Our Team

Data Puzzles is a project of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation (CEEE) at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Data Puzzle team is made up of science curriculum developers, educational researchers, and pedagogical experts at CIRES and the CU Boulder School of Education and Institute of Cognitive Science. We also collaborate with experts at other institutes. Contact Us: jonathan.griffith@colorado.edu
 

Meet Our Team

Jon Griffith

Jon is an education and outreach associate and curriculum designer at CIRES. He is a geologist and a former middle school life and physical science teacher with expertise in Model-Based Inquiry instructional design and phenomenon-based learning. 

Anne Gold 

Anne is the director for the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation (CEEE). A climate scientist by training, she now focuses on science education for educators, students and the general public around climate, water, polar regions and general geoscience education.

Melissa Braaten 

Melissa is an assistant professor in the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education who co-developed the Ambitious Science Teaching framework. Her research aims to understand more about how teachers learn to teach science.

Kerri Wingert 

Kerri is a researcher in the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education and Institute of Cognitive Science. She serves as a curriculum designer, professional development provider, and classroom culture specialist on the CU Boulder InquiryHub team.

Ami Nacu-Schmidt 

Ami is the marketing communications specialist for CIRES CEEE and Western Water Assessment. Prior to this, she was the Outreach and Engagement Director at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research and she is currently a member of both the Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO) and Inside the Greenhouse projects.

Christine Okochi

Christine Okochi is a program evaluator at CIRES CEEE. Prior to this, Christine was a Middle School ESL and science teacher. She enjoys collaborating with scientists, educators, and community members to explore how we can improve science education programs and practices.

Alyse Thurber

Alyse Thurber is an education and outreach associate and curriculum designer at CIRES CEEE. She is a former high school life and environmental science teacher. 

External Collaborators

We are grateful to the U.S. National Science Foundation for making Data Puzzles possible. This work is funded under NSF award numbers AGS 1554659, OPP 1839104, and OPP-1807496. Additional support for this project is provided by the CU Boulder Outreach Awards Committee.