ISEOST Event > Panelists and Presenters
Keynote Speaker: Julie I. Johnson
Julie I. Johnson comes to us from the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) where she serves as the first John Roe Chair of Museum Leadership. In this capacity she assists the museum in furthering the implementation of its strategic plan, provides support and leadership for review of organizational and programmatic functions, facilitates the exploration and expansion of relationships and collaborations with community entities, and helps in the identification of resources to advance the SMM mission.
From 2003-2005 Johnson was on loan to the National Science Foundation (NSF) where she was a Program Officer in the Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education Division. While there she worked to fund innovative projects that support the public understanding of science, have an impact on the field of informal science education, and further what is known about learning science in informal settings.
Concurrent with the NSF assignment, Johnson served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, operator of the New Jersey State Aquarium, where she had come up through the ranks since the Aquarium opening in 1992.
Prior to working at the Aquarium, Johnson taught science and math, and was a consultant and curriculum writer for the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. She holds B.S., M.S., and M.A. degrees in biology, instructional technology, and deaf education. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Visitor Studies Association and is a member of several professional organizations including NSTA, AWIS, AAM and ASTC. Johnson is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Association of Museums, and has served as faculty for the Getty Leadership Institute’s Museums Leaders: the Next Generation.
PRESENTERS
Rebkha Atnafou, MPH
Rebkha Atnafou is Director of The After-School Institute (TASI) and, as such, is responsible for the overall management of the training and technical assistance center for after-school programs in Baltimore City. TASI’s purpose is to build the capacity of after-school program providers so that they can deliver high quality services in caring, supportive environments that allow children and youth to develop civic, academic, artistic, and athletic talents and skills. Ms. Atnafou has expanded the work of TASI outside of Baltimore by organizing the annual Eastern Regional Conference for Afterschool. Ms. Atnafou also serves on the 21st CCLC Board of the Maryland State Department of Education, on the Board of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, and as a National Advisor to the Out-of-School Time Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from SUNY Binghamton and loves working with young people.
DeAnna Banks Beane, M.Ed.
DeAnna Banks Beane is currently the Director of Partnerships for Learning at the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Inc. (ASTC), where she previously spent 10 years directing the national initiative YouthALIVE! (Youth Achievement through Learning Involvement, Volunteering and Employment). Prior to that, Ms. Beane developed and directed a national program to increase minority involvement in mathematics, science and technology in her position as Director of Education for the National Urban Coalition. Her experience includes an extensive teaching background in science and independent consulting in elementary/middle grade mathematics, science program development and assessment, equity issues, and parent/community involvement in mathematics and science education. She is also a nationally known advocate for educational enrichment and employment training opportunities for youth underrepresented in science, mathematics and technology.
Ms. Beane has published many articles and was guest co-editor for the April 2005 issue of Curator: The Museum Journal. Ms. Beane received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Howard University and a Master of Education from Rutgers University.
Minda Borun
Minda Borun is the Director of Research and Evaluation at The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is also a principal of Museum Solutions, for which she consults on exhibit and program evaluation, planning, and staff training for various museums, informal learning institutions, organizations, and federal agencies. Ms. Borun served three terms as chair of the Committee on Research and Evaluation of the American Association of Museums and is a founding member, serving ten years on the board of The Visitor Studies Association.
Ms. Borun has published numerous articles and four monographs on studies of visitor learning in the museum setting. She is currently conducting an NSF-funded study of the relationship between children’s learning styles and their preferences among online educational activities.
Ms. Borun conducted graduate work in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University and field research in a village community in South Asia.
Ron Fricke
Ron Fricke wears many hats at the Philadelphia Zoo. He is Vice President of Education, with oversight of all their education programs including the Treehouse, Children’s Zoo, Zoo on Wheels outreach, youth programs, international eco-tours, and the guest experience in the PECO Primate Reserve. He co-directs the Junior Zoo Apprentice Program (JZAP), which he created in 1996. JZAP prepares for the preparation of underserved teens, aged 14 to 18, for careers in conservation with opportunities to gain job and life skills, increased confidence, and career knowledge. In his role as media spokesperson, Ron shares the Zoo’s conservation message on local and national television shows such as Good Morning America, Good Day Philadelphia, Wild Moments, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, The Crier Report, and Comcast’s Your Morning. Ron also led the Zoo’s participation in the establishment of the Mid-Atlantic YouthALIVE! Network (MAYA!), providing professional development opportunities for member museum youthworkers, as well as the Zoo and Aquarium Teen Program Assessment Consortium (ZATPAC), an initiative of six zoos and aquariums working to strengthen the evaluation capacity and assess impact of youth programs within the field of informal science education.
Ron spent eight years as a classroom teacher, developing science curricula and conducting teacher training on the incorporation of live animals into the classroom setting, as well as assisting with the design of Ports of Discovery, a family learning space, for the Carnegie Science Center (CSC) in Pittsburgh. In 1991, Ron moved full-time to the field of informal science education when he became an exhibit/program coordinator at CSC.
Ron is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
Martin Friedman, Ph.D.
