CIBL's Board of Directors
Melanie Scott, Chair
Melanie Scott is currently a senior program associate for science
education at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a private foundation dedicated
to the advancement of the biomedical sciences by supporting research and
other educational activities. Melanie's background in science and her
deep interest in education, especially in rural North Carolina, led her
to join the board in 2005.
Don Wells, Vice-Chair
Don Wells holds a MAT in Biology from Wesleyan University and has taught middle and upper school biology for many years. He also has been a Middle School Principal and was Headmaster of the Carolina Friends School in Durham. He continues to work as a consultant to nonprofits and schools throughout the state and is presently Vice President of CIBL’s Board.
Jim Henderson, Secretary/Treasurer
Jim Henderson (A.B., M.A., Ph.D.) has been a university and secondary school teacher, and an independent school administrator, for more than 30 years. During most of his career Jim has worked at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC. His passion for innovation and excellence in teaching led him to the CIBL Board, on which he has served as Secretary/Treasurer since 2005.
John Parker
John Parker, now co-director of the Learning Laboratory Initiative for the NC New Schools Project, retired from 34 years in public education in 2006. Those years include 18 years as a high school mathematics teacher and 16 years as an administrator, including 5 years as a district superintendent. He earned his B.S. mathematics from Guilford College in 1972, his M.Ed. in mathematics education from UNC-G in 1974, and his Ed.D.in educational leadership from ECU in 2005. Two books convey his contributions to education and educational philosophy: Standardized Minds and Electric Dreams.
Duane Kirkman
Dr. Duane H. Kirkman is the Director of the Office of International Education at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Prior to beginning his work at LRU, he served as Associate Superintendent and Superintendent of the Hickory Public Schools from 1984-2006. Throughout his career he has focused on program and curriculum development. He served as President of North Carolina ASCD, and currently serves on the Board of the Catawba County Champions of Education, an advocacy group for public education.
Karen Giroux
Karen J Giroux, PhD. is currently Deputy Museum Director for Research & Strategic Planning at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. She is helping to plan a new building to engage the general public, especially middle school students, in hands-on research leading to personal "eureka" moments of discovery. Karen managed two biotechnology companies in NJ and a venture capital fund in Manhattan. Prior to this, she worked with a firm that partnered small hi-tech companies with larger ones in need of cutting edge technology. She was also Director of Technology Development at the UNC Small Business and Technology Development Center, Assistant Dean of Research at Rutgers, and did environmental management and public policy at the NC Department of Agriculture. She has a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Science from MIT and an MS and PhD from NC State University in Entomology and Biomathematics.