Committee Member Biosketches

MARGARET HONEY (Chair) is president and CEO of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), which works to develop the next generation of creative science leaders through initiatives in teacher professional development, youth mentoring and employment, digital learning, learning sciences research and more. Under her leadership, NYSCI has developed its Design-Make-Play approach to learning, which helps learners experience their agency and creativity as creators and makers, master complex concepts and phenomena, and discover how they can put the tools and perspectives of the STEM disciplines to address questions and solve meaningful problems. Honey has helped to shape thinking about learning and technology with special attention to traditionally underserved audiences. She has directed numerous research projects including efforts to identify teaching practices and assessments for 21st century skills, new approaches to teaching computational science in high schools, collaborations with PBS, CPB, and some of the nation’s largest public television stations, investigations of data-driven, decision-making tools and practices, and with colleagues at Bank Street College of Education, she created one of the first internet-based professional development programs in the country. From her early involvement in the award-winning and ground-breaking public television series “The Voyage of the Mimi” to her decade-long collaboration on the education reform team for the Union City (NJ) school district, Honey has led some of the country’s most innovative and successful education efforts. She earned a B.A. in social theory at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts, and both her M.A. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia University.

RUSH D. HOLT retired as chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the Science family of journals where he led the world’s largest multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering society. Before joining AAAS, Holt served for 16 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. In Congress, Holt served as a senior member of the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Education. From 1987 to 1998, he was assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a Department of Energy national lab, which is one of the largest alternative energy research facilities in the country. At PPPL, Holt helped establish the lab’s nationally recognized science education

program. From 1980 to 1988, he was a member of the faculty of Swarthmore College, where he taught courses in physics and in public policy. Holt is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and he holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from New York University.

NANCY HOPKINS-EVANS is the senior director of State Partnerships at Instruction Partners where she uses her expertise and experience in science and education from kindergarten through graduate school to partner and support state education departments and regional service providers as they work to lead and guide their staff and district colleagues through operational, instructional and policy changes in the midst of a pandemic. As director of science and a former college chemistry professor, she understands and cares deeply about students having exceptional learning experiences in science that leverage their communities and cultures while building conceptual understanding as they figure out science ideas instead of learning about science through memorization of facts and theories. She has worked in large and small school systems developing and implementing curriculum, professional learning and assessment aligned to state standards, the common core state standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. She presents at conferences and leads professional learning experiences for teachers, principals, directors and superintendents focused on ensuring all students have access to high-quality standards and curriculum that supports effective teaching and learning. Her work in science education has been supported by grants from the Carnegie and Gates foundations to develop, test and refine a tool for observing and improving science instructional practice. She holds degrees in chemistry from Chestnut Hill College and Villanova University and earned a Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan.

TIFFANY NEILL is the deputy superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. In addition, she is an active advisory board member for Carnegie’s OpenSciEd Project and EdReports for Science and a member of the CALDER Policymakers Council. Neill also serves as co-principal investigator for Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education, a National Science Foundation-funded grant. Prior to her current role, she served as the executive director of Curriculum and Instruction for 3 years and as the director of Science and Engineering Education for 5 years at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She began her career in education as a middle and high school teacher. Neill also served as president of the Council of State Science Supervisors and several other leaderships and service roles committed to fostering excellence in science education in Oklahoma and across the nation. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma, seeking a degree in instructional leadership and academic curriculum in science education.

STEPHEN PRUITT is president of the Southern Regional Education Board and former commissioner of education in Kentucky. In addition, he served as a senior vice president of science at Achieve, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. During this time, he led the development of the Next Generation Science Standards, Achieve’s international benchmarking and analysis work, and other content-driven research and development as well as state technical assistance. Pruitt began his career as a high school chemistry teacher in Georgia, where he taught for 12 years. In 2003, he joined the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) as the program manager for science, served in that role for 4 years before becoming director of academic standards, in 2008 he became the associate superintendent of Assessment and Accountability and in April 2009 became chief of staff to state school superintendent, coordinating the work of the agency and a variety of projects such as Georgia’s third-ranked Race to the Top application. He held a number of positions including chief of staff to the commissioner of education at Georgia Department of Education. Pruitt earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from North Georgia College and State University, a master’s in science education from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate of philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University.

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ is chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District. Since 2014, Rodriguez has worked to chart a course that includes well-prepared and innovative faculty, state-of-the-art facilities and instructional equipment, superbly trained and professional support staff, and business and community engagement. During his tenure, Chancellor Rodriguez led the efforts to pass a $3.3 billion local facilities bond in 2016 and the hiring of close to six-hundred full-time faculty. A noted scholar/practitioner and education activist, he has 30+ years of experience as an educator, faculty member, and administrator within California public higher education. Rodriguez has dedicated his career to high-quality public education and championing diversity, equity and inclusion, and outreach to underserved communities. In particular, he has focused his career on educational policies that expand access to higher education, STEM education and financial aid, tireless advocacy for first-generation and undocumented students, student-veterans, and the leadership development of Latino and African American males. He frequently speaks on the topics of higher education, student access and success, governance and governing boards, workforce development, fundraising and philanthropy, and community. Rodriguez earned his bachelor’s degree in Chicano studies and his master’s degree in community development. He received his Ph.D. in education from Oregon State University.

