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2024 LMIT Professional Development

2024 LMIT Professional Development
June 12-14, 2024 - Cambridge, MA

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Lemelson-MIT Speakers

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Stephanie Couch, PhD
 
Executive Director, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Stephanie Couch is the Executive Director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. In this role, she leads a team which help educators and students across the U.S. learn ways inventors find and solve important problems. She has dedicated her career to K-12 and higher education policy issues and is an active participant in a national invention education research group.
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Michael Cima, PhD
 
Faculty Director, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Michael J. Cima is a David H. Koch Professor of Engineering and a professor of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1982 (phi beta kappa) and a doctorate in chemical engineering in 1986, both from the University of California at Berkeley. Michael is also a Fellow of the American Ceramics Society; was elected to the National Academy of Engineering; holds the David H. Koch Chair of Engineering at MIT; is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors; a co-director of MIT's Innovation Initiative; and the associate dean of innovation for the School of Engineering at MIT.
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Leigh Estabrooks, EdD
 
Invention Education Officer, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Leigh Estabrooks leads the expansion of the Lemelson-MIT Program’s invention education programs and initiatives across K-14 in the U.S. Since joining the program in 2006, she expanded IvE from one high school grant initiative, InvenTeams ®, to programs across all grade spans including community college. This expansion included professional development and experiences which changes the way teachers teach and students learn through IvE. 
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Liza Goldstein
 
Invention Education Administrator, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Liza Goldstein is an Invention Education Administrator at the Lemelson-MIT Program, where she leads the K-12 curricula development of hands-on invention activities and oversees local outreach efforts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A big believer in showing kids that they can solve problems impacting their lives or communities, Liza is passionate about invention education. Liza’s background in curricula development, teaching, and STEM education, have been an asset to growing Lemelson-MIT’s collection of resources and connecting with local organizations.
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Christine Lawlor-King
 
Invention Education Administrator, K-14, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Christine Lawlor-King exemplifies an educator who is both pioneering innovation and entrepreneurship learning in the classroom, and a visionary in her own right. She created the first district-wide K-12 STEM program in CT; was the catalyst for implementing invention education curriculum in 500+ CT schools; and established Invention Convention Worldwide (annually brings innovation & entrepreneurship teaching to 100k+ students globally). She is currently a lead consultant with the Connecticut Invention Convention.
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Edwin Marrero
 
Invention Education Administrator, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Prior to joining Lemelson-MIT, Edwin taught middle school mathematics in New York City public schools. He implemented unique curricula to incorporate engineering principles into core math content, providing young women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other disinvested communities with an opportunity to apply their mathematical learnings to topics and research fields more relevant to their daily lives.
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Brenda Payne
 
Invention Education Administrator (California), Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Brenda Payne has been an innovator in the field of Invention Education for K-12 students for 30 years, providing training for educators, program leaders, and administrators throughout the state of California. Brenda has provided the professional development for the CAIC curriculum teachers use in their classrooms and after school programs.
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Cristina Sáenz, PhD
 
Invention Education Manager, Lemelson-MIT Program
 
Cristina Sáenz is the Invention Education Manager at Lemelson-MIT (LMIT).  Cristina leads the Partners in Invention Education team as they work with educators and administrators to build thriving and sustainable invention education pathways in diverse communities throughout the United States.

Guest and Invited Speakers

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Rob Schneider
 
Executive Director, The Lemelson Foundation
 

Rob Schneider is the Executive Director of The Lemelson Foundation, the world’s leading philanthropic organization with a mission to improve lives through invention.   The Foundation inspires and enables the next generation of inventors and invention-based enterprises to promote economic growth in the U.S., and social and economic progress in low- and middle- income countries. Impact Inventing guides the Foundation’s work to support the people and systems needed to advance invention through the creation of products that have positive social impact, reflect environmental responsibility and lead to financially self-sustaining businesses.

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Mercedes Balcells-Camps, PhD
 
Principal Research Scientist, MIT, Institute of Medical Engineering & Science
 

In 2006 Dr. Balcells became a MIT research scientist and profesora titular in Bioengineering at her alma mater, Institut Químic de Sarria (Ramon Llull University). Through her dual appointment at MIT and Institut Químic de Sarrià, Dr. Balcells has promoted innovative, highly productive research and educative exchanges between both institutions and countries. As a direct consequence of her work in extending MIT’s international opportunities for students and faculty she created the MIT-Spain Program.

