Meet Our 2025 Conference Keynote Speakers
Dr. Andraé Townsel was born and raised in the beautiful state of Michigan. As a student-athlete at Cass Technical High School, he earned a football scholarship to Howard University in Washington, DC. His football scholarship ultimately turned into a doctoral degree. He earned his bachelors, masters, and doctorate all from Howard University and began his educational career in the District of Columbia. He had the privilege of working in every level of the educational system and excelled. He served as a student teacher, teacher, football and basketball head coach, assistant dean, dean of students, central office specialist, assistant principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent, and a highly effective superintendent. He is currently the President of the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland (PSSAM) and has recently been appointed by Governor Wes Moore as a Board Member for Juvenile Services Education. Dr. Townsel also serves on the Maryland Assessment and Accountability Task Force.
Dr. Townsel will be presenting at the conference on Thursday, February 6 at 10:00-10:45am.
Anisa Heming is director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2014, she was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Sustainability by Green Building and Design Magazine. With a background in architecture, she began her work with USGBC in New Orleans, hired to assist with rebuilding the schools after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
After two years with the city’s Recovery School District, she moved to Washington, DC to begin the Green Schools Fellowship Program at the Center for Green Schools, a program that places and trains sustainability directors in school districts. As director, Anisa provides strategic direction to USGBC’s work in schools and coordinates an organization-wide team to promote environmental sustainability, health and wellness, and sustainability literacy in school systems around the world. She is a Little Rock native and holds a B.S. in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.Arch. from the University of Washington in Seattle.
Ms. Heming will be presenting at the conference on Friday, February 7 at 12:50-2:00pm.
Symone Barkley (she/her) is a Baltimore-born scientist and educator who has had a wide range of experiences in the marine science field. Symone has studied algae, blue crabs, sand tigers, and sandbar sharks over the years in undergrad and graduate school.
Even with her exciting research experience, Symone’s passion for educating young people about the ocean and the environment remains at the forefront of her priorities. She is proud to be supporting students and teachers through her presence on a number of local and regional environmental education and STEM boards and is also the Chief Learning Officer for Black In Marine Science.
Symone is a member of NAAEE’s Environmental Education 30 Under 30 program and has launched A Peace of Nature STEM kits for children and youth which aims to foster a passion for STEM learning, art, and literacy in youth through hands-on activities, and encourage literacy in young audiences to help address the STEM learning gap and drive diversity in the field.
Symone serves as the National Ocean Service (NOS) Exhibits Manager and Education Specialist. She works to increase public awareness of products and services NOS provides through outreach at conferences, workshops, festivals, and other events. Symone hosts the Planet NOAA Podcast and Ocean Today, Every Full Moon, a collection of videos showcasing the beauty and mystery of the ocean realm while exploring various ocean topics. Through her support of NOS and NOAA education, Symone is committed to mentoring students, training educators, and creating authentic and effective systems to recruit and retain traditionally excluded groups in ocean science.
Ms. Barkley will be presenting at the conference on Friday, February 7 at 6:45-8:45pm.
