Karen Temple-Beamish Albuquerque, NM | 7-12, Science, 2013

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Karen Temple-Beamish has taught eighth grade Earth Systems Science and high school Environmental Biology at Albuquerque Academy for 18 years. As her school’s Sustainability Coordinator, Karen leads her community to decrease its ecological footprint. Through the school’s environmental clubs, Karen created the new Desert Oasis Teaching Garden, which inspires hope and provides the skills her community needs to grow food sustainably.  Karen’s passion for environmental education has taken her across the globe learning and teaching. In 2001, Karen participated in the Woodrow Wilson Environmental Institute in Costa Rica. In 2008 and again in 2010, she was selected to participate in the Japan Fulbright Teacher Exchange. In 2014, Karen participated as a Community Climate Change Fellow in 2014 and as a NOAA Climate Steward in 2015. This year, the New Mexico Department of Education chose her to facilitate a teacher-training course called “Making Sense of Science.” Karen believes that through experiential real-world problem solving, she can better prepare her students and community to be agents of change. Karen earned a B.S. in biology from the University of New Mexico and a M.S. in environmental science from Indiana University. She continues to enrich her education in educational technology, tropical and desert ecology, and biomimicry. 

• High-resolution version of the official portrait photograph
• Awardee holding Presidential certificate between Megan Smith, U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. France A. Còrdova.
• High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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