The EarthLabs Team

Tamara Ledley, Principal Investigator

Tamara Shapiro Ledley is Principal Investigator for the NSF-funded Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Pathway, EarthLabs-Cryosphere, EarthLabs-Earth System Science, AccessData, DataTools, and Earth Exploration Toolbook projects. She has been involved in a range of Earth system science education activities that include developing museum exhibits that bring near real time images of the Earth to the public, directing teacher training programs in Earth system science, developing Earth system science learning activities for the GLOBE program, developing scientific research programs for the participation of students, and bringing scientific data into educational venues. Prior to her science education work, Tamara conducted a research program that focused on understanding the role of sea ice and continental ice sheets in shaping global climate on seasonal to ice age time scales.


Nick Haddad, Project Director

Nick Haddad is the current Project Director of the EarthLabs project and a senior curriculum developer at TERC, where he has worked since 2001. Recent work includes Project Director of the DataTools professional development project (NSF ITEST) and lead curriculum developer for the Inquiry Project and for the Focus on Energy Project (NSF DR K-12). Before joining TERC, Nick worked as a curriculum developer with the Educational Technologies Group at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (Cambridge, MA). A former classroom teacher, Nick taught at the elementary and middle school levels for 24 years. He has a B.S in Structural Engineering from Tufts University and a Masters Degree in Education from Wheelock College.


Karen McNeal

Dr. Karen McNeal, Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University, is Co-PI on the EarthLabs projects and lead of the research team. McNeal's research in geoscience education explores questions concerning the human understanding of complex and dynamic earth systems and their interactions. As such, her research related to the Earthlabs projects includes the study of student misconceptions of complex earth systems, the impact of the Earthlbas on-line curriculum on students' conceptual model development, and the evaluation of teacher professional development programs using the teacher-trainer model.


Kathy Ellins

Kathy Ellins, the program manager at the Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas-Austin, is a co-Principal Investigator on a three-year NASA grant entitled, Earth System Science: A Key to Climate Literacy and an NSF DR K-12 grant entitled, Confronting the Challenges of Climate Literacy, both of which are led by Tamara Ledley. Kathy specializes in Geoscience Education and is the Principal Investigator on the TXESS Revolution project, an Earth science teacher development program funded by the NSF Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geoscience Program. Active in national Earth science education reform, Kathy has been involved in Integrated Ocean Drilling Program strategic planning, including education and outreach, for fifteen years, served on the IRIS Education Committee, the Earth Science Literacy Initiative Writing Workshop, and was involved in EarthScope education and outreach planning. She has provided K-12 earth science professional development in Texas for twelve years.


Erin Bardar, Curriculum Developer


Erin Bardar, a curriculum developer at TERC, received her Ph.D. from Boston University in astronomy in 2006. As a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) fellow at BU, Erin conducted research in astronomy education with a focus on student understanding of light and spectroscopy.

Erin is the primary curriculum developer for multiple EarthLabs modules.


Elizabeth (Betsy) Youngman, Curriculum Developer


Betsy Youngman is a curriculum developer for a variety of educational projects across the nation. She has taught middle and high school science for 25 years, most recently at Phoenix Country Day School. Betsy has a master's degree in science education from Montana State University, where she focused on the use of geospatial tools in science education.

Betsy is a curriculum developer for multiple EarthLabs modules.

Candace Dunlap, Curriculum Developer


Candace Dunlap is a curriculum developer for the Earthlabs Climate Change module focusing on the carbon cycle. She taught high school Biology for twenty-eight years and was a K-12 Director of Math and Science and a Dean of Curriculum and Program before she retired from education. For more than ten years, she worked as a consultant for the NOVA program, reviewing and writing science lessons. Candace has a Master's Degree in Biology and History of Science from Harvard University Extension and a Master's Degree in Teaching and Learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, Curriculum Developer


Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood is the primary developer of the Climate Detectives EarthLab module. He taught high-school Earth science, biology, astronomy, and physics in Tucson, AZ for 28 years. Lockwood has co-authored four high-school science textbooks (Investigating Astronomy, Astrobiology, Physics That Works, Environmental Science: Biocomplexity), and a full-year Online Earth and Space Systems Science course for the Virtual High School Collaborative. He has also written numerous curriculum pieces for PBS/WGBH Boston, NOVA, NASA, and NSTA. Lockwood has directed numerous PD efforts over the past 20 years that focus on training teachers to engage students in authentic science research projects in astronomy.

Susan Lynds, Evaluator


Susan Lynds is a program evaluator and associate scientist at CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences) at the University of Colorado Boulder. She conducts internal and external evaluation studies for programs funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She is on the external evaluation team for one of the EarthLabs projects.


Anne Gold, Evaluator


Dr. Anne Gold is an Associate Scientist with the Cooperative Institute of Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She has conducted climate science research for 6 years and taught many college-level classes. In the CIRES Education and Outreach, she conducts program evaluation and educational research around climate topics. Her projects translate research into educational resources. She is serving as PI on a curriculum development project and PI on a research project about the importance of spatial thinking in Geoscience education. She is the program manager for the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) project.

Cathryn Manduca

Cathy Manduca is the Director of the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College where she is involved in a variety of projects that support improvements in geoscience and science education. Her work includes organizing workshops and other activities for faculty and educators of all types, developing web-resources that support educators, and researching how faculty and students learn. Much of her work contributes to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). She is also the Executive Director of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.


Sean Fox

Sean Fox is the Technical Director at the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. He designs, builds, and runs the technical infrastructure that powers the Earthlabs website.

Sean has been a web site author and web server administrator since 1993. Sean worked closely with science faculty implementing a wide variety of computing technologies in support of curricular innovation and was part of a team nationally recognized for excellent faculty support.

Lenni Armstrong,

Lenni Armstrong collaborates with the EarthLabs curriculum developers to design and produce interactives and data visualization that help students understand difficult-to-grasp concepts about climate change. She has more than two decades of experience in producing visualizations for public science education, through her company, informmotion. Lenni's animations and interactives appear in TERC's Exploring Earth website, and TERC's Windows on Earth museum exhibits. She also does volunteer work as a climate activist with the Somerville Climate Action, and teaches a biomimicry class for Corvid College.


Sarah Hill, Project Assistant

Sarah Hill is the Project Assistant for the Earthlabs Project at TERC and has contributed to curriculum activities. She has taught English in the US and as a second language in Japan. Sarah is an avid bird watcher and has participated in eBird, a citizen scientist project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society.

Partner Teachers

Partner Teachers have played key roles in the EarthLabs Climate Project, including reviewing the set of Climate curriculum modules and providing feedback as the modules were being developed, piloting the Climate modules in their classrooms, participating in the project research efforts, leading week-long summer workshops in both Texas and Mississippi to share the Climate modules with middle and high school teachers, and making presentations about the EarthLabs Climate Project at regional, state, and national meetings. Their contributions have been essential to the success of the EarthLabs Climate project.

Cristina Barajas, Partner Teacher

Cristina Barajas teaches Astronomy and Biology at Coronado High School in El Paso, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Cristina has been a Research Teacher (2013, 2014, 2015) and Workshop Leader (2013).

Alysia Barr, Partner Teacher

Alysia Barr teaches Physics, Earth and Space Science, and Integrated Physics and Chemistry at the Burkburnett High School in Burkburnett, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Alysia has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2013) and has made the following presentations: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting presentation (2011).

Dawn Chegwidden, Partner Teacher

Dawn Chegwidden teaches Environmental Science and Aquatic Science at Lewisville High in Lewisville, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Dawn has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2013, 2014) and has made the following presentations: South Central-Geological Society of America presentation (2013), American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting presentation (2013), National Science Teachers Association National Conference presentations (2014, 2015), the Texas Regional Collaborative Annual Meeting presentation (2015), and the National Marine Educators Association Annual Meeting presentation (2015).

Delia Comeau, Partner Teacher

Delia Comeau teaches Earth Science and Physics at Andress High School in El Paso, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Delia has been a Workshop Leader (2013).

Gwenna Gallenberger, Partner Teacher

Gwenna

Gwenna Gallenberger teaches Earth Science and Environmental Science at Kirby World Academy in Wichita Falls, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Gwenna has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2013).

Deb Gilbert, Partner Teacher

Deb Gilbert teaches Physics and Environmental Science at Franklin High School in El Paso, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Deb has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012).

Rebeca Guerrero, Partner Teacher

Rebeca Guerrero teaches Environmental Science and Chemistry at the W.B. Travis High School in Austin, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Rebeca has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2013).

