Bancroft designs, implements, and studies longitudinal professional development programs to support science educators’ application of evidence-based pedagogical and mentorship practices that foster equitable K-16 STEM academic student outcomes. This includes designing original, standards-aligned, three-dimensional K-12 science instruction and assessment. She also integrates and tests how theories, such as social constructivism and critical race theory, can be implemented in undergraduate science teaching to displace longstanding disparities in academic achievement among various student communities. Research related to these areas have been published in Science Education, Journal of Chemical Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Journal of Science Teacher Education.

Kristin Rademaker has been involved in education for over twenty years, teaching both science and special education settings. She has worked with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) since their adoption in 2014 and has worked both locally and nationally in helping districts implement their new three-dimensional state standards. Rademaker serves as a Professional Learning Specialist for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). She previously served on Achieve's Peer-Review-Panel and currently serves as a State assessment system reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education. Rademaker is a contributing author to the materials found on the InquiryHub and NextGen Storylines websites and frequently speaks at local, state, and national conferences on instructional shifts toward three-dimensional teaching and learning. Rademaker currently serves as President for the Illinois Science Teaching Association. She received the Robert E Yager Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017 and was named the Yager Scholar for that award year. In 2018, Rademaker received the NSTA Distinguished Teaching Award for her contributions to science education. She is also the co-founder of the NGSS Biology Storylining Working Group that has collaboratively created a full biology course curricular replacement with six coherent storyline units that are now used across the country and internationally.

M.S Curriculum & Instruction in Science Education, Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences, Former NBCT (2008 - 2018), Licensed High School Science teacher, High School Science Teacher for 13 Years, Assist with the Science for Elementary Teachers instruction at SIU, Manage and Coordinate STEM education research opportunities with teacher partners and student outreach.
Manage the Item Writing and Scoring of constructed response items for the Illinois Science Assessment - partner with Illinois State Board of Education, state educators and STEM professionals to build an NGSS aligned, large-scale science assessment for Illinois students. Her passion is teachers, professional development and agency. Empowering teachers, especially those who feel unsupported, under prepared, overwhelmed, at a loss, etc., to implement and practice NGSS with fidelity. She believes when teachers are engaged in the process of building the ISA, given agency and offered meaningful opportunities to contribute to the ISA, and other decisions that impact the classroom, their practice is improved, and their students and colleagues also reap the benefits.

After earning a B.S. in Marine Biology, Karen realized the lab was not where her heart truly was and started her career in education as a science teacher in Atlanta, GA. During this time she became engaged in curriculum writing and professional learning development to ensure that science teachers had access to resources that actually engage students in thinking and working like scientists. She started working full-time for the College Board in 2010 to lead the AP Physics curriculum redesign work. This AP Science redesign project was the first to articulate standards that paired content to science practices, and went on to inform the development of the NRC’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education. She has spent the last five years working on a new pilot Pre-AP program in the AP Division to provide all students access and opportunities to challenging and engaging STEM curriculum in order to build equitable pipelines to college and career readiness, especially for those students traditionally excluded from those opportunities. Currently, the program is now in over 740 schools, across 42 states, and 12 international locations.

Holmberg has been a higher education faculty member for 20 years, teaching a wide range of courses in environmental science and biology for majors and non-majors. In her teaching role, Holmberg has advanced the role that service learning and citizen science can play in courses, weaving these projects into each course that she teaches, and receiving national recognition for this work. Former chair of the Two Year Section of the National Association of Biology Teachers, she is also very involved in faculty professional development, including as a HHMI BioInteractive Ambassador, and in developing and evaluating life science curricula through organizations such as AAAS Science in the Classroom, QUBES, NEON, and SERC’s InTeGrate.

Tatiana Tatum is a Professor at Saint Xavier University where she teaches classes ranging from Introductory Biology to Genetics, Women in Science, Bio Politics of Water, the Ethics of Teaching Science, Vertebrate Biology, Natural History of the Ozarks, and Zombie Biology. At Saint Xavier, her research focus has been primarily in environmental toxicology and the scholarship of teaching. Also, with many foci she is able to facilitate the desires of multiple undergraduate research students. She believes that engaging students in undergraduate research allows them to experience the excitement of creating new knowledge, solving problems and developing new insights as well as life skills that are increasingly important in our world. Tatiana has a true passion for anything that can take her outdoors, especially if it offers the opportunity to extend environmental appreciation to the broader community.

Michael Lach began his career teaching high-school science. After nine years in the classroom, he became a bureaucrat working in a variety of leadership roles in school districts, in government service, and in academia. Currently, he is the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Township High School District 113, a small school district on the outside of Chicago.

I am a plant ecologist with interests in the biological impacts of climate change and nutrient cycling. My teaching at the college level has focused on conservation & climate change. I have developed, implemented, and assessed curriculum around Vision & Change and also developed a CURE system for both college & K12 classrooms.

I am a biologist with strong interests in research, education, and mentorship. My research and teaching focuses on anatomy, sexual differentiation, and developmental biology. Through individualized mentorship and formal classroom education I have seen firsthand that students improve their comprehension and long-term retention by moving away from passive, lecture-based learning.

Helen spent most of her career as a researcher in particle physics and holds many national and international awards for her work. She has taught physics at all levels, from student teaching in a high school classroom to undergraduate and graduate courses at Harvard and Stanford. As a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the then Chair of their Board on Science Education, she was the chair of the committee that produced “A Framework for k-12 Science Education”. She has devoted her retirement to supporting the implementation of the vision for “3d” science education that it puts forward.

Crean has taught science at the high school level for 25 years and the college level for the past 11 years. Crean currently teaches in the Department of Biological Sciences at Saint Xavier University where he also trains preservice science teachers. Crean has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the Leadership in Science Education Prize by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as awards from the National Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Illinois Science Teachers Association, among others. Most recently he was awarded the Golden Apple award and the 2020 NSTA Distinguished Teaching award. He currently serves as President for the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching.