Senior Advisor, Science

Jennifer Childress, Ph.D., joined Achieve in 2011 as Senior Adviser for Science, focusing on the development of Next Generation Science Standards. Achieve is working through state partnerships to develop rigorous and internationally-benchmarked science standards ready for state adoption that will be faithful to the National Research Council’s Conceptual Framework for Science Education. Jennifer is responsible for coordinating this work and that of other Achieve initiatives in science.

Jennifer joined Achieve from the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), an organization of the Smithsonian Institution. She worked with the NSRC as an education fellow before serving as the Director of the Center for Building Awareness of Science Education (BASE) from 2007 to 2011. In this role, Jennifer developed and managed numerous partnerships to help implement science education research and best practices in school districts, states, and countries.

A research geneticist by training, Jennifer began her education career as a secondary school tutor and a volunteer science teacher at the Boys and Girls Club. Jennifer earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her doctorate of philosophy in Biomedical Science from the University of Texas- Houston. She currently lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Phone: (202) 419-1578