Staff Bios
Craig Strang
Associate Director, Lawrence Hall of Science,
University of California, Berkeley
 Craig
Strang leads the LHS Teacher & Leadership
Programs Division and the NSF-funded California Center
for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence. He is also
the founding Director of MARE. Mr. Strang is the author
of three multi-volume sets of science & environmental
education curriculum materials for grades K-8: Proyecto
SOL: Science Oriented Learning, Project OCEAN and MARE.
Mr. Strang has developed professional development networks
to support the implementation of each of these programs.
He is the author of three teacher guides published by
the LHS Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS)
program: On Sandy Shores, Ocean Currents and Only One
Ocean. He was the principal project consultant responsible
for the creation and funding of a high school environmental
justice internship program, XCEL: Cross-Cultural Environmental
Leadership for Audubon Canyon Ranch. Mr. Strang's interest
in the use of inquiry-based science instruction to promote
language acquisition among English language learners
led him to explore the broader symbiotic relationship
between science and language literacy. This resulted
in his work on several projects including:Seeds of Science,
Roots of Reading; Science Knowledge through Inquiry & Language
Literacy; and the Mountain Region Science & Reading
Academy. Mr. Strang has conducted field research on
elephant seals and humpback whales, and occasionally
leads natural history eco-tours to Baja California and
Galapagos. He is past-president of Southwest Marine
Educators Association and sat on the board of directors
of National Marine Educators from 1988-1993. Mr. Strang
received his B.A. in Environmental Studies from University
of California, Santa Cruz.
Catherine Halversen
Co-Director, MARE: Marine Activities, Resources and Education, Director, COSIA: Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences, and Initiative Leader for COSEE CA’s Communicating Ocean Sciences, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley
 Catherine Halversen serves as Co-Director of the Marine Activities, Resources & Education (MARE) program, a nationally recognized, whole-school K–8 marine science immersion program originating from the Lawrence Hall of Science. She also serves as the main developer for MARE’s eight volume inquiry-based marine science curricula and has written three marine science teacher’s guides (On Sandy Shores, Only One Ocean, and Ocean Currents) for Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) also at the Lawrence Hall of Science.
Ms. Halversen serves as the primary course instructor and initiative leader for the NSF-funded California Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence college course, Communicating Ocean Sciences. This award-winning course is offered at UC Berkeley for undergraduate and graduate students in ocean science-related majors who also have an interest in education and introduces diverse future scientists to the importance of K-12, public outreach and the “broader impact” of their work. The course is now being offered in over a dozen institutions nationwide. Catherine also serves as Director for a new NSF-funded effort, COSIA: Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences. This project facilitates collaborations between scientists, college students and informal institutions across the country.
Ms. Halversen has worked extensively in developing and implementing programs which promote science inquiry integrated with literacy skills including: serving as the Director of the Mountain Region Science and Reading Academy, which integrated science and reading skills for traditionally under-served rural communities; serving as project coordinator and primary professional developer for the Science Knowledge through Inquiry and Language Literacy program (SKILL) which focused on using exemplary, inquiry-based science instruction to promote language literacy throughout a large, urban school district; and she is the primary author for the Seeds of Science • Roots of Reading Shoreline Science unit. Ms. Halversen is a former high school science teacher with credentials in Life Science and Chemistry and received an M.A. in Science, all from UC Berkeley.
Roberta Dean
Coordinator of Public Programs, MARE: Marine Activities
Resources and Education, Lawrence Hall of Science,
University of California, Berkeley
 Roberta Dean is one of the founders of the MARE Program
at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science. She is a
co-author
of MARE's K-8 marine science curriculum, including MARE
Teacher's Guide to Marine Science Field Trips-Central
California and the MARE
Teachers Guides To Ocean Habitats,
Grades K-8, in nine volumes: Ponds, Rocky Seashore,
Sandy Beach, Wetlands, Kelp Forest, Open Ocean, Islands,
Coral Reef, and Polar Seas. As a former developer and
director of Project Ocean and Executive Director of
the Sonoma Sea School, Dean has been providing professional
development and leadership institutes for teachers in
the field of marine science education for over 20 years.
Dean has offered field courses for teachers in Belize,
Central America, and served as an interpretive naturalist
in the Bahamas, and Baja, Mexico. Formerly a classroom
teacher, Dean holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts with a minor
in Biology from Sonoma
State University, along with
life credentials in Early Childhood Education, K-12
Education, as a resource specialist, and as a teacher
of both the learning and severely handicapped.
Emily Weiss
Ocean Immersion Coordinator, MARE: Marine Activities Resources and Education
Marine Science and Literacy Education Specialist
 Emily Weiss got her first taste of experiential science education as a teenage volunteer on an EarthWatch expedition, studying dolphin feeding behavior, where she cultivated a love of science and the ocean. Ms. Weiss has recently joined the MARE team as a professional developer and curriculum developer, combining her background in education policy, literacy education, and marine science. Before coming to MARE, Ms. Weiss earned a B.A. in public policy with a focus on education reform from Brown University. She then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in language and literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, becoming certified as a reading specialist. While working as a reading specialist in the Massachusetts public schools, Ms. Weiss partnered with classroom teachers to build literacy activities into their content area curricula and frequently led teacher and parent workshops. She also served as a literacy consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Education and the MGH Institute of Health Professions Hanson Initiative for Language & Literacy, training hundreds of teachers and administrators in best practices in literacy instruction. Ms. Weiss then went on to earn a Master’s degree from the Boston University Marine Program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where she studied the population structure of Atlantic cod on Georges Bank using molecular genetics techniques. Her work has been used to inform fisheries management decisions in New England. Ms. Weiss has run a middle school science club and designed curriculum for and taught at the New England Aquarium’s Harbor Discoveries program and the Woods Hole Children’s School of Science on topics ranging from ecology to embryology to marine electronics & engineering. She has now come to the MARE program to merge her love of teaching, expertise in literacy education, and passion for science and the ocean.
Dr. Timothy Zimmerman
Marine Science Communication Specialist
Program Manager, COSIA
 Dr. Zimmerman serves as the Program Manager for COSIA (Communicating Ocean Science to Informal Audiences), an NSF-funded program designed to train future generations of marine scientists how to communicate marine science concepts to broad audiences. He received his doctorate in Science Education from the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation research focused on the design and testing of marine science curricula that help learners apply scientific concepts to marine conservation problems. Incorporating both formal (classroom) and informal (aquarium) learning components, Dr. Zimmerman’s research also elucidated techniques for promoting learning across classroom and museum contexts. He has developed marine science curricula, in partnership with educators and scientists, for several institutions including the National Geographic Society, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey Academy of Ocean Sciences, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Many organizations, such as the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics program, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Global Footprint Network, and the Coral Reef Alliance, have sought his advise on science communication and education. He also served on the board of directors for the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City, CA. Prior to entering UC Berkeley, Dr. Zimmerman managed the wetlands enforcement program nationwide for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. where he provided expertise on environmental policy and wetland science. He has lectured and taught classes at several universities on scientific topics, environmental policy, and the design of science curricula. Dr. Zimmerman holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in marine biology and has conducted ecology, marine biology, and oceanography research. His master's research on latitudinal reproductive variation in diamondback terrapins along the Atlantic coast contributed to the re-evaluation of conservation strategies for this species. When not in the LHS office, you can find him rock climbing, birding, leading elephant seal walks at Ano Nuevo State Reserve, or hiking/camping somewhere in the vast California wilderness.
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