Our Board

SSEC National Advisory Board

Former CEO & President
Chicago Community Trust

Terry Mazany has enjoyed careers in archaeology, public education, and philanthropy.  Constant throughout these roles is his commitment to increasing opportunities for all.

For the past twenty-two years he has served in leadership roles with community foundations, including Chief Collaboration Officer for Collaboratory, helping to coordinate recovery and rebuilding efforts for a region devastated by Hurricane Ian, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and a distinguished career of 13 years as President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust.  During his years in Chicago, he also served briefly as the interim chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools serving 400,000 students.

In recognition of the 100^th anniversary of the first community foundation, Terry and his colleague, David Perry, co-edited Here for Good: Community Foundations and the Challenges of the 21^st Century.

Terry serves on several nonprofit boards including Smithsonian Science Education Center and RFK Human Rights.  Previously, Terry served as a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and was past chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board that oversees the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP).

His professional roles include teaching Education Policy and School Reform at the University of Chicago and Social Entrepreneurship at both Northwestern University and the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Terry has graduate degrees in Anthropology, Business, and Education. He is a member of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA). He has received Honorary Doctorate degrees from DePaul University, Governors State University, and Lewis University. 

Chief Operations Officer
Kenvue

Meredith (Meri) Stevens is the Chief Operations Officer for Kenvue. In this role, Meri leads the effort to transform Supply Chain into a true source of competitive advantage and maintain the strength of our global operations, ensuring the company delivers on its growth objectives and offers customers and consumers high-quality service and products every day. She also oversees Quality, Supply Chain, and Procurement end-to-end.

Meri previously served as Johnson & Johnson Worldwide Vice President, Consumer Health Supply Chain and Deliver. In July 2020, she expanded her leadership responsibilities to include the Consumer Health Supply Chain. Prior to this, Meri led Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain Strategy and Deployment, championing the global supply chain transformation, a position she held since 2015. Meri has more than 30 years of operations experience through a series of senior leadership positions with global corporations. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, she was the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Newell Rubbermaid. She also held operations and procurement leadership roles at Tyco, Bertelsmann, Knoll and General Electric. Meri holds a B.S. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Management, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Managing Director
Alvarez & Marsal

Rob Barker is EMEA Head of Insurance, Wealth and Asset Management with Alvarez & Marsal Financial Services Industry Group Advisory in London. With 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, he rings deep experience in the development and execution of strategy and commercial delivery as a CEO, Senior Executive and Chairman across life and pensions, general insurance, health insurance and wealth. Mr. Barker has worked in the UK, Europe and Africa, leading, uilding, and reshaping organizations with a deep focus on creating material commercial value while delivering great outcomes for customers, distri utors, and team mem ers alike. Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Barker led Aviva’s Wealth, Pensions, Savings and Advice businesses as the regulated CEO. He was also the regulated Chairman of the Aviva Health insurance business. Previously, he led the Aviva Life Protection businesses and Health Insurance business as the regulated CEO, and before that he led Aviva’s UK wide Distribution and Propositions, including Strategic Partnerships (Bancassurance) Previously, Mr. Barker worked in Africa with the then Imperial Group, the Standard Bank Group and the Hollard Group as a Group General Manager, Managing Director and Chairman. He has broad experience leading corporate alternative risk transfer businesses in life and GI; advice and underwriting businesses in life and GI; pensions and investments business, corporate and specialty risks underwriters, commercial insurance underwriters, and the capitalization and development of specialist MGA’s. Mr. Barker is active in venture capital funds and startups across Europe and the UK as a Limited Partner, Investor and Senior Advisor.

