Dr. Rob Semper. Executive Associate Director of the Exploratorium.
Dr. Semper is responsible for leading the institution's work in developing programs of teaching and learning using exhibits, media and Internet resources. Dr. Semper and his staff are pioneers and experts in active, mission-based learning – especially when it comes to doing science in the real world.
Liberty Smith, Ph.D. Associate Director, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse & National Service Resources and Training @ ETR Associates.
Dr. Smith, notably through her work with the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, has been advocating for youth and education for many years. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in Literature - Cultural Studies (2003). Dr. Smith continues to conduct research and publish on the relationship between one-on-one collaborations artistically and larger political transformation, especially in marginalized communities. More recently, she continued this exploration of the politics and practicalities of information sharing, earning master's degree in library and information science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (2006). Dr. Smith is an ardent believer that Nuvana's engaging platform goes hand in hand with the goal of strengthening schools and communities with service-learning and other approaches to experiential education.
Christopher McCall. Visual Literacy Consultant.
Mr. McCall taught photography, film and visual literacy at the Urban School of San Francisco. He has lectured around the country about visual literacy, and the impact of images & new technology on culture. Currently, he is the Executive Director of Pier 24 Photography, the largest exhibition space in the world dedicated to photography. His understanding of pedagogy, teenagers and how they perceive has been instrumental in developing the look, graphics, and lay out of the Nuvana platform.
David Winton. Filmmaker.
David Winton is the founding partner of Winton duPont Films, a film and television production company with offices in New York and San Francisco. His company produces programs for leading broadcast and cable networks, including PBS, The History Channel, National Geographic, and TechTV, as well as Fortune 100 companies, advertising agencies, and public interest groups. He is on the board of trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Breakthrough Collaborative. He is also on the board of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy Andover, as well as a member of the executive committee of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers. He is a graduate of Harvard College and lives in San Francisco with his wife, Charlotte Vaughan.
Ken Ellis. George Lucas Educational Foundation.
The George Lucas Foundation and Edutopia are pioneering research and tools that provide innovative, interactive learning for kids to succeed in the 21st century. The goal is to change education for the better with project-based learning.
Dina Wright. SFUSD “Teacher of the Year”, Lincoln High School, San Francisco.
Ms. Wright teaches AP U.S. history in San Francisco, and is known for her innovative and highly effective teaching practices. She has been instrumental in devising missions for FLASHBACK that adhere to district standards.
Joseph Kahne.
Mr. Kahne is currently the Abbie Valley Professor of Education and Dean of the School of Education at Mills College. He studies the democratic purposes of education and urban school reform. He is currently conducting a statewide study of the civic/democratic commitments, capacities, and activities of high school students in California and of the distribution and impact of school-based opportunities that aim to develop citizens for democratic citizenship. He is also conducting a longitudinal study of the civic implications of young people's use of the internet and other forms of digital media. He is just completing (co-directed with John Easton of the Consortium on Chicago School Reform) a three-year study of Chicago's high schools and the small school reform effort in particular.