Madelyn Rios

Madelyn Rios has taken her experience from both local and global research projects as a wildlife biologist into the classroom. Her keen interest in natural science was cultivated at UC Davis where she earned a B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. To better understand the relationship between public outreach and ecological policy, she studied the effects of teaching inquiry-based science in an outdoor environment for her graduate thesis at Sierra Nevada College. As an Associate Adjunct in Biology and Environmental Science at Lake Tahoe Community College, she developed courses in Field Methods of Wildlife Ecology and the Belize Marine Field Program.

Madelyn continued to apply science education to real-world problems as the Elementary Science Teacher at Lake Tahoe School by implementing the SWPPP Internship (Certified Instructor), Stratostar High Altitude Balloon Challenge, and International Women in Science Day. Currently, she is focusing on supporting her son during distance-learning at home, and developing her own business that provides science education outside of a traditional classroom.  During the summer months she reconnects with her passions as a STEM Camp Facilitator with CONNECT Community, working on avian monitoring projects in South Lake Tahoe, sewing, mountain biking, trail running, and keeping up with her 8-year old son.