Course Management:

ROBERTA JOHNSON, NCAR Online Education Director, heads the Office of Education and Outreach at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, as well as a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research's High Altitude Observatory. She holds a Ph.D. (cum laude) in Geophysics and Space Physics. She is the executive director of the National Earth Science Teachers Association and the principal investigator on the Windows to the Universe project. Before joining UCAR, she worked as a research scientist at the University of Michigan's Space Physics Research Laboratory and as a research physicist at SRI International. She has pursued research interests in several areas, including modeling and analysis of aspects of the coupled magnetosphere ionosphere thermosphere system, paleoclimatology, isotope geochemistry and atmospheric chemistry.

SANDRA HENDERSON, Program Coordinator, is a science educator at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, where she serves as UCAR’s Coordinator for Teacher Professional Development.  She oversees program evaluation and educational research efforts, online course development, facilitates professional development workshops for geoscience educators from across the country, develops classroom teaching materials, and prepares staff scientists to participate in educational outreach activities.  Before becoming a science educator, she worked as a project scientist at the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, studying the effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. 

SUSAN FOSTER, Program Advisor, works collaboratively as the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach deputy director with educators and scientists in UCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAR), schools, universities, and science centers. She manages and helps to develop weather, climate, and Earth system science education programs supporting exhibits, public tours, community outreach, and undergraduate and teacher professional development workshops. She served formerly as a high school Biology and Chemistry teacher and as executive director of several environmental education organizations. She earned her bachelors degree in zoology and masters degrees in both secondary education and biology.

KIRSTEN K. MEYMARIS, Instructor, is a science educator at UCAR's Office of Education and Outreach.  She holds an M.S. in Mathematics with an emphasis on educational technologies, a B.S. in Computer Science, and a B.S. in Mathematics.  Kirsten designs and develops Web-based professional development materials for science and math teachers.  She has been the lead technologist for international and national citizen science campaigns in astronomy and phenology.  Before joining UCAR, Kirsten taught high school and undergraduate courses in mathematics and educational technology in the United States and Europe.

RANDY RUSSELL, Instructor/Developer, is a science educator at UCAR's Office of Education and Outreach. He holds a Ph.D. in educational systems development, an M.S. in aerospace engineering, and a B.S. in astrophysics. In addition to instructing professional development courses for science educators, Randy develops content for the Windows to the Universe web site and creates and presents professional development workshops on various Earth and space science topics. Before joining the staff at UCAR, he worked with faculty at Michigan State University to develop 17 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses for MSU's Virtual University, developed interactives with TERC as companion resources for a high school Earth science textbook, worked in a research lab at Michigan State developing new multimedia technologies including the Microbe Zoo and the award winning Personal Communicator, and programmed satellite tracking software at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

DENNIS WARD, Instructor/Developer, is a science educator and instructional technologist for UCAR’s Office of Education and Outreach, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver. He holds an M.S. in astronomy and a B.A. in physiological psychology, as well as a graduate certification in geographic information systems. He has been with UCAR since 1995 and considers himself fortunate to work with a talented group of people on a wide variety of projects involving citizen-science, informal science education, and professional development for educators. He is especially interested in the use of both spatial and system modeling in the classroom. Before joining the staff at UCAR, he worked as a training consultant in the private sector, producing print, video, and computer-based training materials, after serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy.