Amy Cataldo is a middle school life science teacher at Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C. With nearly 20 years of classroom experience, she believes in practical, “show don’t tell” education, and constantly designs and implements lab and classroom activities that allow students to put critical scientific principles in action for themselves.

Cataldo wears many hats at Burke. When she is not making an unholy mess of her lab with her students, she is a grade dean and works with the admissions and development teams, as well as acting as the school health coordinator. As part of her development work, she has obtained multiple grants in support of the school’s burgeoning maker space, which she runs. She has given presentations to educators about practical technology education and the maker movement at multiple conferences, from New England to British Columbia.