Global Financial Market Leader

Prior to locating to the Washington DC area, Elizabeth Beck had a 28-year professional global career with Citibank, N.A. and Fidelity Investments in developing responsible analyses of international capital markets risks and investment decision-making for 55 countries. Her onsite work in many foreign markets over those years added to her ability to think and analyze in the global context, as well as to be an effective leader on a diversified team. Since her retirement in 2006, she continues to use her leadership, management, and financial expertise serving on national and local boards and committees in the non-profit sector, mainly helping arts, historical, and environmental organizations succeed in their strategic goals and missions. Some of these organizations include: Smithsonian Women’s Committee (President), American Farmland Trust (Board), Master Gardeners of Anne Arundel County in Maryland (President), Boston Lyric Opera (Board), Hancock’s Resolution Foundation in Maryland (Board), and Gibson Island Historical Society (President). Most recently, during 2022 and 2023 Elizabeth served as the President of the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.

Vice President of Offshore Power
Shell Energy

Amanda Dasch is the Vice President of Shell’s Offshore Power Portfolio in the Americas, responsible for offshore wind development in North America and the onshore and offshore renewable generation portfolio in South America. Over the last 17 years, Amanda has led a variety of production, development and exploration teams in Shell’s Shales, Conventional Oil and Gas and Deep Water businesses, as well as delivering roles in finance, business planning, and strategy. In 2016, she assumed the role of Business Advisor to the Upstream Director based in The Hague before moving in 2017 to Brunei as the West Asset Manager for Brunei Shell Petroleum’s offshore oil and gas business. Most recently, Amanda was the Vice President Strategy and Portfolio for Upstream based in The Hague, responsible for navigating the role of Upstream in the Energy Transition. Amanda brings a focus on people, safety, and collaboration to business delivery. 

Amanda serves on the board of directors of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and is also a board member of American Clean Power Association (ACP). Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Amherst College and a PhD in Biogeochemistry from University of Michigan. Prior to joining Shell, Amanda worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where she researched the ecological and environmental impacts of ancient climate change. Amanda and her husband, John, live outside of Boston with their son and daughter. As a family, they enjoy hiking, camping, and traveling the world together.

Founder, Former President & CEO
We Do, Inc

Carol is a recognized marketer, executive, entrepreneur and leader who has achieved successes in the start-up and implementation of programs in fashion retail management and entertainment. Carol has held several senior-level management positions with prominent retail corporations, including Blockbuster Entertainment, We Do, Inc., The Kobacher Co., Lerner New York, Thom McAn and Woodward & Lothrop.

For the past fifteen years, Carol has brought her executive management skills to her philanthropic work: Stephen Gaynor School Board; Rodeph Sholom School Board; JCC Manhattan Finance Commission; Coop Board; Former CityArts Chairman; Former Columbus Symphony Orchestra Chairman (Ohio); InMotion Pictures, Inc. She received a Clio Award – Best Original Music Scoring – US Radio – Thom McAn Shoes – Herbie Hancock Composer & Vocalist and in 1992 was voted Top One Hundred Marketers in the US (Advertising Age Magazine).

Carol and her husband, Kenneth Gilman, have three children, Herbert, Emma, and Jordana Gilman.

Partner
Mach49

Currently, Donald Fitzmaurice is a Partner at Mach49, where he works as part of a team to develop and deploy new corporate venturing capital models and solutions for large global clients. In this context, Fitzmaurice continues to work closely with EY and other Mach49 clients.

Until recently, Fitzmaurice was a member of a team developing new business models for EY and its clients. A particular focus was on accessing the capital needed to fund business transformation. In this context, he supported the establishment and funding of EY’s new Skills and Digital Infrastructure businesses and assisted some of EY’s largest clients in doing the same.

He has experience as a founder of and investor in early and growth stage companies focused on opportunities in developed, developing, and emerging markets. Previous roles have included CEO of Brandtone and Executive Chairman of Intivation. Donald Fitzmaurice is a former EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

Prior to that, Fitzmaurice was a Partner with DraperFisherJurvetson-ePlanet, recognized as a pioneer of the global venture capital model. They invested in Skype (Europe), Baidu (China), and Trivitron (India). He led investments in the energy sector (including HPL – nanostructured lithium-ion batteries sold to Dow) and the healthcare sector (including BiancaMed – remote sleep monitors sold to ResMed).

