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Biographies
Peggy Alexander
I’ve been teaching at Watonga High School for twelve years. I’ve
always taught all of the four sections of Biology I, along with Biology
II, Human Anatomy/Phys and more recently AP Biology and AP Environmental
Science. I achieved National Certification in 2000, found the process
very rewarding and would be glad to help others who are seeking NBCT.
Previously I was a medical technologist but quit to raise my three daughters. My husband is a dental lab technician and we are thoroughly involved in all kinds of science conferences and activities.
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Martha
Began
For the past seventeen years, my husband, Fred and I have been overseas
teachers in international high schools in India, Thailand and now, in
Singapore. We have two beautiful boys, Clayton, 14, born in India, and
Lars, 11, born in Thailand. We love our overseas expat life, but equally
enjoy our summer jaunts home to the States to visit family and engage
in professional development.
Currently, I am head of HS Science and teach Biology and AP Environmental Science and at Singapore American School (SAS). In the past, I have taught IBHL and AP Biology, Molecular Biology, Environmental Science, Marine Biology, Zoology, and Human Anatomy and Physiology and overseas.
In my spare time, I advise the green group on campus, Students Against Violation of the Environment (SAVE Club). I also love to lead student outdoor adventure trips in Asia and Oceania. As an avid SCUBA diver, I adore diving in Southeast Asian coral reef gardens with my family and with students.
At Singapore American School we recently adopted a new one-semester elective Biotechnology course. The new genomics knowledge and skills that my SAS teaching partner, Paul Welsh and I will learn at this Woodrow Wilson Institute will affect our program in many positive ways!
Docia Generette
I have been teaching for five years, which includes my present position
at Bailey High School in Jackson, Mississippi. I teach grades 9-12 Biology
I, Biology II, and Human Anatomy. I started teaching during my last semester
in graduate school as a part-time job; it was the first job I truly loved.
Becoming a fulltime educator was one of the best decisions I have ever
made. The teaching profession has afforded me exciting opportunities to
learn new and innovative scientific concepts, to be creative, to develop
professionally, to share ideas and to inspire others. During my years
teaching, as few as they may be, I have experienced a greater level of
personal job satisfaction than I ever thought possible; even on the most
challenging of days I couldn’t dream of doing anything else.
Jennifer Gordinier
Hi. My name is Jennifer Gordinier. This is my second year as
a science teacher at Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and my third
as a member of the swimming staff.
I graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, NY. I received a Master of Science degree from the Dept. of Cell and Molecular Biology in 2000 from Albany Medical College. My research focused on the ability of two growth factors with slightly different amino acid sequences to potentiate the effects of thyroid hormone and specific signaling pathways in vitro. I loved being in the laboratory and the techniques learned there, have been extraordinarily useful to the research class I currently teach.
Upon completion of
my graduate studies, I decided to pursue a slightly different direction
and part of the country and began teaching in sunny South Florida. It
is rewarding to bring my understanding of molecular biology and research
techniques to students at Pine Crest School. I am currently teaching both
biology and our research honors program. The research program is a three-year
independent elective in which students design and research a question
based upon their scientific interests. At the end of my school day, I
can be found at the pool instructing our future Olympic swimmers—a
year-round endeavor but one that keeps me close to the water’s edge.
Sandra Largen
I grew up in suburban Minneapolis, spent a year as a Rotary exchange student
in Norway, and returned to study Norwegian Language and Speech Communications
at the University of Washington in Seattle. My love for biology flourished
while living in the Seattle area. Washington State is known for its diverse
ecosystems and natural beauty. Once I graduated, I worked in the wireless
industry for several years, but felt something was missing and knew biology
needed to be a part of my life. I returned to the UW and completed a degree
in Biology and an M.Ed. Following graduation, I moved to the Illinois
to be closer to my family. I have been teaching high school science in
Downers Grove for the past 6 years. I currently teach Freshman Honors
and General Biology, but have taught Skills Biology, Chemistry, Physical
Science and Earth Science in past years. In my free time, I enjoy singing,
concerts, theater, and movies. Beach vollyball is also a favorite of mine
in the summer months. I have enjoyed getting to know the rich cultural
resources Chicagoland has to offer.
Email Sandra Largen
Phi Le
I was born in Huntington Beach, California and grew up in Fountain Valley,
California. I went to the University of California at Berkeley majoring
in Integrative Biology and minored in Education. I graduated in 1999 and
began teaching thereafter as a Los Angeles Unified School District Intern.
