As Regional Coordinator, Susie Teague works closely with schools, districts and community partners in the S²TEM Centers SC Upcountry Region. In these settings she applies her expertise in designing professional learning experiences, growing the leadership capacities of others, and developing innovative approaches to bring communities together around transforming STEM learning experiences.

With many school districts implementing one-to-one technology plans, Susie stays abreast of the best uses of learning technology including teaching apps, gaming and coding. She has also developed a strong interest in making STEM learning accessible in early childhood settings.

As an outcome of the 2017 Grand Challenges in SC STEM Education Summit, Susie is currently focusing on new efforts to enhance the value and perception of STEM teaching and learning in South Carolina and beyond. This includes serving as a liaison to SC Future Minds and 100Kin10.

Katie Burch is an entrepreneurial STEAM communicator and educator who is passionate about inspiring students to love STEAM. Her inspiration is the “aha” moment- where a child makes a connection or gets excited about what they’re learning.

For the past 5 years, she has served as the coordinator for Science on the Move, a statewide initiative from South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science and South Carolina 4-H. Through Science on the Move, she works with schools, afterschool programs, county 4-H clubs, and other youth-serving organizations to provide education resources that are designed to increase students’ interest in and exposure to STEAM. Science on the Move’s programs focus on training afterschool staff and volunteers to facilitate STEAM learning, providing quality educational STEAM activities to students in elementary through high school, and engaging students in improving their soft skills like teamwork and communication.

In addition to the iMAGINE STEAM Festival and Science on the Move programs, Katie also assists with the SC 4-H Engineering Challenge, an event that hosts multiple engineering-based competitions where students ages 9-19 can compete for individual and team awards. She was the event director from 2014-2018 and now manages the event’s STEAM Fair.

Her educational background is in Science Communications (B.S. from Winthrop University) and Youth Development Leadership (M.S. from Clemson University). She is currently working on developing programs incorporating computer science and computational thinking through coding, invention literacy, and unplugged (non-computer-centric) activities.