Get to know our presenters. They are looking forward to meeting you.
Sarah Abboud
Associate Researcher & Instructor, Lemelson-MIT Program
Sarah Abboud is a double Master of Science (from Northeastern University and the University of California Merced) who currently teaches at California State University San Marcos and works as an Associate Researcher & Instructor for the Lemelson-MIT Program. At Northeastern, Sarah studied marine biology and interned at the New England Aquarium where she studied the effects of ambient sound stress on fish using free- and blood-based cortisol levels. At UC Merced, Sarah moved from studying vertebrates to invertebrates and investigated global genetics of 16 different genera of jellyfish. Throughout her research and education, Sarah has always strived to find new research experiences and share them with her students. She truly is honored to work with The Lemelson-MIT Program and get the opportunity to teach students to have fun while making life and science connections. Sarah knows that everyone is capable of succeeding in science and strives to do that daily.
Stephanie Alphee
Tech Extension Manager, Digital Harbor Foundation
As a longtime advocate for increasing diversity in STEM, Stephanie moved to Maryland to serve as an Americorps VISTA with MOST in 2015. Since that time, Stephanie has worked to grow and support youth initiatives at organizations across Maryland including 4-H, the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, the VoloCity Kids Foundation, the University of Maryland Baltimore, and most recently, at the Digital Harbor Foundation.
In her current role as Tech Extension Manager at Digital Harbor Foundation, Stephanie leverages her years of experience to expand the capacity of out-of-schooltime programs that provide STEM experiences to youth.
The New York native earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Stony Brook University, where she was an active member of the Women in Science and Engineering Honors Program.
Mark Bayaúa
Director of STEM Innovation Programs, Think Together
With over 12 years in education, especially in the out of school time field, Mark is interested in the ways our field can build bridges with students, organizations, and their respective communities to create purposeful and meaningful interactions. Mark's mission is to serve, amplify, and grow with these committed communities of consciousness.
David Bayne
Teacher, Pioneer High School, Woodland Joint Unified School District
Pioneer High School is in the quiet but growing suburban community of Woodland, near Sacramento, California. Mr. Bayne teaches Computer Science, is the Department Chair of the Business and Computer Science Department, has managed the ACES: Academy of Computer Engineering Sciences, and is the lead SkillsUSA advisor. A long-time teacher in Woodland, he is always looking for ways to bring innovative resources and ideas into the classroom and spark interest for his students. He has served on several district and state education committees throughout his career, with the intent of improving practice. He serves on the SkillsUSA California Board of Directors as State Advisor of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year.
Gloria Bañuelos, PhD
Head of Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab, Qualcomm
Gloria R. Bañuelos, Ph.D. is the head the Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™, a home-grown engagement program promoting Qualcomm’s Corporate Responsibility efforts in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Gloria facilitates internal outreach efforts with Qualcomm employees and manages external partnerships with national sites who expose students from all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to STEM fields in engaging ways.
Clare Bhakta
Invention Education Administrator, K-14, Lemelson-MIT Program
Clare Bhakta is a K-14 Invention Education Administrator with the Lemelson-MIT program. In this role, she collaborates with educators to bring invention education into the classroom. A big believer in the power of teaching code creatively, she proactively incorporates computer science into invention education curriculum. With more than 11 years of experience teaching code in hands-on creative contexts, she has experience teaching in California public schools, community colleges, and state universities as well as through community programs she helped spearhead on the local level. She wants to empower the next generation of thinkers and doers by equalizing access to technology and invention education in our schools.
Tera Black
CTE Coordinator & HS Science Resource Teacher, Torrance Unified School District
Tera has worked for the Torrance Unified School District for the past 18 years. She spent the first 10 years of her career as a high school chemistry teacher. For the past eight years, she has served as a resource teacher supporting high school science, induction, career technical education, and dual enrollment. Tera holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physiology with a minor in Chemistry from Cal State Long Beach, a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University, and a Doctorate degree in STEM Leadership from American College of Education.
Sarah Jayne Boulton
Product Manager, Labster
Joe Bradley
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Joe is very passionate about invention, innovation, and intellectual property. He is involved in several outreach programs in his community. He serves as a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, and the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Additionally, he is a co-founder of Sun Buckets, Inc., an organization dedicated to addressing the global cooking crisis and global cooking fuel insecurity.
