Meet the MothEd Team
Dr. Peter White
Associate Professor at Michigan State University, Department of Entomology and Lyman Briggs College
Pete is an Associate Professor of moth ecology, evolution education, and science education at Michigan State University. In his work, he engages in a broad range of research projects, from moth assemblage dynamics and moth-mediated pollinator, to advances in evolution education from middle school through to higher ed.
He is a nationally award-winning teacher educator, focusing his efforts on peer-learning, authentic scientific inquiry, and integrative approach to learning.
Dr. David Stroupe
Associate Professor at University of Utah, STEM Education, Teacher Education, and the Learning Sciences
David serves as the Director of Research at the Usable STEM Research and Practice Hub, University of Utah. He has three overlapping areas of research interests anchored around ambitious teaching practice. First, he frames classrooms as science practice communities. Using lenses from Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS), he examines how teachers and students negotiate power, knowledge, and epistemic agency. Second, he examines how beginning teachers learn from practice in and across their varied contexts. Third, he studies how teacher preparation programs can provide support and opportunities for beginning teachers to learn from practice. David has a background in biology and taught secondary life science for four years. David is the recipient of the AERA Exemplary Research Award for Division K (Teaching and Teacher Education), the Early Career Research Award from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, and “Research Worth Reading” from National Association for Research in Science Teaching and the National Science Teacher Association.
Dr. Frieda Reichsman
Senior Research Scientist at Concord Consortium
Frieda directs several biology-based projects that focus on multi-level modeling, connecting phenomena from molecular biology, genetics, physiology, and evolution. She has led the development of the educational game Geniverse to weave these topics together in a game where real-world genetics are applied to the fantastical species of dragons. She is particularly enamored of the molecular machines commonly known as proteins, and the ways in which their structure is intimately and logically tied to how they function. She designed hundreds of interactive 3D animations connecting molecular structure and function that have appeared in classrooms, research journals, and textbooks. At the University of Massachusetts she co-developed the “MyDNA” undergraduate course, including curriculum, websites for students and the public, and interactive activities. She holds a doctorate in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where as an NIH fellow, she also did her postdoctoral training.
Dr. Chad Dorsey
President and CEO of Concord Consortium
Chad’s professional experience ranges across the fields of science, education, and technology. Chad has taught science in classrooms from middle schools through college and has guided educational reform efforts at the district-wide and whole-school levels. While earning his B.A. in physics at St. Olaf College and his M.A. in physics at the University of Oregon, Chad conducted experimental fluid mechanics research, built software models of Antarctic ice streams, and dragged a radar sled by hand across South Cascade Glacier. He first met computers when his family hooked an Apple II to their fancy new color TV set, and he’s been a shameless geek ever since.
Sarah Haavind
Senior Research Project Manager at Concord Consortium
Sarah is Senior Research Project Manager for several projects. She has taught at every grade level from elementary to graduate school, led teacher professional development, and designed curriculum in multiple STEM subjects. She has designed and participated in virtual schools and virtual professional development in ways that have helped define the field. Sarah has a Master’s and Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and taught science pedagogy courses for the TERC-Lesley University Online Master’s in Science Education program.
Her research passion is fostering collaborative dialogue and inquiry in online learning communities. Most recently, she designed and facilitated a statewide online professional network for teachers in Oregon. She also taught blended courses and advised graduate students in the doctoral program in Learning Technologies at Pepperdine University.
Leslie Bondaryk
Chief Technology Officer at Concord Consortium
Leslie works on improving STEM education as a science researcher, software designer, engineering educator, publisher, and purveyor of games that illustrate physics, math, and engineering. She’s been lucky enough to work on ideation and technology on groundbreaking interactive STEM education projects including the first Web Calculus text, Schaum’s Interactive Outline Series, Mathcad’s Studyworks, The Analytical Engine, and a variety of simulators for circuits, material science, free body diagrams, manufacturing engineering, thermodynamics, and data analysis, among others. As Chief Technology Officer at the Concord Consortium, she is working on frameworks that will enable science educators and students alike to be able to express themselves on STEM topics with clarity and ingenuity. Leslie is a graduate of MIT and the University of California, where she conducted research on femtosecond semiconductor lasers. When she’s not pondering the mysteries of the universe, she’s often found bribing people to listen to her sing.
Dr. Brian Keas
Research Associate at Michigan State University, Department of Entmology
I am a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at MSU helping to develop a national project that provides authentic research experiences for K-8 students centered on moth diversity in their local environments. More broadly, I work towards conserving biodiversity through teaching and research that connects people of all ages with nature in their local places to learn, appreciate, and care for the environment.
Megan Walser
PhD student in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education at Michigan State University, Department of Teacher Education
I am a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at MSU helping to develop a national project that provides authentic research experiences for K-8 students centered on moth diversity in their local environments. More broadly, I work towards conserving biodiversity through teaching and research that connects people of all ages with nature in their local places to learn, appreciate, and care for the environment.
Chris Brown
PhD student in Entomology at Michigan State University, Department of Entomology
Chris is former 7th grade teacher, turned grad student. He studyies moth education and moth ecology, focusing on elementary and middle school learning.