Thomas Foltz Email & Phone Number

Upland, Indiana, United States

* Oversee the creation of engaging instructional materials, resources, programs, and assessments to support curriculum delivery.* Conduct regular reviews and updates of curriculum content to reflect advancements in educational research and emerging trends.* Train teachers and other individuals how to properly implement programs such as a high-altitude balloon program.* Design and run summer space camps and space clubs that meet during the year* Identify and evaluate new… Show more * Oversee the creation of engaging instructional materials, resources, programs, and assessments to support curriculum delivery.* Conduct regular reviews and updates of curriculum content to reflect advancements in educational research and emerging trends.* Train teachers and other individuals how to properly implement programs such as a high-altitude balloon program.* Design and run summer space camps and space clubs that meet during the year* Identify and evaluate new technologies and resources that should be included in NSE’s curriculum.* Help design and then run the Makerspace in the new NSE office space.* Develop grant proposals, applications, and supporting documents in collaboration with program staff and stakeholders.* Represent NSE at conferences and network with other education stakeholders. Show less

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States

• Lead in the development, planning, scheduling, staffing, assessment, and presentation of all science center programs (demos, camps, outreach, online learning, workshops, etc.)• Review recent educational research and trends to ensure continual improvement of all programming and accurate alignment with current state and national educational standards• Responsible for monitoring and the continuous growth of all revenue and non-revenue programs, numbers, finances and data• Hire, train… Show more • Lead in the development, planning, scheduling, staffing, assessment, and presentation of all science center programs (demos, camps, outreach, online learning, workshops, etc.)• Review recent educational research and trends to ensure continual improvement of all programming and accurate alignment with current state and national educational standards• Responsible for monitoring and the continuous growth of all revenue and non-revenue programs, numbers, finances and data• Hire, train and manage outreach, school/public and special programs full-time, part-time and seasonal staff• Maintain a strong presence in the educational community (schools, universities, community centers, scouts, etc.)• Manage all education-related Strategic Plan components• Support a cross-organizational team, working closely with the Development, Exhibits, Visitor Services, Finance and Executive Directors• Participate in and/or lead various internal and community committees• Assist with researching, writing, and reviewing grants and grant reports, and managing grant activities and funds• Collect and analyze programs and program-participant data Show less

Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, South Bend And Gary

Program Management:- Daily operation of Starbase Indiana, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit STEM education organization under contract with the Indiana State National Guard Bureau- Ensure compliance with all details of our guiding Department of Defense Instruction, our 5-year Contract, our annual Cooperative Agreement, and all other State, local and base laws and regulations- Hiring and termination of all Starbase employees in strict compliance with all applicable laws- Staff training… Show more Program Management:- Daily operation of Starbase Indiana, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit STEM education organization under contract with the Indiana State National Guard Bureau- Ensure compliance with all details of our guiding Department of Defense Instruction, our 5-year Contract, our annual Cooperative Agreement, and all other State, local and base laws and regulations- Hiring and termination of all Starbase employees in strict compliance with all applicable laws- Staff training and professional development- Developed an evaluation system for tracking instructional objectives metCommunications and Content Creation:- 25+ years of classroom STEM/aerospace teaching and curriculum development experience- 4+ years experience as Executive Director with ultimate responsibility for all 4 Academies across the state- Write and submit our annual State Plan (our plan is used as an example for other states)- Quarterly Board meeting Agendas, briefings and minutes- Compile and submit Directors Questionnaires from all 4 Academies for the annual Report to Congress- Act as liaison between STARBASE Indiana and various community groups, educational institutions and national organizations- Host planning meetings with my Academy Directors to analyze needs and address issues before they become problems- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, PTC Crew and many other software packagesFinancial Management:- Develop, propose and implement a $1.473 million annual budget, across 4 Academies- Maintain detailed records and tracking of all income and expenditures- Provide monthly receipts, statements and other financial details to our accountant and quarterly reports to our Board Treasurer- File all necessary taxes and documentation required for our 501(c)3- Write and submit grant applications and donation proposals- Streamlined the invoicing system resulting in a 15% reduction in paperwork submitted to the State Show less

Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

- Design and lead activities to teach at-risk 5th grade students a variety of hands-on STEM-centered lessons in our 5-day/25-hour program, including PTC Creo CAD design, Newton’s Laws, the Engineering Design Process, Bernoulli’s Principle, endothermic and exothermic reactions, flight and rocketry basics, GPS navigation, LEGO robotics programming and much more, reaching over 1,600 students annually- Develop and teach programs in our 10-week, Junior High after-school STARBASE 2.0 program… Show more - Design and lead activities to teach at-risk 5th grade students a variety of hands-on STEM-centered lessons in our 5-day/25-hour program, including PTC Creo CAD design, Newton’s Laws, the Engineering Design Process, Bernoulli’s Principle, endothermic and exothermic reactions, flight and rocketry basics, GPS navigation, LEGO robotics programming and much more, reaching over 1,600 students annually- Develop and teach programs in our 10-week, Junior High after-school STARBASE 2.0 program, including 3D design and printing, Mars colony simulations and high altitude balloon investigations of the stratosphere- Create and lead the activities for our summer camp programs- Present community outreach programs for organizations including EAA Young Eagles, Operation Military Kids and Lutheran Children’s Hospital- Promote the organization to visiting dignitaries, including State and National Senators and Representatives, high-ranking military officers and the media- Hire, train and mentor new teaching staff and interns and administer annual performance reviews- Oversee supply orders and the yearly operating budget- Administer and analyze pre- and post-test results to gauge short- and long-term program effectiveness- Operate and maintain professional-level additive manufacturing (3D printing) equipment, including both FDM and PolyJet technologies Show less

Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

- Taught, maintained and evaluated all Conservatory field trip programs for over 4,500 students annually, ranging from pre-K through college- Created, budgeted, trained additional staff and taught 7 uniquely-themed summer camp weeks each summer- Developed and led over 30 different family friendly monthly science demonstration programs, covering topics as diverse as DNA extraction, Life on Mars, and Reindeer Aerodynamics (a holiday program), reaching over 1,200 visitors- Designed… Show more - Taught, maintained and evaluated all Conservatory field trip programs for over 4,500 students annually, ranging from pre-K through college- Created, budgeted, trained additional staff and taught 7 uniquely-themed summer camp weeks each summer- Developed and led over 30 different family friendly monthly science demonstration programs, covering topics as diverse as DNA extraction, Life on Mars, and Reindeer Aerodynamics (a holiday program), reaching over 1,200 visitors- Designed interactive visitor experiences for our seasonal Showcase garden, including writing 6 different murder mystery stories for our Clue showcase and building 4 self-reading audio storybooks for the Night Before Christmas showcase that would play when the pages were turned- Hired speakers, coordinated supplies and evaluated customer feedback for our public classes, lectures, workshops and wellness programs- Trained and managed the activities of our education volunteers Show less

Phoenix, Arizona Area

- Director of the Education Department- “Flew” over 1,000 on-site simulated space missions for more than 25,000 students and members of the general public- Conducted the distance learning simulation “e-Mission: Operation Montserrat” via Internet videoconferencing with schools and corporate groups across the United States and as far away as Northern Ireland and South Africa- Created, maintained and taught all other field trip programs at the Challenger Center, including “Spaced Out”… Show more - Director of the Education Department- “Flew” over 1,000 on-site simulated space missions for more than 25,000 students and members of the general public- Conducted the distance learning simulation “e-Mission: Operation Montserrat” via Internet videoconferencing with schools and corporate groups across the United States and as far away as Northern Ireland and South Africa- Created, maintained and taught all other field trip programs at the Challenger Center, including “Spaced Out” (human physiology in microgravity), “Moonbase 2020” (skills and challenges associated with living and working on the moon), and “Astrobiology Adventure” (simulating a robotic landing on Mars and subsequent search for biosignatures)- Managed and trained a staff of part-time Flight Directors and volunteers- Maintained the simulator technology, including 18 networked computers, projectors, stereo systems, DVD and Laserdisk players, robotic arms and other hardware- Represented the Challenger Center in the community and maintained relationships with organizations including Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, General Dynamics, the Rocket Racing League and Teachers in Space- Coordinated the judging and scoring of the Honeywell Fiesta Bowl Aerospace Challenge space station design competition- Served as the Informal Educator with the Arrowhead Elementary NASA Explorer School team Show less

Greater Seattle Area

- Developed curriculum, trained and managed a staff of about 6 educators- Presented off-site educational programs across the Pacific Northwest involving the basics of flight with a portable hydraulic flight simulator and astronomy with a Starlab portable planetarium- Led over 400 simulated space missions as a Flight Director at the Museum's Challenger Learning Center- Designed, scheduled and taught the Aerospace Camp Experience summer camp programs- Taught other on-site aviation… Show more - Developed curriculum, trained and managed a staff of about 6 educators- Presented off-site educational programs across the Pacific Northwest involving the basics of flight with a portable hydraulic flight simulator and astronomy with a Starlab portable planetarium- Led over 400 simulated space missions as a Flight Director at the Museum's Challenger Learning Center- Designed, scheduled and taught the Aerospace Camp Experience summer camp programs- Taught other on-site aviation and science field trip programs as required- I was selected as a NASA/JPL Educator Fellow for the Galileo Europa Mission. I received training about the mission at JPL and led many informational seminars for teachers and the general public after returning Show less

Huntsville, Alabama Area

- Coordinated team activities, meals, lectures, movies and simulators for trainees ranging from elementary-aged through adult, including international and differently-abled campers- Taught lessons in topics such as space history, space science, Shuttle systems and rocketry- Certified to operate the Center’s simulators, including the lunar gravity chair, the multi-axis trainer, the fixed- and hydraulic-based Orbiter cockpit simulators and the 30-foot long hydraulic arm simulating the… Show more - Coordinated team activities, meals, lectures, movies and simulators for trainees ranging from elementary-aged through adult, including international and differently-abled campers- Taught lessons in topics such as space history, space science, Shuttle systems and rocketry- Certified to operate the Center’s simulators, including the lunar gravity chair, the multi-axis trainer, the fixed- and hydraulic-based Orbiter cockpit simulators and the 30-foot long hydraulic arm simulating the shuttle’s robot arm- Ran the 2-hour and 12-hour simulated space missions in all areas, including flight deck, mid-deck, cargo bay, space station and Mission Control- Practiced SCUBA diving in the Underwater Astronaut Training tank Show less

Bachelor'S Degree, Geology/Earth Science, General

Activities and Societies: Brass/Wind Ensemble - Trombone Structural Geology, Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy.

Planetary Geology And Astrobiology

Activities and Societies: Moon Devils - 2 years - building and racing human-powered vehicles for NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race; Concert Band.

Physics

Activities and Societies: Students for the Exploration and Development of Space - Vice President; Concert Band - Trombone Astronomy.