Fitzmaurice began his career as a Professor of Chemistry at University College Dublin. His research focused on designing nanostructured materials that enabled next-generation electronic (ultra-fast integrated circuits), energy storage (low-cost solar cells and fast-charging batteries), and healthcare (targeted drug delivery) solutions. His team published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals and collaborated with the most innovative companies in these sectors to commercialize their research.

Throughout his career, Fitzmaurice has worked on a pro bono basis for the Irish, EU, and US Governments and their agencies to develop strategies and policies needed to create and maintain a vibrant and conducive environment for innovation.

He is married to his partner of 23 years, and they have three grown-up children. Fitzmaurice is a keen amateur triathlete and competes at home and abroad, occasionally representing his country. He has a deep interest in politics and is an active member of the Irish Green Party.

Founder & CEO
RevRoad

Derrin is a builder. He builds empowered individuals and teams, systems for growth, motivated communities, and strong companies. As a leader with successes in six of the eight companies he founded or co­founded, and with several records for industry breaking achievements in other companies, he counts his greatest priority his role in building a great marriage and a wonderful family with his wife Nicole and their five children. As a Missouri farm boy he learned how to deliver growth, the importance of work, the power of teams, and to be amazed by people and nature. He graduated High School in the top of the class while participating in DECA and working two part-time jobs to save money to serve as a volunteer for two years in Australia at 19 years old.

A graduate of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business with an MBA in the Cross-Continent program studying in Durham, NC and in Frankfurt, Germany. He completed his undergraduate studies in Business Management and International Marketing at Brigham Young University.

Global Corporate Responsibility Leader
EY Global Services Limited

Gillian Hinde is an executive leader with more than two decades of global strategic consulting and marketing experience in banking, finance and technology – and a passion for addressing inequity and innovating towards a net zero future. Her commercial achievements include launching Africa’s first e-commerce bank. After a series of strategic, for-profit roles in global companies, including Unilever, the Standard Bank Group, Woolworths Group Limited Australia and EY, for the last four years Gill has channeled her commercial acumen, influence, and vision to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by leading EY’s Global Corporate Responsibility function. In this global role, Gill is the leader of the EY Ripples program - a global endeavor harnessing EY’s people, partners and clients, with the goal of positively impacting one billion lives by 2030 and operating as a responsible global business, which means robust ESG reporting and achieving a net zero agenda by 2025. Under her tenure, EY Ripples has become a pathway for innovation across three focus areas: supporting the next generation workforce, working with impact entrepreneurs and accelerating environmental sustainability. As she continues to evolve the program, her approach is to collaborate to drive impact at scale — working with EY clients and other like-minded organizations, so each ‘ripple’ started has the potential to grow and join with others to create waves of positive change. As a result, since Gill launched the program, EY Ripples has attracted an ever-growing network of collaborators across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, EY Ripples has scaled to 126 countries, succeeded in cumulatively impacting more than 85 million lives in its first three years with over 190 000 EY people actively engaged. Gill is also a member of the EY Global Corporate Responsibility Council - a subset of EYs Global Executive team, where she works to operationalize the firm’s ambition to realize a more socially just, economically inclusive, and environmentally regenerative future for all.

President & CEO
North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center

Dr. Samuel H. Houston, Jr., is President and Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center. Prior to this appointment Dr. Houston served as Vice President for Program and Policy of EdGate, Inc. and was the first executive director of the University of North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development. A former public school teacher and veteran educational administrator, Dr. Houston also previously served as executive director of the North Carolina Education Standards and Accountability Commission. In 2007, Dr. Houston chaired the North Carolina State Board of Education’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability. Dr. Houston holds undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Appalachian State University (ASU), an Educational Specialist Degree from East Carolina University, and his Doctorate in Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Houston has served as an elementary school teacher, assistant principal and principal at the junior high and high school levels. First, he served as an assistant superintendent of the Davidson County Schools, and two years later, superintendent of the Mooresville City Schools. Houston also has held adjunct professorships at ASU and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Anne Keiser is the wife of the Founding Director Emeritus of Smithsonian Science Education Center, Douglas Lapp. She has been a member of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee since 2000, and has held several leadership positions, including President.

