Tana Peterman

Tana Peterman is a senior program officer with Washington STEM. As part of our engineering education initiative she leads the Engineering Fellows project, a partnership with Washington MESA.

Prior to joining Washington STEM, Tana taught middle school science in South Texas and Seattle. More recently, she earned her M. Ed. in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington, while working at the Institute for Science and Math Education. At the Institute, she collaborated with a team of researchers, local district leaders, and science teachers to adapt curricula for equity-focused implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. As part of that work she gained valuable experience working at the intersection of research and practice, serving as a partner in planning and implementing professional development, supporting teachers in classrooms, and informing educational research based on widely-felt problems of instructional practice. During her time at UW she also earned her Certificate in Teacher Leadership, further fueling her passion for empowering teachers to be effective leaders and change agents in equity-focused STEM education.

In her free time, Tana enjoys taking her dogs on local adventures and playing Ultimate with her husband in the vibrant Seattle Ultimate community. During most of the year, she also finds herself digging in her garden. Since moving to Washington in 2010 her favorite local vacation spot is Olympic National Park, where she and her husband have gone on several backpacking adventures.