Teen Science Café – Bethesda Green

The Bethesda Green Teen Science Café is a free, fun way for teens to engage in lively conversations with STEM experts about environmental issues. Run by and for high school students ages 14 through 19, the Bethesda Green Teen Science Café hosts regular, informal speaker sessions in which participants learn about advances in environmental science and technology and gain exposure to different careers in the environmental field.

Scroll down to see upcoming session and opportunities to get involved!

OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED

Nominate a Speaker

Know a scientist or STEM professional working on environmental issues? Nominate them to be a Teen Science Café guest speaker. Self-nominations welcome!

Nominate a STEM Professional to Speak

UPCOMING SESSIONS

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PAST SESSIONS

Climate Action and Connection to Place

Saturday, April 15th, 2023 | 7 – 8pm ET, virtual.
Speaker: Joanna Snyder, K-8 Science Curriculum Specialist, Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California Berkeley and Montgomery County Council of PTAs

Watch the recording here.

Joanna Snyder is a MCPS graduate, a MCPS parent, and a science curriculum specialist who telecommutes from Silver Spring to the Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California at Berkeley. As a curriculum specialist, Joanna develops instructional materials and professional support for several national K-8 hands-on science curricula (for both classroom instruction and informal outdoor science experiences). Her passion focuses on supporting teachers extending their classroom to the schoolyard and creating resources for middle school students to engage with empowering stories of environmental action and encouraging connection to place and nature. Before joining the Lawrence Hall of Science, Joanna was a middle school science teacher, bird ecology field research tech and environmental educator at the Teton Science School, and an oceanography teacher assistant with Sea Education Association. As her daughter started kindergarten during the worst of the pandemic, Joanna began using her expertise as a parent advocate. Her work encouraging outdoor lunch when schools reopened led to the founding of the MCCPTA (Montgomery County Council of PTAs) Sustainability and Green Schools subcommittee to increase MD Green School certification, advocate for a MCPS Climate Change Action Plan, and ultimately establish a district-wide schoolyard redesign to increase climate resilience, nature play, and community wellbeing.

Science and Technology Public Policy

Friday, January 27th, 2023 | 7 – 8pm ET, virtual.
Speaker: Cherilyn Pascoe, Senior Technology Policy Advisor, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Read the summary here.

Cherilyn Pascoe is Senior Technology Policy Advisor with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She will discuss some drivers and take-aways in advancing public policy from her long history of working on the Hill and at NIST. At NIST, she advises on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence policy and strategy. She also leads the NIST Cybersecurity Framework program and is a team member of the Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework program, both of which provide guidance to organizations to reduce cybersecurity and AI risks, respectively. Prior to joining NIST, she served more than a decade in staff leadership roles in the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation working for former Senator Hutchison (R-TX), Senator Thune (R-SD), and current Ranking Member Wicker (R-MS). Most recently, she served as Deputy Policy Director managing the Committee’s Space and Science Subcommittee, which has legislative and oversight jurisdiction over science, technology, standards, and civil space policy. During her time on the Hill, she led efforts to develop and advance several notable pieces of legislation, including the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (now the CHIPS and Science Act), the AV Start Act (on autonomous vehicles), as well as three surface transportation reauthorization laws and ten cybersecurity laws. Pascoe received her M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from the George Washington University and her B.S. Chem. with Highest Honors in Chemistry from the University of Michigan.

Restoring our Watershed

Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 | 7 – 8pm ET, virtual.
Speaker: Beth Forbes, Water Resources Engineer

When the Cuyahoga River caught on fire when Beth Forbes was a child, it inspired her to work in the water quality field. She majored in environmental geology and eventually found employment as a water resources engineer. She’s now a licensed professional engineer and holds a Virginia certification to be a stormwater plan reviewer, inspector, and program administrator. After spending much of her career in the public sector, she is now a consultant primarily working on green streets projects.

Nature Crime

Monday, May 2nd, 2022 | 10am – 11am ET.
Speaker: Dr. Meredith Gore, University of Maryland College Park

Read the summary here.

