Wendy Adams serves as the Get the Facts Out Executive Director. In this role she works with the society leaders and all project management groups to develop the strategic plan and yearly priority initiatives. Day-to-day she manages the project and directs all research and development activities. She has a true passion for the GFO mission that translates into getting operational needs met for less money.

She is also the Director of Teach@Mines at the Colorado School of Mines, an APS Fellow, and co-recipient of the 2018 American Physical Society Excellence in Physics Education Award. A Physics Education Researcher by training, she earned her PhD. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2007 under the guidance of Dr. Carl Wieman. Adams’ research focuses on formative assessment, curriculum design, and perceptions of the teaching profession. She is the author of the CLASS, which measures students’ perceptions of physics and how to learn physics; has done extensive work on problem solving evaluation; developed the interface design guidelines for the PhET Interactive Simulations; designed and developed several curricula including the Explore Sound project – K-14 materials for acoustics; and has most recently developed the suite of Get the Facts Out resources including the PTaP and PTaP.HE instruments (Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession) for students and for faculty in Higher Education, respectively.

Allie is a Research Associate and Program Coordinator for the GFO team. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Northern Colorado in 2014 and joined the GFO team at the start of the project in 2018. She is also the Program Coordinator for Teach@Mines at the Colorado School of Mines. Allie spends her work time planning GFO/T@M meetings and events, supporting the GFO champions, tracking budgets, and much more. She spends her free time going to concerts, fishing or snowboarding in the mountains, and soaking up family time with her husband and little boy Ryder.

Drew is a retired physics and math teacher from SW Michigan. During his 32 yrs of teaching he has taught a wide range of science and math classes from middle school to AP level courses. His main professional interests have been in the areas of science teacher preparation and development along with teacher recruitment. Drew currently serves as the representative for the American Association of Physics Teachers on the GFO Project Management Team. He also previously served as a Teacher in Residence for the PhysTEC Project at Western Michigan University and, on the national level, as a PhysTEC TIR coordinator as well as on the National Task Force for Physics Teacher Preparation. In addition to his life in the classroom, Drew also has many years of experience as a PD facilitator and curriculum writer at the state and local levels. Drew completed his undergraduate degree at Michigan Technological University and his doctoral studies in Science Education at Western Michigan University.

Ashley joined GFO in 2023 after working in marketing and communications in the start-up tech world. She helps GFO develop beautiful collateral, stay connected to Champions via email and newsletters, and brings exciting content and event updates to the GFO social media accounts. Ashley has degrees in Education and Marketing from Texas A&M University. Gig ‘em Aggies!

When she’s not working with GFO, Ashley enjoys hiking, teaching learn-to-swim lessons, and following college football.

Dawson Lang works with the Get the Facts Out Project, a partnership between four national societies that aim to repair the teaching profession’s reputation for the last four years. He regularly helps by giving student presentations at the collegiate level. When he is not providing these presentations to undergraduates, he is usually helping with tabling and speaking at a different conference for GFO. Dawson has led discussions at the Summer AAPT meeting, the Western Regional Noyce Conference, the National Noyce Conference, and TXAAPT.

Dawson is now teaching at Jefferson Academy Secondary School, where he has taught algebra, engineering, and AP Physics. He is also taking graduate classes at Texas A&M Commerce for his Master’s in Physics and is both  Noyce and Knowles Teaching Fellow. In his free time, Dawson enjoys coaching multiple sports teams. He is currently the head coach of his school’s softball and girls’ golf teams and the assistant coach of the girls’ basketball program. He also loves attending sports activities and supports all Denver professional sports teams. Dawson enjoys spending time with friends and occasionally volunteers to serve meals to the local homeless population.

Jia Wern pursued his Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics but found that he enjoyed teaching better.  After a stint teaching high school physics, he is excited to perform physics education research which is adjacent to his passion of teaching.