Diane Brancazio
K-12 Maker Team Leader, MIT Edgerton Center
As the K-12 Maker team leader, Diane develops resources and leads PD for teachers who want to integrate Maker learning experiences into their regular curriculum and use Makerspaces to engage and empower students. Her K-12 Maker team includes MIT students who are given the charge to “design the projects you wish you could have done in school”. Diane’s team shows teachers how they can employ engaging, creative hi-tech tools without needing a brand-new building or curriculum, and how they can become facilitators of Maker projects, creating a school culture of experimentation, collaboration, self-direction, and joy in learning. Diane earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.
April Burrage
PhD Candidate, University of Massachusetts Amherst
April Burrage is a PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is interested in how differential participation in innovation contributes to gender and racial wealth gaps. Her dissertation research examines how state and national policy foster participation of women and minority owned businesses in innovation. Using novel evidence from the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, April, along with her advisor, Ina Ganguli, have partnered with Lemelson-MIT to examine how gender and race impact pathways to invention of young people who have already shown evidence of their inventiveness. April hopes that her research contributes to an understudied but important question regarding who benefits from the returns to innovative activities and particularly the relationship with gender and racial disparities in earnings and wealth.
Alex Cameron
Community Lab Coordinator, Biogen
Alex Cameron is the Coordinator for Biogen’s Community Lab and has been working at Biogen since 2017. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill. She previously worked as a lab scientist before starting as the main instructor for the Community Lab, where she teaches classes of middle and high school students both in-person and virtually. Her role also includes planning programs, developing curricula, and engaging with Biogen’s communities on both a local and global scale. She is thrilled to have been working with LMIT since 2020 as a part of the “Biogen-MIT Biotech in Action” program.
Janell Ciemiecki
Special Programs Administrator, Lemelson-MIT Program
Janell Ciemiecki is a Special Programs Administrator. In this role, she manages multiple public facing projects, including collegiate-level invention education activities, studies pertaining to LMIT Student Prize winners, and the planning process for LMIT’s professional development workshop. She brings experience in both student-facing and industry/company/client-facing roles and has broad knowledge of the inner workings of higher ed institutions. She has developed relationships with collegiate students, faculty/administrators, and the broader invention, technology, and entrepreneurship communities across the country. She has a strong interest in helping to build a network of support for students along their invention pathway.
Rebecca Corbin
President & CEO, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE)
Dr. Rebecca Corbin is president and CEO of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), the United States leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through more than 340 community colleges and universities that serve over 3.3 million students. She has initiated new professional development approaches using design thinking principles and created robust global educational exchanges with China and India for faculty and administrators. She is the author of three books, numerous magazine and journal articles, and publisher of Community College Entrepreneurship magazine. A successful advancement professional, Corbin has raised millions of dollars to pilot, expand, and scale STEM, educational, and entrepreneurship initiatives throughout North America.
Stephanie Couch, PhD
Executive Director, Lemelson-MIT Program
Stephanie Couch joined the Lemelson-MIT Program as Executive Director in 2016 and has more than a decade of experience in STEM education policy, research, development and strategic fundraising. She leads the Lemelson-MIT Program’s research efforts, partnership development, and national awards and grants initiatives. Stephanie previously served as the interim Associate Vice President for Research and Professional Development at California State University, East Bay and as the Bayer Executive Director at the Institute for STEM Education. She also acted as Director of the Gateways East Bay STEM Network at California State University at East Bay and helped design and launch the statewide California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet). She received a master’s degree and a doctorate from the Gervitz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis.
Adam Daley
District Science Resource Teacher, Torrance USD
Adam has been a science educator for 16 years, first with Los Angeles USD and currently in Torrance USD. He earned a degree in Music from CSU, Chico and a Master's in Educational Administration from CSU Dominguez Hills. He is currently one of Torrance USD's Science Resource teachers supporting TK-8 science teachers in instruction and NGSS implementation. He is Director of the South Bay Regional Invention Convention.
