Advisory Board

 Dr. Catherine Cramer is CUNY Advanced Science Research Center Civic Science Fellow. She works at the intersection of data-driven science and  learning as it pertains to the understanding of complexity and its  application to data and network sciences. She develops tools and  programs for the teaching and learning of complex network and data  science. Her research is focused on participatory design and its role in  STEM engagement with under-served and marginalized communities. She is a  founder of the Network Literacy and Network Science in Education  movements, is on the Board of the Network Science Society, and is  co-editor of the Springer volume Network Science in Education. Before  coming to the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center she was Deputy  Director of the West Big Data Innovation Hub and Director of Outreach  and Engagement for Data Initiatives at the San Diego Supercomputer  Center, UC San Diego 

Dr. David Stifel is the Charles A. Dana Professor and Head of the Economics Department at Lafayette College. He is a development economist with research interests in poverty, water & agriculture, agricultural markets and rural infrastructure. He has lived in Madagascar working with Cornell University and the World Bank; in Ethiopia with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and in Sri Lanka with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). His work has been published in such journals as Global Environmental Change, World Development, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Economics, Journal of Development Studies, Economics and Human Biology, and Food Policy. Prof. Stifel earned his B.A. from Colgate University, his M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and his Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University. 

 Dr. Kyle C. McDonald is the Terry Elkes Professor and  Department Chair of the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department at The  City College of New York. He joined City University in 2011 having  developed a distinguished 20-year career in the Science Division of  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, in  Pasadena, California. At JPL, he supported NASA’s Earth Science program  as Principal and Co-Investigator on numerous Earth science  investigations involving remote sensing of terrestrial ecosystems and  the cryosphere. At the Graduate Center, Professor McDonald is affiliated  with the doctoral faculties of both the Earth and Environmental Science  (EES) and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB)  programs. He is a Faculty Affiliate at the CUNY Advanced Science  Research Center (ASRC) where he maintains strong collaborations with the  CUNY Environmental Initiative, and he is Associate Director for  Research of the CUNY CREST Institute, having long-standing  collaborations with the NOAA CREST Center. He is Co-Director of CCNY’s  Environmental Earth System Science (EESS) program and also actively  engaged with CCNY’s MS program in Sustainability in the Urban  Environment. Professor McDonald maintains a Faculty Part-Time position  in the Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Group at the Jet Propulsion  Laboratory and is a Project Scientist at UCLA’s Joint Institute for  Regional Earth System Science and Engineering (JIFRESSE). 

Dr  Bridie Schultz is a specialist in STEM education, program design and  social impact, with experience developing and delivering initiatives  that  strengthen scientific capability and participation across schools,  communities and scientific industries. She is the co-Founder of  teachSTEM, an Australian charity focused on ensuring people from all  backgrounds have access to the skills needed to engage with  science, technology and environmental decision-making. 

Bridie  is also a Director of Sativus and Essential Skills for Science, where  she works at the intersection of research, education, and industry to  support practical problem-solving, leadership development, and  inclusive innovation. With a PhD in theriogenology and a Masters in STEM  Education, Bridie’s work spans citizen science, authentic assessment,  and professional development for scientists and educators,  with partnerships including government agencies, universities, and  international science organisations. She brings experience in  governance, program strategy, and cross-sector collaboration to the  NextGen Globe Board.

Christopher Moore is Program Manager for the International Science Reserve (ISR), an initiative of the New York Academy of Sciences, where he supports global scientific preparedness and crisis response. He brings more than 15 years of international leadership experience across the public and private sectors, including humanitarian work with the International Rescue Committee supporting refugees from the Syrian Civil War, service as a Special Operations Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force, and international volunteer work in the Ukraine conflict.

Chris’s work is driven by a focus on preparedness, rapid response, and cross-border collaboration. At ISR, he is dedicated to building a global community of scientists, strengthening partnerships with public and private institutions, and developing practical tools, training frameworks, and best practices that enable scientific expertise to be mobilised quickly and effectively when crises emerge.

Dr. Gillian Bayne is a professor of Science Education at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and holds a dual appointment in the Urban

Education Department at the CUNY Graduate Center. She brings to The Next

Generation Global Collaboratory, Inc. over thirty years of science education

experience, which have helped to deepen the theoretical and ethical

underpinnings of her pedagogical enactment and scholarly work. Dr. Bayne has

worked with and has supported beginning, seasoned and pre-service science teachers, as well as science and urban education doctoral students. Her

research is grounded in sociocultural theory and utilizes qualitative and

quantitative methodologies that afford understandings of STEM equity challenges

locally, nationally and internationally. Her work calls for the need to rethink

current paradigms that can negatively impact the advancement of youth and

STEM professionals throughout the world. Dr. Bayne has served as a Lead

Educator for the Training, Education, and Public Engagement in the GLOBE

program and has been a PI/Co-PI on multiple NASA and NSF grants. She has

published in highly respected scholarly venues, including Learning Environments

Research, Cultural Studies of Science Education, the Journal of Multicultural

Education, and the International Handbook of Research on Multicultural Science

Education.

 Maina Muniafu is an Associate Professor of Natural Sciences in the School of Pharmacy

and Health Sciences at the United States International University – Africa based in

Nairobi, Kenya.

He is the Chair of CitSci Africa Association and Vice Chair of the Citizen Science Global

Partnership (CSGP). He holds a PhD in Botany (Plant Ecophysiology) and a Master of Science in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and has been actively teaching and

researching in the area of environmental sustainability (in particular the energy-water-food

nexus) for the past 30 years.

