pushing them academically forward. His greatest joy is watching them grapple with a challenge in order to master a concept.

Meet Beth Meyer. Beth is a top performing marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience in driving brand growth through partnerships, promotions, integrated campaigns, and educational outreach.

As the Vice President of Social Impact Partnerships at Discovery Education, Beth leads the strategic activation for DE’s portfolio of partnership programs, connecting corporate, foundation and community partners to K-12 school classrooms via real-world content.

She was previously the Chief Marketing Officer at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) where she led strategic planning, oversight and expansion of brand and revenue goals for the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit.

Prior to RIF, Beth was a marketing consultant for PBS Education and National Geographic, and a partner at Peloton Agency, creating marketing solutions to support content, distribution, CSR and partnership goals for media, non-profit, and education brands including Amazon, AMC, Burger King, Comcast, FX, KaBOOM!, Kraft, NBA Cares and Sprout. Beth also worked at Discovery Communications, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, where she spearheaded award-winning global, national and local consumer and b-to-b campaigns. Beth’s work has been recognized with numerous awards from BDA/Promax, Beacon, CTAM Mark, Library of Congress Literacy Award, and Revere Awards for Marketing Excellence.

Beth is a graduate of West Virginia University with a B.S. in Public Relations.

Meet Amy Nakamoto. As General Manager of Corporate Education Partnerships (CEP) at Discovery Education, Amy leads social impact strategy connecting corporate and community partners to K-12 school classrooms via real-world content, large-scale critical issue coalitions, and direct partnerships with school districts. CEP serves as the social impact partner to more than 60 companies, nonprofits, and government agencies, uniquely positioning Discovery Education in schools as the best-in-class education technology solution infused with real-world experiences that take students and teachers beyond the classroom. 

During her professional career, Amy has worked at the intersection of the education, nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors to address challenges and opportunities that support the positive development of students, young people, and related stakeholders. Previously, she has served as an executive director and board member of youth-focused nonprofits, led grantmaking and philanthropic strategy in the private foundation sector. Since joining Discovery Education in 2017, Amy has elevated the role of multi-sector partnership development to specifically focus on the K-12 landscape. 

Amy has a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University, as well as master’s degrees in sport science from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and education from University of Pennsylvania. She lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, four children, and two dogs. 

Meet Sarah Park. Sarah (15) is a sophomore at Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. She was named 2021 America’s Top Young Scientist winning the grand prize of $25,000 by 3M and Discovery Education. She created Spark Care +, a personalized music therapy device. Sarah has been an active member and programmer of the Robotics Varsity Team in her school since 4th grade, where she developed her passion for science and engineering. She was the finalist and the Grand Award Winner of the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). She also won numerous special awards from the 2022 Northeast Florida Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF), including the American Psychological Association (APA) Outstanding Research Award and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Special Research Award.

Just like science, Sarah has a passion for music. Sarah is a young violinist performing as a Concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra (JSYO). She is the winner of the 2022 JSYO Young Artist Competition, awarded a $1500 scholarship, and solo performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Sarah made her Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 10 on violin for the winner’s recital, and she has won numerous music competitions. Sarah was nominated twice as the Irene Muir in 2019 for the extremely gifted young musicians from the Florida Federation Music Club judges.

Sarah believes in the power of music and shares her musical talent with the community at school, churches, nursing homes, hospitals, or wherever music is needed. The 2022 FSMTA (Florida State Music Teachers Association) Community Service Award recognized her endeavor to share music with others from Jacksonville City and Florida State. Sarah continues to thrive and impact the music and the science world.

Meet Ashley Powers. As a Director at Discovery Education, Ashley manages and oversees the development of meaningful partnerships that provide K-12 educators and students free resources on educational subjects ranging from STEM to Social - Emotional Learning and workforce readiness.

Ashley has spent many years working on the Young Scientist Challenge and loves the opportunity to meet the many amazing finalists, parents, mentors and judges that touch this competition.

Ashley is originally from Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Advertising and Promotion. She currently resides in the DC Metro Area with her husband.

Meet Dr. Sian Proctor. Dr. Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and astronaut. She was the mission pilot for the SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission. She is the first African American woman to pilot a spacecraft, the first African American commercial astronaut, and the first African American to paint in space. She is also one of The Explorer’s Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World. Her motto is called Space2inspire where she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths, and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. She believes that we need to actively strive for a J.E.D.I. space: a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space as we advance human spaceflight.

She uses her afrofuturism space art to encourage conversations about women of color in the space industry. She believes that when we solve for space, we also solve issues on Earth and she promotes the adoption of space technology to issues such as food waste and climate change.

Dr. Proctor spent over 20 years as a professor teaching geology, sustainability, and planetary science at South Mountain Community College, in Phoenix, Arizona. She is currently helping to create a Global Futures Institute for the Maricopa Community College District.

