Greetings, NSELA Members!

Welcome back to another exciting year in science education! I hope your academic year is off to a great start. I want to introduce myself to you. My name is Candace Penrod and I am the Science Supervisor for an urban district in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2019, I was introduced to NSELA as a VESELS recipient (Vernier Emerging Science Education Leader Scholar) and am thrilled to serve as the 2025-2026 NSELA president. I look forward to our continued work in leveraging your experience expertise and in promoting and advancing science education leadership.

My vision for NSELA is to strengthen the organization through finalizing the Strategic Plan, so that NSELA will have a blueprint to follow for the next five years. I also aspire to continue growing the organization in membership and partnership through supporting our Regional Directors, Committee Directors, and committee members in their roles, and ensure our partners continue to play an integral part in providing resources and opportunities advancing science education leadership. I am excited to continue NSELA’s work with the Collaborative for Advancing Science Teaching and Learning (CASTL) K-12 initiative. NSELA is grateful to be a core member of this timely collaboration and to serve as part of the Empowering School and Instructional Leaders group.

I truly believe that it is the people who serve that make NSELA a great organization. So, thanks to each of you who serve in some capacity in advancing science education leadership. Your work matters and you matter, and together we are NSELA!

All the best for a great school year!

Dr. Candace Penrod

NSELA President 2025-2026