Winning the Presidential Award is a testament to the belief that my family, friends, and students have had in me. I am particularly thankful for my high school Physics teacher, Joseph Akramoff. He believed in a young man who didn't know what he was capable of and whose other teachers dismissed him as a problem needing to be fixed. Winning this award means that Mr. A's belief was justified; I will hopefully someday be half the teacher he was.

Zachary Moore Santa Barbara, CA | 7-12, Science, 2021

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

Zachary "Zack" Moore developed a passion for STEM after taking high school physics and went on to study civil engineering, cum laude, from the University of North Carolina. He began his teaching career in 1997 as a physics instructor for Peace Corps-Ghana, where he headed a regional science center serving five local school districts. After his service, Zack undertook a Peace Corps fellowship and earned a master’s degree in multicultural education from San Francisco State University. He began his current role as a STEM instructor in 2007 at Laguna Blanca School. He teaches Science 8, Physics, and Advanced Placement Physics. He previously taught at Burton High School, Gateway Hugh School, Bishop High School, and American Nicaragua School in Managua, Nicaragua. Zack has served a wide range of students including English as a Second Language students, underrepresented students with learning differences, and ex-pats. He recently brought his career full circle by serving as a Fulbright educator in Ghana, focusing on STEM infusion for Islamic girls. During his time as the STEM Coordinator and instructor at Laguna Blanca, Zack developed an EK-12 vision for STEM infusion into a traditional liberal arts institution, building out middle and upper school elective sequences in computer science, engineering, and robotics. He created extracurricular opportunities for students to delve into their passions and collaborated with colleagues to collectively create STEM-focused professional development. He has also served as a presenter at various events including for NSTA, CA STEAM symposium, and The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Material Research Experience for Teachers program.

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