Agircultural Education

Agricultural Education

Biography

Kerry Schwartz was born in Rockville, Maryland, middle child of a family of three. Schwartz graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1984 with a B.S. degree in Geology. She worked at the Meridian Corporation, a renewable energy contractor in Falls Church, Virginia for three years before graduate work. In 1987, she moved to Tucson, Arizona where she achieved a M.S. degree in Geosciences in 1990.

Schwartz worked for eight years in the field of environmental consulting half of the time in Seattle, Washington and half in Tucson. A year and a half self-supported sabbatical around the United States brought her back to Tucson, her chosen home out of the entire country. Schwartz started with the University of Arizona, Water Resources Research Center in 2000 and has built a comprehensive water education program with statewide recognition and partnerships. As Director of the Arizona Project WET Water Education for Teachers Program, she has expanded to working with a team of four full-time staff and UA six students. Since January 2000, the Arizona Project WET program has reached 3,239 teachers & educators with 8-hr professional development workshops. These teachers and educators from 2001 on report reaching 230,160 students in their classroom annually.

Arizona Project WET is a self sustaining program with its own newsletter, website, exhibit and DVD. More information can be found at cals.arizona.edu/arizonawet/. Schwartz continues the research that she is passionate about: What is the effective water education and what compels people to learn and retain information? She is excited to be engaged in extension outreach through the CALS Department of Agricultural Education