Sabina Schill is a Postdoctoral Associate with Get the Facts Out and Teach@Mines. Her work ranges from creating faculty- and student-facing resources to reviewing the GFO budget and expenditures.

Sabina received her B.S. in Physics from Westminster University (nee College) in Salt Lake City, UT. She got her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and completed a Postdoc in the field of engineering education with Engineering for US All (e4usa) at Florida International University. Sabina is interested in teaching, engineering education research, and K-12 STEM Education.

Liz serves as a Senior Ambassador for Get the Facts Out and Teach@Mines. Her work includes attending events on behalf of GFO and T@M for teacher recruitment and retention. Liz recently graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a BS degree in Engineering Physics and a Teaching Minor. She will start teaching Middle School in  the Fall of 2024!

Jared Breakall earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry education from Brigham Young University- Idaho. Following this, he taught middle school chemistry for a year before entering graduate school at Purdue University where he earned his Ph.D. in chemical education research. His research during graduate school focused on characterizing and improving multiple-choice assessment practices in general chemistry courses.

Currently, Jared Breakall is an Assistant Professor of Chemstry at Snow College and a research associate at the Colorado School of Mines where he researches STEM teacher recruitment efforts in the United States with the Get the Facts Out research project. He has taught middle school science in Idaho and has a Ph.D. in chemical education research from Purdue University.

Gay Stewart, Physics PhD, UIUC, 1994. At University of Arkansas 1994-2014, she focused on three interrelated issues: improving introductory courses, improving physics majors’ preparation for many careers options, and preparing future faculty, both high school and professoriate. NSF supported her work since 1995. UA saw a 10-fold increase in physics graduates and was one of six initial Physics Teacher Education Coalition institutions. Her GTA program grew into one of four NSF/AAPT “Shaping the Preparation of Future Science Faculty” sites. She was co-PI of an NSF-GK-12 placing fellows in middle school mathematics and science classrooms. Helping math and science teachers work together was central to her $7.3M NSF-MSP. Noyce grants supported pre-service, and master physics, teachers. She chaired the College Board’s Science Academic Advisory Committee, co-chaired the AP Physics Redesign commission, and Development Committee. In 2014, Gay transitioned to WVU, where she directs the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education.

Shari Stockero is a co-PI on the GFO project as part of her role as the Executive Director of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE). In this role, she oversees AMTE’s work on the project—work that is largely carried out by the AMTE GFO Task Force. She received her PhD in mathematics education from Western Michigan University. She is a Professor of mathematics education and Assistant Provost for Faculty Development at Michigan Technological University. Her primary research, supported by NSF, is improving the teaching of secondary school mathematics by conceptualizing high-potential instances of student thinking (MOSTs) that would support student learning of important mathematics, as well as conceptualizing the teaching practice of building on such high-potential instances. She is also co-PI on a NSF Noyce Master Teacher project focused on improving science instruction in Michigan and co-PI on a NSF Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF) project focused on technology acceptance by engineering faculty.

In June 2021, I started working as Head of Education at the American Physical Society and am on leave from UMaine.

I was honored to be named Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2015.

I’m a professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. From 2014 to 2016, I was chair of the department.

I’m a founding member of the UMaine Center for Research in STEM Education. My major work since 2010 has been in the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership, which has since morphed into the Maine STEM Partnership.

I’m a member of the UMaine Physics Education Research Laboratory (PERL). We call our research room the Oyster, because that’s where pearls grow. Bad humor, it’s what physicists do.

Over in the College of Education and Human Development, I’m involved in the School of Learning and Teaching through my work on the STEM Education Ph.D. 

Dr. Jean Lee is an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Indianapolis. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction/Mathematics Education from Indiana University Bloomington, and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate mathematics education and curriculum courses. She also continues to work in urban and rural classrooms to support K-12 preservice teachers, as well as novice and veteran mathematics teachers. Dr. Lee has been involved in leading various professional development projects working with teachers at the state and international levels. Her research interests include project-based learning and the preparation of teachers for high-need, urban school settings.

