Milken Educators: Where Are They Now? (Part 2)

Kirk Brown (CA '99) 

Then:  

Kirk Brown was a biology and biotechnology teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at Tracy High School in Tracy, California, when he won the Milken Award in 1999. Brown taught at Tracy for 25 years, where he inspired many graduating seniors to major in biology-related fields in college. Thanks to Brown’s influence, several of his students have seen their work published on scientific projects, such as identifying the cause of stem rot disease in rice or studying the carcinogenic effects of barbecued foods.

Related: Educator Profile: Kirk Brown (CA ’99)

Now: 

Brown is currently the director of Science and STEM Integration / Innovation at San Joaquin County Office of Education, where he directs efforts for the county. Brown is the Co-Lead Writer of the CA Science Framework and has been on the Science Expert Panel that advised the California Department of Education as they adopted the Next Generation Science Standards. He’s also the author of the textbook Biotechnology; A Laboratory Skills Course.

In his own words: 

“Winning the Milken Educator Award has made a huge impact on my career. I won the award in my twelfth year of teaching. I continued to teach for another 13 years at the same school. Over that time, I had many opportunities to speak and provide professional learning for teachers. I developed many new programs and had many visitors to my classroom.  

“The award certainly provided credibility and ongoing recognition from area educators and people from all over the United States. Making connections with other Milken Educators was also pivotal in my expansion to regions outside of my district, county, state and country. The opportunities to network, share ideas and just talk about the challenges that arise as an educator continue to expand each time I have the opportunity to be around this wonderful community.”