Carmen Diaz
Engineering Teacher, Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center
Carmen Diaz is a mother of four, wife, teacher and civil engineer. Born into a loving Puerto Rican family, she grew up in Oklahoma playing with legos, drawings, and cheering on her awesome sister in the Special Olympics. She learned engineering by osmosis from her electrical-engineer Dad, then formally at the University of Oklahoma. She worked as a structural and forensic engineer for five years before switching to become a teacher, a decision that has brought multiple blessings and adventures ever since. She has taught math and engineering throughout the past decade and is currently the engineering teacher at the GRCTC in Garland, Texas, as well as the mentor of their InvenTeam. When she's not inventing in her classroom she loves mountain biking, vacations with her kids, and dancing salsa with her husband.
Don Domes
LMIT Master Teacher
Don believes that the InvenTeam initiative as the premier opportunity for a high school teacher interested in integrating STEM through problem-based learning. Now retired from Hillsboro High School, Don spent over 37 years teaching a variety of technology courses including engineering graphics, robotics, electronics, and architecture. He hosts a girl’s summer program called Girls Get IT! The summer program was spearheaded by one of his students and is taught by high school girls. Forty girls attend each of the two week-long tech camps.
Don continues to work tirelessly on legislative issues surrounding technical education in Oregon, like Oregon House Bill 3511, introduced on April 15, 2015. The bill was enacted by the people of the state of Oregon to establish a revitalization grant program within the Department of Education for computer science, invention, technology, and engineering education. In addition to InvenTeams, Don has also served as a Master Teacher for JV InvenTeams, assisting with professional development and special programs in his home state.
Michelle Dowd
Professor of Journalism, Chaffey College
Michelle Dowd is a journalism professor and contributor to The New York Times, Alpinist, Catapult, and other national publications. She is the 2022 Faculty Lecturer of the Year at Chaffey College, where she founded the award-winning literary journal and creative collective, The Chaffey Review and advises Student Media. She has taught diverse student populations for 27 years—in two California State prisons, at Cal Poly, Pomona, Riverside Community College, and the University of Colorado. As Chaffey’s co-leader for the Lemelson-MIT i3 program, she encourages teamwork, imagination, and innovation, and is committed to helping students cultivate careers doing work that they love.
Zack Dowell
Instructional Design and Development Coordinator, Folsom Lake College
A lifelong tinkerer and maker, Zack joined the Folsom Lake College faculty in 2001 as the college’s Instructional Design and Development Coordinator. In that role, he coordinates the efforts of the college’s Innovation Center, a discipline-agnostic, general education innovation hub and makerspace. In partnership with students, faculty, community organizations, and PreK-12 educators, the Innovation Center provides training, resources, and energy to support innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Through the Center’s Making Across the Curriculum efforts, educators from a variety of disciplines have integrated the ethos, tools, and techniques of making into their practice, leading to the development of unique curriculum, class activities, and interdisciplinary projects.
Lynn Erickson
Technology Integration Specialist, Stafford Public Schools
Lynn Erickson, a K-12 Technology Integration Specialist for Stafford Public Schools in Connecticut, coaches educators in best practices for technology integration and project based learning. She leads the Invention Convention program in grades 5-8. During the three years of this program, students participated in the Invention Convention Nationals, receiving awards and recognition for their invention ideas. Nationally, Lynn provides webinars for Boxlight/Mimio and presented at FETC, ISTE, Celebration of Teaching and Learning, MASScue, and CECA. Lynn’s recent accomplishments include the 2020 Stafford Teacher of the Year Award and achievements of ISTE National Certified Educator and Google Certified Educator.
Leigh Estabrooks
Invention Education Officer, Lemelson-MIT Program
In 2006, Leigh Estabrooks joined the Lemelson-MIT Program to manage the InvenTeams initiative and two years later became the Invention Education Officer, overseeing all K-12 invention education initiatives. She has been instrumental in the development of new initiatives, including Junior Varsity InvenTeams™ and the 2010 launch of the Inventing Merit Badge with the Boy Scouts of America. Leigh previously held positions in product development at Fortune 500 companies and was a licensed secondary school educator. She received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in business management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a doctoral degree in education from Northeastern University.
Deborah Gilbert
English Professor, Modesto Junior College
In the fall of 2020, I dove head first into the world of Invention Education as a faculty participant in the i3 (Invention and Inclusive Innovation) Initiative sponsored by LMIT and the California Community College Chancellor's office. Many of the activities and skills in the problem exploration phase were familiar, but learning design and prototyping pedagogy has been an exciting journey. I am currently passionately at work to help invention education take root at Modesto Junior College.