Professor of Chemistry & Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence B.S.Ed. University of Arizona, M.Ed. Northern Arizona University, Ph.D. Arizona State University. Ellen networks with faculty and programs across campus to fulfill the Center’s mission and support student learning through faculty development and innovation. Her research group focuses on improving conceptual understanding of chemistry by examining the dynamics of teaching and teacher change. 

Dr. Sarah Dyess is a former middle-school teacher and an associate professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. She received a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University, and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate mathematics methods courses for secondary and elementary teachers, mathematics courses for elementary teachers, and educational assessment courses. Her research interests are in teacher preparation, mentoring practices, and research-based instructional strategies for teaching mathematics and STEM education. Dr. Dyess uses GFO materials to recruit high school students to her university’s teacher preparation program, and will be joining the AMTE GFO Task Force in February 2024.

Dr. Amick joined the University of Kentucky faculty in 2014 after moving from Champaign, Illinois. Her educational background includes degrees in Elementary Education (BA), Educational Administration (MS), Mathematics Education (MA), and Curriculum & Instruction (EdD). She has ten years of experience at the middle level as a mathematics teacher, has worked with numerous pre-service teachers as a cooperating teacher, and served as a TA at the University of Illinois.

Currently at UK, Dr. Amick teaches mathematics methods courses at all levels (elementary, middle, & secondary), serves on several grants and college committees, supervises practicum students and student teachers, and serves as Chair for the undergraduate STEM PLUS (mathematics) program. Dr. Amick earned her National Board Certification in 2010 and currently holds a seat on the Board of Directors for the KY NBPTS Network. Since 2014 she has served as the Director of the STRIDES (Secondary Teacher Retention and Induction in Diverse Educational Settings) which is a research action cluster in APLU’s Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership. Her research interests not only include teacher retention but also in-service teacher professional development, pre-service teacher preparation, STEM education at the middle level, the National Board process for teachers, and inquiry based mathematics intervention.

Dr. Amick also does a lot of work for the CPM Educational Program such as assessment writing, coordinating research, and serving as a teacher leader to provide professional development to classroom teachers. In her non-work time she enjoys traveling with her husband and two kids, running, reading, and sneaking off to the beach as often as possible.

Glenn H. Waddell, Ph.D. is a Teaching Associate Professor and Master Teacher in the NevadaTeach program since 2015. Prior to joining NevadaTeach, he taught mathematics in the Washoe County School District for nine years. His research focuses on the use of social networking by educators in developing their professional development networks. In addition, he has a strong affinity for statistics, having taught college level statistics for several years.

Besnik Abrashi joined the GFO research project as a research assistant in 2021. He is from Flower Mound, TX and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of North Texas. Besnik is currently attending the University of Southern California to pursue a Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance.

Alex Adams is a Sr. Research Analyst with extensive expertise in spreadsheet analysis and data visualization.  He is working with the project one summer to create clean and efficient public facing analysis sheets, and conduct deep analysis of the extensive GFO data collected over the first five  years of the project.

During the academic year Alex is a high school CTE business teacher and is pursuing his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at CU Denver. He is a graduate of Colorado School of Mines and holds a B.S. in Economics.

Mr. Thomas Brown received his BA in Physics from Wake Forest University, Curriculum Specialist (MA) degree from Appalachian State University and is a NBCT in Adolescent Science.  He taught STEM courses at Watauga High School for 26 years and is currently the Teacher in Residence with the Appalachian State University Physics and Astronomy Department.  He has been involved with professional development workshops for teachers since 2000, with the main focus of these workshops being modeling pedagogy.

