Meet the Team

Kate Ayers, MS
Program Director
Email: Kate.Ayers@stjude.org
Phone: 901-595-2415

Education:
BS – Union University
MS – University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Kate Ayers, MS

Kate Ayers leads the STEMM Education and Outreach Program at St. Jude. Through intentional school partnership, Ayers works with school and science educators to co-create science learning modules that integrate cancer concepts into the classroom curriculum. In addition, Ayers established the St. Jude Science Ambassadors Program, which intentionally connects Memphis youth to diverse scientists to dispel misconceptions related to who scientists are and who can be a scientist.

Ayers also led the development of two after school clubs. The Afterschool STEMM Clubs are hosted in 24 elementary schools and serves over 400 5th grade students annually. The St. Jude Community Health Clubs are hosted in 4 middle schools and serve approximately 80 7th and 8th graders annually. In 2021, Ayers became a founding member and chair of the Memphis STEM in Medicine Ecosystem, a city-wide initiative aimed at addressing inequities in STEM education specific to the Memphis area.

Ayers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Union University and a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Research with an emphasis in Structural Biology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is currently working toward a PhD at the University of Memphis in Educational Psychology and Research.

Krisderlawn Motley, MAT
Program Manager
Email: Krisderlawn.Motley@stjude.org
Phone: 901-595-1152

Education:
BS – University of Memphis
MAT – Christian Brothers University

Krisderlawn Motley, MAT

Krisderlawn Motley is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude.

In her current role, she is responsible for development and oversight of the STEMM Education Outreach Program afterschool programs and local outreach events. Motley identifies and establishes partnerships with Shelby County Schools and community organizations to further the program’s outreach efforts. In addition, she assists with the design and development of innovation cancer-focused educational content for the public.

Prior to joining the St. Jude staff in March 2018, Motley served as a Coordinator with Workforce Investment Network under the Careers and Technology Division with Shelby County Schools. While in that career, she excelled in recruitment, retention, and placement of at-risk youth in that program. She is passionate about encouraging, engaging, and empowering youth to reach their true potential and to lead a purpose-filled life.

Motley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health from University of Memphis and a Master of Art in Teaching degree from Christian Brothers University. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering, traveling, mentoring youth and spending time with her son and family members.

Gwen Alexander, PhD
Program Manager
Email: Gwen.Alexander@stjude.org
Phone: 901-500-7507

Education:
BS – Spelman College
PhD – University of Wisconsin - Madison

Gwen Alexander, PhD

Gwen Alexander is a part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude. Her primary focus includes oversight of the High School Research Immersion Program, an eight-week mentoring and hands-on laboratory experience program with St. Jude scientists and the MemSTEMM Ambassadors Classroom, a professional development program for scientists to enhance their science communication skills. Through intentional partnerships, Alexander furthers the program’s outreach effort by assisting in the design and development of innovative STEMM-focused educational content for teachers and the greater community.

Prior to joining St. Jude, Alexander was a science educator for more than a decade, developing and teaching science curriculum at the college and high school levels. She also served on advisory task forces and as advisor to several campus organizations and clubs.

Alexander holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Spelman College and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her postdoctoral fellowship work was completed in the Centers for Vascular Biology and Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia.

Kyle Bichsel, PhD
Program Manager
Email: Kyle.Bichsel@stjude.org

Education:
BS – Northwest Missouri State University
PhD – Creighton University

Kyle Bichsel, PhD

Kyle Bichsel is a part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude. His primary focus includes the development of a new national online educational platform, the St. Jude Virtual STEMM Academy. The platform utilizes data generated in research labs at St. Jude as the basis for learning modules teaching scientific concepts and data literacy. This initiative is the first of its kind and aims to recruit previously underrepresented groups to biomedical research careers by leveraging the St. Jude Cloud data repository. He works to develop partnerships with educators and scientists to co-design meaningful lessons with real world applications.

Prior to joining St. Jude, Bichsel was an educator in Memphis dedicated to teaching multiple levels of science at the high school level. He also served as an examiner in Biology for the International Baccalaureate Programme and as an advisor to multiple student-led clubs.

Bichsel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Northwest Missouri State University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biomedical Sciences from Creighton University. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Colorado State University and the University of Kansas where he earned an NIH-IRACDA fellowship. The IRACDA program promotes consortia between research-intensive institutions and partner institutions that serve students currently underrepresented in the biomedical sciences. As a fellow in this program Dr. Bichsel taught biology laboratory courses at Haskell Indian Nations University while working in a research laboratory in the Department of Molecular Biosciences.