Her career started with National Geographic where she worked for many years as a photo editor and still photographer with the Television Division, which included helping to produce PBS documentaries with WQED in Pittsburgh. Her work took her around the world on assignments which included a film, Return to Everest, documenting the humanitarian work of famed mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. As a freelance photographer, she returned many times to the Everest region with Hillary and produced a book, Sir Edmund Hillary & The People of Everest, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of his 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.

 As a freelance photographer, she applied her skills to further the work of several organizations she served as a board member. These include the World Wildlife Fund US, the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and the Smithsonian Women’s Committee. In addition, she is a board member of The Middle East Institute, the Holton-Arms School, Chorus America, and the Greater Himalayas Foundation.

 Anne and Doug reside in Washington DC.

Distinguished Professor & Senior Associate Dean
Pennsylvania State University
Science Education

Dr. Greg Kelly is a Distinguished Professor and the Senior Associate Dean for Research, Outreach and Technology in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. As a faculty member in science education, he teaches courses on teaching and learning science in secondary schools and uses history, philosophy, and sociology of science in science education. His research explores issues of knowledge and discourse in science education settings. Recent research includes development of theories of epistemic cognition, identity, and learning in science and engineering classrooms. His interest in these topics developed while physics and mathematics teacher and a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa.   He is the recipient of the 2018 University Faculty Way Paver Award for his work with diversity and inclusion initiatives at Penn State and throughout the community. He has also received the 2018 Dr. John J. Gumperz Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Scholarship which recognizes and honors the lifelong distinguished scholarship of a senior scholar whose program of research in language and social processes and professional service have made significant contributions to the field.

Entrepreneur

Reed Quinn is a Founder at Spark Innovation.  Spark is a small group of retail-savvy partners that manage a diverse portfolio of brands with hundreds of products from children's toys to paint supplies.  Reed is listed as the inventor on dozens of patents and has been recognized for his expertise with consumer products.  In addition to a portfolio of consumer products, he also manages a portfolio of private investments in multiple sectors including real estate, energy, healthcare, Saas, and transportation.  Reed is supported by his amazing wife and six children and he enjoys serving in his church, community, local schools and on the board of multiple startups.

Founder & Publisher
Diplomatic Courier

Ms. Ana Rold is an award-winning media executive with a portfolio of print and digital assets reaching 180 countries. She started her career as the founder of Diplomatic Courier, the flagship media network and magazine for top diplomats and policy leaders around the world. For over a decade she has served as the chief editor of the G7, G20, and APEC summit publications. Her futuristic think tank, the World in 2050 has convened over 20,000 multi-stakeholders in the United States and Europe since 2012. And since 2006, Ana has taught Comparative Politics at Northeastern University, where she led two University delegations to Cyprus and Egypt through the Dialogue of Civilizations program. She writes regularly for national and international publications and sits on international steering committees and boards, including the World Web Forum, Women’s Democracy Network, and Karanga Global.

As Founder and Publisher of Diplomatic Courier, Ms. Rold has vast public relations and global experience, deep connections on the world stage with several prestigious international organizations and a strong familiarity with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
The Aerospace Corporation

Edward M. Swallow directs all civil, commercial, and international business at Aerospace. Key customers include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a wide number of other civil, commercial, and international organizations, including allied space agencies and ministries of defense. In addition to his responsibilities in CSG, Swallow is corporate director of government relations. Prior to joining Aerospace, he was vice president, Business Development for the Federal and Defense Technologies Division, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. He holds degrees from Syracuse and SUNY-Oneonta, a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California and has served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a flag officer.

