Betty Calinger is a senior project director in the AAAS Center for Education and Workforce Programs. She currently works on projects that build science literacy for all children in formal and informal settings through partnerships with STEM professionals, schools, and community-based organizations. Calinger oversees the AAAS STEM Volunteer Program that places STEM professionals in classrooms in 10 school districts in the DC metro area to assist teachers. She administers a summer science program for elementary-school students through partnerships with libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community-based organizations. This program, funded by a global pharmaceutical company, has served over 10,000 children in the DC area since 2012.
Calinger has served as the co-principal investigator for grants supporting the Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education program, funded by NSF, and managed several grants providing professional development to middle school teachers in the mid-Atlantic region. She was the managing editor of the This Year in School Science book series. She is also a member of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program team supporting NSF-funded projects that prepare preservice educators to teach STEM in high-need schools.