Meet Lance Rougeux. Lance started his career as a teacher at Julia de Burgos Bilingual Middle School in the School District of Philadelphia where he was highlighted in The Emergency Teacher, a book about urban teaching. He is the co-founder of the Purple Feet Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on helping underserved students think about their future.

Prior to joining Discovery Education, Lance was an Executive Policy Specialist at the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Educational Technology.

Lance currently serves as Vice President of Instructional Design at Discovery Education.

He holds master’s degrees in Educational Leadership and Technology in Education from Villanova University and Harvard University, respectively, and is an adjunct faculty member at Wilkes University for whom he designed the Instructional Strategies for Using Digital Content graduate level course.

Meet Lindsey Scribner. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Lindsey has been with 3M for 20 years.

Lindsey’s gift of organization, attention to detail, creative imagination, contagious enthusiasm have earned her a reputation for unparalleled excellence as a key player in the event space. Lindsey will execute your concepts flawlessly while maintaining a pleasant, calm and helpful demeanor to ensure an amazing experience for you and your customer.

Lindsey is an active member of the Meeting & Event Management Forum at 3M and believes in giving back to the community and industry through volunteering and creating standards of excellence and raising the bar of professionalism.

In her spare time, Lindsey is a wife and mother to three amazing children, Bennett, Gracelyn & Collyns. They enjoy their time together as a family, whether it’s in a gym playing basketball, or on a baseball/softball field.

Meet Mike Sherman. For the past 5 years, Mike Sherman has been an innovative thought leader at 3M.

Mike received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and his Masters in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Business Development, Marketing, Organizational Theory, and Operations from the University of St. Thomas.

Over the course of his career, Mike has sought to be a non-traditional engineering and R&D leader. Always intrigued by how things work and the impact that may have on the enjoyment and benefit of consumers, Mike's discipline to his work and outside-of-the-box style has been an inspiring force in the engineering space.

Meet Kady Stoll. Kady Stoll currently leads global sponsorships in the Corporate Strategy Group at 3M. This new organization brings a strategic, proactive approach to advancing and protecting the 3M brand and reputation.

Throughout her 7-year career at 3M, Kady has held various leadership roles within sponsorships. She has built a team to develop and deliver strategic partnerships that drive customer engagement and strengthen the 3M brand with all stakeholders. Over her tenure, Kady has been committed to driving growth by creating authentic customer and experiential brand experiences.

Kady serves on the First Tee Minnesota Board of Directors, volunteers at Eagle Brook Church, as well as coaching youth sports. She competed in Division I golf at Gardner-Webb University while earning a bachelor’s in business with a minor in management.

Meet Ben Wright. Ben currently leads 3M Ventures, which is the corporate venturing arm of 3M Company. 3M Ventures exists to advance innovation and growth through internal and external venturing. Since assuming leadership for the group in 2017, 3M Ventures has invested in a portfolio of over 30 companies. The group has facilitated successful partnerships with 3M across the portfolio and has also generated positive financial returns. Ben has also been recognized externally by being named to the Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and 2022 which an award that recognizes the top 100 most influential leaders in corporate venture capital globally.

Ben has served in a variety of roles during his 15+ years at 3M, giving him a broad range of leadership and expertise. His prior 3M experience includes: Strategy, M&A, operations, and business management roles. Ben has also served as board director and observer for over 10 companies. He also serves as an advisory board member to Launch Minnesota and the University of Minnesota’s Discovery Capital fund.

Outside of 3M, Ben served as Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Appareo Systems, where he helped the company achieve record growth. Ben also spent nearly eight years in the Army as an Aviation Officer and helicopter pilot. During his time in the Army, Ben gained extensive leadership experience, including leading troops in combat.

Ben holds a Bachelor's Degree in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Meet Amanda Yates. Amanda is a Director in 3M’s Global Sustainability team, with a focus on strategy and external engagement. In her role, she ensures 3M’s sustainability strategy is not only aligned and delivering on the company’s commitments today, but also has a view to future shifts in regulations and global expectations of businesses in reducing environmental and social impacts on the planet and its people. Amanda is also focused on building external understanding of 3M’s sustainability efforts, and creating partnerships that enable 3M to not only share and learn from others, but also find collaboration opportunities to scale positive impact.

Amanda’s role in Sustainability builds on her original passion and career in environmental compliance, where she worked as an Environmental Specialist within Anheuser-Busch’s theme park division. It also builds on her past experiences in brand, insights and analytics, both at 3M and Interbrand, a leading global brand consultancy.

Amanda joined 3M 9 years ago as a Director on the Corporate Brand team, driving the creation and activation of 3M Science. Applied to Life.™ She then joined the Safety & Industrial Business Group as the Director for Insights, Analytics and Pricing Strategy. Prior to 3M, she spent 11 years at Interbrand working with a variety of brands from Sherwin Williams and John Deere to AT&T and P&G, as well as non-profits like Susan G Komen and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, which have all offered great perspective for her work at 3M.

Amanda has a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.