BrainPOP's Advisory Board reviews our content and works closely with our writers and animators to create a fun and educational resource.

Kristen Ahne District Psychologist Ms. Ahne received her M.A.P.D in school psychology from Farleigh Dickinson University and her SAC certification and B.A. from Montclair State University. Currently she is a school psychologist for the Jersey City Board of Education in New Jersey. She works primarily with early elementary students and works closely with teachers, families, and students to provide behavior modification and instructional strategies, functional behavior analysis, behavior assessments, and techniques in anger and crisis management. Previously, Ms. Ahne has worked as a special education teacher providing individualized assessment and education plans and as a group therapy co-leader at West Bergen Mental Healthcare Center for Children and Youth in the AD/HD and Asperger's Related Services department.

Michael Baer Physical Sciences Advisor Mr. Baer teaches earth and space science, physics, and chemistry at South Adams High School in Berne, Indiana. He earned his B.S.Ed. from Indiana University in Biology/Chemistry Education and his M.A. in Physics and Astronomy Education from Ball State University. He has experience as a teacher, department chair, coach, Dean of Students, Director of Student Guidance, youth pastor, and crisis intervention counselor. Mr. Baer has received many teaching honors, among them the NEA/White House Commission Distinguished Teaching Award; the Indianapolis Star Distinguished Teacher Award; American Energy Producers Teacher Vision Award; and a Walmart Teacher of the Year award. He also received a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship award, with which he spent six months digging for dinosaurs, meteorites, and Anasazi artifacts across the American southwest. Mr. Baer delights in creative endeavors and spends time exploring; composing and performing music; writing curricula for professional development; and participating in youth ministry.

Patrice Dawkins-Jackson Reading Advisor Ms. Dawkins-Jackson received her M.Ed in early childhood education from the University of Central Florida, where she also received her Florida child care director credentials and her B.S. in early childhood education. Currently she is a kindergarten teacher at Dunwoody Springs Charter School in Atlanta, Georgia. She serves as a Georgia State Site Coordinator for her school and liaisons between teachers and administrators and works as a mentor for first-year teachers and students. Ms. Dawkins-Jackson is the recipient of an IBM Literacy Grant, which helped her purchase materials that foster vocabulary development, research skills, phonic awareness and a SMARTer Kids Grant, which provided funds to purchase SMARTboards and SMARTboard materials for her school.

Ali Eeds Social Studies Advisor Ms. Eeds graduated from the University of California at Davis with a bachelor's degree in history, a teaching credential in social studies, and a master's degree in education. She’s been teaching at Vacaville High School since 2004 and has taught a myriad of subjects, including government, economics, and American law (though her favorite subject is world history). Ms. Eeds has served on the Vacaville Unified School District’s Pacing Guide and Curriculum Committee and has been the district’s High School Technology Coordinator since 2007. In addition, Ms. Eeds was named teacher of the year for Solano County for the 2008-2009 school year. Her instructional style is student-centered and includes frequent hands-on activities and technology-based lessons. In order to bring history alive for her students, she integrates photos, music, and film into her Power Point lectures, and she creates video podcasts for her students as study tools.

Netia Elam Life Sciences Advisor Ms. Elam received her B.S. in biology and secondary education from Salisbury University in Maryland, and then began her teaching career at the middle school level in Vermont. Ms. Elam also taught middle school in North Carolina and Maryland before settling in Virginia as a biology teacher at Forest Park High School. During her tenure at Forest Park, she earned the Educator of the Year award for 2006-2007, and was also a finalist for the Washington Post Outstanding Teacher award in 2007-2008. Currently, Ms. Elam is working at Bull Run Middle School as an Instructional Technologist, where she assists other educators in incorporating technology into the curriculum.

