Jill obtained her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M University in 2010 (Whoop!) and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2015. Her graduate research focused on cell proliferation, growth control, and aging in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Following graduation, she accepted an instructor position and began teaching Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Tech, as well as courses at a local high school. Jill thoroughly enjoyed teaching at both the college and high school levels. She often made it her goal to convince those students who came in “hating chemistry” to have a different opinion by the end of the semester.

In 2018 Jill began serving as the Associate Program Director of STEM Outreach for the Center for the Integration of STEM Education & Research (CISER). In this new role, Jill was still focused on the importance of STEM education. However, the focus shifted to teachers and K-12 students. CISER is committed to helping teachers acquire the resources and knowledge they need to teach STEM topics in an engaging and effective way. Although Jill enjoyed the collegiate classroom, there is nothing quite like watching a room full of 4^thgraders become energized over isolating DNA from strawberries through a simple protocol. In 2019, Jill transitioned to her current role and became the Director of CISER where her focus and goals surrounding STEM education remained the same – provide every K-12 teacher and student access to whatever STEM resources they need to be successful in the classroom.