Meredith L. Gore is an Associate Professor of Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change in the Department of Geographical Sciences at University of Maryland, College Park. Her research uses risk concepts to build new understanding of human-environment relationships and is designed to build scientific evidence for action. The majority of her activities can be described as convergence research on conservation issues such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, fishing and mining. Meredith has conducted research in collaboration with local communities in 15 countries on 5 continents with funding from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DEFRA, Global Wildlife Conservation and others. Her website hosts voluntary, consensus-based and open-access GIS standards to combat wildlife trafficking. In 2016-2017, she served in-residence at the U.S. Department of State Office of the Geographer and Global Issues as a National Academies of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow. Meredith has continued to provide senior science advising to the State Department on conservation crime as an Intelligence Research Expert; she has advised the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Office of Wildlife and Forest Crime, the African Union Commissions’ Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Urban Bushmeat Team, and Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Division. Dr. Gore has published over 75 referred journal articles and book chapters and currently serves as an Associate Editor for Global Ecology and Conservation. She is the Editor and author of Conservation Criminology (2017, WileyBlackwell), and her co-edited volume Women and Wildlife Trafficking (WileyBlackwell) is expected in early 2022. Meredith earned her PhD at Cornell University, MA at The George Washington University, and BA at Brandeis University.

Climate Change Impacts & Solutions!

Read the session summary here.
Speaker: Dr. Sara Via, University of Maryland College Park
Dr. Sara Via received her BS and PhD from Duke University and did Postdoctoral work in evolutionary genetics at the University of Chicago. She moved to the University of Maryland as Professor of Biology in 1997 after holding faculty positions at the University of Iowa and Cornell University. After a 35-year research career, Dr. Via began teaching Marylanders about climate change impacts and solutions through the University of Maryland Extension in 2014. Since 2020, Sara has given hundreds of talks to community groups as well as webinars on various topics in climate change and sustainability (see www.climatecorner.org for links to the webinar videos). Dr. Via was on the steering committee for Howard County’s Climate Change Institute for 10th graders in its inaugural year (2020-2021), and continues to lecture in the program.

Solutions to Plastic Waste!

Read the session summary here.
Speaker: Dr. Christopher White
Christopher White is an expert in polymer science, specifically in modeling how polymers degrade when exposed to outdoor environments. He has a PhD. in Chemistry from University of Wisconsin and an MBA from University of Maryland. Dr. White is a science advisor for the United Nations Environmental Program, specially on matters related to climate change. He is now a senior managing scientist for Exponent following a multi decade career with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Science of Coffee Roasting!

Speaker: Donnie Hill, Cosmos Roastery
Donnie Hill is the Founder and CEO of Cosmos Roastery, Maryland’s first zero-emission specialty coffee roaster, which seeks to research and develop innovative roasting methodology designed to maximize coffee’s natural cognitive and health-boosting properties.

MEET THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Alicja Mazurkiewicz, President
Junior at the Holton-Arms School

My passion lies in identifying and implementing approaches to preserve the health of the environment against the threats of rising pollution and climate change. As a young person, I want to do my part in protecting the environment.

Ivy McConarty, Secretary

Finding creative solutions to make a sustainable future in my community is a growing passion of mine. I have a love for math and engineering and am interested in discovering ways I can use these skills to help the environment.

Zeke White, (He/Him), Ambassador
Senior at Walt Whitman High School

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved science, especially biology. During COVID, my parents finally relented against the reptile ban in the house and I got an adorable baby corn snake named Honeysuckle. I can’t wait to meet everyone!

Nathania Dawit, Outreach Officer
Sophomore at Walter Johnson High School

Having grown up in a country where most people are unaware of environmental issues, I am very interested in learning about our environment. I look forward to sharing and solving environmental problems with other people.

Tracy Espinoza, Outreach Officer
First Year at Watkins Mill High School

I’ve always been very passionate about exploring different fields of science, and now environmental science! From forming an unsuccessful Green Team in elementary school to working with the Teen Science Café, I can’t wait to expand my horizons and dive into different ways to protect our communities and build a sustainable environment!

Jasmine Guevara, Outreach Officer
Senior at Northwood High School

My passion for science and sustainability continues to grow. Being educated on the variety of environmental challenges is significant. I am so excited to learn about the many different ways to make my community more green and sustainable!

Myla Leung, Outreach Officer
Sophomore at Winston Churchill High School

Ever since I was young, I have always had a strong interest in environmental science and sustainability. I’m so excited to be a part of the Teen Science Cafe team, and I’m looking forward to learning about ways we can protect our environment.