President Hosts "Educate to Innovate" Campaign Awards Presentation

 The White House

Background on the President's Event on the "Educate to Innovate" Campaign Today

Today,  the President honored educators from across the country for awards received for excellence in mathematics and science teaching and mentoring in his second “Educate to Innovate” Campaign event for excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education in the East Room. The President also announced key new partnerships in his campaign to help reach the Administration’s goal of moving American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade. The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden also attended. 

The President was introduced by Barbara Stoflet of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Barbara is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Background on the Presidential Awards:

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), awarded each year to individuals or organizations, recognizes the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science or engineering and who belong to minorities that are underrepresented in those fields. Candidates for the Presidential mentoring award are nominated by colleagues, administrators, and students from their home institutions.  The mentoring can involve students at any grade level from elementary through graduate school. For biographies and a list of the teachers who received the PAESMEM and will be recognized, CLICK HERE.

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)  is awarded annually to outstanding pre-college-level science and math teachers from across the country. The winners are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators following an initial selection process done at the state level. Each year the award alternates, going either to science and math teachers in grades K through 6 (as it is this year) or to those teaching in grades 7 through 12. For biographies and a list of the teachers who received the PAEMST and were recognized, CLICK HERE.

EXPECTED ATTENDEES

Vice President Joe Biden
Dr. Jill Biden

Administration Officials

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu 
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan 
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden 
Dr. Arden Bement, Director, National Science Foundation 
Regina Dugan, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Dr. Bruce Fuchs, Director, Office of Science Education, National Institutes of Health
Deputy NASA Administrator Lori Garver
Undersecretary of Energy Steven Koonin 
Undersecretary of Energy Kristina Johnson 
Assistant Secretary of Education Thelma Melendez

Members of Congress

Re[resentative Bart Gordon, D-TN, Chairman, Science and Technology Committee 
Representative George Miller, D-CA, Chairman, Education and Labor Committee 
Representative William Lacy Clay, D-MO

Recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Vickie Ahlstrom (Pleasant Grove, UT)
Charles Bertsch (Polson, MT)
Mary Black (Dubuque, IA)
Georgia Boatman (Kennewick, WA)
Michele Brees (Burien, WA)
Stacie Broden (Waterbury, CT)
Sharon Brown (Severna Park, MD)
James Brown (Stillwater, NY)
Jane Callery (Ashford, CT)
Susan Carter (Saint Charles, MO)
Cary Cermak Rudolf (Roseburg, OR)
Melissa Collins (Memphis, TN)
Kathleen Conroy (Charlotte, NC)
Zan Coonce (Reno, NV)
JoAnne Deshon (Newark, DE)
Jeri Doane (Edmond, OK)
Kari Dresow (Sedalia, KY)
Keri Dowdy (Kimball, MN)
Christa Duthie Fox (Essex Junction, VT)
Candy Ellard (Austin, TX)
Amy Ellis (Starkville, MS)
Gay Erb (Boise, ID)
Kathryn Eyolfson (Aurora, CO)
Diana Fesmire (Alamogordo, NM)
Erin Flynn (East Walpole, MA)
Karen Fredricks (Newark, DE)
Christi Fricks (Pendleton, SC)
Sharon Hall (Maineville, OH)
Lana Hansen (Littleton, CO)
Angela Hansen Cook (Fargo, ND)
Michelle Harris (Anita, IA)
Sherry Helus (Wamego, KS)
Kathleen Hill (Kalispell, MT)
Rebecca Holden (Harrison, TN)
Laura Hulsebus (Chugiak, AK)
David Ireland (Hermosa, SD)
Dana Islas (Tucson, AZ)
Haley James (Madison, AL)
Kristen Jarboe (Frankfort, KY)
Linda Kehr (Klamath Falls, OR)
Sandra Kelish (Stafford, VA)
Barbara Kelley (Grapevine, TX)
Rebecca Kitts (Pierre, SD)
Amy Knerr (Carmel, IN)
Susan Kunze (Bishop, CA)
Anne Magaha (Hatboro, PA)
Mary Meggett (Charleston, SC)
Teresa Minogue (Webster, NH)
Patricia Morgan (Norman, OK)
Kimberly Mueller (Cinnaminson, NJ)
Susan Naylor (Parkersburg, WV)
Karen Nesbit (Franklin, WI)
Cathleen Newton (West Hartford, VT)
Jennifer Norford (Charlotte Amalie, VI)
Monica Norwood (Little Rock, AR)
Suzanne O'Brien (Washington Township, MI)
Halley Page (Athens, GA)
Sally Pellegrin (Avon Lake, OH)
Carrie Persing (Chester, VA)
Jon Phillips (Grand Blanc, MI)
Suzanne Pilon (Hilton, NY)
Sara Rebecca Pittard (Ormond Beach, FL)
Susan Poage (Berkeley Heights, NJ)
Kendra Pullen (Shreveport, LA)
Amy Radden (Casper, WY)
Charles Reynes (Castro Valley, CA)
Debra Reynolds (Denham Springs, LA)
Kamilla Riek (Saint Louis, MO)
Jennifer Rising (Lake Forest, IL)
Natalie Robinson (Pleasant Grove, UT)
Patia Rountree (Statesboro, GA)
Regina Scott (Greenwood, IN)
Deborah Seaver (Milford, MA)
Wendy Shelden (Cocoa, FL)
Cheryl Silcox (Anchorage, AK)
Jeanette Simmons (Pontotoc, MS)
Kimberly Spencer (Yarmouth, ME)
Barbara Stoflet (Minnetonka, MN)
Melinda Storey (Birmingham, AL)
DeAnn Swofford (Olathe, KS)
Liane Tanigawa (Waipahu, HI)
Pamela Thompson (Industry, ME)
Loreen Whalen McMains (Herman, NE)
Nola Wilkinson (Decatur, IL)
Carol Wooten (Cary, NC)
Seanyelle Yagi (Kailua, HI)

Recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

Frank T. Bayliss Jr., San Francisco State University, CA
Laura Lynne J. Bottomley, North Carolina State University, NC
Goldie S. Byrd, North Carolina A&T State University, NC
Suzzette F. Chopin, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX
Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, University of Central Florida , FL
Patricia A. DeLeon, University of Delaware, DE
Nancy L. Elwess, SUNY College, Plattsburgh, NY
Benjamin C. Flores, University of Texas, El Paso, TX
Ashanti Johnson, University of South Florida and Institute for Broadening Participation, FL
Susan M. Kauzlarich, University of California, Davis, CA
Philip Kutzko, University of Iowa, IA
Cato T. Laurencin, University of Virginia, VA
Jerzy R. Leszczynski, Jackson State University, MS
Gabrielle Lyon, Project Exploration, Chicago, IL
Mary Anne Nelson, University of New Mexico, NM
Steven B. Oppenheimer, California State University, Northridge, CA
Stacy Phelps, The American Indian Institute for Innovation, SD
Kennedy J. Reed, Lawrence Livermore Natl. Lab. and the University of California, CA
Kenneth S. Sajwan, Savannah State University, GA
Vladimir Strelnitski, Maria Mitchell Association, Nantucket, MA
Valerie Wilson Cranston, Leadership Alliance, Providence, RI
Richard Zare, Stanford University, CA