Robyn Pennella, MPH
Program Manager
Email: Robyn.Pennella@stjude.org
Phone: 901-378-6760

Education:
BS – University of Memphis
MPH – University of Memphis

Robyn Pennella, MPH

Robyn Pennella is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude. She is responsible for managing the quality improvement and evaluation efforts of all STEMM Education and Outreach programs. Pennella aims to understand what expands and contracts belongingness and sustained engagement in Biomedical careers in students spanning the PreK – 16 pathway. She specializes in qualitative research methodologies, often employing post-structural theories of space, time, and emotion to her evaluation designs.

Pennella holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Memphis.

Anika Britton, MAT
Program Coordinator
Email: Anika.Britton@stjude.org
Phone: 901-569-3110

Education:
BS – University of Memphis
MA – Union University

Anika Britton, MAT

Anika Britton is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Team at St. Jude. In her role she provides support for educators to have access and equity in cancer research education within the urban community and public schools. She is responsible for obtaining, supervising, and training college interns. Britton initiates and maintains partnerships with elementary and middle schools within Memphis Shelby County Schools and neighboring districts for facilitation of after school clubs, career fairs, and science ambassadors. She also plans and organizes day to day activities to assist with designing and developing innovative cancer-focused educational curriculum for K-16 students and cancer education content for the public.

Prior to joining St. Jude, Britton served as an Advance Placement Biology Teacher, STEM Instructor and Professional Learning Coach within Memphis Shelby County Schools. While in that career, she was also a mentor for the Technology Student Association and Science Olympiad Clubs where she successfully led these chapters in local, state, and national STEM competitions. During this time, she inspired a team of educators, parents, and students to constantly seek innovative solutions to scientific questions and provide the best educational experiences for her students.

Britton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public health from The University of Memphis and a Master of Art in Teaching from Union University. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with family.
 

Tingting Yang, PhD
Instructional Learning Designer
Email: Tingting.Yang@stjude.org

Education:
BS – Hubei Normal University
MS – Central China Normal University
PhD – University of Georgia

Tingting Yang, PhD

Tingting Yang is a part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude. Her primary responsibilities include assisting in the designing, managing, and delivering an online learning educational platform tailored for high school students. The platform's content is dedicated to imparting knowledge and skills about data science and cancer biology. Through instructional system design and design-based research, Tingting works collaboratively with the education team and outreach program to enhance pathways for diverse talent to enter the biomedical research workforce.

Before joining St. Jude, Tingting was an educational researcher for years, specializing in researching and improving technology-enhanced learning and reflective thinking. She worked as a research assistant at the Research and Innovation in Learning (RAIL) lab to design, develop, and investigate a VR-based education program to teach children safe pedestrian behaviors in authentic traffic scenarios. Further, Tingting offered her skills as an instructional designer and teaching assistant, contributing to developing and maintaining online curriculums for undergraduate students.

Tingting holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Educational Technology from Hubei Normal University, a Master of Science degree in Educational Technology with an emphasis in Educational Research from Central China Normal University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Learning, Design, and Technology from the University of Georgia.

Amanda Etherington
Instructional Learning Designer
Email: Amanda.Etherington@stjude.org

Education:
BS – Southern Arkansas University
MS – Southern Arkansas University
MS – Western Governors University

Amanda Etherington

Amanda Etherington is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program team at St. Jude. She is on the team helping create an online learning platform for high-school students to help address the lack of access to authentic STEMM learning. This platform will utilize St. Jude data stories to help students build data literacy, while also deepening their understandings of cancer biology.

Prior to joining St. Jude, Etherington was an educator in the classroom. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Southern Arkansas University, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Southern Arkansas University, and a Masters in Instructional Design from Western Governors University.

Summer J. Jasper, MAT
Science Instructional Specialist
Email: Summer.Jasper@stjude.org
Phone: 901-883-8382

Education:
BS – University of Memphis
MAT – University of Memphis

Summer J. Jasper, MAT

Summer Jasper is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Department team at St. Jude, a community outreach program that aims to increase the diversity of the biomedical workforce by addressing inequities in K-12 STEM education.

Jasper provides support for outreach initiatives for grades 9-16, with her primary focus being the High School Research Immersion Program, an eight-week mentoring and hands-on learning laboratory experience with St. Jude scientists. Additionally, she assists with the MemSTEMM Ambassadors Classroom by engaging with scientists to enhance their science communication skills through professional development.

