Erin Bell graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Southern California. Prior to teaching, she worked in the private sector for four years as a Systems Integration Consultant for a large pharmaceutical company. Ms. Bell has been in the classroom for ten years and is currently teaching Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry and Regents Chemistry at Saratoga Springs High School where she also coaches the Science Bowl team. Ms. Bell is a member of the America Chemical Society, AP Teach and the America Association of Chemistry Techers and is deeply motivated to inspire young women to pursue careers in the STEM fields. Ms. Bell credits the NYS Master Teacher Program with helping her build an incredible network of colleagues who push her out of her comfort zone and help her continue to improve her content knowledge and pedagogy. She has facilitated the Chemistry and Standards-Based Grading Professional Learning Teams and participated in numerous workshops over her four years as well. 

Kaitlin McGann earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Siena College and her M.A. in General Education from SUNY Albany. Ms. McGann teaches Regents Chemistry at Maple Hill High School, as well as Nanotechnology and Semiconductor Industry, a lab-based distance learning course she developed. Ms. McGann serves as Chemical Hygiene Officer and member of the Google Trainers group for Schodack Central School District. She is Coordinator of the Science Seminar Series, a program she began to help expose high school students to current practitioners in STEM careers and has served her students as a modified soccer coach, National Honor Society advisor, and Trivial Pursuit team coach. Kaitlin enjoys spending her summers immersed in STEM-based professional development such as the Research Experience for Teachers Program at the Cornell Center for Materials Research and as a Questar III Summer Science Fellow at Momentive Performance Materials. As a Master Teacher, Ms. McGann has joined Nanotechnology and Chemistry PLTs, attended Photoresists: from Microelectronic Devices to Tissue Engineering and The Biology of Cancer mini-courses, and participated in workshops on using Break-out Boxes and on writing Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning lessons. Kaitlin is passionate about finding ways to help her students be the masters of their own learning and is pleased to be connected to a larger professional development community through the NYSMTP.

Lisa Fort earned her BA in Physical Anthropology at the University of Alberta and her Master of Science in Teaching at SUNY Potsdam. Ms. Fort has been in the classroom for over 17 years, focusing now on earth science teacher, having tough biology for many years. After teaching for eight years in New York City, she has found a home at Queensbury High School where she teaches Regents Earth Science. Outside of the classroom, Ms. Fort is the Rocket Club advisor and PM School science advisor. She is a frequent presenter at Eastern Science Teachers Association of NYS (STANYS), STANYS, Capital Region Master Teacher’s Lab Day, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Empower conferences sharing her love of all things Earth Science with other educators. When not busy with her professional career, Ms. Fort can be found writing novels, drawing portraits, and being active in the outdoors. Ms. Fort brings her belief in the growth mindset into all she does. She is an active participant creating future NYS Science Learning Standards activities, and exploring deeper learning through non-fiction exploration. The opportunities and discussions in the NYS Master Teacher Program prompted an earlier and more meaningful shift in her classroom to incorporate standards-based grading, problem-based learning, and choice for all learners to promote successful global citizenry.