Community efforts have targeted lifting the livelihoods of youth in the low income areas

of the capital city Nairobi by involving them in finding entrepreneurship solutions through

innovative nature based solutions in their immediate environments.

He also serves on the Editorial Board of the Citizen science impact assessment and

evaluation journal.

 Rusty Low is a senior scientist at the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), where her work centers on citizen science, environmental monitoring, and vector-borne disease. She served as Deputy Director for Science at the GIO and has held multiple leadership roles within the The GLOBE Program since 2001, most recently as Science Lead for the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper.

Rusty’s interdisciplinary career spans archaeology, palaeo-climate research, and applied environmental science, with a strong focus on using mobile technologies and open data to track mosquito disease vectors. She is a former Fulbright Scholar in Brazil (2021–22), a Fulbright Specialist, and a UNITAR Global Diplomacy Fellow. Dr. Low earned her PhD at the University of Minnesota and currently lives in Colorado.

 Ricardo Toledo-Crow is a polytechnologist and expert in bridging science and engineering to advance biomedical research, medical devices, and biophotonics. He brings broad experience across academia and industry, leading research and development of advanced instrumentation for biology, medicine, and in-vivo studies.

Ricardo is Co-Founder and CTO of ColdSteel Laser Inc., where he is developing a micro-robotic surgical platform in collaboration with the Head & Neck Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has managed multi-institutional collaborations with The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medicine, resulting in patents and peer-reviewed publications.

Specialising in microscopy and optical systems, Ricardo developed the first video-rate acousto-optic multiphoton microscope, UV micro-scanners for optogenetics, and analytical instrumentation for peptide profiling using MALDI-TOF systems. He holds a PhD in Physics and Optics with a focus on near-field microscopy and has successfully translated laboratory technologies to commercial products in industry.

  Nico de Klerk, PhD is a social entrepreneur, public speaker, and educator focused on cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets and social innovation. He is an Extraordinary Lecturer at the School of Social Innovation at Huguenot College and formerly served as an Adjunct Professor of Spiritual Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Nico is the Founder and CEO of the StreetBiz Foundation, leading initiatives that promote social entrepreneurship among marginalized youth in South Africa. In 2018, his flagship initiative, Long Walk for the Entrepreneurial Mindset, was awarded Best Global Social Innovative Project by Life Learning Academia on the recommendation of Edward de Bono. As part of this project, Nico walked nearly 3,000 km (1,708 miles) across South Africa, engaging more than 100 township communities and facilitating mindset-focused workshops at close to 200 schools and community groups.

A Master Trainer in Entrepreneurial Skills Development (University of the State of California), Nico is also the author of No Fit – My 1,700-Mile Walk from Apartheid. His work and message have gained international recognition, with speaking engagements across Canada, the United States, Europe, North Africa, and Russia. Drawing on lived experience, social research, and years of facilitating emotional intelligence and mindset development workshops, Nico’s talks are known for being educational, challenging, motivational, and deeply authentic. 

Dr. Izzy Crawford PhD FCIPR is Associate Dean for Economic, Social and Cultural Development at Aberdeen Business School, part of Robert Gordon University. With over 20 years’ experience in higher education, she has held a range of senior academic and strategic leadership roles, including Academic Strategic Lead and Senior Lecturer, and previously served as Subject Leader for Public Relations, Media and Journalism. Her work focuses on strengthening the role of universities in driving inclusive economic growth, social innovation, and cultural development.

Internationally, Dr. Crawford has extensive experience working across global education, research, and professional networks, contributing to initiatives that connect higher education with international economic, social, and cultural agendas. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (FCIPR), she brings a global perspective to strategic communication, media, and public relations, and is recognised for her commitment to international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and translating academic expertise into real-world impact. 

Professor Oran Young is professor emeritus and co-director of the  Program on Governance for Sustainable Development at the Bren School of  Environmental Science & Management at the University of California  Santa Barbara. His research focuses on theoretical issues relating to  the roles social institutions play as elements of governance systems,  with applications to the atmosphere, the oceans, and the polar regions.  He also does comparative research on environmental governance processes  in China and the United States. Dr. Young served for six years as  founding chair of the Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change  of the US National Academy of Sciences. He chaired the Scientific  Steering Committee of the international project on the Institutional  Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC). He was a founding  co-chair of the Global Carbon Project and from 2005 to 2010 chaired the  Scientific Committee of the International Human Dimensions Programme on  Global Environmental Change. An expert on Arctic issues, Dr. Young  chaired the Steering Committee of the Arctic Governance Project and is  the senior counselor to the North Pacific Arctic Conference. Past  service in this realm includes co-chair of the Working Group on Arctic  International Relations, co-chair of the NAS Committee on Arctic Social  Science, member of the US Polar Research Board, founding board member of  the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, vice-president of  the International Arctic Science Committee, chair of the Board of  Governors of the University of the Arctic, consultant to the Standing  Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, and co-chair of the  2004 Arctic Human Development Report. Dr. Young holds honorary  doctorates from UiT the Arctic University of Norway and the University  of Lapland. He is the author or co-author of more than 30 books. His  recent books include: Governing Complex Systems: Social Capital for the  Anthropocene, and Grand Challenges of Global Governance: Global Order in  Turbulent Times.