NSF Noyce Program Directors

Kathleen B. Bergin, Program Lead
Kathleen B. Bergin, the Noyce Program Lead, came to her permanent assignment at the National Science Foundation after she retired from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.  In addition to passions for equity and diversity in STEM education, Bergin has focused on the importance of changing how teachers/instructors and learners engage in the process of questioning.  She brings her expertise as a biologist by training and educator by passion to the Noyce team and is a strong advocate for STEM majors becoming teachers.  Contact her at kbergin@nsf.gov.

Jennifer Ellis, Program Co-Lead

Jennifer Ellis, Noyce Program Co-Lead, is from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she is an associate professor and director of STEM Education.  Dr. Ellis brings experience in secondary STEM teacher preparation. Her research interests include effective integration of educational technology to enhance STEM teaching and learning as well as in accessible cyberlearning via iterative instructional design. Contact her at jtellis@nsf.gov.

James Alvarez, Program Director

James Álvarez joined NSF from The University of Texas at Arlington where he is a Professor of Mathematics and Distinguished Teaching Professor. His research and professional interests are in undergraduate mathematics education in the areas of mathematical problem solving, mathematical preparation of secondary teachers, mathematics faculty professional development, and strategies for increasing student success in STEM gateway mathematics courses. In addition, he has extensive experience in designing courses that target preservice and in-service secondary teachers’ development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and in developing lessons that integrate ideas about teaching and learning mathematics in undergraduate mathematics courses. Contact him at jalvarez@nsf.gov.

Mindy Capaldi, Program Director

Mindy Capaldi is from Valparaiso University where she is an Associate Professor of Mathematics & Statistics. Her research in Mathematics Education has ranged from studying textbooks and definitions to analyzing the use of note sheets for online exams. Other education-related scholarship has involved inquiry-based learning, flipped classes, and additional methods of increasing engagement in mathematics classes. Recently, Capaldi edited a book for the Classroom Resources Materials series of the AMS titled Teaching Mathematics Through Games. She is glad to be able to work with the Noyce Program and further its goal of encouraging future STEM teachers. Contact her at mcapaldi@nsf.gov.

Michael Ferrara, Program Director

Michael Ferrara joined NSF as a permanent program officer after serving as a professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver.  His education research interests include understanding how outreach and peer teaching experiences impact undergraduate STEM majors and the mathematical and pedagogical preparation of K-12 teachers and graduate teaching assistants.  He brings experiences as an informal and classroom educator, a research mathematician, and a mentor to teachers and learners in a breadth of settings to his work at NSF.  Contact him at mferrara@nsf.gov.

Bonnie Green, Program Director

Bonnie A Green comes to NSF from East Stroudsburg University (PA). Bon is an experimental psychologist specializing in research on success particularly as it relates to academic achievement. Through the application of cognitive development, psychometrics, and data science, she is seeking ways to improve educational access, achievement, and success particularly for individuals coming from vulnerable or oppressed backgrounds. Prior to attending graduate school, Green taught 5th/6th grade science, math, and technology, and is thrilled to be a part of the Noyce Program. Contact her at bongreen@nsf.gov.

John Haddock, Program Director

John Haddock recently joined NSF as a Program Director after serving 50 years as a professor of mathematics, classroom instructor, and sometimes administrator at the University of Memphis. His research interests focus on delay differential equations and dynamical systems as well as mathematics and STEM education. The education research interests include preparation of graduate teaching assistants for the teaching-research STEM workforce and networking and development of STEM identity for undergraduate students. Contact him at jhaddock@nsf.gov.

Thomas Kim, Program Director

Thomas D. Kim is from St. John Fisher College where he is a Professor of Chemistry and served as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences.  His research focuses on Chemistry Education Research, specifically the examination of the expert-novice divide as it pertains to the use and perception of external representations.  He served as a program director for the Noyce program during a previous term as a rotator in the Division of Undergraduate Education at NSF.  Contact him at tkim@nsf.gov.

Jennifer Lewis, Program Director

Jennifer Lewis is a Program Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education. She has served as professor of chemistry, affiliate professor of sociology, and assistant vice provost for faculty research at the University of South Florida. Her professional expertise is in educational evaluation and discipline-based education research. A Fellow of the AAAS and the ACS, she has received the ACS National Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry for the principled development and application of rigorous assessment methodologies to support curriculum development and student learning.  Contact her at jenlewis@nsf.gov.

Kimberly Tanner, Program Director

Kimberly Tanner joins NSF from San Francisco State University where her laboratory – SEPAL: the Science Education Partnership and Assessment Laboratory – investigates what is challenging to learn in biology, how biologists choose to teach, and how to make equity, diversity, and inclusion central in all science education efforts. As a Science Faculty with an Education Specialty, she is engaged in discipline-based education research, directs multiple K-16+ biology education reform efforts, and is deeply engaged in faculty professional development.  Contact her at ktanner@nsf.gov.

Patrice Waller, Program Director

Patrice Waller joined NSF from California State University, Fullerton where she serves as an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education. Her research interests include preservice and in-service mathematics teacher development, specifically targeting practices of culturally responsive mathematics teaching, and teaching mathematics for social justice. Dr. Waller has also published in the area of improving clinical experiences in secondary mathematics education and engaging mentor teachers and teacher candidates during the methods courses. Contact her at pwaller@nsf.gov.