Hope & Lou Gerbi Math Advisors Mr. Gerbi received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and his Masters Equivalency in Elementary Education from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He has been teaching in the East Allegheny School District for 15 years. During his tenure he has taught language arts, social studies, science, and math in both 5th and 6th grade. Currently he is a 5th grade math and science teacher at Logan Middle School. He has worked on the curriculum writing team for his district in the area of math science and reading. Lou has also served as a consultant for a math textbook producer. Mrs. Gerbi also received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and her Masters Equivalency in Elementary Education from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. She has been teaching in the East Allegheny School District for 10 years. During her career as a teacher in the district Hope has taught language arts, social studies, science, and math in 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th grade. Currently she is a 6th grade math and science teacher at Logan Middle School. Mrs. Gerbi has also worked on the curriculum writing team for her district in the areas of math and social studies. She has been a member of the Math Science Collaborative of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which coordinates and focuses resources to improve math and science education regionally and to raise student achievement. Mr. and Mrs. Gerbi have both been the recipients of numerous Great Idea Grants from the Mon-Valley Education Consortium, and they have been nominated for teacher of the year by former students.

Steven W. Goss Technology Advisor Mr. Goss has been a teacher and educational administrator since 1995. He received his Ed. D. in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College Columbia University and holds an M.A. from New York University and a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in Art Education. As a teacher, Mr. Goss has instructed a diverse student audience, including K-12, undergraduate and graduate learners. Currently he is teaching courses concerning Information design and online education. Along with his teaching responsibilities, he also serves as the Associate Director of NYU SCPS Distance Learning, in which he collaborates with faculty on course development and supports creative uses of educational media. His research interests include online learning theory, new media arts, and web design strategy. Mr. Goss has received awards for his presentations on blogging and student-centered learning and has had articles published by Cabinet and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center.

Teryl Magee Technology Advisor Ms. Magee has been a teacher since 2000. She received her B.S. in History and Elementary Education and her M.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Ms. Magee began her teaching career with kindergarten students at Dogwood Elementary and is now teaching fourth grade at Mooreland Heights. She has been nominated for several awards, including Disney’s Teacher of the Year. In 2009, she was named to the National School Board Association's "20 to Watch" list of education technology leaders. Ms. Magee is passionate about integrating technology into the curriculum, thus preparing her students to be productive 21st-century citizens. Her students create movies, podcasts, and more and engage in learning with students from across the United States and beyond. Another passion of Ms. Magee’s is helping teachers, from kindergarten to high school, learn how to use technology in effective ways in their classrooms.

Robert Miller General Advisor Robert Miller received his M.Ed in special education from the University of Louisiana and currently teaches 4th and 5th grade exceptional education students in Port Orange, Florida. In conjunction with Florida International University and the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach, Mr. Miller coauthored curriculum for Florida students teaching media literacy and deconstructing advertising. Mr. Miller has also authored various interdisciplinary units for Volusia County heritage projects for his school district. A two-time recipient of the Crystal Apple Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching, he is passionate in using an inquiry-based approach to teaching science as well as in incorporating technology in his everyday lessons. Mr. Miller also serves as an advisor to an after-school media club, in which he engages his students in creating film shorts, animation, and other school productions. In 2009, he was named an Apple Distinguished Educator and included on the National School Board Association's "20 to Watch" list of education technology leaders.

Lorraine Prince Writing Advisor Ms. Prince received her Masters of Teaching from the Institute of Education in London, England and her B.S. in elementary education from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She has over ten years of experience in early childhood education in both England and the United States. She currently teaches kindergarten at Dunwoody Springs Charter School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she designs and implements core curriculum and creates assessment plans. Ms. Prince is passionate about integrating technology and leads an interactive media classroom made possible by grants from Dell and Promethean.

Dr. Michelle Scribner-MacLean Science and Math Advisor Dr. Scribner-MacLean received her Ed.D in science and mathematics education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and her M.S. in biological sciences from the University of Nebraska, Kearney. She received her M.Ed in elementary education curriculum and instruction from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Currently she is an visiting assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and an adjunct faculty member in the Masters in Science Education Program at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

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