Directors

 
 
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Elaina Sabatine

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Elaina is currently serving as the Executive Director of ENC STEM. After graduating from Penn State University in 2011 with a degree in biological and evolutionary psychology, Elaina worked as a high school science teacher and Teach For America corps member for two years at Northampton County High School. She also served an additional year as a district science instructional coach for Northampton County Schools. In 2019, Elaina earned her PhD in Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill, where her research explored achievement motivation and academic self-efficacy of underserved youth. Elaina is dedicated to helping teachers create socially and emotionally safe learning spaces for youth. She has been working with ENC STEM since 2012.

 
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Grayson Cooper

Co-Director (volunteer)

Grayson is a senior consultant with Public Impact, an education management and policy consulting firm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, conducting quantitative research and analysis and assisting schools and districts implementing an Opportunity Culture. Before joining Public Impact, he spent three years as a math teacher and instructional technology facilitator at Northampton County High School in northeastern North Carolina through Teach For America. Grayson holds a bachelor’s degree in educational entrepreneurship and mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a master’s degree in education from East Carolina University, and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

 
 
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Curriculum & Instruction

 
 
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Tamar Avineri

Project manager

Tamar Avineri has been teaching mathematics for 18 years and an instructor at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) since 2004. She received her bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics at UC San Diego, master's in Mathematics at UCLA, and PhD in Math Education at NC State University. Tamar feels incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to teach mathematics to students all across North Carolina through both the residential and distance education programs at NCSSM as well as ENC STEM. She truly appreciates the opportunity to be a part of ENC STEM.

 
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Kadeidra Badejo

project officer

Kadeidra is from Texarkana, TX. She has been teaching for 9 years and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an HBCU in Arkansas. Later, she received her Masters from Iowa State. She began teaching high school, and after traveling to Asia and teaching in Japan for 4 years, she transitioned to teaching middle school. She enjoys traveling and experiencing diverse cultures. She has traveled to 17 countries to date. Kadeidra is an amateur chef and enjoys hosting events for friends and family. She also loves the theater and enjoys writing and directing plays. Music is her passion and she loves singing and performing. Kadeidra believes you only have one life, so live it to the fullest!

 
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Lauren Foster

project officer

Lauren is a fifth grade math and science teacher in Durham, NC. She graduated in May 2014 from UNC-Chapel Hill and obtained a master's degree from ECU in June of 2016. Lauren spent her first two years as an educator in Warren County, developing and teaching a robotics curriculum. As a former softball player, she coached the middle school team for two years. Lauren is passionate about incorporating technology into education and instruction, and works to make this a reality in her own STEM-based classroom.

 
 
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Andy Harding

Project Officer

Andrew is in his 12th year as a Social Studies Teacher at Tarboro High School. He has also taught for two years at Ben Davis High School, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is beginning his second year with the ENC STEM Program. Andrew graduated from Manchester College (University) in 2005 with degrees in History and Secondary Education. He joined the staff at Tarboro HS in February of 2008 where he has taught American and World History, Civics and Economics, Global Studies and Freshman Seminar. He has served as the Social Studies Department for the past three years. He has also been an assistant coach on the six state championship football team and been a head coach in both wrestling and track & field. Andrew has also been a member of many leadership programs as well, including three years as a mentor for beginning teachers. He has helped develop the American History and World History Curriculums for the district and serves as one of two people selected to introduce PowerTeacher Pro grade book to the district.

 
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Jonathan Martinez

Project Officer

Jonathan has worked with ENC STEM for over 5 years, starting as a volunteer in 2014 and progressing to Instructor and Project Officer roles. A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Jonathan majored in Mathematics and minored in Education and Astronomy. During his time at UNC-CH, Jonathan worked as a traveling science educator for the North Carolina Science Festival, where he made science fun and accessible for audiences of all ages. More recently, he taught high school math in Northampton County. Jonathan’s passion for making STEM fun and engaging has shaped his learning methodology within and beyond ENC STEM.

 
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Jessica Towns

Project Officer

 
 
 

Student Experience

 
 
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Kendall Charity

Project Officer

Kendall is a 5-8 grade STEM Exploration teacher at Conway Middle School. Before teaching STEM, he taught AVID for one year and 6th grade science for three years. He graduated from Chowan University in 2010 with a degree in Biology. Kendall is currently enrolled in a masters of School Administration and Supervision at Liberty University. He is set to graduate in May of 2020. Kendall is passionate about providing students with the skills to be successful. He has been working with ENC STEM since 2017.

 
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Mercedes Manuel

project Officer

Mercedes Manuel is an 8th grade math teacher and School Culture Coordinator at South Edgecombe Middle School, located in Pinetops, NC. Previously, Mercedes worked as a Math Curriculum Specialist for various charter schools in North Carolina. She was the Math Instructor with ENC STEM  at the Tarboro site for the 2019 program. She graduated with her MBA from Strayer University with a Masters degree in Business Administration. She has over 9 years of experience in the education sector.

 
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Sarah Trinidad

Project Officer

Sarah is currently a High School Science Teacher at Edgecombe Early College in Tarboro, North Carolina. After graduating from the East Carolina University Honors College in 2016 with a degree in Biology, Sarah taught high school science in Dudley, North Carolina for 2 years. Throughout her teaching career, Sarah has served as a swimming coach and is on her School Improvement Team. Sarah is passionate about delivering high quality, project based learning experiences to students in underserved areas. Sarah enjoys inspiring her students to pursue STEM and reach their highest potential. She has been working with ENC STEM since early 2019.

 
 
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Megan Wieseman

PROJECT OFFICER

Megan is a 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Special Education Teacher at Pattillo Middle School in Edgecombe County, NC. After graduating from James Madison University in 2017 with a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Megan moved to Eastern North Carolina to begin her work as a Teach for America Corps Member. While in the Corps, she obtained her Masters in Education from Johns Hopkins University and graduated with her degree in May of 2019. Throughout her teaching career, Megan has hosted her weekly school-wide Harambee celebrations, served as a member of her school improvement and PBIS teams, and has worked closely within the Tarboro community to best support her EC students. Megan has been working with ENC STEM since spring 2019.

 
 
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Program Operations

 
 
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Maaso Kalema

Culture director: Tarboro

Maaso Kalema currently serves as Director of Local Leadership & Development for Teach for America- Eastern North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities and her Master of Science degree in Education with a secondary focus from John Hopkins University.  In her home state, she developed and created programming to explicitly address the growing educational disparities in Minnesota alongside various organizations including the City of Minneapolis, Urban Research and Opportunities Center, NAACP and the Children’s Defense Fund. She has studied educational systems around the world including South Africa, Bangladesh and Kenya. She is a former middle school science teacher for Nash Rocky Mount Public Schools through Teach for America and is a former first year Teacher of the Year. She sat on the Executive Board for the Apprend Foundation and served as an educational consultant for North Carolina’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources integrating research based historical and cultural knowledge for educators across districts in the state of North Carolina. Maaso believes that holistic and quality education is an act towards justice and liberation and is passionate about developing leaders in education to maximize impact for families and communities.

 
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Deneasha Strother

site director: tarboro

DeNeasha Strother received a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in chemistry from North Carolina Wesleyan College. She went on to get her Master’s in School Administration from North Carolina State University. She has a passion for redesigning education and seeing students excel. DeNeasha is now serving as the Assistant Principal at W.A. Pattillo Middle School. She has been working with ENC STEM since 2018.