Wes Lester is an Earth Science teacher at Salem High School in Salem Virginia. Wes Lester earned his BS in Geological Sciences from VT in 1994. From there he worked in the geotechnical engineering field until 1997 when he returned to VT to earn his MAED in Curriculum and Instruction. Later in 2012 Mr. Lester earned his MS in Educational Leadership in 2013. Wes has been teaching Earth Science at Salem High in Salem Virginia for 19 years and has worked with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium for the past 2 years. He has participated in BLAST, Virginia Space Coast Scholars, and other programs.

Octavia Williams is a Technology Education teacher at Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Virginia. She is also a Master Teacher for Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS). Mrs. Williams is one of the pioneer teachers with BLASTS.

Dr. Tomeka Wilcher is Assistant Professor at School of Education and Human Development at Hampton University, Hampton, VA. Dr. Tomeka Wilcher worked at Heritage High School located in Newport News, VA for 12 years. Within those 12 years, she served within the following capacities: English teacher (10 Ave/10 Hon/Pre-IB; 11 Ave/11 Hon; 12 Hon/12 AP); mentor to at-risk young women and men; new teacher mentor/coach; and content team lead teacher. In 2015, she took on an Assistant Professorship within Hampton University’s Department of Education. Her areas of expertise are follows: curriculum, adolescent literacy, developmental reading and writing, and teaching high school English. She decided to make this transition because of her passion for supporting and mentoring pre-service teachers/student-teachers, as well as new/novice teachers. She believes in providing the support, guidance, resources, strategies, and words of encouragement and wisdom, which will provide her future and new/novice teachers with the foundation needed to be successful and resilient as they take on one of the most important roles one could ever possess.

Matthew Scott is an Earth Science Teacher at ‎Henrico County Public Schools. He is a Secondary Science Teacher, with strong interests in Space and Earth sciences. His experiences at NASA, as a field geologist, and travels around the country and abroad inform his views on science: science is best learned with hands-on experiences, with a skilled and passionate instructor to guide learning.

Elizabeth Johnson

Nashawn Jeffries

Joseph Jackson

Franklin Council