After School Opportunities Panel

Melody Richardson’s personal mission is to show science is everywhere, even if we don’t talk about it. Richardson has served as a volunteer at every level. She has led STEM education workshops, paired educators with technical resources, conducted lunch and learns for university students, partnered with local and national organizations, and developed an award-winning STEM outreach event from the ground up. Richardson is happiest when she is helping others on their path of STEM discovery.

Richardson has donated books to local schools, science kits to public libraries, and personally executed over 100 custom Family STEM nights for an audience of over 40,000 She serves as a subject matter expert when it comes to STEM educational outreach throughout IEEE. She knows what works well, what does not, and why ice cream in a bag does not work in certain environments.

Since 2018, she has produced IEEE-Atlanta and IEEE Region 3’s sponsorship of the Curious Kids Zone at the Atlanta Science Festival’s Exploration Expo for an annual audience of over 25,000 people. In 2021, Richardson founded STEM on the MOVE, the STEM educational outreach arm of IEEE International’s MOVE Community Outreach program. Richardson released her first STEM adventure book in 2022.
A North Carolina native, Richardson holds degrees from UNC-Greensboro and DeVry University and loves a good baking adventure.

Doug Baldwin is the Associate Director for the Piscataway Public Library, where he has served in several positions including as an Emerging Technologies Librarian and Head of Technology. Doug has been working in public libraries for more than 16 years where his work has extended to grant writing and administration, technology instruction, selection and implementation, and programming and services for all ages. In his current role, he works on various library improvement projects, manages the library’s technology infrastructure, coordinates on technical advisement for digital services and data analysis. as well as work collaboratively across other departments on public programming and grant initiatives.

Doug is also one of the original principal organizers of the statewide New Jersey Makers Day initiative empowering community organizations to host STEM initiatives in their communities every March for the past nine years. Doug has both a BA and MLIS from Rutgers University, as well as an MA from Montclair State University. He was recognized as a Library Mover and Shaker by Library Journal in 2017, as well as awarded the New Jersey Library Association’s Librarian of the Year in 2020.

I’m a Learner more than anything else. That helped me to Design Learning Experience, Teach, Mentor Children over the past 9 Years. Co-Founder of an Education Startup called Infinite Engineers right from college final year. We had worked with around 500 schools and I have personally interacted with over 15000 children. 

Transforming education had always been my core motivating element as I came from factory model of education system which was designed for Industrial Age. But in information age many of the existing practice is not even relevant. Children are now smart enough to ask Why should I learn this ? 

I’m a passionate facilitator of learning who love to research, study curriculum frameworks and keep myself updated about latest trends in education. This happens through interactions with stakeholders of education system at various levels. 

To make learning awesome, I design learning experience that had impacted over 10000 children. I strongly believe experience is the best teacher. 

Meisa Salaita has made it her mission to help others see and appreciate the beauty of science by making it a part of everyday cultural experiences. Through her work founding and directing the Atlanta Science Festival and its parent non-profit company, Science ATL, she spends her days convincing everyone else to fall in love with science as well. To that end, Meisa also writes, has produced radio stories, and hosted TV shows – all in the name of science. In addition to her work with Science ATL, Meisa is a senior producer for The Story Collider, a science storytelling podcast. Meisa has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern, and has been named by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of 20 Women Who Mean Business in Atlanta and by Atlanta Magazine as one of their Women Making a Mark.