Lou Papai, MEd

Experience

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  Best Buy

  Jun 1994 - Mar 1996

  Department Supervisor & Senior Store Keyholder

  Recognized for enthusiasm and people skills and progressed rapidly within new store organization. Worked full time while pursuing Bachelor's in Geology.Senior Keyholder•Filled in as Store Manager during the incumbent’s absences and given a key to the store.•Position held while maintaining supervision of computer department.•Continued to maintain and implement store orientation and criteria for hiring new employees.Supervisor – Computer Department•Hired new staff for the highest revenue area of store representing 1/3 of total store revenues.•Continued to maintain and implement store orientation and criteria for hiring new employees.Supervisor – Appliance Department•Hired and scheduled new staff and helped organize appliance delivery system.•Continued to maintain and implement store orientation and criteria for hiring new employees.Assistant Supervisor – Operations/Human Resources Department•Trained cashiers and Customer Service staff.•Balanced and set-up drawers for cashiers, responsible for money in safe.•Executed human resources functions such as job applications, payroll deductions, drug testing, and opening new personnel files on candidates.•Created HR checklist and organizational methods that streamlined the hiring process.•Oriented all new employees to store policies.•Reorganized and implemented training of all new hires.•Ensured management was in compliance with federal, state, and local hiring regulations.Security Supervisor•Trained, scheduled, and supervised 6-7 security officers and operated in-store camera system.Security Officer (part-time) Show less

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  Science Central

  Apr 1996 - Aug 2001

  Floor Manager/Volunteer Coordinator/Finance Assistant

  Recruited because of science degree and managerial backgrounds to set-up programs department, policy manuals, forms, and staffing for a new science center. Remained with Science Central until August 2000, but took lesser roles in order to return to school full-time to obtain a Bachelor's of Education degree in Elementary Education with a kindergarten and middle school endorsement.• Created floor operations department and museum policies for new science center.• Wrote job descriptions and determined salaries; hired and trained management staff.• Planned and implemented educational programming labs for grades K-8.• Planned and taught educational workshops at Center, local, state and national conferences.• Assisted in the implementation of Girl Scout and Boy Scout programs.• Assisted in the supervision of Gift Store and Admissions staff and in managing/training 250+ volunteers.• Assisted Finance Manager with daily receivables and tracking/compliance of departmental purchasing. Show less

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  East Allen County Community Schools

  Aug 2001 - Mar 2003

  Teacher / Classroom Educator

  Taught: •Highland Terrace, 4th•Prince Chapman Academy, 7th Science

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  Science Central

  Mar 2003 - Jul 2009

  Promoted to director to oversee all programming staff and needs. Position included most of the Public Programs Manager duties as well as…• Supervised and directed 14 staff and 3 divisions (revenue, outreach, and floor programs).• Developed and evaluated program surveys and maintained Programs Department budget.• Assisted Director of Operations with building and exhibit tasks.• Developed, executed, represented and taught professional educational workshops at science center, state level science teacher conferences and at ASTC conferences.• Partnered with regional pre-service educators to train them on hands-on STEM pedagogy.• Managed and disseminated information and materials for the Indiana NASA ERCN and the Regional GEMS Center, both located in science center.· Founding member of Science Beyond Boundaries collaborative. Highlights of Accomplishments:· Wrote, received, and partnered with the local PBS affiliate on grants: The Sacred Balance, The Human Spark, SciGirls DragonFly TV, We Shall Remain, Design Squad, and NATURE grant.· Co-created an informal educators group called the Fort Wayne Area Network of Informal Educators designed to maximize educational opportunities for families and students. Show less Recruited to return from teaching to head up community and public programming.Highlights of Accomplishments:• Represented science center on area committees: Local National Engineering Week, Future Cities, state FIRST LEGO League (FLL) planning committee, and Indiana Space Grant Consortium.• Created and executed interactive science labs and demonstrations that reached 20,000 children annually.• Planned and implemented 20+ weekend programs for members and the general public.• Wrote and trained education staff in new demonstrations and school group programming.• Matched programs developed by science center to Indiana Education Standards.• Implemented and developed programs made possible through grants, adhering to grant guidelines, including the evaluation, expense tracking, and budget reporting.• Forged collaborations with community-based organizations in the development of programs for families, at-risk youth, seniors, girls in STEM and homeschooled students.• Created/partnered with IU to create the annual K-5 Deck, Electrical Energy, and Safety Day programs.• Created an Educator Advisory Committee (EAC) meeting monthly to help the science center stay connected to the educational needs of the students in our region. • Worked with local school system science and math supervisors to match science center offerings.• Created and ran local annual FLL Qualifying Competitions (2003-2008). Show less