This is my fourth year teaching with the district at Carnegie Middle School
in Carson which is at the southern border of the district. I teach 7th
and 8th grade science. I attended the Woodrow Wilson Environmental Institute
and am excited to attend this institute.
I just finished a program at UCLA. The purpose of the program was to integrate marine science and state science standards.
Email Phi Le
Larry Little
Biking, reading, playing the piano and traveling are my favorite hobbies.
My favorite television programs are PBS, Discovery and BBC. I have a cat
named Teddy—independent but warm and loving.
In the last three years my most exciting professional experience was attending the AP Seminar at UC-Riverside. I had the opportunity tot meet Neal Campbell, author of the text used by most colleges and universities.
I own a small village house in the South of France—I really enjoy spending time there and exploring the wonderful sites and history of the region.
Deborah Moffit
While growing up I lived in the inner city of Chicago and the foothills
of Colorado. I presently live on an eighty-acre farm on the banks of the
Mississippi River. I got into teaching because while in college, my friends
and professors told me that I had a gift for making complicated topics
seem simple and that I ought to become a teacher. Half way through college
I finally listened to them and I haven’t regretted that decision.
I’ve taught for most of the last twenty-five years. I can’t really say what I most enjoy about teaching. I think all the subjects I teach are very interesting, and the students, well, they’re great. I miss the eighth graders. They are so spontaneous and so easily impressed with a simple demonstration that they are fund to teach. On the other hand, with the older students, it’s fun to get them to explore new ideas, to question their standard assumptions and to see them achieve a level of work that they didn’t think they could achieve. I guess that I’m one of the lucky people who get to do what they love.
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Lynda Smith
This is my 22nd year of teaching science. Currently I am the lead teacher
in our "school within a school" half-day Math/Science Center
program at Lakeshore High School. In the past few years I have taught
Honors Freshmen Biology, and AP Biology, and Human
Anatomy and Physiology classes to juniors and seniors. I enjoy my freshmen
for their wild youthful enthusiasm and willingness to try anything I give
them-and I enjoy my juniors and seniors for their wit and humor and willingness
to try anything I give them!
But, for all of my students, the real joy for me is to see them take ownership
of their intellect and to realize how intelligent they really are.
I think I came to my love of science quite naturally as I was raised "in the country". My parents' favorite saying was "Go play outside". How fortunate for us! My brother and I roamed the fields, the woods and the swamp and chased butterflies, watched birds and squirrels and woodchucks, captured tadpoles and hauled home interesting rocks. My wonder and fascination with DNA, genetics and biotechnology came somewhat later as the field was developing during my early teaching years. My brother Mark, my younger sister, Laurie, and I all entered science related fields.
My husband Fred is
an Athletic Director. We have two daughters, Rachael and Laura, who seem
to have grown up in the blink of an eye. Our favorite past time is watching
Red Wings Hockey, watching our daughters compete in track, cross-country
and basketball, and taking crazy family vacations that usually involve
camping and some kind of outdoor adventure such as kayaking, rafting,
and/or hiking. I also enjoy reading, fossil hunting and learning from
enthusiastic and knowledgeable people. I am delighted to be a "Woodie".
Carla Streng
December 2003 will mark my 10th professional educator anniversary: one
year teaching 8th grade language arts at the site which birthed my intrigue
of all things marine and nine years teaching high school English and science
in Oregon's Willamette valley. My early college studies in Nevada and
Oregon were interrupted by marriage and two children, then a third child;
a two-spurt reentry to acquiring my degree was marked by two focal points:
premedical sciences and then literature and writing. I ultimately earned
a degree in English while also acquiring teaching licensure in biology
and health. I've taught at Dallas High School just west of Oregon's state
capital, Salem, for eight years; during the last six years I have straddled
two departments on campus: science and English. Teaching in both content
areas has satisfied my innate curiosity and love of language play and
precision. My six year stint teaching sophomore biology was modified four
years ago when the English component of my assignment presented an opportunity
to teach creative writing and assume duties as yearbook adviser. Each
summer I usually journey with my yearbook editors to the University of
Puget Sound for yearbook camp--that is, if I don't have some intriguing
summer science workshop/internship or class happening.
