Biography

Debbie Colodner, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Center for Sonoran Desert Studies
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Debra Colodner joined the staff at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in February, 2006 as Associate Director of the Center for Sonoran Desert Studies. The Center for Sonoran Desert Studies conducts the educational and scientific functions of the Museum and is a hub for research, education and conservation of the Sonoran Desert Region. As the Center's Associate Director, Debra oversees the Museum's school and camp programs as well as its Earth Sciences Center.

Debra has more than 15 years experience in environmental science research and education. Debra holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where she focused on the use of ocean sediments as indicators of past climate change. She also has a BS in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University, where she won the Penfield Prize in Mineralogy. She was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, where she continued her research on ocean sediments, dove to the bottom of the ocean in the submarine, Alvin, to study hydrothermal processes, managed a new research lab and began her teaching experience.

Debra has adopted an interdisciplinary and research-based approach to education, attempting to incorporate research on how people learn and best teaching practices into designs for programs and exhibits. She used these ideas when she led a team of faculty in the design of Columbia University's Earth Semester program at Biosphere 2 Center, an interdisciplinary immersion in Earth Systems Science and Policy for college students from around the country. She ran this program for 5 years, during which it served over 500 students and gained national recognition via educational journals and conferences.

Prior to her current position at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Debra gained experience in museum education and administration at Flandrau Science Center at the University of Arizona, first as their Education Director and then as Associate Director. At Flandrau, she managed school programs and spearheaded development of the educational philosophy and exhibits approach for a new science center to be built in downtown Tucson. She oversaw a variety of formal and informal community surveys and focus groups designed to gather input for the science center project. This project afforded the opportunity to interact with and learn from leaders in museum education from around the world.