I firmly believe in considering the strengths and interests of my audience when teaching, presenting, or communicating in any venue. Promoting all children with best practices and research based strategies is always at the forefront of my thinking. I have been a National Urban Alliance for Effective Education mentor since 2009.
Having science curriculum and instruction experience totaling over 30 years, I hold a B.S. from Texas A&M University, and have graduate studies at the University of Houston, the University of Houston Clear Lake, and Texas A&M University with and M. Ed. in Educational Leadership. Currently I am a doctoral candidate in Transformational Change. I have presented educational materials published with NASA in over 75 workshops nationally and internationally. My publications, using metrics, quantitative, and qualitative data analysis, and assessment data disaggregation, include work completed with the NASA 21st Century Explorer Project, the NASA Fit Explorer Project: Train Like an Astronaut, and my latest publication Space Nutrition which can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/slsd/about/divisions/hacd/education/kids-zone.html#.U6BPk5RdUXs.
Supporting NASA education, I have designed elementary and middle school STEM educational materials concerning the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration and created proposal calls for federal funding regarding many NASA educational projects. I previously served on the Houston, TX Mayor’s Wellness Council, representing the NASA Johnson Space Center Human Research Program Education and Outreach Project. In 2008 I lectured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival “50 Years of NASA Celebration” in Washington D.C. on Space Shuttle and International Space Station water recovery and recycling systems. I joined the BRiLLKiDS Lecture Series, and have lectured alongside many dignitaries from around the globe including the Queen of Jordan, Rania Al Abdullah and Sidney Poitier. Twice, I was invited by the Scottish government to lecture at The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland for the Careers Scotland Science Extravaganza and the Scottish Space School on the elementary bilingual education project, The NASA 21st Century Explorer. I have initiated and sustained NASA partnerships with the Houston Independent School District, and Major League Sports teams including the Houston Dynamo, the LA Galaxy, and the DC United, as well as government agencies including, but not limited to, the Food and Drug Administration, Human Health and Services including The Surgeon General, The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Before joining the NUA team, my previous work experience included science and technology facilitation in public schools; internal facilitation for Federal Teaching and Learning Grant recipients; curriculum correlation for textbook publishers; creating college bound culture in high schools across the nation for working from President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize monies through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and curriculum development, publication, and instruction for the Michael Dell Children’s Museum.
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. (Ghandi, 1922).
Lisa Neasbitt
lneasbitt@msn.com