Director, STEM Partnerships and 
Early Talent Development Pipeline
Corning Incorporated

Dr. Mark D. Vaughn is manager, technical talent pipelining for Corning’s Technology Community, and is the lead for the Technology Community Office of STEM. In this role, Vaughn develops, implements and manages PK-20 science and engineering programs and initiatives in support of meeting the Technology Community’s near term and long-term technical talent needs. Notably, since 2005, Vaughn has facilitated a regional STEM effort in New York’s greater southern tier that today serves 30,000 students and 1000 educators in an effort to raise the bar on STEM for all. Most recently, Mark’s leadership has expanded beyond the Technology Community and now includes pan-Corning efforts involving Environmental Technologies, Life Sciences, Optical Communications, Pharmaceutical Technologies, Display and Mobile Consume Electronics.

Dr. Vaughn began his career with Corning in 1988 as a research technician. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Alfred University, a Master of Science degree in Optics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to his current role, Dr. Vaughn was a research associate in Modeling and Simulation where he was a noted expert in Optical Network Traffic Demand Modeling and Access Network Cost Modeling.

In addition to his primary role, Vaughn has served the Technology Community and Corporation in a variety of other ways including as an Innovation Black Belt, past chairman and co-founder of the Black Technology Network (an employee resource group that champions the contributions and careers of Blacks in the Technology Community) and facilitator for Leadership Fundamentals for Program Managers, one of the corporation’s premiere leadership training experiences.

Dr. Vaughn is a native of Elmira, New York. He and his wife, Jeanette (who is an educator and entrepreneur), reside in Painted Post, New York and are the proud parents of 5 children (and have one son-in-love, one daughter-in-love and two grandchildren).

CEO
Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM)

Dr. Jennie Ward-Robinson is currently the CEO of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM), a non-profit organization on a mission to catalyze and lead change to eliminate harm from diagnostic error. She has over 20 years of innovative executive leadership within both nonprofit and for-profit communities, where she has successfully reconceived organizational missions, reformulated strategies, and restructured organizations to attain new leadership and new partners, resulting in stronger brand positioning and revenue production.

Prior to joining SIDM, she served as a Senior Advisor to the Dean of College and Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University. She also served as the Interim Founding Co-Director of the Center for Studies on Africa and its Diaspora, with a mission to bridge the historically critical contributions of the Diaspora to scientific, economic, and global health advancements. In this role, she successfully developed and launched a Coalition that included the Clinton Global Initiative, the University of the West Indies, ECLAC, among others, to address the post-Covid-19 impact on health, education, and climate-related equity concerns among emerging nations.

In the nonprofit community, her roles have included CEO, President, Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs, and Executive Director. In academia, she served as an Associate Professor at the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M Health Science Center, and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health. She successfully led multilateral partners to design, fund, and implement healthcare policies and solutions to women in the Americas through unique public-private partnerships. Lastly, in the corporate community, she served as an Executive Director in research, thus underscoring her recognition for leadership.

Dr. Ward-Robinson is a frequently invited speaker to national and international audiences. She has been recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Houston at Clear Lake for her work in minority health. She successfully led initiatives in the United States, the Americas, and Africa, resulting in peer-reviewed publications and related policy products. She has served on various Boards, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Drinking Water Council, the Institute of Medicine Roundtable, the Alliance for Water Efficiency, and the Illinois Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Dr. Ward-Robinson holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Madison and has completed numerous executive and leadership training programs from leading institutions that include the Center for Creative Leadership and the Northwestern Kellogg School of Nonprofit Management. 

Ex-Officio Members

Under Secretary for Education 
Smithsonian Institution

Monique Chism is the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for Education. As Under Secretary for Education, Chism is responsible for defining the Institution’s educational priorities. She oversees the Smithsonian’s collective initiatives, communication strategies and funding for programs that benefit learners of all ages.

Previously, Chism was the vice president for education policy and strategic initiatives at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Beginning in 2017, her leadership helped bridge the divide between education research and practice at the local, state and federal levels. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chism created a 35-state coalition to respond to educators’ distance learning needs and strategize school reopenings.

