Barbara Houtz

Fellowship Placement: National Institutes of Health
Cohort: 2005-2006

Barbara Houtz was a middle school and high school science teacher for 13 years. During her middle school teaching years, she coached both a middle and high school Science Olympiad team, sponsored a finalist student group for the Toshiba/ExploraVision Awards competition, and had more student teams earn an honorable mention than any other school in the country, save one.

Barbara was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow from 2005-2006 in the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education. As an Einstein Fellow, she initiated the development of an alignment document for all 16 NIH curriculum supplements for each state’s standards in science, math, language arts, and health. In 2008, she was nominated for an Innovations in American Government award from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government for this project.

She participated in public hearings regarding K – 16 STEM educational issues, NCLB testing requirements, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress; attended multiple national and international conferences of various professional organizations; and provided reports to national organizations (National Academy of Science, National Science Teachers Association, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Science Foundation, American Society of Neuroscience, and NIH Office of Science Education).

Barbara is currently CEO of STEM Education Solutions, and continues to work with the NIH and multiple post-doctoral research programs at other institutions and universities to provide professional development and training for graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and practicing professors. She also collaborates with public and private K-12 schools to provide curriculum support and professional development for K-12 educators.