The STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) is funded by the NSF ITEST Program and led by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). EDC’s mission is to design, implement, and evaluate programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Collaborating with public and private partners, we strive for a world where all people are empowered to live healthy, productive lives. EDC conducts 250 projects in 30 countries around the world. EDC is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. Most fundamentally, this means that no profit accrues to any individual. Our work is supported through grants and contracts from a variety of sources, including U.S. and foreign government agencies, private foundations, nonprofit organizations, universities, and corporations. Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG), serves as STELAR's external evaluator, offering insights into how better to do our work and reach our goals.
Sarita Pillai, Principal Investigator, is Managing Project Director at EDC. She has extensive expertise in managing national resource centers, providing technical assistance, building and sustaining communities of practice, and developing powerful technology-based resources. With her colleagues, Pillai has designed successful participatory design approaches to engaging underrepresented youth in STEM learning and future careers by placing them at the center of design and development efforts. She is coauthor of a book on gender and equity in education, More Than Title IX: How Equity in Education Has Shaped the Nation (2009). She received a BS in computer science from Northeastern University and an MBA from Bentley University.
Joyce Malyn-Smith, Co-PI, is a national expert on STEM career and workforce development with a deep knowledge of how learners develop skills in formal and informal settings to prepare for productive and rewarding careers. She has a special interest in the Future of Work, the dispositions needed for success at the Human Technology Frontier, and how technology and informal learning can spark creativity, cultivate and sustain interest in STEM careers. She received a BS from Universidad Interamericana in Puerto Rico, an MEd from Boston State Teacher’s College, and an EdD in Bilingual Education Leadership and Career Education from Boston University, where she was a U.S. Department of Education Fellow.
Sarah MacGillivray, Project Director, has been a member of the STELAR team since 2014. In her work with STELAR she has provided TA to projects, facilitated webinars and events, and focused on designing effective communications and dissemination strategies for the center. Her body of work is centered on equity, diversity, inclusion, and access, and in preparing all youth for success in the future workforce.
Melody Hachey, Project Staff, is a Technology Associate at EDC. She has worked at EDC for 13+ years on several grant-funded, tuition-funded, private-funded, and for-profit projects. Melody helps the team make key decisions about the STELAR website and assists with a wide range of tasks, including website maintenance, development of new website features, video editing, and design work.
Suhina Minocha, Researcher, has a focus on STEM education and workforce development. She has classroom experience teaching high school science and literacy, along with teacher professional development for new teachers and school leaders. She brings her background in science education and corporate engineering to support the STELAR project team. She holds a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University, and an M.Sc. in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
Mary Beth Piecham, Education Researcher, advances knowledge of strategies to improve K–12 mathematics education, particularly for students from underrepresented populations. She has significant experience leading large-scale studies and expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods analyses, establishing partnerships with school districts, data collection, and data management. Piecham has played a key role in projects examining the impact and implementation of curriculum, teacher professional development, and student-centered practices through an evaluation of a Nellie Mae Education Foundation initiative. Before joining EDC, Piecham was a communications professional for eight years, leading outreach for a PBS global health multimedia project, a child survival campaign, and a national initiative to interest girls in engineering. She also served as a public relations executive, third-grade teacher assistant, and afterschool tutor. Piecham holds an MEd in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and a BA in Public Relations from North Carolina State University.
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG), External Evaluator, is a research firm located in Cambridge, MA specializing in evaluating educational programs, materials, and services for groups ranging from museums to public television to formal and informal educators, to NASA missions. Their expertise extends to all areas of evaluation and research, including feasibility studies and needs assessments, formative research, process evaluation, outcome evaluation, and summative evaluation, as well as related services such as consultation and workshops.
Candace M. Kyles, Research Associate has extensive experience in research, evaluation, and data analysis, with a specialization in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation. Her work ensures that methodologies honor diverse cultural perspectives and amplify marginalized voices, prioritizing equity. Kyles is committed to advancing practices that uphold fairness, cultural sensitivity, and social justice. She has designed and conducted mixed-methods studies and evaluations, responsive to the unique contexts and needs of the communities she serves. Kyles has contributed to numerous STEM initiatives measuring the impact of educational interventions on student outcomes. Her NSF-funded projects include EDC’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Evaluation Capacity Building Conference, and she is currently advancing the AGEP National Research Conference Series and the STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR). She also collaborates on projects focused on promoting educational equity and public health. Kyles holds an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University Chicago, an MA in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BS in Economics from Northern Illinois University.