Join
Menu Search Join
 

2025 NSTA Elections

 

Congratulations to the Newly-Elected Board of Directors and Leadership Council Members

 

These individuals take office on June 1, 2025

Board of Directors

President

Donna Governor
Professor of Science Education
University of North Georgia
Dahlonega, GA

Board Director - Early-Career

Sean Collins
8th Grade Science Teacher
Newton Middle School
Centennial, CO

Board Director

Sharon Delesbore
Assistant Principal
Stephen F. Austin High School
Sugar Land, TX

Board Director

Christine Thompson
Director, Instruction and Summer Programs
Girls Who Code
Washington, DC

Board Director

Selene Verhofstad
Albert Einstein Distinguished Education Fellow 
STEM Instructor 
Pasadena Virtual School/San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, TX

Leadership Council

District Leaders
District III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland

Peter Kelly
7th Grade Science Teacher
Brandywine Springs School
Wilmington, DE

District V: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands

Karla McInnis
Teacher (Biology, Forensics, Chemistry, Physics & Environmental Science)
Mary G. Montgomery High School
Semmes, AL 

District IX: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

Ashley Armstrong
Science Education Specialist
Sanford Underground Research Facility
Lead, SD

District XI: Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska

Daniel Bergman
Professor and Science Education Program Chair
Wichita State University
Wichita, KS

District XV: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Corey McKenna
Clinical Professor of Science Education
University of Idaho
Coeur d Alene, ID

District XVII: Alaska, Oregon, Washington

Bradford Hill
Science and Engineering Teacher
Mountainside High School
Beaverton, OR

Division Leaders
High School Division

Kirsten Salonga
Environmental Science for Multilingual Learners Teacher
Science Department Chair
Justice High School
Falls Church, VA

Coordination & Supervision Division

Kevin S. Doyle
District Supervisor of Science
Coordinator of the Math & Science Magnet Program
Morris Hills Regional District
Rockaway, NJ

Post-Secondary Science Division

Elesha Goodfriend
Associate Professor of Biology
Walters State Community College
Whitesburg, TN

Eligible Offices for the 2026 NSTA Election
Board of Directors
Supporting Documents
Positions Available

Each year, the nominations committee will confer with the board to determine which areas of expertise are needed. This section will be updated when those areas have been determined.

This year, the Board is seeking to fill the following positions:

  • President
  • 3 Board Member At-Large Directors
Leadership Council
Supporting Documents
Positions Available

Members who live and/or work in the following districts, to serve as District Leaders:

  • District I: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
  • District VI: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
  • District VII: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi
  • District XII: Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin
  • District XIII: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
  • District XVIII: Canada

Members from the following constituencies to serve as Division Leaders:

  • Multicultural/Equity in Science Education
  • Research in Science Education
  • Preservice Teacher Preparation

NSTA's Governance Structure

The Board of Directors is composed of the three (3) NSTA Presidents and ten (10) directors elected by the membership. One Director shall be an early career educator within 5 years of their first position in an educational field. The majority of Directors will be practitioners in formal or informal institutions currently or within the last 5 years. Learn More

Guidelines & Responsibilities

President-Elect

The President-Elect has duties as outlined in the NSTA Bylaws, Article 5, Section 5.2, which include appointing chairpersons and NSTA representatives to conference committees (for all conferences occurring during their term as President) and participating in planning sessions for all such committees. Then as President, has duties as outlined in the NSTA Bylaws, Article 5, Section 5.1, which include serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and having general charge of the affairs of the Association. Finally, as President-Elect, has duties as outlined in the NSTA Bylaws, Article 5, Section 5.32, which include serving as needed in the absence of the President and President-Elect.

Directors

Directors shall supervise and oversee the business, property, and affairs of the Association as outlined in the NSTA Bylaws Article 3, section 3.1.

The Leadership Council is composed of the NSTA President; eighteen (18) District Leaders and ten (10) Division Leaders. The duties of the Leadership Council shall be to inform the Board of important external trends, opportunities, and threats; create and nurture communities at the state level and within professional interests; identify potential partnerships, create educational policy statements, chair regional and division committees, and foster relations with state chapters and affiliated groups. Learn More

Guidelines & Responsibilities

Division Leaders

Division Leaders serve on the Leadership Council and have duties, as outlined in the NSTA Bylaws, Article 8, Section 8.1., that include chairing a Division committee and working closely with Affiliates associated with their committee to identify opportunities for collaboration.

District Leaders

District Leaders build the NSTA community by actively promoting the benefits of the Association to ensure participation in programs, retention of existing members and aid in recruiting new members for the Association. Duties also include guiding the development of NSTA Position Statements and supporting Strategic Partnerships by building close ties to the state organizations in their District to identify opportunities for collaboration. (See position description)

Timeline

  

  

September 19

Web Seminar: Nominations – Leadership Opportunities for Members, September 19, 2024

Nominations portal open to the membership to apply or nominate a colleague.

January 5

Last day to submit a completed application.

January 24 - February 20

Review your current membership profile. Update your address, and email to ensure you receive the ballot designated for your district by logging into your membership account.

March 26

Ballots sent to the current NSTA membership. You must be a member prior to March 20 in order to vote in the election. Nomination and Election Guidelines prohibit campaigning for all elections. The publication of each candidate's biographical data and position statement shall be the total extent to which Association members are informed about candidates for office. 

April 25

Final day to cast your ballot.

May 1

Election Results Announced unless there is a tie. In that event, results to be announced May 8th. 

Procedures for NSTA Election for Board of Directors

An outside independent contractor will e-mail ballots and biographical material, receive returned ballots, count and tally results, and report those results first to the chairperson of the NSTA Nominations Committee, and then to the NSTA Executive Director.

By vote of NSTA Membership, NSTA Bylaws will now allow the inclusion of electronic balloting procedures for the Board of Directors and Council elections.

The contractor will be responsible for assuring accuracy of data entry, shall retain all ballots until the election is certified by the Nominations Committee, and provide, with acceptable evidence, ballots to members who may not have received them due to e-mail or other problems. Using guidelines provided by the Nominations Committee, the contractor will be responsible for accepting or rejecting ballots, reporting on those and providing invalid ballots to the Nominations Committee following the election. The Nominations Committee then has the authority to make final decisions on such questionable ballots.

 

For More Information

Please contact the NSTA Nominations’ Program Liaison
703.312.9254 • nominations@nsta.org

  

Asset 2