Since volunteering
at the Oregon Coast Aquarium the fall of 1995, I've hunted for unique
learning environments which also provided summer outdoor adventures. The
summer of 1996 found me living in my backpacking tent as a volunteer naturalist
at Beverly Beach State Park on weekends and working weekdays as a visitor
assistant at the aquarium, routinely monitoring guests' responses to Keiko's
antics during his rehabilitation stay in Newport. I meandered the aquarium's
trails and exhibits for three summers while completing my masters degree
in education at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, which is
also where I and my lemur-looking cat Orpheus abide. Another summer I
enjoyed a full-time Oregon Teacher on Special Assignment forestry internship
during which I hiked numerous areas of Oregon's coastal conifer forests
and learned much about the state's forestry plan and silviculture practices.
Last summer I traveled out of the Pacific Northwest for the first time
in my life when I was awarded a scholarship to attend the AP Biology Institute
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I thoroughly enjoyed the first leg of preparing
to teach Dallas High's first AP Biology class as well as visiting several
inspiring and breathtaking national monuments and Native American ruins
in New Mexico's deserts. Following this adventure, I wrapped up the summer
with a biotechnology class-southern Oregon camping excursion and then
an intensive marine invertebrate course
at Newport's Hatfield Marine Science Center.
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John
Walsh
My hobbies are swimming, diving and scuba diving and my favorite television
program is Discovery Channel. I have two Cockatiels named Josh and Shorty.
They both whistle popular tunes and enjoy their daily showers.
My most exciting professional experience in the last three years was after teaching about the Challenger and Columbia tragedies I shared with my students that I was applying for the Educator Astronaut Program. In stunned silence, the entire class stood up, surrounded me and gave me a giant group hug. Each child wished me “Good Luck” and said that they would pray for my safe return from the International Space Station back to earth. I’ve never felt such caring and compassion from my students before.
During the summer of 2002 I attained a Fellowship in the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through Texas A&M University funded by NASA.
Kathleen Woodring
I am a third generation teacher in my family, but I came into teaching
through a "back door". I graduated from Texas A&M University
at Galveston with a degree in Marine Biology. Afterward I worked as a
marine mammal trainer of dolphins and sea lions for a regional oceanarium.
In addition to performing all the zookeeping and vet duties, we performed
seven shows a day, in all seasons. One of the sessions involved "teaching"
the audience about training techniques and Tursiops truncatus.
This was my favorite part of the day.
I married and moved inland and took a job with a computer firm that sold Apple and IBM compatible "clones". I traveled around South Texas selling and supporting business personal computers, so I learned a lot about the business world. In a way, I was still teaching new users how to operate the equipment and use the software. When I realized how unhappy I was to be away from Biology and learning, I enrolled in a local college and became certified to teach Science. Since then I've taught Physics, Chemistry, Physical Science, Anatomy, Environmental Science, Biology and Advanced Placement Biology for both special education, regular and honors students. My favorite classes are those in the Life Sciences and I love teaching in small, rural towns. This is my fifteenth year teaching high school.
Jim Bonacum
I have always considered
myself to be an organismal biologist, and for many years I had little
interest in cells or molecules but all of that changed in the summer of
1992. That was the summer that I was fortunate enough to work with Rob
DeSalle in the molecular systematics lab at the American Museum of Natural
History. That summer Rob showed me that DNA molecules contain an incredibly
detailed record of the history life on Earth. We can use molecules to
understand evolutionary relationships, how species migrate through their
habitats and how allele frequencies change within populations over time.
Once I recognized what a rich source of data DNA sequences provide I was
hooked and I decided to concentrate my graduate studies in this field.
After being accepted to Yale I returned to the Museum to continue my graduate
studies with Rob as my advisor. My thesis work was a detailed phylogenetic
study of the spectacular radiation of Drosophila in the Hawaiian Islands.
While I was in graduate school I found that I particularly enjoyed teaching
and after I finished my Ph.D. I was offered a position in the Department
of Education at the Museum. My job was to design and teach programs in
the Genomic Learning Laboratory, a state of the art molecular biology
lab located in the Museum’s Genomic Revolution exhibit. Here I taught
the same techniques that I learned from Rob to a diverse audience ranging
from New York City High School students, to attorneys, bankers and members
of the general public. This experience taught me two things. The first
was that almost everyone is interested in learning more about genomic
science and how it will affect their lives in the new century. The second
was that the source of information most people rely upon is science fiction.
When I was able to separate the facts from the fiction for the students
and help them realize that reality is more wonderful than anything that
Hollywood can concoct I felt that I had done my job. I am looking forward
very much to working with the members of this summer’s institute
to help to find new ways to bring a greater understanding of genomic science
to students across the country.
