Three STEM Educators and Schools Receive Cash Awards and Free STEM Programming

March 13, 2025 at 14:32 PM EDT

WASHINGTON and RESTON, Va., March 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announce Kelsy Achtenberg, Allan Miller, and Kevin L. Simmons as the winners of the 2025 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. Each teacher and their respective schools will be awarded $5,000. Additionally, each teacher will receive free access to Challenger Center STEM programming, a trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala, and an invitation to attend a future space launch experience and VIP tour.

In its fourth year, the award celebrates K-12 teachers who go above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. The three winners come from schools across the United States and were selected from a competitive pool of nominations. The nominations demonstrate the remarkable efforts teachers make every day to empower underserved and underrepresented students in STEM while using unique strategies, tools, and lessons in and out of the classroom to further energize students.

The 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award recipients are:

Kelsy Achtenberg, STEM coordinator, math lead, and Dean of Students at The Innovation School, Bismarck, North Dakota
With 13 years of teaching experience, Kelsy has spent the past eight focused on STEM education. During this time, she guided The Innovation School to become a Yass Prize quarterfinalist, a VELA grant recipient, and a Canopy Project school. Her excellence in teaching has earned nominations for Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year, LifeChanger of the Year, Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year, and the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Holding a Master of Education in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, she crafts innovative, hands-on, project-based lessons. Her commitment to inclusivity in STEM shines through many of her initiatives, including a school makerspace designed specifically for students with dyslexia.

Allan Miller, Applied STEM and Design Technology teacher at Williston Central School, Williston, Vermont
A distinguished educator with 40 years of experience, Allan currently guides 3rd-8th graders through project-based experiences focusing on hands-on STEM activities. He spent 25 years teaching in Alaska, beginning at a Tlingit community school in Yakutat. Now a NASA Solar System Ambassador, Allan has been a Mercury Messenger Fellow, Explorer School Project Leader, and helped establish the Educator Astronaut Teacher corps. His career extends beyond the classroom: as a 1989 Reagan/Gorbachev Fellow, he taught in a Soviet school; as a 2007 Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, he coordinated international projects for the National Science Foundation; and as a 2020 Fulbright Distinguished Educator Fellow, he trained over 500 Uzbekistan teachers on STEM education best practices. In 2023 and 2025, he led a Fulbright project in Nha Trang, Vietnam, training faculty and students at a teacher’s college on building problem-solving skills through STEM. His awards include the 2005 Alaska Challenger Center Teacher of the Year, 2008 NSTA Mohling Aerospace Educator Award, and 2013 UVM Tarrant Foundation Educational Leadership Award; he is a 2022 Vermont nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics.

Kevin L. Simmons, founder of the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team (WCDT) and Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Kevin brings 21 years of educator experience to engage middle and high school students in aerospace and STEM education. His WCDT program empowers students aged 10–18 to design, build, and launch CubeSats—two have already flown, with a third set for 2025 via Firefly Aerospace’s DREAM 2.0. Under his leadership, WCDT students have produced over 110 technical papers and presented at major conferences such as the International Astronautical Congress and SmallSat. Kevin also works with his team to create educational resources—such as children’s books and podcasts— to make space science accessible to a wider audience. His accolades include induction into the Space Worker Hall of Fame and the AIAA Educator Achievement Award, and he co-founded the annual SmallSat Education Conference at NASA Kennedy Space Center. Kevin also is an advocate, mentoring students who have participated in AIAA Congressional Visits Day and Florida Space Day, helping them learn how to advocate for accessible STEM policies and connect with leaders.

"We are honored to present the 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award to Kelsy, Allan, and Kevin. They are each committed to providing students with world-class STEM education opportunities, especially the kinds of project-based, hands-on learning that immerses students in real-world challenges and equips them with the skills to innovate," said Mike Kincaid, President and Executive Director of Challenger Center. “With leaders like them, we’re building a dynamic, capable generation of STEM pioneers.”

The U.S. aerospace and defense industry leads the world in innovation, while still facing challenges of staffing a properly skilled and qualified workforce. Crucial gaps must be addressed – more STEM-literate graduates are desperately needed and greater participation is needed from women and communities traditionally excluded from the world of aerospace. These educators are working tirelessly to inspire and prepare the up-and-coming generation of leaders.

“These three Trailblazing STEM Educator Award winners are remarkable educators! AIAA believes teachers are invaluable members of their communities. We are pleased to fuel the work of these educators with extra resources to help them continue going above and beyond. They’re enabling a robust STEM-literate next generation, shaping the future of aerospace,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry.

The winners will be recognized at the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala, scheduled for 30 April at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. The evening celebrates the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace. Tickets are available now.

Each winner can select from Challenger Center’s suite of hands-on, simulated learning experiences based on their classes’ needs: Center Missions, delivered at Challenger Learning Centers around the globe; and Virtual Missions, delivered by Challenger Learning Center Flight Directors to students in and out of the classroom.

About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit www.challenger.org or connect on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contacts:
AIAA - Rebecca Gray, rebeccag@aiaa.org, 804-397-5270
Challenger Center - Julia Austin, jaustin@challenger.org, 202-827-1575