NASA STELLA – STEM Education Ambassadors

The STEM Education Ambassadors program, led by the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, connects educators nationwide with NASA’s Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment (STELLA) mission. As Ambassadors, we participate in ongoing professional learning focused on NASA’s workforce development initiatives, Earth and environmental science content, and updates from the Science Mission Directorate, Earth Science Division, GISS, GSFC, Science Activation teams, and partner organizations.

Through this community of practice, Ambassadors integrate NASA data, tools, experts, and mission content into classroom instruction and community engagement efforts. Our work expands access to authentic NASA resources while building meaningful STEM pathways for students and educators.

Team Members

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Recent Projects and Events

March 2026

Coming Soon

February 2026

NASA earth visualization on slide show snippet

February Monthly Seminar

We were fortunate to hear from three excellent speakers:

Sean McCartney presented on ARSET (Applied Remote Sensing Training), a fantastic resource for gaining understanding of remote sensing and Earth science topics from beginner to advanced levels, and also discussed the DEVELOP framework.
Shawn Serbin, Chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, discussed current missions and studies the lab is performing, and how he envisions STELLA instruments complementing this work.
Stephanie Stern (STEM EA Spotlight) from North Bergen School District highlighted her experience in NASA’s STEM education programs and shared strategies and success stories for integrating NASA education, content, people, and resources into her instruction, school, and community.

Lily and other educators at SEEC Astrobotany workshopping. One is holding a microgreen sheet.

Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC)

STEM Education Ambassador, Lily K. Donaldson, presented two professional development sessions at the Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) at Space Center Houston. In the first session, Spreadsheet Science", participants learned how to download open-source satellite data from NASA Giovanni and analyze it in Google Sheets. In the second session, "Astrobotany", participants learned about Controlled Environment Agriculture and NASA's plant science missions; participants also built DIY hydroponic containers.

January 2026

Students participating in a Q&A with astronaut Fred Haise on Zoom

Students at H.H. Poole Middle School Q&A with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise

STEM Educator Ambassador, Lily K. Donaldson, hosted a live Q&A session with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise for her STEAM club students in partnership with STEAM4Space.