LEDUC, Ph.D., Danika, is an ASET Co-Principal Investigator, Interim Associate Dean for the College of Science at California State University, Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the former Associate Director for the Institute for STEM Education. She has lead professional development workshops for K-12 teachers through the East Bay Science Project, Bay Area Science Project, NASA Liftoff, and another NSF-funded project, IMSS. Dr. LeDuc has also served as PI or Co-PI on three different grants funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation that developed university-level curriculum to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to confidently and competently teach science under the Next Generation Science Standards, and curriculum development for science majors aspiring to enter the teaching profession. Her work in this area is published in College Teaching (2014) and Journal of Transformative Leadership and Policy Studies (2015).

Dr. LeDuc’s involvement in university, state and national projects provides a broad perspective on the needs of pre-service teaching candidates, inservice teachers, and faculty. Her research experiences and agenda as a faculty member includes leading multi-disciplinary teams of STEM and education faculty, and industry engineers in the development of foundational science preparation coursework for undergraduate and pre-service students. She has also led professional development of inservice teachers, STEM and education university, community college faculty, Deans of Science, Math, and Education, and liberal coordinators statewide on NGSS, Common Core State Standards for Math, Science Literacy, and ELD. The goal of these efforts is singular: strengthening science instruction for all students K-20, not just to increase the pipeline to science degrees and teaching credentials, but to enhance science literacy for all students, regardless of their career goals.