About me
Melanie Carden-Jessen has taught everything from diapers to degrees, from daycare to elementary, from middle school to university. Her BS in ed Earth Science and an MS in Resource Planning landed her with the Missouri Department of Conservation for 15 years, first as an education consultant and then as a nature center manager. She has served on the resource advisory council for the Department of Agriculture for the Mark Twain National Forest and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education committee for the Math and Science conference. Returning to MSU in 2018 as an Earth Science Instructor, she is Secondary Science Education Program Coordinator and Science Student Teacher Supervisor. Melanie’s committee work includes a Diversity Initiatives and Educator Provider Preparation Committee. She is part of a team working through a National Science Foundation grant to study gender equity in higher education faculty. She defended her dissertation titled “Persistence Overcomes Resistance: The Journey of Women in STEM to Full Professor” in 2023 to complete her doctorate through the University of Missouri-Columbia. Since May 2024, she has been the state coordinator for Projects WET, WILD, and Learning Tree.