Jennifer Chidsey Pizzo

Jennifer L. Chidsey Pizzo joined the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania in January 2006 as the Director of K-12 Initiatives, leading projects that support GSE’s university-school partnerships such as the new Penn-affiliated international studies high school, co-directing SPARK! and seeking grants and other support for Penn GSE initiatives in the public schools.

Formerly, Jennifer served as Director of Education and Outreach for Ross Institute in New York City and Director of Curriculum and Assessment and member of the Leadership Council (Head of School team) for Ross School in East Hampton, New York. There she worked with faculty and mentors to refine the Ross curriculum and disseminate Ross practices to partner schools, such as Tensta Gymnasium in Stockholm, Sweden and oversaw efforts to create a network of Ross Model schools through such endeavors as designing the Ross Global Academy, a New York City K-12 charter school.

Jennifer was also Dean of Science at Ross School. She has taught science in elementary, secondary and post-secondary students in public and private schools located in urban and suburban settings in Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Iowa City, Baton Rouge, East Hampton, New York and Philadelphia. She has also supported the professional development goals of K-12 faculty through coaching and courses offered in many professional settings, most recently at Ross Institute and with the Asia Society.

Chidsey Pizzo is currently ABD for a Ph.D. in science education at the University of Iowa; completed graduate studies in critical and creative thinking at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and in geoscience at the University of Iowa; completed a B.S. in biology and was certified to teach secondary science at Northwestern University. She has held the positions of Curator of Science Education at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science and Director of Education at the Iowa City Area Science Center. She has received academic awards for teaching excellence and serves on the Board of Ross Global Academy and the Blue Ocean Institute.