April 27, 2026
This occasion is a celebration of YOUR Watershed Institute, recognizing all of the ways that our supporters experience and participate in the Conservation, Advocacy, Science and Education initiatives of the organization.
We will honor outstanding leaders and partners for their invaluable contributions with The Edmund W. Stiles Award for Environmental Leadership and The Richard Rotter Award for Excellence in Environmental Education.
Richard Rotter Award for Excellence in Environmental Education
Dr. Lauren Madden is a Professor of Elementary Science Education at The College of New Jersey, where she also coordinates programming in Environmental Sustainability Education. She holds a BA in Earth Sciences-Oceanography, MS in Marine Science and PhD in Science Education. Broadly, Dr. Madden’s work advocates for scientific literacy and the health of our planet through teaching and learning. Her research has been supported by grants from the New Jersey SeaGrant Consortium, National Science Foundation, and US Environmental Protection Agency. She has written a textbook on Elementary Science Teaching Methods, now on its second edition, along with more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She was named the 2021 Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year by the Association for Science Teacher Education and served as the inaugural iCAN STEM Role Model Award by the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network. In recent years, her work has focused directly on K-5 climate change education, and she was the lead author on the New Jersey School Boards’ Association & Sustainable Jersey For Schools’ Report on K-12 Climate Change Education Needs in New Jersey. Her expertise in climate change education in New Jersey has been featured prominently in many media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and the Star Ledger.
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