Nia Gipson
Director of STEAM and FIRST Robotics Coach, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School
Nia Gipson is the Director of STEAM and FIRST Robotics Coach at Saint Joseph Preparatory High School in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been working in STEAM education for the past 10 years in both formal and informal settings including working with museums, summer camps, after school programs, and other STEM/STEAM community organizations. Most recently she has been working with Lemelson-MIT to digitize their Toy Design curriculum for online learning. She is excited to add her skills and expertise to the Biotech in Action team!
Evelyn Gómez
Invention Education Administrator, K-12, Lemelson-MIT Program
Evelyn Gómez is an Invention Education Administrator of K-12 Programs where she oversees the Massachusetts Invention Convention, various local Invention Conventions, and leads Lemelson-MIT’s local outreach efforts. She values our outreach work with underrepresented populations aims to remedy historic inequities among those who develop inventions, protect their intellectual property, and commercialize their creations. A big believer in education equity, Evelyn’s efforts prioritize working with young women, Black, Indigenous populations, Latinx, and other people of color throughout the state.
Liza Goldstein
Educator, JV InvenTeams, Lemelson-MIT Program
Liza Goldstein wrote the JV InvenTeam curricula, which are free to download on the Lemelson-MIT website. The curricula introduce students to inventive thinking through hands-on activities like creating shoe soles and wearable electronic textiles. Prior to working on invention education efforts at Lemelson-MIT, Liza Goldstein worked on STEM programming at GBH (Boston's PBS station) and received her master's degree in education from Harvard University's School of Education.
Pascha Griffiths
Invention Education Administrator, MA, Lemelson-MIT Program
Pascha Griffiths is an Invention Education Administrator who launches new invention education programs and collaborates with educators to provide all aspects of invention education, including professional development workshops for education professionals, curricular programming, and imagination-rich hands-on problem-solving experiences for learners of all ages. She promotes the IvE pedagogy at both the state and national level via professional development for educators and educational programs for preK-12 students, including Invention Adventures and the Massachusetts Invention Convention. She Launched our inaugural Massachusetts Invention Convention and continues to nurture its growth and initiated our Invention Adventures After School Program in the Greater Boston Area. She was instrumental in creating online IvE programming when we made the shift to remote learning during the first stages of the pandemic.
Kayla Gulizia
Senior Account Manager, Labster
Ed Hernandez
Engineering Teacher, Tustin High School
Ed Hernandez is a Lemelson-MIT Master Teacher from Orange County, CA. He is the lead teacher and director of Tustin High School's award-winning T-Tech Technology & Engineering Academy. In his four-year pathway, students learn to apply traditional academic subjects in a hands-on immersive program that includes 3D modeling, 3D printing, electronics and coding as well as traditional fabrication skills like welding and wood working. His former students now work at places like Google, JPL, SpaceX, Boeing and more. Mr. Hernandez is a member of the UC Irvine Engineering Alumni Hall of Fame and former California CTE Teacher of the year.
Ben Johnson
Chief Innovation Officer, Grain Weevil Corporation
Ben is a recent graduate in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He is co-founder and chief innovation officer at Grain Weevil Corporation where he specializes in circuit design, but wears many other hats. His love for robotics started in elementary school with simple projects like programming a microcontroller to play "Iron Man" on a piezo buzzer. Ben won the 2021 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize with Zane Zents for their Grain Weevil robot.
Chad Johnson
CEO, Grain Weevil Corporation
Chad is the CEO of the Grain Weevil Corporation, a grain bin safety and management robot. Chad has over 20 years of informal science education experience, including exhibit design, curriculum development, and program facilitation. Chad was a NASA MESSENGER Fellow, The Association of Science and Technology Centers' Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award Winner, and the recipient American Public Power Associations Energy Innovator award. Chad has run a non-profit called Youth Engaged in Technology & Innovation that gives students in Nebraska an opportunity to learn workforce skills through competitive robotics and innovation challenges.