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Cynthia Breazeal
 
MIT Dean for Digital Learning/Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
 

Cynthia Breazeal is a pioneer of social robotics and human-robot interaction.  Her work balances technical innovation in AI, UX design, and understanding the psychology of engagement to design personified AI technologies that promote human flourishing and personal growth. Her research group actively investigates social robots applied to education, pediatrics, health and wellness, and aging. As part of this mission, her group also develops design justice frameworks for human-robot interaction and inclusive AI literacy education for under-served K12 students.

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David Coronado
 
Senior Program Officer, The Lemelson Foundation
 

David Coronado joined The Lemelson Foundation as a Senior Program Officer in 2016 to help equip schools and school districts across the United States with innovative tools and resources that help empower youth with cutting-edge skills and confidence to design their own futures.

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Katrina Hull
 
High School Educator, Lemelson-MIT Invention Education Fellow
 

Katrina Hull has been teaching in the high school classroom for over 12 years. Most recently she was a Math turned CTE Engineering Teacher at McKay High School, a fully comprehensive Title I high school in Salem, Oregon. Her primary focus is giving students a solid foundation while in high school that they can use as a springboard to jump into what is next. She has a deep passion for seeing all students succeed and giving students opportunities to connect to role models that look and sound like them. 

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Katie Krummeck
 
Program Officer, The Lemelson Foundation
 
Katie Krummeck joined The Lemelson Foundation in 2023 as a Program Officer. Focusing on Invention Education, Krummeck leverages the power of design to drive change in social systems, and uses the design process and maker-based instruction to create student-centered learning experiences that develop students’ creative confidence, optimism, and problem-solving skills. 
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Kathleen Lanman, EdD
 
Education Program Specialist in the Office of Education at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
 

Kathleen Lanman is an Education Program Specialist in the Office of Education at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Prior to joining the USPTO, Dr. Lanman taught STEM Science to middle grade students. She presents regularly at science, technology, and education conferences on topics related to STEM, invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. As part of this advocacy, Dr. Lanman worked with Georgia Tech InVenture Prize to bring professional development directly to teachers in rural parts of the state. All of these experiences led her to her current role, where she works to bring invention and innovation education to students and teachers nationwide.

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Christopher Rogers, PhD
 
Assistant Professor, California University State, Sacramento
 

Christopher is an Assistant Professor at California University State, Sacramento (Sociology). Drawing from Critical Race Theory, Abolition, and Care, his work explores mechanisms of power (racialized and gendered) to conceptualize new pathways toward liberation through education, medical health, and community initiatives. 

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Doug Scott
 
High School Educator
 

Doug Scott has taught high school engineering, robotics, and technology for 19 years. Doug has led numerous robotics and competitive technology teams to state and regional championships as well as national and international competitions. He serves as a fellow for LMIT and an ambassador for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, assisting students and teachers nationwide through invention processes.  

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Rachel Thibault, EdD
 
High School Educator, Lemelson-MIT Invention Education Fellow
 

Rachel Thibault is a teacher at SOAR Early College High School located on the Antelope Valley College campus in Lancaster, California. She is an AP psychology and anatomy teacher who is well respected by her students and the school’s administrators. SOAR has been awarded three InvenTeam grants, all under the facilitation and guidance of Rachel. Additionally, Rachel is an Invention Education Fellow with the InvenTeams Grant Initiative. 

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Kevin Warfield
 
High School Educator
 

Kevin Warfield was an educator on the Greenbrier East High School InvenTeams in 2017 and 2022 as well as an educator on a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow National Finalist team in 2023. He joined Greenbrier East High School in 2006 as a drafting and computer repair teacher after spending 15 years in the civil engineering and architecture fields. Kevin was named a state finalist for West Virginia teacher of the Year in 2015. 

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Marissa Young, MBA
 
Business Management Instructor, Rio Hondo College
 

Marissa Young, MBA, ABD, has over 20 years of progressive business management experience spanning both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her experience encompasses sales, marketing, management, and international business. Her work led her to travel extensively internationally, which has provided her with a strong global mindset and a vast appreciation of cultural diversity. Marissa is currently working on her doctorate in Business Administration at George Fox University.

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Marissa Young
 
Business Management Instructor, Rio Hondo College
 

Marissa Young, MBA, ABD, has over 20 years of progressive business management experience spanning both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her experience encompasses sales, marketing, management, and international business. In Marissa’s more recent experience, she has partnered with Rio Hondo faculty and Lemelson-MIT to launch an invention education initiative at Rio Hondo College encompassing curriculum development, launching a makerspace, and other innovative programs.