The UCAR Center for Science Education (UCAR SciEd) and its Director, Becca Hatheway, demonstrate outstanding leadership in advancing environmental literacy across Colorado and beyond. Together, this visionary leader and her dedicated team showcase educational excellence by engaging learners from early childhood through postgraduate levels across classrooms, science labs, visitor centers, and virtual environments. Driven by a mission to connect cutting-edge atmospheric and Earth system science to the public, UCAR SciEd provides free on-site and virtual programs, tours, and digital resources that benefit millions of people globally each year. 

At the heart of this impactful organization is Becca Hatheway. Over her distinguished twenty-plus-year career at UCAR, Hatheway has established herself as a cornerstone of the environmental education community, officially stepping into the role of Director in 2023. Known for her empathetic, future-minded, and collaborative leadership style, she has cultivated an organizational culture that champions inclusivity and creativity. Her exceptional work has earned her four UCAR Outstanding Accomplishment Awards in Education and Outreach, reflecting her deep commitment to community co-design and her invaluable role as a visionary mentor to future leaders in the field.

The combined impact of Hatheway’s leadership and UCAR SciEd’s innovative programming spans from local neighborhoods to international communities. For young learners, Hatheway co-authored the award-winning Elementary GLOBE children's science storybook series, which has been translated into multiple languages and downloaded tens of thousands of times worldwide. On a larger scale, UCAR SciEd's educational website serves as a trusted global resource, generating 3.4 million sessions and 5.3 million pageviews in 2025 alone. The center also spearheads highly effective, place-based initiatives like Project Resilience and Hurricane Resilience—developed alongside the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center—which have empowered more than 1,000 high school students to research and implement real-world solutions to environmental challenges in their own communities.

Closer to home, the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center in Boulder, Colorado, welcomes roughly 90,000 visitors annually, providing unique opportunities for the public to explore science exhibits, walk outdoor weather trails, and interact directly with scientists. Under Hatheway’s guidance, the UCAR SciEd team has successfully transformed accessibility from a simple goal into a foundational organizational value. This commitment is woven directly into teacher professional development workshops—such as training educators to adapt weather curricula for students with disabilities using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines—and shines through interactive installations like the July 2025 Sun-Earth Connections exhibit. By utilizing tactile exploration, audio narration, and multi-generational scaffolding, their exhibits break down barriers to participation and ensure state-of-the-art learning experiences are accessible to all.

Looking to the future, Hatheway and UCAR SciEd continue to pioneer ways to broaden participation in STEM and cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards. A prime example of this long-term dedication is their leadership in the nationally recognized NSF Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (NSF SOARS) program. This undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program provides multi-mentor support for students from diverse backgrounds, resulting in over 90% of its participants advancing to graduate school. Through measurable impact, continuous innovation, and a heartfelt commitment to inclusion, Becca Hatheway and the UCAR Center for Science Education truly embody the spirit of excellence in environmental education.

Learn more about UCAR SciEd