CV/Portfolio

About me:

I have been involved in education & public outreach (as well as website development) at NASA since my summer internship in 1996. I have worked for the Lab for High Energy Astrophysics, the Lab for Terrestrial Science, the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, and the Astrophysics Science Division. As a result, I have had experience in both the space and earth sciences, though my academic background is in astrophysics and physics. Over the years I have: written articles about astrophysics; worked with teachers; developed activities and lesson plans; created posters and other print materials; designed and created websites, on-line learning centers, and games; and run high-profile social media accounts and events - all to help bring NASA science to the public and to educators. Currently, I am the social media lead for the JWST mission, and also writes and manages content on their project website (http://jwst.nasa.gov).

Education:

I received BS degrees in Physics and Astronomy/Astrophysics, with a Math minor from the Pennsylvania State University in 1997.

Interviews/Profiles:

- My NASA CV

- "Inside the James Webb Telescope’s Viral Moments—and How They Won a Webby for It"

- "Looking for Art in the James Webb Telescope," The New Yorker magazine, 2023

- A mention on Cosmosphere's Women's History Month page in 2022.  I'm not sure I deserve to be in such amazing company, but thanks for including me!

- A 2017 interview I did with the Girl Teaches Girl blog about women in STEM.  The blog is gone now, but I copied the interview Q&A to a page on this site to preserve it!


Portfolio:

Select Outreach/Social Media Highlights:

  • #UnfoldTheUniverse: organized launch social media campaign of Webb science-inspired art created by and contributed to our gallery by the public (300 submissions and counting).

  • 2020 update to "Scope It Out": updated my game for comparing JWST, Hubble, and a simple backyard telescope

  • 2016 JWST Artist Event: organized a highly successful social media event for artists to come create art in front of JWST

  • NASA Blueshift: between 2007 and 2016, wrote blogs (over 225) and was part of 50 podcasts for NASA Blueshift, the Astrophysics Science Division's "backstage pass" to the science, missions and people involved in NASA Goddard astrophysics.

  • "Amelia the Pigeon": team member for development of this K-4 feature for learning about change over time. (no longer available)

Misc work:

  • I assisted with the initial research and design for  "The Adventures of Amelia the Pigeon", an interactive web site that was developed to teach children in grades K-4 about remote sensing and change over time.  Below is a poster I made advertising Amelia the Pigeon that I'm partial to. Who doesn't love the Papyrus font?