Ellen Cavanaugh, Founder and Galactic Problem Solver

Ellen inspired kids with meaningful projects; 3^rd through 6th-grade Research Fellows at the Baden Academy Charter School Media Lab, 3-12th Odyssey Fellows at PA Distance Learning Charter School, middle and high school students at the STEM Leadership Center evenings at Baden Academy Charter School in Baden, and Distinguished Educators from several area schools.  She was a small business owner (Grow a Generation, LLC) and community advocate (director of the Beaver County STEM Education Coalition and member of the Beaver County Quality Education Council). She was passionate about empowering kids to quest after a worthy legacy (and all things STEM!). Her mission was to grow a generation of innovative critical thinkers, able to collaborate with gracious professionalism, lead with resilience and service, and build a more just and beautiful world.

In 2011, she founded Grow a Generation, a company dedicated to that mission. She also founded the Beaver County STEM Education Advocacy Coalition, a community based organization of professionals, teachers, and community members advocating for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and opportunities needed for 21st century jobs.

She serves as the Founding Director of the Baden Academy Media Lab where she oversees the passion based projects of the young research fellows and works to help them develop meaningful projects that integrate arts, STEM, new media, and creativity.  She also oversees the coordination of the Odyssey Fellowships at PA Distance Learning and the STEM Leadership Center at Prevention Network and Class Academy in Baden.

She was, most recently, an adjunct professor at Duquesne University (Vita) where she taught the University Core Course Global and Cultural Perspectives.  While students investigated the role of faith traditions in cultural and human development, they learned to use the tools of scholarship to analyze the role spirituality, religion, and theology have in shaping personal, communal and global life. Students learned to edit Wikipedia, communicate new knowledge through the creation of digital artifacts, and collaborate on meaningful projects.

Her last book, 21st Century Parenting: Grow a Generation, is a tool for parents seeking to help their kids thrive in this new conceptual age. She would be honored to inspire and motivate your group or company as a speaker or offer consult with your family, home school network, school, or after school youth engagement centers.