Let's Go to Space: BLUE-SKY Learning

Today Kevin meets with Takeisha Stokes. Takeisha has over a decade of government experience specializing in legislation and politics. With a masters in Government with a focus on International Politics, Takeshia is a born advocate, keeping people at the forefront of her mind in all she does. Currently, she works as a legislative analysts for the Florida House of Representative, which is how we met her during our most recent Space Day advocacy efforts. This episode will be a must listen for our policy lovers! As always, stay tuned after for the takeaway

Today we meet with Rebecca Vieyra, a physics educator who coordinates the American Association of Physics Teachers' NASA HEAT team, a group of educators and researchers committed to advancing heliophysics education in formal classrooms. She is originally from Illinois, where she taught high school physics for seven years. She is a 2013 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and is an alumna of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, where she was placed at NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate for one year. Since then, she served as the first K-12 Program Manager of the American Association of Physics Teachers, program manager for the Inter-American Teacher Education Network, and is now Director of Global Initiatives at PhET Interactive Simulations for the University of Colorado Boulder.

Today, Kevin and I meet with two high school students from The Greene School in West Palm Beach Florida who have been making

Today Kevin and I meet with Dorina Girbovan has three Masters in Science and one Ph.D. in Physics. As the G100 Romania Country Chair for the Space Technology & Aviation Wing, she advocates the promotion of women in science and technology. She promotes space education for teachers worldwide as NASA’s International Ambassador.

She is the founder and CEO of Beyond The Stars Education, a NonGpvernemental Organization that aims to help Romanian students with disabilities access science and space educational resources, training, and space camps.

And Dorina has been a speaker and astronaut moderator in multiple science and space events worldwide. In 2023, she was the only Romanian speaker at the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston. As a certified trainer, she leads STEM teachers’ workshops, training events, and professional developments across Romania and the US. With over 23 years of experience teaching, in Romania, Canada, and the USA, her students won first prizes in multiple international science contests held by the Royal Society of Chemistry, COBIS, ESA, and NASA.

Dorina is a Physics Cambridge Assessment examiner, a Science curriculum developer, a Science and space curriculum expert, and a book author and she strongly believes that change needs to start with the teachers.

In this solo episode, Kevin shares about the successes of this year's SmallSat Education Conference!

Taylor Peterson is a third year PhD student studying aerospace engineering at the

Chet Knoer has been a lifelong space enthusiast and it all started with a visit to Space Academy at the age of 12. Now understand that As a child, Chet thought that to work in space meant you must be an inventor. They found out later that meant being an engineer.

Over the last 8 years, Chet has been a part of the University at Buffalo Nanosatellite Lab (UBNL), starting with integration and testing for the GLaDoS mission. Later they helped build the short cycle lab, and is now in the role of Senior Program Manager at UBNL. Presently Chet is completing their doctoral studies in Aerospace, specializing in Controls and Estimation, with a Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, and a Masters in Material Design Innovation. Outside the lab, Chet is actively involved in supporting UB undergrad. We love Chet’s story and think you will as well.

Holly Pascal is a driven Aerospace Software Engineer at L3Harris, a distinguished Fortune 500 company. She will be featured in WomLead Magazine and stands out as a member of the highly selective Engineering Leadership Development Program at L3Harris, showcasing her mission to create a positive impact through transparency, consistency, and paying it forward. Beyond her engineering prowess, Holly is an accomplished author with an upcoming book titled "The College to Dream Job Blueprint”. Her passion lies in guiding college students toward fulfilling career paths as she shares strategies and tactics for accelerated income and advancement. Holly's work encompasses public speaking engagements at colleges, mentoring, and her LinkedIn newsletter "Skyrocket to Success." As a professional, her journey is one of continuous learning, innovation, and empowerment. As a multifaceted technical engineer, she exemplifies the power of knowledge and passion in shaping one's own path to success.

Link to Oscar Curet's survey. Thttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgk98vNq5VDFX-Xi8mGT0GRpOjhD8WEdWUlTERUyxmgPrLGA/viewform

Today we meet with Catie Spivey, a Mechanical Engineer and graduate of Portland State University. Catie was the lead on PSU's first CubeSat which launched in 2022. During her senior capstone project, she worked on a prototype liquid fueled rocket airframe and found she really enjoyed that subject area. She then finished a Masters of Engineering at Portland State in a single year and was selected as a prestigious Brooke Owens Fellow at United Launch Alliance. She currently works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. And of course there is a Kevin Simmons inspiration that I am sure he will share with us. Stay tuned after for the takeaways.

Today we meet with a group of amazing ed tech innovators who help make teachers and student lives easier/ Evelyn McCulloch is the Director of Educational Technology at i-Tech Support, Inc. She supports schools throughout Florida helping them to build a positive digital culture through professional development. She is a Google Workspace for Education Certified Trainer and an Apple Teacher. Joining her are colleagues Michael Rinyu, Trish Evans and Brian Cox all of whom had experience in the cclassroom before joining ITech. We have had the pleasure of working with this group at our current school and know you will learn much about the ever changing ways technology improves classrooms. Stay tuned after for our takeaways.

ITech website: https://www.i-techsupport.com/educational-tech/