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Team and Credits

Research Quest is the culmination of an inspiring effort by an amazing team of professionals and fundraising partners. Each committed themselves to helping NHMU create a powerful learning experience for students. We are grateful for their expertise and many contributions. They include:

Advancing Critical Thinking (ACT) Project Team (NHMU Staff)

Tracey Collins
Director of Education and Community Engagement

Merinda Davis
Digital Learning and Curriculum Coordinator

Chris Eisenberg
Deputy Director and Director of Philanthropy & Communications

Jason Cryan
Executive Director

McKenna Lane
Digital Learning and Curriculum Coordinator

Madlyn Larson
Associate Director of Education Initiatives

Tim Lee
Director of Exhibits

Carrie Levitt-Bussian
Collections Manager, Paleontology

Glenna Nielsen-Grimm
Collections Manager, Anthropology

Mitch Power, Ph.D.
Curator of Garrett Herbarium; Associate Professor, Geography Department

Lynne Zummo, Ph.D.
Curator of Learning Sciences

Ex-Officio Members
Sarah George, Ph.D.
Ann Hanniball
Becky Menlove

 

University of Utah, College of Education, Educational Psychology Department

Instructional Design and Educational Technology Program

Kirsten Butcher, Ph.D.
Program Director and Associate Professor

Tatum Steele
Graduate Research Assistant

Ex-Officio Members
Michelle Hudson, Graduate Research Assistant
Matt Orr, Graduate Research Assistant
Eric Poitras, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

 

Funding Partners

Dick and Timmy Burton Foundation

Joseph and Evelyn Rosenblatt Charitable Fund

I.J. and Jeanné Wagner Foundation

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Science Foundation

 

ACT National Advisory Team

(Research Quest Cohort 2013-2016)
Roger Alitizer, Ph.D.
University of Utah, Entertainment, Arts and Engineering Program, Associate Director and Professor

Sue Allen, Ph.D.
Allen and Associates, Principal

Thomas Arnett
Clayton Christensen Institute, Research Fellow

Jamie Bell
Association of Science and Technology Centers/Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education, Project Director

Kirsten Butcher, Ph.D.
University of Utah, Department of Educational Psychology, Director and Professor

Christelle Estrada, Ph.D.
Utah State Board of Education, Title III Education Specialist

Shelley Goldman, Ed.D.
Stanford University, Department of Education, Associate Dean and Professor

Preeti Gupta Ph.D.
Director of Youth Learning and Research at the American Museum of Natural History

Ricky Scott
Utah State Board of Education, Science Specialist

Jennifer Shirk
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Manager

Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science, Director and Chief Content Officer

Sarah Young
Utah State Board of Education, Digital Teaching and Learning Coordinator

 

Research Quest Education Advisors

2022-2023 Development Partners

Lynn Gutzwiller
G&C Science

Rachael Coleman
G&C Science

2022-2023 Development Cohort
Ashlee Brockman
Sarah Coffey
Amanda Gladden
Dean Levie
Alaina Marti
Ashley McDonald
Paige Olson
Rebecca Rendell
Amanda Spencer
Kim Vance
2021-2022 Development Cohort
JoAnne Brown
Sarah Coffey
Rachael Coleman
Lisa Covert
Becky Curtis
Lena Foster
Lynn Gutzwiller
David Joy
Stacia Kaylor
Dean Levie
Ashley McDonald
Dhylan Meyer
Paige Olson
Amanda Spencer
Kelly Thomas
Kim Vance
2014-2017 Development Cohort
Christelle Estrada, Ph.D.
Utah State Board of Education, Title III Education Specialist

Brett Moulding
Utah Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning, Director

Barbara Gentry
Jordan School District, Secondary Science Specialist (Retired)

Tyson Grover
Davis School District, Science Supervisor

Jane Harwood
Jordan School District, Curriculum Administrator-Science/STEM

Melissa Mendenhall
USBE Elementary Science/STEM Specialist

Paul Nance
Jordan School District, Elementary Science Specialist

Matt Patterson
Weber School District, Science Specialist

Ricky Scott
USBE Secondary Science Education Specialist

Stephanie Wood
Granite School District, Associate Director of Online Learning

Donna Ziegenfuss
Ed.D., University of Utah, Marriot Library, Associate Librarian in Graduate and Undergraduate Services

Ad Hoc Advisors
Lynn Gutzwiller, Jordan School District, Science Specialist
Rachael Coleman, Jordan School District, STEM Specialist
JoAnne Brown, Granite School District, Science Department Chair

 

Utah Education Network

Jessica Anderson
UEN Web Designer

Michelle Dumas
UEN Web Designer

Laura Hunter, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer

Rusty Keele
Database Designer

Justin Reed
Database Designer

Tim Stack
Project Manager

 

Video Production Team

Blank Space, Video Production

Colby Bryson
Producer and Director

Derek Long
Sound Recorder/Mixer

Alec Lyons
Director of Photography

Rob Blatt
Creative Producer & Script Writer

Hannah Taylor
Spanish Closed Captioning Services

 

Interactives Development & Art

Andrey Atuchin
Paleontology Artist

Ron Blakely
Deep Times Maps, Inc.