Beth is the Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Arts degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Kent State University. After receiving her doctorate, Beth was a post-doctoral fellow at the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota. She taught for one year in the physics department at Gettysburg College immediately following her post-­doctoral fellowship. In 1989 she joined the physics department at Bucknell University as an assistant professor, attaining full professor in 2002. She was named associate dean of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2000. As a faculty member she involved students actively in her research and ran a Research Experiences for Undergraduate site. In 2006, she was appointed as Provost, Dean of the Faculty, and Professor of Physics at Illinois Wesleyan University. As provost, Beth initiated a strategic curricular review and revitalized departmental reviews to enhance academic programs. At AAPT since 2011, Beth provides leadership on a number of physics education initiatives including providing professional development opportunities for high school teachers of physics, supporting physics educators in higher education through workshops for new faculty and topical conferences, and the PhysTEC project to increase the number and quality of high school physics teachers. As a long time member of AAPT, she enjoys working closely with many members to improve physics teaching and learning at all levels. She has assisted AAC&U Project Kaleidoscope in developing STEM faculty leaders and CUR to incorporate undergraduate research into the curriculum. Beth’s current interests include the structure and function of phospholipid membranes, physics education research, and increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in physics.

Elias Euler is a Research Associate at the Colorado School of Mines, involved in both the GFO project and Teach@Mines. A Colorado native, Elias holds a bachelor’s degree in physics with minors in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder and received his Ph.D. in physics from Uppsala University in Sweden with specialization in physics education research. He joined the GFO project in 2022 after a postdoc in physics education research at Lund University. Alongside his efforts with GFO, Elias’ research often centers on examining how students engage with physics content in embodied, technologically supported ways.

Dr. Etta Gravely, ACS Fellow, Associate Professor of Chemistry and previous Interim Chair of the Chemistry Department at North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T), earned the B.S. Degree in Chemistry from Howard University, two M.S. degrees (one in Chemistry and one in Secondary Education) from NC A & T and the Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the director of the chemistry education program and supervises the clinical intern experience for chemistry students. Etta chairs the Central North Carolina Section ACS Committee on Education. Her research focuses on combining educational technologies for student engagement in the chemistry classroom and studying the persistency of women in the field of chemistry in North Carolina. She is one of the role models featured in the book entitled African American Women Chemist in the Modern Era authored by Jeanette Brown, September, 2018.

Justine first became involved in Get the Facts Out in 2017 when she was an intern at AAPT and now is excited to support it in her new K-12 Program Manager role. With degrees and licenses in both Elementary Education and Physics Secondary Education, she began her career classroom teaching, where she had the opportunity to teach elementary STEM. However, the majority of her classroom experience was in the 9th grade physics classroom. Now Justine is transitioning out of the classroom as the  K-12 Program Manager at the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Dr. Timothy M. Hendrix is an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. A member of AMTE since 2002, Tim was the first Project NExT Fellow supported by AMTE. Since that time, Tim has served two terms as Chair of the Membership Committee, and then from 2009 – 2013 as AMTE’s first Website Director. Involved in teaching mathematics and working with both pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers, he has a long history of providing Professional Development for teachers in North Carolina, Illinois and throughout the southeast and midwest.

Dr. William Hunter is a professor of chemical education at Illinois State University. Hunter has extensive experience and expertise in evaluation and chemical education research; the improvement of teaching and learning in P-20 science; and the recruitment and retention of science teachers, particularly pertaining to beginning teachers of chemistry. Hunter works with PIs across the country on NSF- and Department of Education (DOE)-funded projects, including the evaluation of the Robert Noyce Master Teacher Fellows Project at Southern Illinois University, and he serves on several other institutions’ Robert Noyce external advisory boards (e.g., Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University Carbondale).

Nora is currently working on applying to the CS combined masters’ program with the plan to do something related to CS education.

Caleb Litster is a preservice mathematics educator from Ames, Iowa. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Math Education from Brigham Young University, with a minor in Statistics. In his free time, you can find him building with Legos, composing piano music, or using probability to win family games.

