Education
B.S. in Landscape Horticulture with a minor in Plant Science from University of Maine; Certificate in Instructional Design & Technology from Walden University; Certificate in Data Science from University of Maine at Augusta.Something you’re proud of at MMSA
The way we've been able to grow participation in the Maine State Science Fair from a small cohort of high schools to a diverse group of public, private, charter, urban, and rural Maine schools.What is your teaching/learning philosophy?
I believe that some of the best learning happens in a hands-on environment, coupled with the learner having an opportunity to teach others or share with them what they learned.What is your STEM passion area?
I love data, especially the challenge of effectively visualizing data and using it to tell compelling stories about our world.What do you like most about your role at MMSA?
I love building relationships with educators, supporting them, and helping them solve problems. It's inspiring to see them having a positive impact on so many youth.Favorite STEM-related memory
When I was very young, we lived next door to an elderly couple who taught me how to draw animals and all about gardening. I think that's why UMaine's Horticulture program caught my eye as I flipped through the course catalog in my senior year. Although my career had a long hiatus away from plants, it has really come full circle now that I am the Project Manager of our Smart Greenhouse project.What did you do before you worked at MMSA?
I served three terms in AmeriCorps; one at Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed, one at Department of Environmental Protection, and one in the VISTA Program. I then traveled to schools around Maine doing hands-on energy & climate activities with Maine Energy Education Program. I spent several of those years as MEEP's Director of Operations.What memory from your childhood would you like to share that exemplifies why you do the STEM education related work that you do?
I spent a lot of time getting into things in my dad's toolshed: building furniture of questionable integrity, whittling, and trying to fix things when they broke. The parts of school I remember most involve solving problems, from challenges presented by our physics teacher Mrs. Moody to participating in Odyssey of the Mind. I like to think that by bringing the Maine State Science Fair to more parts of the state, I am giving more students the opportunity to make some memorable learning experiences of their own.