Amanda Copeland
Art Coding Design

Zoie Copeland
Illustrator

Chris Fimbel
Software Technology Group

Mitch Guarente
Animator, Revity

Ian J. Johnston
Animation Director, Revity

Lukas Panzarin
Paleontology Artist

Jonathan Powell
Interactive Developer

Thomas Pryor
Software Technology Group

Uinta Digital

 

Entertainment, Arts and Engineering (EAE) Program at the University of Utah

(for DinoLab)
Roger Altizer, Ph.D.

Associate Director

Ryan Bown
MFA Assistant Professor

Jesse Ferraro
Project Manager

Zeno Saviour
Engineer

Sydnie Ritchie
Producer

Yash Kapani
Engineer

Maté Mihanovic
Producer

Yang 'Leo' Li
Engineer

Matt Jensen
Research Assistant

Swapnil Sawant
Engineer

Brenton Walker
Producer

Isaac Kellis
Artist

Jeff Jackman
Engineer

 

Digitization and Modeling

Alyson Wilkins
NHMU Collections Digitization Manager

Brian McBride
University of Utah Marriott Library

Jesse Pruitt
Idaho State University

Autodesk, ReCap Pro

 

Digital Strategy and Analytics

Barry Joseph
Barry Joseph Consulting

Anqi Wang
Barry Joseph Consulting  

Jarred Juett
1909Digital

Chris Theisen
1909Digital  

Jordan Poortenga
Mutually Human

Tim Halstead
Mutually Human

Dave Riley
Mutually Human

 

Youth Teaching Youth ACT/EAE Interns

Linda Aaron
Youth Development Programs Manager

Cayden Turnbow
2016-2017 intern

Gerardo Robles
2015-2016 intern

Renata Visnjic
2015-2016 intern

Ricky Arellano
2014-2015 intern

Johnson Liu
2014-2015 intern

 

NHMU Science Advisors

Vanessa Bailey
Graduate Student

Christy Bills
Entomology & Malacology Collections Manager

Tylor Birthisel
Paleontology Preparation Lab Manager

Shannon Boomgarden, Ph.D.
Director of Range Creek Field Station

Savhannah Carpenter
Paleo Undergraduate Student

Bryn Dentinger, Ph.D.
Curator of Mycology

Katrina Derieg
Vertebrate Collections Manager

Randy Irmis, Ph.D.
Chief Curator, Curator of Paleontology

Randy Johnson
Paleontology Volunteer & Fossil Preparator

Stanley Kitchen, Ph.D.
Research Botanist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Michael Leschin
Bureau of Land Management, Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Carrie Levitt-Bussian
Paleontology Collections Manager

Mark Loewen, Ph.D.
Research Associate

Glenna Nielsen-Grimm, Ph.D.
Anthropology Collections Manager

Epiphany Pecchia-Bekkum
Graduate Student

Mitch Power, Ph.D.
Curator of Botany

Kathleen Ritterbush, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Geology & Geophysics

Corinne Springer
Archaeological Center-Range Creek Site Manager

Susy Valasquez-Franco
Graduate Student

Joe Wilson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biology Department, Utah State University

 

Research Quest Teacher Fellows

2014-2015
Kim Brockholt
Sheri Burton
Dan Hansen
Stephanie Lewis
Jodi Rees
Jennifer Roberts
Heather Shaffer
Sarah Sumison
2015-2016
Tyler Blain
Becky Curtis
Andrew Gee
Reed James
Rurik Johnson
Alison Lund
Tiffani Martin
Deb Smith
April Thompson
Mike Wallace
Kate Williams
Kathleen Wynn
2016-2017
Jill Allen
Broc Ballif
Angela Bazzo
Brandy Beckman
Ken Bennion
Karen Blake
Brent Blanch
JoAnne Brown
Lindsay Child
Jessica Constant
Lori Daniels
Christine Edenfield
Megan Funk
Valerie Gailey
Kristen Galletta
Lora Gibbons
Matthew Hacket
Dane Hepworth
Nicole Herrera
Jill Howells
Phil Hughes
Megan Hurster
Rebecca Kern
Madison Kingsford
Karen Kraus
Sarah Lange
Maria Lee
Julie Leri
Alison Lund
Justin Maddocks
Jennifer Mackay
Sharon McGarry
Leslie Mouton
Bobbi Nielsen
Katie Nelson
Michael Olsen
Kelly Paxton
April Thompson
Kelci Thurman
Carolyn Roberston
Jeff Rolan
Trudy Skeleton
Deb Smith
Jenn Tullis
Mike Wallace
Lindy Worden
2020-2021
Maureen Becker
Monica Bochicchio
Rachel Cardoza
Rebecca Fenn
Valerie Gailey
Lora Gibbons
Kate Hartwig
Tammy Hudson
Sarah Lange
Amy Olson
2021-2022
Luis Hernandez
Reed James
Jessica Jones
David Joy
Kris Larsh
Alison Lund
Kristin Mansell
Deb Smith
Katie Stoker
Kelly Thomas
Michael Wallace
2022-2023
Morgan Batchelor
Michelle Bogden
Sydney Boyer
Linda Brown
Ally Cleveland
Ray Fischer
Bob Foster
Amanda Gladden
Katelynn Ion
Kris Larsh
Patti Later
Dhylan Meyer
Troy Muir
Shannon O'Reilly
Yevgeny Pevzner
Neril Sandeep
Heather Sikes
Lara Tingey
Amee Trevino-Kovacs

In addition to the partners above, Research Quest has benefited from the expert input and time that has been so generously given by dozens of additional advisors and community partners. We are grateful for their support.