Ann Benbow Director of Education, Outreach and Development American Geological Institute aeb@agiweb.org

Ann Benbow is Director of Education, Outreach and Development at the American Geological Institute in Alexandria, VA. After teaching science (biology, chemistry and Earth science) in high school, elementary school, and two-year college, she taught elementary and secondary science methods at the university level. She worked in curriculum development and teacher education for the Education Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) for 12.5 years. During that time, she directed a number of national educational grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), including the FACETS middle school curriculum project, the Operation Chemistry teacher enhancement project (Parts I and II), the Science in a Technical World high school curriculum project, and the ScienceGate curriculum conference. Her work in the informal science arena at ACS included a stint as managing editor of WonderScience magazine for children and adults, and administrator for the Parents and Children for Terrific Science mini-grant program.

She has co-authored a college textbook on elementary science methods for Wadsworth Publishing, and published a book on improving communication techniques with adult learners. Dr. Benbow has a B.S. in Biology from St. Mary's College of Maryland, and a M.Ed. in Science Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland College Park.