A group of the 2024 Outstanding STEM Educators of the Year. 
Travis Garwick from Warner Middle School with family. 
Richard Ireland from Crescent Elementary School with family. 
Sean P. Fletcher from Serrano Intermediate School. 
Man Luong from the TGR Foundation. 
Kaiti Childers from the Anaheim Union High School District. 
Gary Shoup from Stoneybrooke Christian School. 
Kathryn Saucedo from Coastline ROP. 
Racine Cross from Costa Mesa High School. 
Kristin Raub from Trabuco Hills High School. 
Minjung Shin accepting the award on behalf of Dr. Hosun Kang. 
Colleen Dillaway, Dr. Leyla Riley and Holly Steele 
Dennis Cole with Colleen Dillaway.
The OC STEM Initiative, a longtime partner of OCDE, recently recognized 12 educators through its Cox Communications-sponsored Outstanding STEM Educators program for their exceptional work in providing inquiry-based STEM learning opportunities.
A ceremony was held on Dec. 3 at The Cove at The University of California, Irvine, where Colleen Dillaway, Orange County market vice president for Cox, presented the awards.
The OC STEM Initiative seeks to find and honor educators who uniquely impact students with their ability to engage and motivate. These educators have been identified as key contributors to inspiring the next generation of the STEM workforce.
Each honoree received $500 while each of their organizations were awarded $1,500 plus an additional $1,000 from Cox to explore new STEM educational opportunities.
Here are the 2024 Outstanding STEM Educators of the year.
Man Luong
Racine Cross
Kristin Raub
Sean P. Fletcher
Travis Garwick
Hosun Kang
Kaiti Childers
Prasanthi Sathyaprakash
Gary Shoup
Richard Ireland
Vanessa Sener
Kathryn Saucedo
Expanded Learning
K12 Education
Leadership
K12 Education
K12 Education
Post-Secondary
Leadership
Community Advocate
Innovation in STEM Instruction
Leadership
Early Childhood
Career Awareness
TGR Foundation
Costa Mesa High School
Trabuco Hills High School
Serrano Intermediate School
Warner Middle School
UC Irvine
Anaheim Union High School District
Orange County Science & Engineering Fair
Stoneybrooke Christian School
Crescent Elementary School
ENC Nature Preschool
Coastline ROP
Since its founding more than 10 years ago, the OC STEM Initiative and OCDE have maintained a strong relationship and partnered in the development of the Ecosystem Institute, which offers professional learning opportunities for Orange County school district leaders looking to bolster their STEM education programs. To date, the institute has served 24 of the county’s 28 school districts.
Another collaborative effort between OCDE and the OC STEM Initiative produced the Lead STEM Practitioners program, which forms groups of teacher leaders from 10 different school districts to assess their schools and strengthen STEM learning opportunities for all students.
Starting next year, OCDE will assume leadership of the OC STEM Initiative. This transition will look to build upon the momentum and success of the existing program, underscoring OCDE’s commitment to fostering STEM education.