Melinda Z. Kalainoff, Ph.D
Education Consultant and Researcher, Kalainoff Consulting and Research
Melinda is an independent education consultant, researcher and ethnographer. Recently retired as a Colonel in the U. S. Army, she served as an Academy Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she transformed the General Chemistry program to a researched-based guided inquiry design. She conducts ethnographic studies of how disciplinary content knowledge is socially constructed in innovative science and engineering learning environments and holds a PhD in Education, Teaching and Learning, with emphasis in Science Education, from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Kyle Kenan
Educator, KIPP Public Schools
Marci Klein
Co-founder and President, 3DuxDesign
Marci Klein M.D. is a clinical and academic pediatrician with over 20 years experience in early childhood development, education and social/emotional heath. She transitioned into education 4 years ago, joining her two teen children, the original inventors of 3DuxDesign cardboard modeling system after seeing the incredible response from both educators and students, Dr. Klein creates a wide range project-based learning resources with a focus on real-world problem solving through community-centered design challenges, Blending the arts, culture, and environmental awareness with traditional STEM education, 3DuxDesign inspires the next generation of innovators to design a sustainable and equitable future for all.
Christine Lawlor-King
Executive Director, Connecticut Invention Convention; Invention Education Consultant, Lemelson-MIT Program
Christine Lawlor-King exemplifies an educator who is both pioneering innovation and entrepreneurship learning in the classroom, and a visionary in her own right. She created her district’s award winning K-12 STEM program and has been the catalyst for implementing invention education curriculum in many schools, on a national and international level. She managed the Invention Convention Worldwide (annually bringing innovation & entrepreneurship to 100k+ students globally). She was the Executive Director of the largest Invention Convention program in the world. Her current consulting role with the Lemelson MIT program has her inspiring more in school and out of school educators to teach invention. Christine has mentored young inventors, educators, administrators, and inspired corporate professionals to get involved with invention education. Her efforts earned her STEMconnector’s Community Trailblazer Award.
Levi C. Maaia, Ph.D
Director/Producer, Maaia Mark Productions
Levi directed "Pathways to Invention," a documentary film on LMIT Student Prize winning inventors. He began his media career in FM radio, cable television and broadband where he became fascinated by the potential for technology to educate, and open a window on the world. Through Maaia Mark Productions, Levi focuses on telling big-picture stories through the lives of innovative people doing extraordinary things. He earned a Ph.D. studying Maker culture and STEM education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a founding member of the ARISS-USA education committee a NASA-sponsored STEM program aboard the International Space Station.
Clara Mabour
Invention Education Administrator, InvenTeams, Lemelson-MIT Program
Clara Mabour is an Invention Education Administrator for the Lemelson-MIT Program. In this role she manages the InvenTeams® program, coordinates trainings, organizes resources, and provides direct assistance to InvenTeam teachers and students as they go through the invention process in preparation for Lemelson-MIT’s EurekaFest. A big believer in everyone’s ability to solve problems in their homes, communities, and around the world through resourcefulness, creativity, and inventiveness, she wholeheartedly supports Invention Education as a vital and necessary style of pedagogy needed in efforts to modernize and make relevant traditional educational systems.
Carlos Marquez
Program Development Specialist – STEM, Think Together
Carlos is an educator in the field of Expanded Learning. What he loves about his work is that he has the opportunity to develop engaging programs that demystify STEM and help youth exercise their curiosity.
Xanthe Matychak
Design Researcher, Digital Harbor Foundation
Xanthe Matychak is a design researcher at Digital Harbor Foundation where she works on NSF funded projects including Rec-to-Tech, a collaboration with University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Prior to this work Xanthe mentored technology startups and ran a summer hardware accelerator at the Center for Regional Economic Advancement at Cornell University. Before that she taught design thinking and product development in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Steve Meyer
Manager of STEM Education, Fox Valley Technical College
Steve Meyer is currently the Manager of STEM Education at Fox Valley Technical College. Previously, Steve taught Technology and Engineering at the K-12 levels for approximately 20 years. Steve has a broad-based education in mathematics, the sciences, and technology and has a passion for getting young people excited about learning. He has been very involved in education initiatives at the local, state, national and international levels. Steve speaks around the world to schools, industries, and government officials on the power of STEM and Innovation Education.
Christine Mooney
Associate Professor, Queensborough Community College (CUNY)
Victoria Pasquantonio
Education Producer, PBS NewsHour
Victoria Pasquantonio is education producer at the PBS NewsHour and runs NewsHour Classroom, NewsHour's current events website for grades 6-12. She considers working with young inventors and invention ed teachers one of the best parts of her job, especially brainstorming ways to connect invention news stories to students' own lives. Victoria edits NewsHour Classroom's Educator Voice and Student Voice blogs and is always on the lookout for writers, so don't hesitate to reach out. Before switching careers, Victoria taught middle and high school social studies and English for 13 years.
