Heather Coats is local to Lubbock graduating from Lubbock-Cooper High School. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX and her M.S. in Chemistry with an emphasis on Chemical Education from Texas Tech University in 2016. Heather has many years of research and teaching experience.

Since earning her master's, Heather worked at Texas Tech University's College of Education CISER, a STEM outreach program for K-12 Lubbock area schools. Heather joined the Lab Safety team in November 2017 and now serves as the Training and Outreach section manager. She manages the department's online and in-person safety training, website, external communications, and events. Heather also oversees the management of the TIPS Training Lab located in Experimental Sciences Building II.