  • Director of Education

    May 2007 - Jul 2009

  • Public Programs Manager

    Mar 2003 - May 2007
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  Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center

  Jul 2009 - May 2016

  Senior Director of Education

  Sci-Port is a 92,000 square-foot science center featuring over 290 science, space science, technology and math exhibits, daily changing programs, a computer and robotics lab and an interactive, digital laser Space Dome Planetarium.· Supervised and directed 3 educators from 3 separate local school districts and over 40 staff and 4 departments: Revenue, Outreach, Floor Programs and Digital Space Dome Planetarium· Realigned and maintained budget of $750 K with attention to detail to goals and revenue generation· Presented and taught Pre-Service workshops as well as at local, state and national conferences; ASTC, NSTA and both IN and LA state teacher conferences· Built strategic and mission based partnerships contributing to grant opportunities for Center on local, state and national level for STEAM and education initiatives· Collaborated with CEO and BoD to create current Strategic Plan and set Center goals through 2015Highlights of Accomplishments:· Started and ran annual N. LA annual FLL competition (2009), Regional Autonomous Robotics Circuit (2010) and the DigiFest South festival· Began and served as state lead for the LA Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Girls Collaborative Project through the National Girls Collaborative Project· Served as Hub and lead trainer for the National Girls RISE Museum Network; train informal educators in a 4-state region (LA, TX, OK, and AR) on Cultural Competency and how to engage girls in STEM· National Trainer for the PBS series and initiative SciGirls and am serving as an Advisory Board member for their newest NSF initiative, Latina SciGirls· Created and managed community collaborations to increase center's reach to children in need and students outside local area. Such as the Joint Fieldtrip Adventure between 3 downtown non-profits and Back To School Healthy Checkup (grown from 300 to over 1,100 students and serving families in need) Show less

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  North Louisiana STEM Alliance & Step Forward NWLa

  Aug 2017 - now

  Instructional Designer / Instructional Technologist / Co-Facilitator

  Instructional Designer, Technologist, and Co-Facilitator for a four-part blended course called The Mindset Classroom Course Blended Classroom. The goal of the course is to provide educators, as well as community organizations, with additional support during and after each of the four in-person workshops; to continue to deepen their understanding of growth mindset and how to implement it in their classrooms/spaces; and to create a stronger learning environment for the students they serve. Piloted in the spring of 2018. Ongoing course offerings for educators and community organizations throughout NW Louisiana.Includes: • Researched, designed, and developed courseware & facilitation concepts using adult learning models• Recognized, articulated, and documented clear learning objectives and behavioral outcomes incorporating multiple learning theories for staff and clients• Performed review of scripts, storyboards, created multimedia, and completed courseware to ensure sound design, usability, functionality, and compliance with client needs• Assessed the need for and development of job aids, content, materials and learning activities in collaboration with project team and SME’s• Worked with SME’s to design, develop, execute, and evaluate blended learning solutions following HPT processes• Designed, developed, and executed levels 1-3 of Kirkpatrick's 4 Levels of Evaluation to test effectiveness of the programScholarWorks Link: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/instruction_capstone/34/ Show less