Brenda Payne
Invention Education Administrator, CA, Lemelson-MIT Program
Brenda has provided the professional development for the CAIC curriculum teachers use in their classrooms and after school programs. Since joining the Lemelson/MIT staff, she has worked with other education experts to develop training modules for teachers throughout the country so they too can provide their students with the necessary creative and problem-solving skills to successfully engage in inventing solutions to self-identified problems in their own lives, that of their friends and families, and their communities. She has been an innovator in the field of Invention Education for K-12 students for 30 years, providing training for educators, program leaders, and administrators throughout the state of California.
Chad Redwing
Professor of Humanities & Faculty Coordinator of the Applied Creativity & Community Transformation (ACCT) Institute, Yosemite Community College/Modesto Junior College
Chad Redwing is the recent Academic Senate president and current Professor of Humanities at Modesto Junior College (MJC), where he also coordinates the Applied Creativity and Community Transformation (ACCT) Institute. Chad completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago, where he studied the cultural consequences of authoritarianism, and in addition to his 17 years at MJC, he has teaching experience at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels in both public and private institutions and academic leadership experience as a dean. When not involved in college and university life, Chad has a passion for community service, having started several 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, in Arizona, New Mexico and California, to confront social issues from homelessness to today’s dearth of reading and creative practices. He has also served as a founding member of several charter schools in California and New Mexico, one of which has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 25 high school in the United States.
Vivian Rhone-Lay, Ph.D.
Founding Principal of MacDonald High School
Dr. Vivian Rhone-Lay is the Founding Principal of MacDonald High School in San Jose, California. She previously served as a dean of students and an associate principal of educational development at four high schools in San Jose, and most recently as a principal at Santa Teresa and Phoenix High schools.
Prior to that, Dr. Rhone-Lay taught grades 8-12, served as an English department chair and new teacher induction coach, and was a teacher education instructor and program chair at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension. She has also worked on various research teams and was part of an award-winning software development team centered on the California High School Exit Exam.
Cristina Saenz
Doctoral Candidate, University of Central Florida
Cristina Saenz is a doctoral candidate in the Education department at the University of Central Florida with a focus on Inclusive STEM. Prior to beginning her PhD, she was an elementary school teacher in Boston, MA and Orlando, FL. Her dissertation focuses on exploring the life experiences of young Latina inventors and examining how they draw on cultural capital in their development of an inventor’s identity. Cristina is passionate about advocating for the participation of underrepresented minorities in invention and STEM and the value of varied perspectives in the innovation ecosystem. She is also a mom to a 13-year-old daughter who is a competitive soccer player and spends most of her free time on the soccer field.
Justin Schmidt
Instructor, MIT Edgerton Center
Since he was old enough to pick up a screwdriver, Justin has been making things, breaking things, and occasionally managing to fix things. He established and led a middle school Makerspace where he collaborated with teachers across all subject areas to design and deliver engaging Maker projects to their students. He has also taught classes in design thinking, electronics, video production, and photography. Justin worked with Parts and Crafts, a kid-centered community Makerspace in Somerville, MA, and as a community access facilitator at Fabville, the Somerville High School's Fab Lab.
Doug Scott
Teacher, Hopkinton High School, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and 2014 InvenTeam educator and LMIT Master Teacher
Doug Scott is an accomplished engineering, robotics, and technology teacher with 19 years of experience working with students from grades 6-12. Doug led several robotics and competitive technology teams to state and regional championships as well as national and international competitions. Nationally, his BPA technology teams have won seven titles and multiple top-three placements. He serves as a fellow for the Lemelson-MIT Program and an ambassador for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, assisting students and teachers nationwide through invention processes. Doug also helped draft national invention education standards.
Sandra Slattery
Student, Chaffey College
Sandra is Editor-in-Chief of The Breeze at Chaffey College, a student-run news publication. She returns to academia 13 years after earning her first B.S. During the 13 years, she gained experience teaching music, leading choirs, producing electronic music, and traveling the world. She is currently a double major in journalism and health sciences, and was awarded the California Humanities Emerging Journalists Fellowship. Previously, Sandra was a journalism intern for the inaugural i3 program at Chaffey College. Sandra is an avid Thai food enthusiast and spends her free time hiking and camping.