Before AIR, Chism worked at the U.S. Department of Education from 2013 to 2017. Her positions spanned the Office of Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs, the Office of State Support, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. At each level, Chism advised on the expansion of academic access, equity and development. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she managed a $22 billion grant portfolio and led teams focused on promoting academic excellence and enhancing educational opportunities for all U.S. children and families.

Chism holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and a master’s degree from Central Michigan University, both in interpersonal and public communication, and a doctorate from Michigan State University in American studies.

Chism succeeds Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, who has served as acting Under Secretary for Education since November 2019.

Director
Smithsonian Science Education Center

Carol O’Donnell is the Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), a unit of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to transforming the learning and teaching of science throughout the nation and world. In this role, Carol is responsible for all operational activities and planning for the unit, including building awareness for K-12 science education reform among State and district leaders; conducting programs that support the professional growth of K-12 science teachers and school leaders; and, overseeing all research and curricular resource development, philanthropic development, and administration. In this capacity, Carol also serves as the US representative on the Global Council of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) Science Education Programme (SEP), the global network of the science academies. Carol also serves on the Subcommittee on Federal Coordination in STEM Education (FC-STEM), which advises and assists the Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM). In this role, Carol served as one of the co-authors of the 2018 National Science & Technology Council’s 5-year CoSTEM strategic plan.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Carol was a leader at the US Department of Education for nearly a decade, supporting States and districts as they built their capacity to implement and sustain education reforms and achieve continued improvement in student outcomes; she also oversaw the Cognition and Student Learning program of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). A former K-12 teacher and curriculum developer, Dr. O’Donnell is still in the classroom today, serving on the part-time faculty of the Physics Department at The George Washington University.

Carol has expertise in education policy, professional development, cognition and student learning, education research, and curriculum development. She has spoken extensively about Women in STEM, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), diversifying the STEM teaching workforce, educating youth across the globe on the complex socio-scientific issues that underlie the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Dr. O’Donnell earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Pittsburgh, Master of Science in Geosciences from Mississippi State University (MSU), and her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on science education from The George Washington University (GWU). 

Smithsonian Science Education Center Advisor

Smithsonian Science Education Center

Douglas Lapp was the founding director of the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), a center for the improvement of K-12 science education that was established as a collaborative effort of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences. He served as Executive Director of the NSRC for seventeen years, during the period 1985-2001. In 2012, the NSRC became the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC).

Prior to his work at the Smithsonian, Dr. Lapp served for fifteen years as Science Coordinator and, later, Director of Program Development for the Fairfax County, (Virginia) Public Schools, the nation’s tenth-largest school system. His involvement in science education began in 1962, when he enlisted as a science and mathematics teacher in the first Peace Corps project in Cameroon, and throughout his career he has maintained a continuing interest in the improvement of science education in developing countries. After completing graduate school, he returned to Africa for two years to establish the African Primary Science Program Center at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. He later conducted studies of science education in sub-Saharan Africa for the United States Agency for International Development and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Rockefeller Foundation’s African Forum for Children’s Literacy in Science and Technology (AFCLIST) in Durban, South Africa.

Lapp has a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of Illinois, a master’s degree in biophysics from the University of Washington, and a doctorate in science education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 1994, he was designated a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Functional Advisors

Senior Advisor
Pacific Science Center

Dennis Schatz is Senior Advisor at Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. He is also Field Editor of a new journal, Connected Science Learning, which highlights links between in-school and out-of-school learning. The journal is a joint effort of NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) and ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers). In addition, he is on the board of NSTA (recently elected to be President-Elect) and BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies).

He worked at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, prior to moving to Seattle in 1977. At Pacific Science Center he has held a broad range of positions, from Director of the Planetarium in his early years to VP for Exhibits and VP for Education to Senior VP in more recent years. From August 2010 to February 2011, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, followed by four years as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

He is the author of 24 science books for children, including the popular Explore the T-Rex, which has sold more than 1 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. His most recent book, When the Sun Goes Dark, was published in time to prepare families to observe the All-American total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.

He is also co-author/editor of several curriculum resources for teachers, including Astro-Adventures and Universe at Your Fingertips. His most recent teacher resource book, Solar Science, is published by NSTA.

