Jennifer Kennedy

Fellowship Placement: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Jennifer Kennedy is proud to have been an educator for 29 years. For the past seven years, she has served as the STEM specialist at SPARK Academy at Cowart Elementary, a public pre-kindergarten through third grade elementary school dedicated to teaching young children through the lens of science and engineering. She currently teaches science, engineering, and robotics to all students at SPARK Academy. 

In 2002, Jennifer was named Iowa’s Teacher of the Year and served as Iowa’s Ambassador for Education during the 2002-2003 school year. She also had the honor of serving as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow during the 2013-2014 school year. During that time, Jennifer worked at NASA Headquarters in the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. She has been the featured speaker at schools, professional development sessions, science festivals, and conferences across the nation, including performing a live aeronautics demonstration on The Weather Channel. Jennifer was awarded the 2020 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching for elementary science education. Only two educators from each state receive this award each year.

Throughout her diverse career, Jennifer’s mission has remained the same: advocating for the inclusion of hands-on science education for all students, at all levels.

She earned National Board Certification in 2000 as a Middle Childhood Generalist. She is certified in both elementary education and PK-12 gifted education.