Our Advisory Council provides expert review of our primary source and standard’s-based STEAM and social studies curriculum. This team of exceptional educators form a diverse group, representing a variety of subject areas and grade bands, that provides feedback and suggestions to benefit the program. Many council members also help in writing lessons for STEAMing Into The Future.
We are looking for qualified educators to join our advisory council. Interested in joining our crew? Learn more here.
Advisory Council Members
Darshell Silva, comes from a long line of Cape Verdean stevedores, is a Library and Media Specialist. She holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree, a School Library Media Specialist Certification, both from the University of Rhode Island, and a Blended Learning Certificate from Roger Williams University.
CAPT James Zatwarnicki an Assistant Professor of Nautical Science. He graduated from SUNY Maritime College with a degree in Marine Transportation Management and a Master of Science in International Transportation Management. He holds a license as Master Unlimited Tonnage Upon Oceans and Master of Towing Vessels.
Dr. Andrew Coggins is an internationally known cruise industry analyst based. He is a retired U.S. Navy Commander with over twenty-three years of service on seven ships. He has spoken at numerous conferences, and given interviews on issues and trends in the cruise and travel industries. He currently teaches courses in cruise industry management at Pace University.
Barbara Mullen is a licensed secondary educator and holds a Master’s of Teaching degree in Humanities from the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth. Her father’s love of tall ships impacted her desire to incorporate maritime subjects into her classroom. Ms. Mullen wrote the ceramics lesson on Fall River Line interiors and uses it with her students every year.
Jordan St. Claire holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently working on a Graduate Certificate in Early Education Leadership from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Jordan’s interested in ships and maritime has a personal connection. Her brother’s love for ships exposed her to many maritime museums over the years, and her appreciation for the subject grew with time. She will provide expert review for our early childhood lessons and assist in the creation and development of standards-based STEAM and social studies curriculum.
Brigit Baumgartner specializes in early childhood education and special education. She is currently working as a pre-K teacher at Applecore Learning Center. Brigit wrote the lesson, Ship Shape, where pre-K through 1st graders will demonstrate their understanding of basic shapes by using several cut out shapes to form a ship.
Dr. Nicholas Cox a PhD in the history of the nineteenth-century United States South from the University of Houston. In between college and his doctoral program, Dr. Cox co-founded the Bronx Academy of Letters in New York City, a college preparatory micro-academy. Dr. Cox joined the history faculty at Houston Community College in 2014 and also teaches at the College of Liberal Arts, Bauer College of Business, and Honors College at the University of Houston as well as in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Houston-Victoria. At HCC, Dr. Cox has served as the History Program Coordinator since 2015 providing leadership and performing assessment of the history program’s instruction toward meeting the college’s and state’s learning objectives.
Chris Koutros is a chemistry teacher and the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers (NEACT) Southern Division Chair. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, an M.S. in Chemistry from UMass Boston, and an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Bridgewater State University. He has extensive experience with POGIL, integrating technology in a BYOD environment, and giving students strong lab experiences. Chris teaches Chemistry at Oliver Ames High School and wrote the Boiler Operator Lab Practical lesson as well as co-presented at the most recent NEACT conference on using historic primary sources in remote chemistry lessons with Education Director Aimee Bachari. The Dimensional Analysis for Steamships lesson was presented there.
Mariam Afshar is a 5th grade APA Math educator at Dr. James “Red” Duke Elementary School in Houston, TX. She loves to create unique, fun lessons to keep her students excited and engaged. Her love of maths and travel has brought her to the Steamship Historical Societies Advisory council. She is excited to share her fun maths lessons with all teachers.