David Melville, Executive Director
dmelville@eou.edu
David has made his career in traditional and non-traditional education. With over 16 years in the education field, David has done it all. He taught as a classroom teacher for six years, has taught as an environmental and place-based educator and naturalist for over three years, and has worked on educational research and grant management for over seven years. David has a Bachelors in Elementary Education with a focus in STEM education, a Masters in Sustainable Communities with a thesis on environmental education, a Masters in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Education in Curriculum and Instruction (ABD) with dissertation focusing on the Community School Model, as well as a Montessori (6-9) certification. David is skilled in organizational development, program management, grant procurement & management, and educational theory. With a proven record in STEM settings, integrating Next Generation Science Standards, equity and inclusion, and curriculum & instruction, David is a wealth of knowledge in education field. David is proud to be a member of the GO STEM team and is excited to move the organization forward; strengthen partnerships across eastern Oregon; and expand STEM education access and supports for educators, students, and families in the communities of eastern Oregon that we serve.
When not behind a computer screen, David can be found in the garden, enjoying the natural beauty of eastern Oregon, and tinkering on the next home improvement project with his partner and their cat.
Please feel free to reach out, if you would like to learn more about David or GO STEM.
Dr. Stefanie Holloway, Program Director
sholloway@eou.edu
Stefanie brings five years of classroom teaching experience at an International Baccalaureate K-12 public school and served as a student teacher liaison and program evaluator and educational researcher at Boise State University’s College of Education. Her educational passions include teacher professional development, researching ways to integrate twenty-first century learning into classrooms, social and emotional learning efforts, transdisciplinary Literacy and STEAM education, and teaching students herself. Before joining the GO STEM Hub, Stefanie had been actively teaching online as a one-on-one tutor for elementary and secondary-aged students.
Stefanie holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate of Education, with a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction. Her doctoral research focused on social emotional learning efforts, as well as ways to build positive school climate and culture to improve students’ mental health and overall well being. (You can read her dissertation here: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/1904/). She also holds a 6-12 English Teaching certificate and K-12 Literacy endorsement, as well as an Idaho Administrator certificate.
Stefanie’s primary responsibilities include management and delivery of Hub programs and expanding partner and community engagement efforts for the GO STEM Hub.
Kyle Koyle, Curriculum and Outreach Manager
kkoyle@eou.edu
Kyle holds a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Utah State University as well as a Master’s in Natural Resource Science and Environmental Education from Hamline University in Minnesota. For over a decade, she has worked as a traditional and non-traditional educator in Utah, Colorado, and now Oregon. Her primary focus has been on improving science education for teachers and students through interdisciplinary teaching best practices.
In her spare time, Kyle enjoys spending time with her family and friends doing just about anything. She is an avid reader and loves music, cross country skiing, and camping.
Kyle’s primary responsibilities will include overseeing the professional development and curriculum development for GO STEM’s diverse programs, with her primary focus being on the new Mobile Maker Lab curricular efforts. She will also manage and help facilitate GO STEM’s educational outreach programs.
Lydia Colvin, Ph.D., Mobile Maker Lab Out-of-School Project Manager
lcolvin@eou.edu
Lydia is a biomedical engineer with a passion for STEM education and outreach. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina in 2016. She discovered her interest in the field of bioinstrumentation during her undergraduate experience because she loved learning about how medical equipment was designed and created. As a result, she earned a Ph.D. by working in a bioinstrumentation-focused laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University in 2023. She worked in a laboratory with a specific focus in designing optical biosensors for health-related applications. Her research focused on designing and creating an implantable glucose biosensor for diabetes monitoring. Through this experience she was able to work on a project that incorporated biology, chemistry, optics/physics, and electronics. She published an article in Biosensors titled “A polarity-sensitive far-red fluorescent probe for glucose sensing through skin.” This publication was also selected as the cover article for the August 2023 issue of Biosensors titled “Injectable far-red fluorescent glucose biosensor agnostic to skin tone.”
Dr. Casey Boothby, High School Programs Manager
boothbc@eou.edu
Casey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Eastern Oregon University, a Masters in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from Boise State University, and an Education Specialist in Administration from Northwest Nazarene University. For over 15 years, Casey has taught in both middle and high school classrooms in Idaho specializing in Science, Computer Science, and STEM classes. He served as a vice principal for three of those years as well.
In May of 2023, Casey graduated with his Ed. D. in Educational Leadership from Northwest Nazarene University. His baseline study focused on attrition rates of teachers in Idaho. Specifically, it looked at the type of preparation program the teachers completed and how likely the teachers were to be employed after four years in the classroom.
Casey will be primarily responsible for curriculum review, modification, and development along with data collection and analysis of the “High School Science for All” program. His focus is analysis from a rural and digital access lens in order to improve access to the program in those areas of Oregon specifically. He is excited about the opportunity to serve his alma mater and the rural communities in which he grew up in Eastern Oregon.
Tonya Williams, Administrative Program Specialist
tlwilliams@eou.edu
Tonya brings over 30 years of administrative experience to GO STEM from across a variety of companies and organizations in the northwest. She has extensive experience preparing contracts for services and processing, tracking, and paying financial information. She graduated from the La Grande College of Business in 1988 with a certificate in Accounting/Secretarial.
Having held positions most recently with Eastern Oregon Headstart, as their Fiscal Manager and the Colleges of Business and Education at EOU as an Office Specialist, Tonya will be able to tailor her skills to meet the needs of the GO STEM Hub here in eastern Oregon.
Michael Jaeger, Communications
mjaeger@eou.edu
Michael Jaeger is Professor and Dean Emeritus, Eastern Oregon University. Michael has broad experience as a scientist, public school educator and administrator, science teacher educator, administrator in higher education, and community advocate for economic development. As an entomologist he has studied aquatic insects and kept active in the discipline sharing his love for natural history with science students. As a fifteen-year veteran of public schools, Michael has taught every level and subject in science and technology, directed the curriculum efforts of a large suburban school district, and has received awards for teaching excellence. Michael has been the principle investigator of 22 science and engineering grants, has published dozens of articles and papers of note, and has a number of published books ranging in topics from education, STEM, history to Biblical study. He led the College of Education and Business for 11 years as dean and served as Eastern’s provost for almost three years. His current work is now focused on advancing STEM education for greater Oregon.
Amber Tiedemann, Mobile Maker Lab – In-School Project Manager
Amber comes to the GO STEM team with 12 years experience as a traditional classroom teacher. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Eastern Oregon University with an emphasis in Autism education. Before coming back to Eastern Oregon, she taught in Washington, Alaska, New Mexico, and brought it full-circle back to La Grande.
She will be one of our in-person educators bringing STEM labs to students across the region. She spends her free time with her children, gardening, traveling, crafting, and reading.