Nancy Soon
CEO, IDE Academy
Nancy Soon is a multi-cultural teacherpreneur, software engineer, and CEO of IDE Academy in Singapore. For more than 20 years, she has trained more than 700 educators in the U.S.A., Asia, and Australia. During the last four years, she has provided professional development training and customized curriculum to more than 200 preschool educators in Singapore, Pakistan, and South Korea. Nancy believes that nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit in preschoolers starts with cultivating an inventive mindset. This is the key to spark lifelong passion in STEM and future-proof the workforce.
Marissa Stillittano
District Science Resource Teacher, Torrance Unified School District
Marissa Stillittano became a science educator in 2005. She taught 7th grade science for 10 years where she coached the Science Olympiad team and led the Young Scientist Club. For the past 7 years she has been a District Science Resource Teacher. She creates professional learning experiences for teachers learning the Next Generation Science Standards, coordinates the district STEAM fair and the South Bay Regional Invention Convention. She has a bachelor's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a master's degree in Science Education from California State University, Long Beach and a doctorate in STEM Leadership from American College of Education.
Cynthia Torres
Teacher, Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Bio coming soon.
Sam Ung
Science and STEM middle school teacher, Venado Middle School
Sam Ung is a middle school science and STEM teacher in Orange County, California. A UCI graduate with a degree in Biological Sciences, she started her career in biotech but quickly realized that empty windowless labs were not for her. She traded her goggles and lab coat for the classroom and has been teaching ever since. Her passion is to help students develop the technical skills to develop their ideas, be it a 3D printed crocodile programmed by a micro:bit, a light up Tardis or a laser cut lamp. STEM should be accessible to everyone.
Kevin Warfield
Instructor, Greenbrier East High School
Kevin Warfield is an experienced Project Lead The Way teacher at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia, teaching pre-engineering and architecture. Prior to becoming a teacher in 2006, Kevin worked for 15 years in civil engineering and architecture. In 2015, Kevin was named Greenbrier County Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for West Virginia Teacher of the Year. His students partner with local businesses on local and global design problems including designing the multi-million dollar Greenbrier Aquatic Center which will open in fall 2021 and a sustainable courtyard in Sorocaba, Brazil. Kevin is currently working with an InvenTeam working on a cave rescue device.
Jeremy Wilson
Engineering Professor, Modesto Junior College
Jeremy is in his eighth year as an engineering faculty member at Modesto Junior College where he is able to combine his love for engineering and teaching. Recently, he’s had the pleasure of working as one of two lead faculty on the i3 initiative. He began his career as an engineer for Hewlett Packard. While there, he designed mechanical components and ran thermal simulations in an engineering group developing enterprise business servers. During that time, he was awarded multiple patents for work done on the development of a new multi-processor server. After teaching an engineering class in the evening for an instructor on sabbatical, Jeremy recognized a passion for teaching and sought full-time work in the community college system. After the work day is done, Jeremy tries to keep up with his 5-year old daughter and 8-year old son.
Leslie Wright
Chemistry Teacher, Margarita Muñiz Academy
Leslie Wright is a Chemistry Teacher at the Margarita Muñiz Academy, Boston Public Schools. The Muñiz Academy is an open enrollment Innovation high school, which is dedicated to full cultural and linguistic fluency in Spanish and English. Leslie joined the Muñiz Academy as a founding 11th grade teacher in 2014. She completed training in Intro to Green Chemistry and Advanced Green Chemistry with Beyond Benign in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The Muñiz community is an Expeditionary Learning School. As such, Leslie used the JV InvenTeams as a foundation to design an expedition around Green Chemistry and Innovative Design. Adjustments were also made to accommodate pandemic recovery and a high school population with dual language learners. All of Leslie's 11th graders participated in the Inventing with Green Chemistry and Expedition.
Zane Zents
Software Engineer, Grain Weevil Corporation
Zane Zents is a software and embedded systems engineer working for AgTech startup Grain Weevil and specializes in writing software for the Espressif ESP32 chip. Zane graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2021 with a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Mathematics. Zane won a piece of the 2021 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize in the "Eat It!" category for his work with fellow presenter, Ben Johnson on their Grain Weevil robot.