Martin Friedman is the founder and Executive Director of the National School and Community Corps (NSCC), an AmeriCorps program, and EducationWorks, a nonprofit organization he established to house the NSCC and develop new programs. Earlier, he served with the New Jersey Department of Higher Education as Director of the Offices of Teacher Education, College-School Collaboration, Inter-Agency Programs, and Executive Director of the Office of Community Service and Special Programs. While there he directed the New Jersey Math-Science Teaching Improvement Program. He co-chaired the USDOE’s Advisory Committee for the Eisenhower Program and served on the board of the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse at Ohio State University.
Dr. Friedman has been on the faculty at Colgate University in education, philosophy, and peace studies. At the University of Delaware he helped improve the quality of instruction and taught courses in philosophy and educational evaluation.
He has a B. A. from Antioch College (Ohio) and a Ph. D. from Cornell University.
Jane Horwitz, MST
Jane Horwitz is the Associate Director of the NSF-funded initiative, Penn Science Teacher Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, which offers masters degrees and other professional development opportunities for middle and high school science teachers. Prior to assuming this role, she led the Penn-Merck Collaborative for Science Education in the Graduate School of Education, providing programming for K-8 educators from Philadelphia public schools. She has degrees in botany (A.B., Smith College) and science education (M.S.T., University of Pennsylvania), and has taken additional graduate-level course work at Penn. She is the former Director of Education of the New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden; and has also worked at The Franklin Institute, the Morris Arboretum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where she was involved with both school and general public programming and exhibits. Ms. Horwitz consults with institutions and organizations involved in science education, helping them design, deliver and evaluate their programming.
Janet Kelley
Janet Kelley is the Executive Director of the Partnership for After School Education (PASE).
Ms. Kelley was one of the founders of PASE in 1993 and co-chaired the Steering
Committee until its official incorporation in 1998.
Prior to assuming the role of Executive Director of PASE, Ms. Kelley was the
Executive Director of Project Reach Youth (PRY) for 14 years, a New York City
youth agency that became, under her leadership, a citywide model for innovative
education and youth development. Ms. Kelley has built PASE from a small
steering committee of after school professionals to a 4 million dollar
networking, capacity-building, and professional development organization. She is
widely recognized for her expertise in program development, fiscal management,
and Board development. Before joining PRY, Ms. Kelley was the Director of Call
For Action, a national helpline organization affiliated with radio and TV
stations; Director of Career Development at the Court Employment Project (now
CASES); and seminar designer at the United Nations Church Center. She has a
B.A. degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master's degree from Yale University.
Cheryl B. Oakman, Ph.D.
Cheryl Oakman is the founder and Director of the Center for Youth Development (CYD), an initiative of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania established in 1998. CYD provides training and technical assistance to improve the quality of youth services, to enhance the competencies of adult stakeholders to incorporate the positive youth development (PYD) approach into their routine practices, and to strengthen the capacity of neighborhoods and communities to support PYD and the coordination of quality youth development services and opportunities. Previously, Dr. Oakman spent 18 years developing and managing programs that help to ease the transition of youth in foster care to self-sufficiency. Her credentials are backed with over 26 years of professionalism in the youth services field, with expertise in policy, planning, program development, proposal development, curriculum development, program evaluation, and community collaboration. She is a licensed clinical social worker, a certified employability life skills educator, and an experienced trainer dealing mainly with issues related to positive youth development and child welfare. Dr. Oakman has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Welfare from the Pennsylvania State University, a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Temple University, and a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College in Social Work and Social Research, with an emphasis on policy formation and program development.
Nancy Peter, M.Ed.
Nancy Peter is the founder and Director of the Out-of-School Time Resource Center (OSTRC) at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Peter attended the University of Massachusetts where she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Ecology, Behavior, and Husbandry and her Master of Education degree in Instructional Leadership. She is also a certified elementary teacher, secondary science teacher, and instructor in Pennsylvania Pathways’ Trainer Quality Assurance System (TQAS). Ms. Peter is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education Degree, from the University of Pennsylvania, in "Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum."
From her origin in the field of science and environmental education, Nancy Peter worked as the School Programs Coordinator for Amherst’s Hitchcock Center for the Environment, as Director of Education at Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences, and as Curriculum Manger for the Fairmount Park Commission. Her interest in at-risk youth and experience with multiple afterschool programs led to her position as Senior Policy Specialist for Youth and Afterschool in Philadelphia’s Office of Children’s Policy. Prior to joining the CRYSP staff, Ms. Peter worked in Philadelphia’s Best Practices Institute as their After-School Project Manager.
Howard W. Tucker
Howard W. Tucker spent 12 years designing and implementing youth
development, after school, and academic enrichment programs. He designed
systems and approaches for providing technical
assistance/training/Community Collaboration for youth-serving agencies
such as PRIME, Inc., Penn State's Cooperative Extension, The Philadelphia
Education Fund, West Philadelphia YMCA, the United Way of Southeastern
Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia Safe and Sound. As Executive Director of
the West Philadelphia Child Care Network, he leads an agency that provides
training and technical assistance to enhance the quality and
professionalism of teachers and caregivers of young children.
