People

MSEF High School Committee

William F. Rigney, Co-Chair
STEM Education Consultant

Kristen Bellavance
Taunton High School

Nancy Cianchetta
Everett High School

Nancy G. Degon
MSEF Scientific Review Committee Chair
Auburn High School (ret.)

Kaylee DeGrace
Brockton High School

MaryAnn DeMaria
Millbury High  School

Stephanie Gill
Marlborough High School

Nicholas Guerin
Wachusett Regional High School, Holden

Howard Harrison
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Alex Hatzberger
North Attleboro High School

Kathleen M. Jones
TTT Mentor Program, Cambridge 

Kimberly Kamborian
Waltham High School

Karin Lebeau
Co-Chair, MSEF Middle School Fair

Alison Riordan
Plymouth High School

Dr. Megan Rokop
Professor, UMass Boston

Jon Tyler
Westfield High School

Shannon Zayac
STEM Program Manager – MCLA

Associate Members

Chris Angelli
Somerville High School

Althea T. Brown
Medford High School (ret.)

Sebastian LaGambina
Somerville High School

Karen Martin-Myers
Upper Cape Regional Technical High School, Bourne, MA

Emily Steinberg
Lowell High School

MSEF Middle School Committee

Co-Chairs:
Karin Lebeau
Sandra H. Mayrand

Carol Barry
UMASS Lowell

Dr. Steven E. Bernacki (retired)
Raytheon Company/Draper Laboratory

Karen Bernacki

Kathy Berube
Worcester Public Schools

Karen Cristain
Douglas Public Schools

Ruth Crowley
Overlook Middle School

Nancy G. Degon
Auburn Public Schools (ret.)

MaryAnn DeMaria
The Bancroft School

Jeff Glick
Worcester Public Schools

Kelly Graveson
Douglas Public School

Chris Himes, Ph.D
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Lisa Greenwald
Westborough Public Schools

Erin McQuaid
Regis College

Kathleen Jones
TTT Mentor Program

Jeremy Mularella
Shrewsbury Public School

Dr. James Pelletier
Bristol Community College

William F. Rigney
MA STEM Consultant
Co-Chair, MSEF High School Committee

Rachel Usher
Douglas Public School

Helen Rosenfeld, Executive Director

Helen Rosenfeld has worked to advance youth education and development for over 20 years. She is an experienced leader with deep expertise in accelerating the growth of non-profit organizations. As the Executive Director of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) New England, Ms. Rosenfeld worked on behalf of underserved high school youth, engaging them in entrepreneurship programs to increase skills for their success in school and life. As the Executive Director of Friends of Young Achievers, she helped to build strategic partnerships for one of Boston’s top pilot schools. At One Hen, a youth entrepreneurship organization, Ms. Rosenfeld’s leadership led to rapid growth that doubled student reach and revenue. She has provided consulting services for a number of non-profits, focusing on strategic planning, program and fund development. Ms. Rosenfeld is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and Cambridge University (MPhil).

Eleanor A. Tishler, Vice President of Corporate Development

Ms. Tishler is responsible for all partner and sponsor relationships, and has built lasting and successful relations with over 100 loyal donors for over 15 years. She served as MSEF’s first independent management professional in 1989, when the organization transitioned to an autonomous organization from its life-long affiliation with The Boston Globe. During her tenure, she was responsible for formalizing business operations, heightening awareness of the science fair program and significantly expanding the scope of sponsorship. After stepping down as Executive Director a decade ago, Ms. Tishler remained with the organization as Director of Corporate Development. Before joining MSEF, she managed the corporate philanthropy program at Keyspan Energy (now part of National Grid), then a $1 billion diversified energy company. Her extensive experience in the non-profit sector includes work for United Way of Massachusetts, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Jobs for Youth, Speare Memorial Hospital and My Brothers Table.

Lauren Doty, Manager of Major Gifts and Grants

Ms. Doty joined MSEF in 2017 and is responsible for overseeing MSEF’s annual fundraising campaign. She will be working to grow our individual giving program as well as identifying and working with institutional funders. Prior to joining MSEF, Ms. Doty served as the Major Gifts Officer at Emerson Hospital where she was responsible for developing and managing special initiatives through major gifts and planned giving to grow philanthropic support. Previously, Ms. Doty served as the Director of Annual Giving at Simmons College where she raised increased revenue for the institution through leadership giving and marketing initiatives. Ms. Doty holds an MBA from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and a BA in marketing from Simmons College. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston, Emerging Leaders Program.

Karin Lebeau, Events Manager

Ms. Lebeau is responsible for managing all logistics for both of MSEF’s statewide Science & Engineering Fairs that bring together the most talented young researchers and innovators in Massachusetts each year. She brings to MSEF eight years of experience in coordinating the Middle School Division event, which she co-chaired as part of her work at the Regional Science Resource Center (RSRC) at UMASS Medical School. Beginning this year at MSEF, she will also oversee all administrative tasks for the High School Science Fair at MIT and the annual Massachusetts Delegation of students and teacher-chaperones that are selected to participate in the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF). For the past two years, Ms. Lebeau served as the Director of the Central MA STEM Network. Previously, she served as Interim Director of the RSRC, where she also managed a DESE-sponsored course for STEM teachers, “Identifying & Developing Student Conceptions in Physical Science,” and served as the course manager for Board of Higher Education’s @Scale Project, “Increasing Accessibility to Algebra & Geometry for ALL Students.” Before joining RSRC, Ms. Lebeau  was a research associate at UMASS Medical School and was the lead co-author of a paper published in Current Biology on chromosome dynamics in C.elegans. Ms. Lebeau earned her BA in biology at Assumption College and an MBA at Nichols College, and is MTEL-certified in General Science and Communications & Literacy.

Elizabeth Kronberg, Senior Manager of Administration

Ms. Kronberg joined MSEF in 2013 and is responsible for managing and executing all administrative tasks for MSEF. Her 20+ years of administrative experience includes companies in the insurance, mortgage and finance sectors in both MA and Chile. She also served as a residential supervisor in a school for special needs children. She earned her BS in Business Administration & Marketing at MCLA.

Cora Beth Abel, Executive Advisor

Over the last fourteen years, under Ms. Abel’s leadership, MSEF has grown into a world-class STEM organization, impacting hundreds of thousands of young people and educators across the Commonwealth and beyond. From creating the Curious Minds Initiative with its high-impact professional development programming for educators, to spearheading fundraising campaigns and leading the development of technology to manage STEM competitions, Ms. Abel has been a devoted leader and advocate for MSEF. She will be transitioning from her role as President & CEO of MSEF, leaving the organization on very stable footing. She will continue as the MSEF Executive Advisor over the next few months to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities. At MSEF, Ms. Abel forged new partnerships with academic institutions, private foundations and government agencies as well as like-minded science education organizations. Her efforts strengthened the state’s year-long science fair programs and built greater awareness of MSEF’s mission of inquiry and project-based learning for all students. She led the successful development and scale-up of the Curious Minds Initiative (CMI), which focused support in high-needs communities. Prior to joining MSEF in 2006, Ms. Abel helped to co-found and then lead MassBioEd, where she designed and directed BioTeach, a dynamic model of early-stage workforce development in the life sciences. She also developed an award-winning training program that opened entry-level opportunities in bio-manufacturing to under-represented urban populations. Ms. Abel also serves as a K-12 strand leader for the annual STEM Summit. Ms. Abel earned a baccalaureate in theoretical mathematics from SUNY-Buffalo and a master’s degree from Harvard University in education & design. She is the recipient of several awards, including two design fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.