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  Step Forward NWLa

  Oct 2017 - May 2019

  Independent Contractor / Facilitator

  Step Forward is a catalyst for working together across sectors and geographical lines to prepare the students of Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto, and Webster Parishes for academic achievement, productive citizenship and global competitiveness, from cradle to career. Step Forward exists to create a civic infrastructure that aligns and supports the myriad efforts to drive excellence in education locally. Utilizing “collective impact,” Step Forward applies this team approach through a growing partnership of more than 1,300 cross-sector individuals and organizations working toward an ambitious goal: the opportunity for a sustainable, living wage job for every single young adult in Northwest Louisiana.Recruited by Executive Director while completing masters in instructional design to expand the current Early Childhood Network and Early Literacy Network capacities as a Network Facilitator.• Set and revise measurable goals annually in coordination with network chairs• Develop and facilitate collaborative action projects that are feasible and likely to have a high impact• Create and revise annual action plan• Facilitate development of new projects using Six Sigma principles• Assist in implementation and coordination of network projects including recruitment, management, and coordination of Third Grade Literacy Volunteer Reading Program for 30 schools/ over 150 volunteers for four parish region• Design and implement network speaking engagements and trainings• Facilitate rational, realistic, data-driven thinking/planning and project evaluations• Recruit new network team members with an interest in the network goal Show less

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  History UnErased, Inc.

  Feb 2018 - May 2018

  Instructional Design Consultant / Intern

  Worked as an educational/instructional design consultant with History UnErased, Inc. (HUE). HUE was co-founded in 2015 by former classroom teachers Miriam Morgenstern and Debra Fowler. The organization’s mission is to UnErase LGBTQ history in K-12 schools to create a more just and harmonious world.Due to both time and staffing constraints, HUE needs assistance creating learning experiences which are effective and engaging for students by creating new learning content that connects LGBTQ history to other content areas such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) topics which pre-exist within the New York City Department of Education frameworks and standards. The idea is to “unsilo” learning, meaning not just teach individual subjects, such as history, math, science, etc., but rather use an interdisciplinary approach that integrates LGBTQ history within current curriculum and content being taught in classrooms.The project is entitled, WE THE PEOPLE CIVIC (Connecting Individual Voices to Intersecting Concepts) Inquiry Kit and is designed to serve 11th grade educators and their students. The kit expands the study of the American Civil Rights Movement to include Gay Rights and the LGBT movement. Oral history podcasts from the Give Voice to History Project are used in collaboration with Making Gay History , The Podcast which introduce Perry Watkins, Morty Manford, Sylvia Rivera and Ellen DeGeneres, whose personal stories introduce the discriminatory laws, policies and cultural practices that led them to intentional or incidental activism. The current timeline is to release the inquiry kit in the fall of 2018 to all NYC 11th grade educators.By integrating LGBTQ history and academic content, HUE addresses the social, emotional, and academic learning of all students, as well as acts as a tool to mitigate the staggering statistics relating to LGBTQ youth and in shaping a new generation of more educated and diverse global citizens. Show less

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  Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center

  May 2019 - now

  Programs and Education Manager

  Recruited back to Sci-Port to help realign Programs Department after facility closure, reorganization, and subsequent reopening.• Also, see 2009-2016 Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center professional experience• Hire, supervise and direct staff in 3 departments: Revenue, Outreach, and Floor Programs• Realigned processes and procedures for Center needs• Assist in maintaining balanced budget based on income/expenses• Present and teach Pre-Service/In-Service educator workshop• Rebuilding strategic and mission-based partnerships contributing to grant opportunities and their metrics as wells as strategic partnerships in the regional education and scientific fields to ensure curriculum connects to local, state, and national levels for STEAM and education initiatives• Assisted in the alignment of the new PoP Children’s Gallery to educational standards for local school systems• Worked with community, Board of Directors, and Executive Director on current strategic mission Show less