Recorded: March 18th at 7pm ET
Description: In this webinar, science advocates will discuss the challenges of creating equitable opportunities for teaching students in science education. We all know that it is a challenge, but through this dialogue, implications and considerations will be highlighted to provide participants ideas for overcoming and successfully educating underrepresented students.
Moderator:
Sharon Delesbore, PhD, is the president of the Association for Multicultural Science Education (AMSE), an Alliance of Affiliates (AoA) governance of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) and founder of Science Mama Enterprise. As a 20-year secondary school administrator, science instructional specialist and middle school science teacher, Dr. D. has never lost her spirit of advocacy for equitable science instruction for all students of color, multicultural backgrounds and varying economic status and opportunities. Her leadership within AMSE helps to provide educators with platforms to present sessions at the national and regional conferences hosted by NSTA focusing on topics of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access for all students desiring to learn about science. AMSE seeks to promote curriculum development, instructional development, and leadership development in science education with diverse teachers who educate diverse students.
Panelists:
Chelia McCoo Dogan is currently the Science Department Chair/Secondary Science Teacher at Elsik High School in the Alief Independent School District located in Houston, Texas, and has been in the district for 27 years. During this time period, she has been a member of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) and Association for Multicultural Science Education (AMSE) for over 15 years. She has served on the AMSE Board Member for 10 years. She is also a member of Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT) and Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA). Mrs. McCoo Dogan has been the recipient of many awards and recognition including The Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators (HAABSE) Teacher of the Year 2020-2021, representing Elsik High School, Alief ISD January 2021 Science Educator of the Month, and Teacher of the Year for Elsik High School 2005-2006. Mrs. McCoo Dogan demonstrates awareness and compassion, as she understands that students come from all types of cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups, and understands that this can affect their learning process in the classroom, therefore she makes certain that when the students come into her classroom, they are provided with various tools necessary to stimulate their learning process.
Kara Branch is the Founder and CEO of Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization founded in June 2019 and located in Houston, TX. Black Girls Do Engineer is passionate about developing young women in all areas of STEM. Black Girls Do Engineer provides mentoring, personal growth regimens, STEM projects and activities, and guidance on career paths based on insight from professional women that are leaders in the STEM industry. Black Girls Do Engineer was founded based on Kara personal experiences in the STEM industry and always wishing she had someone who looked like her to show her the way, but now she has developed a STEM program to help girls ages 9- 21- year-old prepare and thrive in the STEM industry. Her organization took a team of girls, with no STEM background, to finalist status in the NASAWear Challenge. They beat out over 70 teams around the nation! Kara is an alumnus of The Prairie View A&M University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. Kara currently works as a Project Manager in the space industry. She has served as a Science and Engineering Lead and Diversity & Inclusion Region Chapter Leader for ERG groups in Corporate America. She also holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is one semester away from completing her Executive MBA.
Alicia Conerly has worked in education for over 12 years. She is a 2015 Shell Urban Science Educator Development Award Recipient; 2016 Shell Lab Challenge Grand Prize Award Recipient; and 2017 Mississippi Science Teachers Association Outstanding Informal Science Educator Award Recipient. In 2017, she founded PUSH 4 Science Educational Services, LLC. and has served on several science award review panels both statewide and nationally. She has also served as both a mentee and mentor for the Smithsonian in conjunction with Shell at their annual STEM Education Summit. She is also the first African American administrator of Monticello Elementary School serving as the campus principal.