Jim Manley, Partner Teacher

Jim Manley teaches Integrated Science at the Coppell Middle School West in Coppell, Texas. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Jim has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, Workshop Leader (2012, 2013, 2014), and has made the following presentations: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting presentation (2011), South Central-Geological Society of America presentation (2013), North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Meeting presentation (2013), National Science Teachers Association National Conference presentation (2014), and the Texas Regional Collaborative Annual Meeting presentation (2015).

Brenda Merrill, Partner Teacher

Brenda Merrill teaches Earth Science and Ecology at the Madison Middle School in Abilene, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Brenda has been a Workshop Leader (2013).

Jeanne Lee Miller, Partner Teacher

Jeanne Lee Miller teaches Physics and Biology at Shannon High School in Shannon, MS. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Jeanne has been a Research Teacher, Workshop Leader (2012, 2013), and has made the following presentations: MSTA Presentation (2012).

Vanessa Moore, Partner Teacher

Vanessa Moore teaches Earth Science and Chemistry at the Highland Oaks Middle School in Memphis,TN. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Vanessa has been a Curriculum reviewer, Pilot and Research Teacher, Workshop Leader (2012, 2013) and has made the following presentations: Mississippi Science Teachers Association presentation (2012).

Alison Mote, Partner Teacher

Alison Mote is Co-developer of the EarthLabs module Climate Detectives. She teaches Physics and AP Environmental Science at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, TX. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Alison has also been a Curriculum Reviewer, Pilot and Research teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2014, 2015) and has made the following presentations: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting presentation (2011), South Central-Geological Society of America presentation (2013), and the Texas Regional Collaborative Annual Meeting presentation (2015). Alison also served as Education Officer on the research vessel JOIDES Resolution during its month-long IODP Expedition 341, which recovered sediment cores from the seafloor in the Gulf of Alaska (Summer, 2013). It was her work on this expedition that led to the development of the Climate Detectives module.

Kimberly Phillips, Partner Teacher

Kimberly Phillips teaches Biology and Genetics at Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood, MS. In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Kim has been a Research Teacher, and a Workshop Leader (2012, 2013), and has made the following presentations: Mississippi Science Teachers Association presentation (2012), North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Meeting presentation (2013), and a National Science Teachers Association National Conference presentation (2014).

Leslie Salter, Partner Teacher

Leslie Salter taught Biology at the Vancleave High School in Vancleave, MS, and is presently the Science Curriculum Coordinator for the Pascagoula, MS, School District . In support of the EarthLabs Climate Project, Leslie has been a Curriculum reviewer (2011), Pilot and Research Teacher, Workshop Leader (2012), and has made the following presentations: Mississippi Science Teachers Association presentation (2012).

The Founding EarthLabs Team

Daniel Barstow, Founding Principal Investigator

Daniel Barstow is the Founding Principal Investigator (PI) for the National Model Earth Science Lab Course and was Director of TERC's Center for Earth and Space Science Education (CESSE). He is also former president of the Challenger Centers for Space Science Education.


LuAnn Dahlman, Founding Project Director/Curriculum Developer

LuAnn Dahlman is the Founding Project Director for the National Model Earth Science Lab Course. She is currently a Communications Specialist with NOAA's Climate Program Office.

In addition to her role as Founding Project Director, LuAnn developed curriculum for the EarthLabs Hurricanes and Corals units.


Sabra Lee, Founding Summative Evaluation Specialist

Sabra Lee is an evaluator in the Program Evaluation and Research Group of Lesley University. She has worked on evaluation teams for a variety of educational programs in NASA's office of Space Science and for NSF programs. She has evaluated numerous programs in the arts, mathematics, and science education at the local, state, and national levels.



Ellen Iverson, Founding Evaluator

Ellen Iverson is an Evaluation Specialist and Programmer for the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. Ellen focuses on evaluating SERC's websites and programs, in particular the Starting Point project, is interested in how science faculty learn about emerging technologies and pedagogy.



John McDaris, Curriculum Developer

John McDaris is a Geoscience Content Developer for the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College, and a curriculum developer for the EarthLabs Hurricanes unit. Currently, John serves as a primary contact for several SERC websites. He is also the Webmaster for the National Association of Geoscience Teachers website, and works with faculty editors on a number of projects to help move materials from inspiration to completion. John also builds new content related to geologic or natural disasters around the globe.

John's other work has included writing a module on instructional web design, contributing to SERC's collection of Investigative Case Based Learning activities, supervising student workers and, and performing general web site maintenance.