Join us for our next Florida Education Funders meeting! Florida Education Funders support a culture of high expectations for all students, in and out of school, from early childhood through postsecondary education, leading to career success.
Featured Speakers
Taunya Nesin
Director, STEM Networking and Partnerships, Science and Engineering
WestEd
Taunya Nesin conducts studies to support the development of high-quality instructional materials and edtech solutions for K–12 math and science teachers and students. She works with states and districts on various issues, including professional learning implementation and charter school framework revisions. She served as the content lead for the NAEP Science framework update for the duration of the project, which ran from June 2022 through February 2024.
Nesin joined WestEd after serving as a Senior Program Officer at the Gates Foundation, where she focused on grants related to the availability, smarter demand, and implementation of high-quality K–12 instructional materials. Her prior experience includes work at the DC Public Charter School Board and policy research at The George Washington University. She also previously served on the advisory boards for DC STEM and OpenSciEd. Nesin was an editor at the National Science Teachers Association, National Geographic School Publishing, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where she developed curricula for K–5 science and English and language arts. She began her career as a public school teacher in Hoboken, Atlanta, and Boston.
Jennifer Self
Program Manager, Mathematics, Science, & Engineering
WestEd
Jennifer Childress Self is a national leader in STEM education, working for the past two decades on systemic improvement of STEM education systems to support and inspire all students. As a Program Manager at WestEd, Self supports states and districts as they work to transform math and science programs. In addition, in her role as the Science Review Lead for NextGenScience, Self has a focus on deepening understanding throughout the education field of the features of high-quality STEM instructional materials.
Immediately prior to joining WestEd, Self worked with several international organizations to promote research-based approaches to STEM education in developing countries. Previously, Self served as Director of Instructional Support for Science at Achieve, coordinating the development of the Next Generation Science Standards and facilitating state adoption and implementation processes. Self also led the development of the Smithsonian’s Center for Building Awareness of Science Education and served as its director for 4 years before joining Achieve.
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