Steve Maier is the chair of the Department of Natural Science at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and has served as a physics faculty member and science education director there since 1998. He also served as a part-time HS physics teacher (2017-21). He has extensive experience in organizing P-20 STEM outreach programs including BEST Robotics, NWOK Regional Science Fair, PTRA ToPPS summer institutes, and youth Math & Science Academies. Steve is a consultant for the OKSDE, serving as a science standards framework writer, and was a PhysTEC Recruitment Grant awardee (2014-17). His passion is to make science (and science teaching!) more accessible to P-20 learners. Steve’s current areas of research include investigating the connections & nuances of professionals in learning communities, and exploring pre-service students’ transition from “student learner” (pedagogy) to “teacher learner” (adult learning).

W. Gary Martin is an endowed professor at Auburn University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics education and serves as co-director of the MTE-Partnership, a national coalition of universities working to improve the preparation of secondary mathematics teachers. He has been a writer on multiple standards documents from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), including Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, Focus in High School Mathematics, and Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All, as well as the Standards for the Preparation of Teachers of Mathematics produced by the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. Over the years, he has written and presented on a wide range of issues in mathematics education. Previously, he served as the director of research for NCTM and held positions at the University of Hawaii and Northern Illinois University. He began his career as a high school mathematics teacher in Cheapeake, VA. He is currently the chair of the leadership team for the Strategic Taskforce to Amplify Mathematics Pathways (STAMP), working to improve pathways from K-12 to post-secondary and the workforce for all of Alabama’s students.

Connor serves as a front line developer and an Ambassador for Get the Facts Out and Teach@Mines. His work includes attending events on behalf of GFO and T@M for teacher recruitment and retention and website editing. Connor graduated from Colorado School of Mines in December 2023 with a BS degree in Computer Science.

Amy Roth McDuffie, Ph.D., Professor of Mathematics Education at WSU, researches and leads professional development for teachers with a focus on teachers’ use of curriculum materials to support students’ learning of mathematics. In addition, she conducts research into equitable instructional practices to include diverse learners. Dr. Roth McDuffie has served as a PI/co-PI on National Science Foundation (NSF) Projects including Mathematical Modeling in Cultural and Community Contexts (CORE), Teachers Empowered to Advance Change in Mathematics (DR K-12), and Developing Principles for Mathematics Curriculum Design and Use in the Common Core Era, (DRK-12). Dr. Roth McDuffie served as the series editor for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education books (2014-2016 editions), and has published regularly in leading national and international journals in mathematics education and teacher education.

Kaitlin Miller is a Colorado native, music fanatic, and education enthusiast. She joined the Get the Facts Out research project as a research assistant in 2021. Kaitlin received a Bachelor of Music Degree in harp performance and music theory from the University of North Texas and is now attending the University of Southern California for a Master of Music Degree.

I am an Instructor in the Physics Department and affiliated with the STEM Education Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  Prior to being at WPI, I spent 14 years as a physics teacher and department head at Leominster High School in Massachusetts.

Gwyneth joined the team in 2023 as a research assistant for both the Get the Facts Out project and Teach@Mines. She grew up in Colorado and earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree in STEM education at the Colorado School of Mines and hopes to become a K-12 computer science teacher upon graduation.

Monica Plisch is Director of Education and Diversity at the American Physical Society (APS), where she has worked for over a decade to build a portfolio of national programs that have been recognized for their positive impact in the physics community. Among other programs, the Bridge Program and the National Mentoring Community are aimed at increasing participation of underrepresented ethnic and racial minorities in graduate and undergraduate education. Dr. Plisch also serves as staff liaison to the APS Committee on Minorities. She completed her doctoral studies in physics at Cornell University. Monica is a Fellow of the APS.

Faith Ann Santucci is a bookworm, baking enthusiast, and lover of hiking. She joined the Get the Facts Out project as a research assistant in 2021. A graduate of the University of North Texas, Faith Ann holds a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance, and she is currently attending Florida State University pursuing a Master of Music degree.