District 3 Director
Caroline Brickhouse
Biography
Caroline Brickhouse is a K-5 STEM Specialist at Lyons Farm Elementary School in Durham Public Schools. She has a BA in elementary education and a masters in science education both from UNC-Chapel Hill, and is in her 15th year of teaching. Prior to becoming an elementary STEM specialist, Caroline spent 10 years teaching middle school science and has also worked in the private sector for 5 years as a science curriculum specialist for an assessment company. In 2021, she earned the honor of representing Durham Public Schools as Teacher of the Year, and from 2024-2026 she participated in the North Carolina Science Leadership Association Fellowship program. At her school, Caroline serves as the Beginning Teacher Mentor Coordinator and she has a passion for promoting scientific literacy in all aspects of her school community by fostering relationships with community partners in the STEM field.
Mission Statement
As the District 3 Regional director my mission is to cultivate a vibrant and collaborative network of science educators across our region by promoting NCSTA initiatives, recruiting diverse voices to our association, and identifying and celebrating the exemplary teaching practices that define our region's commitment to science education, while also working to ensure equitable access to STEM resources for both rural and urban schools within Region 3.
Katherine Gasper
Biography
Katherine’s passion for science began in childhood, inspired by her mother’s work in scientific research, and a shared love of exploring science museums. Seeing her mother in a male-dominated field provided a role model that showed there are no limits when it comes to following your passion. This strongly shaped her belief that science is for EVERYONE and these early experiences continue to influence her commitment to creating inclusive, engaging science classrooms where all students feel they belong.
Katherine graduated from Miami University in 2006 after completing her student teaching on a U.S. Army base in Darmstadt, Germany. She began her career in North Carolina with Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS), where she taught 7th grade science for ten years. She currently teaches at Heritage Middle School in Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), where she has worked for the past ten years.
Throughout her career, Katherine has demonstrated a strong commitment to instructional excellence and professional leadership. She has served as a department chair in both school systems and has contributed curriculum resources at the district level. She has participated in extensive professional development, including Professional Learning Communities at Work, Capturing Kids’ Hearts, Data Teams Training, Common Formative Assessment Training, and Intensive Reading/Literacy First.
Katherine also shares her expertise beyond her classroom. She presented at the North Carolina Science Teachers Association PDI (2025) in collaboration with Plasma Games and at NCTIES (2026) explaining how to utilize SchoolNet to develop common formative assessments.
She is passionate about supporting both students and teachers by promoting high-quality instruction, data-driven practices, and meaningful collaboration. Katherine values being actively involved in decision-making and is known for asking thoughtful questions to ensure clarity, alignment, and the best possible outcomes for teachers and students.
Mission Statement
Katherine’s core purpose is to inspire curiosity about the natural world and foster scientific literacy to develop students to become informed citizens who can evaluate information and apply scientific understanding to make decisions that positively impact society, both in the short and long term. To achieve this, Katherine is committed to continuously improving her practice by integrating emerging technologies, implementing high-impact instructional strategies, and using data-driven instruction. Katherine works with her PLC to consistently analyze student learning through pre-assessments to identify misconceptions and post-assessments to evaluate instructional effectiveness, refining her approach to better meet student needs. Her work extends beyond the classroom to support fellow science educators. She is passionate about sharing effective practices, collaborating with colleagues, and contributing to a professional community that strengthens science teaching and learning.
Emma Refvem
Biography
Dr. Emma Refvem, NBCT, is a science educator and instructional leader in Durham Public Schools. She began her career teaching Earth & Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science in Durham, where she supported multilingual learners, mentored colleagues, and presented at the NCSTA PDI on practical classroom strategies. Now the 6-12 Science Specialist for DPS, Emma supports middle and high school science teachers through curriculum work, coaching, and professional learning. A longâtime NCSTA member and presenter, she values strong professional communities and is committed to strengthening connections, elevating teacher voice, and supporting science educators across District 3.
Mission Statement
My mission as NCSTA District 3 Director is to strengthen teacherâtoâteacher connections so no science educator has to do this work alone. I believe our best ideas come from the classroom, and professional communities give us the space to share, refine, and build on those ideas together. My first experience presenting at an NCSTA PDI was when a fellow science educator at a local university invited me, a second-year teacher, to join her presentation. We had these awesome activities that helped students think critically about alternative energy, and NCSTA allowed us to share that work with other educators to inspire them and impact even more students. The best part about presenting was that I also got to attend sessions from other teachers, and came away with more ideas than I could keep track of. From that point on, I was hooked on presenting, thinking about how the work I was doing in my class could help other teachers. The community I found in NCSTA was core to my development as an educator. Through the years, my belief that we do our best work in community has only grown stronger. I have worked to connect educators within my district, across surrounding districts in our region, and at the state level through both grassroots efforts and collaboration in NCDPI-organized meetings. What I consistently hear is that teachers want more opportunities to share resources and strategies that are working. We shouldn’t have to recreate the wheel or make duplicate resources when we can learn from and strengthen one another. Professional communities give us space to do this work together to make something stronger than we could in isolation. As the District 3 director, I am committed to strengthening and sustaining that kind of professional community. This includes consistent, clear communication, elevating the innovative work happening across our counties, recruiting and encouraging teacher leaders, and creating meaningful opportunities for educators to connect. I want to cultivate a thriving network of educators so they can feel a part of something larger than their classroom or school. We can do this hard work together, and we can make every science classroom in the state a place where students are actively engaged in making sense of the world around them.