Mentorship is often an important part of any budding career, but many professionals across sectors stay in contact with mentors and mentees throughout their careers as a source of ideas, insight, and inspiration. For a student just starting their journey in the world...
Hands-on research and the practical application of scientific concepts is critical for students as they learn and grow throughout their education. Allowing students to see the real world relevance of the subject matter they are learning goes a long way towards...
Headwaters Science Institute and RePicture have teamed up to jump-start the professional development of young scientists. Students participating in our Headwaters Research Experience will be able to sit in on a RePicture workshop at the end of each program to gain an...
At some point in time, while reading the news, you may have come across the topic of a potential decline in curiosity in the younger generations. Children are born curious and can often seem like they ask an infinite amount of questions but this process is at the...
In this Student Research Journal Highlight, we will be talking about the research of Arnav Gupta, who participated in our HRE during the lockdown time of 2020. Like most students at that time, Arnav was curious about how the pandemic was affecting various factors of...
In the Headwaters Research Experience, we help students understand the importance of biodiversity and the ecological interactions between plants and animals.
Program Manager
Bryn manages school programs and summer camps for Headwaters. She recently received a Master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Her Master’s research focused on ocean acidification impacts on sea urchin larvae. Bryn grew up in the Tahoe area and is passionate about providing outdoor education to students and allowing them to take advantage of the outdoor space they have access to. In her free time, she enjoys anything outdoors, especially when she gets to spend time in the water.
Program Manager
Beth Fitzpatrick has a background in scientific research, is a Ph.D candidate in ecology, and has experience in planning and providing engaging STEM outreach programing to K-12 students. Beth oversees school programming and summer camps for Headwaters. She has experience teaching in postsecondary education, study design and execution, and grant writing.
Program Manager and Outreach
Jennifer Cotton manages our Research Experience and Lunch with a Scientist Program. She previously worked as a secondary science content specialist and public high school science educator. She has over a decade of experience in writing standards based curriculum. She has worked with OCEARCH to create a STEM based curriculum and has represented that organization at many outreach events.
Programs
Mary Ellen holds a BA in Biology/Environmental Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has worked as an environmental education guide for more than 10 years, balancing that with substitute teaching K-12 in the local school district. For fun she coaches a high school Nordic ski team and tries to get in as much play time outside, skiing, running and biking. She hopes to inspire students to be curious about natural processes in order to foster a deeper appreciation of our environment.
Science Mentor
In the fall of 2016, Dan completed his B.S. in plant physiology at Pennsylvania State University. He is currently completing his M.S. Biology degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania working under Dr. Josiah Townsend, researching the evolutionary relationships between the herpetofauna, mainly amphibians, of Mesoamerica and assessing levels of biodiversity in this region. Dan intends on continuing his academic interests in the future by pursing a PhD in systematics, ecology, and evolution. He is also focused on developing effective teaching methods of scientific information to all age groups.
Grants and Programs
Anne holds a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno where she researched the impacts of human-induced changes on sexually selected signals of a butterfly. She has also been a part of several scientific outreach programs, including a community science project (Pieris Project) and the University of Nevada’s Museum of Natural History. Anne is excited to continue sharing the scientific process and research with a diversity of students through the Headwaters Science Institute!