Biography
Dana Brown Haine is the K-12 Science Education Manager for the Center for Public Engagement with Science. With a background in the biological sciences, Haine enjoys weaving her life science expertise into her passion for educating others on critical environmental science and health topics. Haine’s research translation and curriculum development skills enable her to deliver cutting edge environmental science content and innovative activities to K-12 students, teachers and informal educators. Haine also contributes to the outreach efforts of the Community Engagement Core for the UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility in UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. In her role as an environmental health educator, Haine shares scientific findings emerging from Center scientists with K-12 audiences and members of the general public.
Youth Science Enrichment: In 2009, Haine founded IE’s first science enrichment program for high school students, the Climate Leadership and Energy Awareness Program (Climate LEAP), which ran from 2009-2017. In 2017, she founded IE’s Energy Literacy, Engagement and Action Program (Energy LEAP) and in 2020 she co-founded IE’s Youth Engaging in the Science of Resilience Program. In 2018, Haine received NC’s Outstanding Informal Educator Award in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education from the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center for her success developing and implementing extracurricular science enrichment programs for youth.
Teacher Professional Development: Haine has been leading IE’s climate and energy-related teacher professional development programs since joining the institute in 2007. She founded the NC Energy Literacy Fellows Program in 2017. As a result of her ongoing work to promote energy literacy among K-12 educators, in 2022 Haine received the non-school setting distinguished service award from the North Carolina Science Teachers Association and the 2022 Outstanding Informal Educator Award from RePowering Schools.
Prior to joining the Institute for the Environment, Haine was a science educator for DESTINY, UNC’s Traveling Science Learning Program, and from 1998-2003 she was a member of the biology faculty at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC.
Professional Focus
Climate change education, energy education, environmental health education, life science education
Current Projects
Iterative Design to Engage All Learners | Teacher Professional Development Program, Education Programs Director
Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health
NC Energy Literacy Fellows | Teacher Professional Development Program, Program Director
Duke Energy Foundation
Engaging Diverse Youth in Learning About Extreme Heat, Program Director
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Youth Engaging in the Science of Resilience, Evaluation Manager
Advancing Informal STEM Learning Award from the National Science Foundation
Education
M.S. Biology, Wake Forest University
B.S. Biology, Appalachian State University