President
DeBakey International

During his career he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce and was the first person selected to serve as the Director of the Technology and Information Industries Office to promote exports of U.S. technology products and responsible for trade policy for this sector. Mr. DeBakey has been a teacher at the undergraduate and graduate level and taught international business at Georgetown Business School, University of Maryland University College and The American University.

George has degrees from Drake University (Bachelor of Science), American Graduate School of International Management (MIM), and Southern Methodist University (Master’s in Business Administration). He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan which is part of the Smithsonian Affiliate Program and the board of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. He was the founder of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. Mr. DeBakey was a lacrosse referee for 15 years.

Chief Marketing Officer
SkillsVR 

Through the marketing and development of groundbreaking technologies, Jeff Martin has spent his career applying innovation to multimedia product design. Martin continues to build new mobile commerce channels by changing the way consumers engage with entertainment, industry and philanthropy.

In 2001 and 2008, Martin founded Tribal Brands and Tribal Technologies, respectively. Tribal Brands developed mCommerce solutions for a variety of consumer brands and was one of the first companies to drive more than one billion dollars in mobile-based sales for the entertainment industry through 17 global carrier alliances.

Tribal Technologies created one of the first intelligent databases behind mobile applications that predicted consumer behavior and interactions, powering unique mCommerce channels, and providing incentive programs for consumers. The extensive mobile analytics platform captured actionable, psychographic data highlighting user tastes and preferences collected through mobile devices. In 2014, Tribal Brands and Tribal Technologies were combined to create Tribal Planet.

In 2013 Martin founded mPowering, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that transformed the way philanthropic causes collaborated and utilized mobile technology to fight global poverty; this helped change century-old behavior by building mobile rewards systems that provided instant, positive reinforcement for consumers that performed philanthropic actions around education, medicine and local commerce.

Martin was a founding member of the Verizon board of developers, served as a voting member of The National Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences / GRAMMY Awards, and was appointed by the Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations to the UNFPA Global Advisory Board for Innovation. Martin is a former international consultant for digital imaging technologies at the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF), through which he taught at Carnegie Mellon University’s Graduate School of Industrial Administration (GSIA). Martin has also taught at the Haas’ Executive Education Program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to Tribal Planet, Martin helped pioneer the entertainment and new media markets divisions at Apple in the early 1990s for 9 years and was a direct report to Steve Jobs after the NEXT acquisition.

Independent Director & Former SVP Supply Chain
Johnson & Johnson

Elaine is a seasoned supply chain executive, most recently with Johnson & Johnson, and has broad operations experience across manufacturing, engineering and logistics with a track record of translating strategy into action and results.  Throughout her 30 + year career, she has been driven by a strong desire to learn and drive improvements.  She has developed a reputation for developing talent and particularly enjoys helping women achieve their potential and therefore has been engaged in many STEM and women’s leadership initiatives.

Elaine is a past member of the Advisory Board for the Global Supply Chain Institute (University of Tennessee) and held a board position for the non-profit NORWESCAP which provided services for low income households.

Vice President
Shell USA, Inc Foundation
Director of Workforce and Community Strategic Initiatives
Shell USA, Inc

Dr. Frazier Wilson oversees Shell’s corporate and foundation contributions, workforce, community, employee giving, and education outreach programs. Wilson has worked at Shell for over 25 years in accounting and community relations roles. Prior to joining Shell, he worked in education as a teacher, volunteer, and mentor. He holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Jackson State University and an MBA and doctorate in Educational Leadership from Texas Southern University. 

Active in the community, Wilson is a graduate of Leadership Houston, American Leadership Forum, the United Way’s Project Blueprint and a mentor with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He currently serves on the boards for Smithsonian Science Education Center, Texas Southern University Foundation, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. And he also serves on the advisory councils for the Jackson State College of Business, KIPP Academy-Houston, and Texas Southern University College of Science and Technology.  He is chairman emeritus of 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston, a national mentoring organization.