Jasper served as a college intern for two years prior to joining the St. Jude staff full-time. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from the University of Memphis. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis.

Torrean Johnson
Program Coordinator
Email: Torrean.Johnson@stjude.org

Education:
BS – Morehouse College

Torrean Johnson

Torrean Johnson is a part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Programs team at St. Jude. His primary focus includes assisting in the development of St. Jude's online educational platform, the Virtual STEMM Academy program (VSA).

The VSA program utilizes data generated in research labs at St. Jude as the basis for learning modules teaching scientific concepts and data literacy. This initiative is the first of its kind and aims to recruit previously underrepresented groups to biomedical research careers by leveraging the St. Jude Cloud data repository. Johnson's work for the program is primarily teacher focused, as he develops teacher resources that supplement the online platform and builds relationships with teachers and STEMM programs that can be served by the platform.

Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. Thereafter, he taught 10th grade biology at Bluff City High School for two years before pursuing other ventures in the emerging tech world and the Memphis arts community as a filmmaker.

Hailey Wolfe,  BS
Program Coordinator
Email: Hailey.Wolfe@stjude.org
Phone: 901-573-7462

Education:
BS – Mississippi State University
 

Hailey Wolfe,  BS

Hailey Wolfe is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Team at St. Jude. In her role, she provides support for elementary educators within the urban community and public schools to integrate STEMM initiatives within their learning environment. Wolfe builds partnerships with elementary educators in Memphis-Shelby County Schools and other districts within the Memphis metropolitan area to engage students in literacy tutoring, in-school STEMM curriculum, and career fairs. She is responsible for the continued development of the Kindergarten Pilot Curriculum through a collaborative teacher study. She supports in supervising college interns who facilitate STEMM after school initiatives and organize materials for in school initiatives and outreach events.

Wolfe holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University. In her previous professional experience, she served as a science and literacy lead educator with Memphis-Shelby County schools. During her time as an educator, Wolfe collaborated with the St. Jude STEMM Education and Outreach Program to develop the Kindergarten Pilot Curriculum. Their efforts to include interdisciplinary literacy practices within the curriculum were published in the Journal of Literacy Innovation Spring Issue 2023. In her classroom, Wolfe empowered her students and the school community to grow an edible garden; with the help of prominent social justice change makers, the students participated in an urban gardening workshop to grow their own vegetables.

In her spare time, she loves to travel with her husband, read suspenseful literature and create illustrations. She is a published children’s illustrator; her work has been included in The Mediterranean Garden Magazine Summer Issue 2023.
 

Eric Rivera-Peraza
Data Analyst
Email: Eric.RiveraPeraza@stjude.org
Phone:  901-387-9052

Education:
BS – University of Alabama at Birmingham

Eric Rivera-Peraza, BS

Eric Rivera-Peraza is the data analyst for the STEMM Education and Outreach Program. In his role, he is responsible for providing critical data analysis of both quantitative and qualitative sources in support of programmatic decisions and overall quality improvement. Rivera aims to bring significant value to both the technical and non-technical sides of the program by finding approaches within the tenants of critical social theories to make sense of the data. With this, he helps the team understand the impacts of the program and how it relates to STEM education and outreach outcomes.

Prior to joining the team, Rivera served as a researcher in the Developmental Neurobiology department at St. Jude. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Data Science from Christian Brothers University. In his spare time, Rivera enjoys playing soccer, attending Memphis Tigers and Grizzlies games, and spending time with his family.

Patty Meintasis, MBA
Administrative Specialist
Email: Patty.Meintasis@stjude.org
Phone: 901-483-3720

Education:
BS – University of Phoenix
MBA – University of Phoenix
 

Patty Meintasis, MBA

Patty Meintasis is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Team at St Jude serving as the Sr. Administrative Professional. In her role, she provides day-to-day administrative support, office management, vendor coordination, report and document preparation, departmental visitation, recruitment, faculty support and managing standard communications.

Prior to joining St Jude, Meintasis served as the Practice Administrator for Rheumatology and Osteoporosis Center of Memphis, LLC. While serving as the practice administrator she utilized her experience in clinic operations, project management and human resources. During her tenure in the healthcare industry Patty is recognized for inspiring and fostering a culture of improving efficiencies, positive communication, team spirit and influencing with excitement while demonstrating organizational values.

Meintasis holds a Master’s in Business Administration from The University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from The University of Phoenix. In her spart time she loves to bake, take long walks and discover new walking and hiking
trails.