New Economy Talk: The Role of STEM Education in Preparing Future Global Talent

Location: Cedar Hall, HQ1-1-660

How can we prepare for a post-employment society? Dr. Carol O'Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, and Ana Rold of the Diplomatic Courier will discuss how--in addition to the technological, economic, socio-economic, and political dimensions of a Post-Employment World--the voice of the "educator" must be heard when discussing the issue of filling the skills gap by 2050. What can we, as educators, do to ensure our students are 21st Century ready?

Carol O'Donell

Director
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Smithsonian Institution

Dr. Carol O’Donnell is the director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, which is dedicated to transforming the learning and teaching of science throughout the nation. O’Donnell is responsible for all operational activities and planning for the unit, including building awareness for preschool through 12th-grade science-education reform, conducting programs that support the professional growth of P–12 teachers and school leaders, and overseeing all research and curricular-resource development, philanthropic development and administration.

Before joining the Smithsonian, O’Donnell worked at the U.S. Department of Education where she oversaw nearly $17 billion in annual federal investments under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. These investments focused on education reform, school improvement, teacher professional development, improved student achievement and assistance for states building their capacity to implement and sustain education reforms and achieve improvement in student outcomes. She also oversaw the cognition and student-learning research program at the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the Department of Education.

While earning her doctorate at the George Washington University, O’Donnell managed a five-year, National Science Foundation-funded trial aimed at identifying the conditions under which effective middle school science curricular interventions improve student learning and reduce achievement gaps when scaled-up. Her research on curriculum implementation was published in the Review of Educational Research and earned her an “American Educational Research Association Division of Learning and Instruction Graduate Research Award” in 2008.

Before attending George Washington University, O’Donnell spent 11 years developing science-curriculum materials for the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s science and technology concepts elementary and secondary programs.

O’Donnell began her science-teaching career in Virginia public schools. She currently serves on the part-time faculty of George Washington University’s physics department.

O’Donnell earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh and her master’s degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University.


Moderator: Ana Rold Publisher and CEO of Diplomatic Courier

Ana C. Rold is the Founder and Publisher of Diplomatic Courier. Rold is also the Founder of Medauras Global LLC, which provides business leaders with reports on the political and economic situation of countries around the world, specializing on conflict-prone or conflict-afflicted countries. Since 2009 Rold has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the annual leadership publications of the G7 (formerly the G8), G20/B20, and APEC Summits. She covered and managed the editorial production of these publications for the Summits in Italy, Canada, South Korea, the United States, France, as well as the G8 and NATO in the United States, the G20 in Mexico, and the APEC Summit in Russia.

In tandem with her publishing and editorial work, Rold teaches Comparative Politics and Political Science at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. At Northeastern, she has also served as Director of the Cyprus Program and co-Director for the Egypt Program for Northeastern’ s Dialogue of Civilizations Initiative. In Washington, DC, Rold has worked with a number of organizations including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the UN Foundation (UNF), and the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP).

Rold received a Master’s in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, with a focus on the negotiation of Peace Treaties and Alternative Dispute Resolution at American University and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs at Northeastern University.

Rold is a member of the National Press Club (NPC), an Advisory Board Member of the Center for Education Diplomacy, and a Member of the Council of Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) in Washington, DC.