SUSAN R. SINGER is vice president for academic affairs and provost at Rollins College, where she is responsible for administering the educational program, for making faculty appointments, for coordinating all academic activities of the College, for overseeing institutional and faculty research, for facilitating budgetary and institutional planning, and for main-

taining the academic standards of the College. She served as the director of the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation, leading a team of 50 with a budget of more than $300 million annually to catalyze transformation in undergraduate learning and success across the nation. She helped lead the collaboration between 14 federal agencies to increase their collective impact on improving undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. She was a member of the Carleton College faculty from 1986-2016, where her experience included directing the Perlman Learning and Teaching Center and co-directing the Carleton Interdisciplinary Science and Math Initiative as well as research on the development and evolution of flowering in legumes. She was a co-author of the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology report. In addition, she chaired the NRC committee that produced America’s Lab Report (2006) and the committee that wrote the report Discipline-Based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering (2012). Singer earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

FELICIA C. SMITH is senior director of Global Delivery at the National Geographic Society, where she oversees domestic and global education strategy implementation and programming focused on transforming the classroom experience for millions of students and educators. She oversees a team of regional directors charged to enhance partnerships with various education entities to inspire the next generation of planetary stewards. Smith’s career in education spans more than two decades where she has served in a variety of leadership roles in P-12, higher education, not-for-profit, and philanthropy. Her career has allowed her to experience leading systems understanding every vantage point of a young person’s educational trajectory from preschool to adulthood. Prior to joining the National Geographic Society, she served as assistant superintendent of Teaching and Learning in the 27th largest urban district, Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, Kentucky; as a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; associate commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education; and teacher leader. She began her career as a classroom teacher in the elementary grades and has taught as a preservice lecturer at the University of Kentucky. She has been recognized as a Pahara-Aspen Education fellow and serves as a member on several national and local boards. Smith holds an Ed.D. in education leadership and administration from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in elementary education with an emphasis on K-12 literacy development, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Louisville.

WILLIAM F. TATE IV is the provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of South Carolina (USC). He holds the USC Education Foundation Distinguished Professorship with appointments in Sociology and Family and Preventive Medicine (secondary appointment). Prior to joining the University of South Carolina faculty, he served as dean and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis, where he held the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorship in Arts & Sciences. Before serving at Washington University in St. Louis, he held the William and Betty Adams Chair at TCU and served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is a past president of the American Educational Research Association, where he was awarded fellow status. In addition, he was elected to the National Academy of Education. Tate earned his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow. He continued on to the University of Wisconsin at Madison as an Anna Julia Cooper Post-doctoral fellow in social policy. He completed a second postdoctoral training program in the Department of Psychiatry—Epidemiology and Prevention Group at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he earned a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology.

CLAUDIO VARGAS is an educational consultant with Sci-Lingual Education. He provides Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) professional learning to districts and schools to support multilingual learners with language and literacy development. Vargas presented at the National Academies Supporting ELs in STEM committee in 2017 and served in its panel in 2019, and frequently presents at statewide conferences and NGSS rollouts. Prior to this position, Vargas was the coordinator of K-12 science programs at the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where he led the district-wide implementation of the NGSS. Before joining OUSD, he served as the director of the Bay Area Science Project at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS). Vargas designs K-8 professional development programs that focus on developing teachers’ science content knowledge and expanding their instructional strategies, emphasizing methods that provide multilingual learners with access to the core curriculum and acceleration of language learning. He has led the implementation of these programs throughout California, Washington, Texas, and Central America. Before joining LHS, he worked for 9 years as a bilingual K-5 teacher and a science coach in the Oakland district, 11 years as a science researcher at the School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, and 9 years at the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Minnesota.

BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

SUSAN SINGER (Chair), Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, Rollins College

SUE ALLEN, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance

MEGAN BANG, Learning Sciences, Northwestern University

VICKI L. CHANDLER, Provost, Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute

SUNITA V. COOKE, Superintendent and President, MiraCosta College

MAYA M. GARCIA, Science Content Specialist, Colorado Department of Education

RUSH HOLT, CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science

CATHY MANDUCA, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College

JOHN MATHER, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

TONYA MATTHEWS, CEO, International African American Museum

WILLIAM PENUEL, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder

STEPHEN L. PRUITT, President, Southern Regional Education Board

K. RENAE PULLEN, K–6 Science Curriculum Instructional Specialist, Caddo Parish Schools, LA

K. ANN RENNINGER, Social Theory and Social Action, Swarthmore College

MARCY H. TOWNS, Bodner-Honig Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University

DARRYL N. WILLIAMS, Senior Vice President, Science and Education, The Franklin Institute

Staff

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director