Center Alumni
Virginia Byrne
Graduated 2020 - PhD in Technology, Learning and Leadership
Virginia researches climate and equity in online and technology-enhanced learning environments. Her work investigates how social media and instructional technology are changing how we teach, learn, and connect in higher education.
Disertation: Women’s Cyberbullying Experiences and the Relationship to Social Presence in Online Discussions
Currently Virginia is an Assistant Professor for Higher Education & Student Affairs at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Raevathi Ramadorai
Graduated 2020 - MA Science Education
Raevathi is interested informal science education, increasing access and equity in STEM, and increasing STEM retention from K-12 through higher ed.
Currently Raevathi is a program manager at the science education nonprofit, Society for Science & the Public, managing the Broadcom MASTERS, a national middle school science research competition.
Kelly Mills
Graduated 2019 - PhD in Science Education
Kelly is generally interested in integrating novel technologies in science classrooms. Specifically, she has looked at how social media can be used to illuminate funds of knowledge in science classrooms.
Dissertation: Illuminating Children's Scientific Funds of Knowledge Through Social Media Sharing
Currently Kelly is a project director of computational thinking for Digital Promise in Washington D.C.
Hannah Jardine
Graduated 2019 - PhD in Science Education
Hannah is an educational developer and education researcher. Her professional experience, research, and teaching are all centered around promoting student-centered, active, equitable educational experiences at the post-secondary level. She is particularly interested in research and programming around the notion of students as partners, or students and faculty/academic staff collaborating to improve teaching and learning.
Dissertation: Instructional Partnerships Between Science Faculty and Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Assistants: Implications for Formative Assessment
Hannah is currently an Instructional Coach at The Catholic University of America.
Emily Hestness
Graduated 2016 - PhD in Science Education
Emily is a science educator and researcher with a passion for advancing scientific literacy to effect positive change in our world. She designs science learning experiences that inspire curiosity for people of all ages, manage educational programs and projects from the ground up, lead outreach efforts to broaden participation in science learning experiences, and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams using research and evaluation to build new knowledge about how people learn and use science. Her background and interests include environmental education, urban agriculture and garden-based education, climate change education, informal science education, education for global awareness, and citizen science.
Dissertation: A Figured Worlds Perspective on Middle School Learners' Climate Literacy Development
Currently Emily is an education specialist in urban agriculture at the Smithsonian's U.S. Botanic Gardens in Washington D.C.
Amy Green
Graduated 2017 - PhD in Science Education
Amy is passionate about the science of learning and the learning of science. She explores the intersections of learning and science with teachers, scientists, and other educators in STEM education.
Disseration: The 'Next Generation' of Constructivist Reform in Science and STEM: Case study explorations of the practices of students and the perspectives of teachers
Currently Amy is a research associate in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Merijke Coenraad
Graduates in 2022 - PhD in Technology, Learning, and Leadership
Merijke's research interests include equity, learning technology, K-12, computing (CS/CT), research-practice partnerships, and co-design.
Dissertation: Techquity in the Classroom: Designing to Include Equity and Social Justice Impacts in Computing Lessons
Currently, Merijke works as a learning experience designer.