2023 GER Elections

It is time to vote for officers of the Geoscience Education Research Division of NAGT. The ballot includes Past President, President, Vice President, Secretary, and Graduate Student Liaison. Voting begins on June 1 and ends on July 1.

Officer Candidate Biographies

Past President

Emily Scribner is a Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University. Her research interests are spread between two realms: geoscience education and mineralogy. Her current geoscience education research involves assessing the effectiveness of virtual field camp exercises as an alternative for students who are unable to participate in in-person field exercises. Other geoscience education research she has conducted involved the development of a concept inventory, a validated assessment, that can be used to measure conceptual understanding of introductory mineralogy concepts. Her mineralogy research focuses on the rare-element pegmatites, specifically those that are thought to have been contaminated by their host rocks, resulting in the modification of their chemical signature and mineralogy through the introduction of chemical elements from the host rock. She is currently the State Representative for South Carolina within the Southeastern Section of NAGT.

President

Chris Mead is an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences with a focus in Discipline Based Geoscience Education Research. In his current position, he conducts education research and performs evaluation for educational development projects. His areas of expertise include studying digital active learning techniques, such as virtual field trips and intelligent tutoring, and examining diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education through institutional analysis.

Vice-President

Caitlin Callahan is currently an associate professor in the Geology Department at Grand Valley State University. Over the past ten years, much of her scholarship has centered around questions related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the geosciences. This has included an NSF-funded project investigating the importance of social capital for persistence in geoscience and STEM more generally. More recently, she has been working on projects related to the influence and significance of personal narratives for our identity as scientists and teachers. In terms of past service, she has supported NAGT in a couple of different ways; for example, she has served in the following roles: associate editor of Journal of Geoscience Education, planning committee member of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous, and co-chair of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous.

As Vice President of the GER Division, she would look forward to collaborating with the other Division officers and engaging with Division members. She is interested to understand how current activities and processes align with the Division's mission. What goals are well addressed? What goals may need further development? In addition, she is keen to be involved in the review of candidates for Division awards. She is curious to learn in more depth about the processes that are currently in place and consider those processes anew from a DEI perspective. What, if any, changes might add to the existing processes that could increase the diversity of candidates considered and recognized by the Division?

Secretary

Kathryn (Katie) Boyd is an Education and Outreach Associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). She works on several projects, including serving as the program manager for a climate change education project and conducting research and evaluation efforts on multiple large education projects. She holds two MS degrees in Atmospheric Science and in Education/Ecology (an interdisciplinary degree focused on educational research). Her professional interests include environmental science education, outreach, and communication, specifically helping to build bridges between the scientific community and the public. She has been trained in culturally relevant research and evaluation methods and leads diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within her group.

She has been a member of NAGT-GER since 2018 and has published two articles in the Journal of Geoscience Education focused on career paths for undergraduate researchers and graduate student outreach mentors. She has otherwise published on informal education and climate education topics. She has interacted with NAGT-GER through various conferences including AGU, GSA, and the Earth Educators' Rendezvous. She will bring her experience with program management and training in science communication to the position of secretary, engaging in thoughtful monitoring of NAGT-GER activities and communications with other members. She has also engaged in award selection processes and was trained in anti-bias approaches, which will support the work in that area of the secretary role.

Graduate Student Liaison

Kristen Foley works as a graduate student instructor for the Mallinson Institute for Science Education at Western Michigan University. She completed her MS (Geosciences) from WMU in 2022 and is working to complete her PhD in Geoscience Education, also from WMU. She has enjoyed her time serving as the Graduate Student Liaison for the GER division so much, she's running again! In her spare time, Kristen loves to spend time with her family and enjoys sampling all the local foods in Kalamazoo.