Retiring President

Beverly DeVore-Wedding, PhD, is the retiring president of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). She began serving her one-year term on June 1, 2026. She is an adjunct science instructor in the Mathematics and Science Department of Nebraska Indian Community College and a 2024 Educational Fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

For more than 25 years, DeVore-Wedding taught high school and community college math and science in Colorado before becoming a science curriculum developer, chemistry instructor, and lab coordinator for Nebraska Indian Community College from 2014 to 2018. From 2019 to 2023, she spent her time educating teachers at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, until she eventually returned to the Nebraska Indian Community College from August 2023 through May 2025, where she taught science remotely.

DeVore-Wedding has a decorated educational background in science and education, earning bachelor’s degrees in botany and science education and a master’s degree in botany from the University of Wyoming, Laramie; a master’s degree in science education from Montana State University, Bozeman; and a PhD in teaching, curriculum, and learning from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Among her certifications are Colorado Professional Teacher Licensure: Science and Math endorsements, and a Wyoming Professional Teacher certification in biology, chemistry, earth science, and general science.

“Thirty-five years ago, as a novice teacher in rural Colorado, NSTA played a pivotal role in shaping my journey,” said DeVore-Wedding. “It provided resources, professional learning, and—most importantly—a community of passionate science educators who have since become my science family. It has been a privilege and an honor to represent NSTA this past year by attending many state science association conferences, sharing insights on teaching science in rural schools, adapting new technology for traditional labs, and meeting outstanding science educators.”

DeVore-Wedding has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to science education through a wide range of leadership and service roles. Her contributions span several key organizations, including the Colorado Association of Science Teachers, the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Science Educators Network Steering Committee, and the National Science Education Leadership Association. Within NSTA, she has held numerous influential positions, such as High School Division Director, District XIV Director, chair of both the Rural Science Advisory Board and The Science Teacher Advisory Board, and co-chair of the Awards Task Force, among several other committees.

DeVore-Wedding has an extensive author resume and has successfully published articles, research papers, and book chapters in a variety of publications, including School Science and Mathematics; Tribal College and University Research Journal; NSTA’s high school journal, The Science Teacher; Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education, USA; the Wicazo Sa Review, an interdisciplinary journal in the field of Native American Studies; Operant Subjectivity, the official journal of the International Society for the Scientific Study of Subjectivity; and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Great Plains Quarterly. In addition to writing, DeVore-Wedding is an experienced speaker and has given countless presentations on diverse topics at national and state conferences and events, covering topics like three-dimensional instruction and project-based learning, reading and writing in science, ethnoscience strategies to indigenize science at tribal colleges, resiliency of secondary science teachers in rural schools, and more.