BIO

Life for this veteran Environmental Science teacher mimic's nature - the important elements just do not always fit into traditional boxes. A California native, Cindy was given an amazing education by both of her parents who appreciated and shared the importance of the natural world from both academic and artistic perspectives. As a child, trips to the ocean and into the high Sierra gave her perspectives on both the complex beauty as well as the fragility of the environment, lessons she has always held close. In high school she was fortunate to have gifted instructors who valued the interconnections of the traditional sciences.

This holistic approach continued into her training at the University of Washington where she majored in Zoology, with emphasis on ecology and natural history. Once the formal influence of her ecology instructors had become her own personal passion, she decided to work at developing environmental science courses geared toward high school students who had not yet been exposed to the essential elements of ecology. Teaching is a gift that Cindy embraces with an unorthodox gusto. Sharing the vital lessons of environmental sustainability has always been her mission. She has explored many remote places in the world with her ecologist husband, and these treks to places such as Papua New Guinea, Eniwetok atoll, northern Alaska and the Caribbean only reinforce the importance of helping students to see the universal lessons of maintaining our planet's complex and fragile existence. These vital lessons apply to her two sons as well as every student she has ever met, no matter what age, culture, race or socioeconomic group. Cindy sees her own children and each of her students as a citizen of this planet, who, through concrete scientific education and an understanding of personal values, can be a part of the ultimate solution of maintaining the health of our world.

Her latest efforts are working with the International Baccalaureate (IB) science students at Mira Loma High School in Sacramento, Ca. on a multi-year, interdisciplinary creek project at a local watershed. This ecological study, the Arcade Creek Project, brings together several hundred IB biology, physics, chemistry and environmental science students to evaluate the health of this urban creek. By doing rigorous ecological assessments students are taught to understand the issues and associated solutions. This project is well respected in the Sacramento community and serves as a template for other such studies. Having taught Environmental Science for over twenty-five years, Cindy has touched the lives of many, and has been honored by numerous awards including the San Juan Unified School District's Teacher of the Year in 2000, being named as one of the Sacramento Area's top ten teachers in Sacramento Magazine, and being named as an Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.

About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes more than 58,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.