Informal STEM Education (ISE) Leaders Panel: Informal Science Education Networks, Associations, and Repositories
Speakers: Jamie Bell, Catherine McCarthy, Anita Krishnamurthi
The presenters provide an overview of informal science education networks, associations, and repositories that are essential to the broader informal science education field and to improving the quality of informal STEM learning. They highlight how these resources support the sharing of expertise, the development of effective public engagement methods and practices, capacity building, professional learning for informal educators and scientists, and the amplification of impact at scale. Collectively, these efforts can increase science literacy and strengthen public trust in and engagement with science.
Speaker Bios
Jamie Bell
I am currently a Senior Advisor for Informal STEM Learning with the Programs team at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) where I also served as the Project Director and Principal Investigator of the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) from 2010 to 2023. Prior to that I worked in a variety of leadership roles in the informal STEM education field, including in youth programs and museum exhibit development at the Exploratorium, teacher professional development at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and as an exhibit consultant at TERC. I had the privilege of spending 3 years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia developing a Center of Learning with Petrosains: The Discovery Center. I have the honor of being named a 2021 education Fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a 2022 ASTC Fellow, and am currently a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication. I recently had the pleasure of working with the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw as a Fulbright specialist. My areas of interest are youth program development, learning theory, and museum exhibit facilitation.
Email: jbell@astc.org
Catherine McCarthy
Catherine McCarthy serves as the Director of the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Network) and is Project Manager Senior for the Arizona State University Center for Innovation in Informal STEM Learning (CIISL) in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society.
McCarthy has more than twenty-five years of experience developing, implementing, and studying STEM learning and public engagement on a variety of science and technology topics.
The National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Network) is a community of informal educators and scientists dedicated to supporting learning about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) across the United States.
Project topics include: sparking Interest in STEM among Hispanic learners (NASA, $1 million, 2023-2026, co-I), engaging Hispanic communities in NASA science (NASA, $5.8 million, 2022-2025), STEM Learning Ecosystems (NASA, $4.9 million, 2021-2025), exploring the solar system (NASA, $1million, 2021-2024), Earth and space science (NASA, $14.5 million, 2016-2023, co-I), build a Mars habitat exhibit (NASA, $1 million, 2020-2022, PI/co-I), Moon adventure game (NASA, $.8 million, 2019-2021), chemistry (NSF, $2.9 million, 2016-2021), nanoscale science (NSF, $40 million, 2006-2016), synthetic biology (NSF, $2.1 million, 2014-2017), and sustainability (Rob and Melani Walton Foundation).
McCarthy has worked on NISE Network projects focused on increasing the capacity of informal science educators to engage local communities and broaden participation in STEM. Hands-on activity kits with educational materials and professional learning resources distributed to up to 350 partners nationwide include: Voyage through the Solar System (2023), Moon Adventure Game (2020), Explore Science: Earth & Space (2018-2020), Explore Science: Let’s Do Chemistry (2018), Frankenstein200 (2018), Building with Biology (2016), SustainABLE (2016), Museum & Community Partnership Explore Science (2016), NanoDays (2008-2015).
She has also provided content and technical oversight of the nisenet.org website for informal science education professionals and oversaw the application and award processes for mini-grants, kits, and exhibitions.
While serving as Project Leader at the Science Museum of Minnesota, McCarthy provided oversight and leadership for several aspects of NISE Network projects including the development and distribution of the Sun, Earth Universe exhibition (52 copies installed nationwide) and the 400-square-foot Nano exhibition (93 copies installed nationwide).
In her prior role as Grant Projects Director at the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY she managed a variety of exhibition and educational projects as well as overseeing the traveling exhibitions program. Projects included It’s a Nano World: Smaller than a Spot on a Ladybug traveling exhibition, Too Small to See: Zoom into Nanotechnology traveling exhibition, Mars and Stars astronomy exhibition, Sagan Planet Walk asteroid station, Chemistry Challenge activities, creative re-use Reinvention Station, health exhibits, and integrated pest management exhibits.
Prior to joining the museum field, she worked for local government agencies and nonprofits in environmental management, solid waste, hazardous waste, and pollution prevention. She served on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations including formerly serving as President of Board of the Cayuga Nature Center.
She holds a BS from Cornell University in natural resources and environmental engineering technology and an MS and PhD from UC Davis in ecology, focusing on environmental policy analysis and planning.
Email: cmccarthystem@gmail.com
Anita Krishnamurthi
Anita Krishnamurthi is the Senior Vice President for STEM & Youth Civic Engagement at the Afterschool Alliance and also serves as the President of the Collective for Youth Empowerment in STEM & Society (CYESS), an initiative of the Afterschool Alliance. In these roles, Anita leads the organization’s national STEM and youth civic engagement initiatives, including the Afterschool STEM Hub and CYESS. She launched CYESS to support afterschool programs in connecting the growing presence of STEM learning with young people’s desire to create change—equipping them with the knowledge and tools to define, address, and advocate for solutions to challenges in their communities.
Anita holds a PhD in Astrophysics from The Ohio State University and transitioned to a career in informal STEM learning, drawn by its powerful intersections with equity, social justice, and social mobility. She is deeply committed to expanding equitable access to science and supporting youth as agents of change. Anita has previously worked at the U.S. National Academies, NASA, and the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest philanthropy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the STEM Education Coalition and is Board Chair of the National Girls Collaborative.
Email: akrishnamurthi@afterschoolalliance.org