2020-21: Dr. Kama Almasi, Yachats OR. Kama is a middle school math and STEM teacher from a small town on the central Oregon Coast. In the summer of 2021, wildfires burned in their county, threatening the community and destroying property, so Kama was interested in wildfire science. She also worked on a unit about water for upper elementary school students. After the fellowship, Kama did a second Einstein Fellowship year on Capitol Hill. In 2022, she began working for the State of Oregon on educational policy.
2021-22: Sergio de Alba, Los Banos CA. Sergio grew up in the farming community where he later became a teacher. Finding he was not reaching his 5th graders with the science lessons he planned, he asked them what they needed, and they said “build a garden.” So he did, and over the course of a few years he transformed science teaching in that school and for the community through the multiple gardens and native trees he and his students planted. At USGS, Sergio worked for the Water Mission Area, and developed five units on water and human interactions. Follow the our Water, Our Lives units linked below.
2021-22: Joel Truesdell, Hilo HI. Joel came to us from Kamehameha Schools where he taught high school chemistry and coached runners. He helped us bring traditional Hawaiian mo’olelo (stories) into our teaching resources about Kilauea. He also developed a Native Youth in STEM program for Navajo and Hopi 8th graders in Arizona. After the fellowship, Joel retired from teaching and is now a consultant on culturally relevant teaching and indigenous knowledge in STEM.
2022-23: Candyce Curry, Birmingham AL. Candyce taught science in middle and high school, and prior to her fellowship year, she was working as a district STEM curriculum specialist with Birmingham City Schools. Candyce has a strong interest in educational equity. At USGS, she began working with the DC Public Schools and the Federal Urban Waters Partnership to develop lessons for K-13 students on urban waters and environmental justice. She also helped us launch our USGS Data in Schools website, to help teachers integrate data into their science lessons. After the fellowship, she became an Alabama Science In Motion Specialist with the Alabama State Department of Education.
