Our Values
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote STEM by creating equitable opportunities and preparing students in the Central Puget Sound Region for their future career aspirations. Our method for driving this mission is Project Based Learning (PBL), which fosters understanding of the processes of science and engineering. It also develops students’ communication and advocacy skills for and empowers them to drive their own future goals. We believe that serving underrepresented populations of students allows for different perspectives to come to the table and problem-solve for our future.
Our Impact
45%
The science and engineering fair was started in 2010 with 25 students. In 2024, we had nearly 300 student participants, about 45% of which were girls.
Top Colleges
Our alumni have gone on to pursue STEM degrees at prestigious colleges, including Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell.
150
The 2024 science and engineering fair brought 150 judges from 41 states to participate and provide feedback to students.
Founded in 2019, the Central Sound Regional STEM Education Foundation emerged from the need to continue the legacy of the Central Sound Regional Science and Engineering Fair (CSRSEF), which has been a cornerstone STEM competition since 2009. When Bellevue College ceased hosting the fair, our foundation stepped in to ensure that this invaluable opportunity for students could thrive and grow. We support a range of STEM initiatives in the greater Puget Sound area to help reach women and other underserved populations gain access to STEM curriculum and opportunities for fostering innovative thinking.
Board Vice President – Kate Allender
As a science teacher for 25 years, Kate believes in the power of innovative thinking and scientific research that helps students build resilience and life skills. She has guided students through her research program at Tesla STEM, where her students compete in science fairs at the Regional, State, and International level. Kate has worked hard on the vision development for the Foundation, and has served on numerous advisory boards in the State to promote science literacy and 21st century skills. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She also loves hiking, with some of her more favorite treks being a hike around Mt Rainier (the Wonderland trail) and a successful summit of Mt. Rainier.
Board President – Gary Foss
His passion for science and engineering began in high school with awards won at the Spokane Science Fair. This led to a degree in Mechanical Engineering from WSU and a 35 year career at Boeing, retiring as an Engineering Technical Fellow in 2016. In 2010 he helped co-found CSRSEF and served on the advisory board. He has served in all capacities; fundraising, logistics, outreach, judging, awards, website management, and chaperone for CSRSEF finalists to the International Science Fair. He is also the Vice President of the Washington State Science & Engineering Fair, member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences Education Committee, and board member of the American Junior Academy of Science.
Lane Slagle
Lane is the Founder and Director of Starfish Education where she specializes in STEM curriculum design and professional development for K-12 stakeholders. A former teacher, district administrator and county administrator, Lane began her career teaching both elementary and middle school before starting her own business focusing on STEM education. Along with designing and developing STEM curriculum for clients, Lane enjoys facilitating workshops to help formal and informal teachers make an impact in STEM. Recognizing the importance in sparking STEM interest in youth, Lane has served as the National Chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) STEM Committee, sits on the STEM advisory board for select local school districts and serves on the education board of the Boeing Academy for STEM learning at the Museum of Flight.
Bruce Murdock
Bruce is a retired high school physics and chemistry instructor. He served for 17 years as science department chair in a large, suburban high school in Atlanta GA. Bruce’s students spent much time in the laboratory learning how to collect, analyze, and report data. Students were also required to prepare projects for the school science fair (which he and a colleague organized). In 2005, Bruce took a position at Cedarcrest High School in Duvall, WA, where he developed the school’s first local science and engineering fair and served as the science department chair. Now retired, Bruce serves as the chair of the 5-person Scientific Review Committee (SRC) for CSRSEF. He is a member of the SRC team for the state science fair, serves on the executive board for CSRSEF, and on the advisory board for WSSEF.
Craig DeVine
Craig is a retired Mechanical Engineer and high school teacher. He worked in the PNW for 15 years in engineering and management, and subsequently served for 18 years as a STEM instructor at Mountlake Terrace High School. Craig helped establish and develop the successful STEM Program at MTHS, teaching several “Project Lead the Way” pre-engineering courses, and he served as the STEM Program Manager. Craig now serves on the Scientific Review Committees (SRC) for the Central Sound Regional and the Washington State Science and Engineering Fairs.
Bryan Smelcer
Bryan started teaching in 2008 and initially taught eighth grade science for eight years in Sequim and Snoqualmie. He has been teaching aerospace engineering and research since 2016 at Mountlake Terrace High School. In his former life he was a Naval Nuclear Mechanic on a fast-attack submarine. Bryan has a passion for teaching project-based research and helping students to develop the required skills to thrive in our complex STEM industries. His focus with the foundation will be to provide a current high school STEM teacher perspective, improving mentorship opportunities for students’ project-based research, and seeking ways to improve STEM opportunities for typically underserved students. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his wife Emerald, 6-year-old daughter Kinhley, and goldendoodle Lychee.
Don Holmes – Treasurer
Don is passionate about advancing STEM education and opportunities for students to shape a better future. As a stay-at-home parent for 16 years, he values science and project-based learning as ways to connect with and empower his school-aged children. With 12 years of experience as a Sustainability Manager and Water Efficiency Specialist for the City of Portland, Don developed STEM curricula and led teacher training focused on water efficiency. He also chaired the Northwest Oregon Chapter of Water For People, driving fundraising for international water and sanitation projects.
Paul Spadafora – Secretary
Paul is one of the founding members of the Central Sound Regional STEM Education Foundation. He is a Principal at the law firm of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC in Seattle, WA, who practices in the areas of commercial and business litigation, debtor/creditor rights, and real property litigation. Prior to his legal career, Paul developed a background in Anthropology, Primatology, and Zoology, obtaining a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Notre Dame in Anthropology and Psychology, with field research and a senior thesis on the ranging and foraging behaviors of the Barbary Macaques of Gibraltar.
Paul’s passion for science was cultivated in middle school and high school, where he was invited to participate in the Thomas Alva Edison Regional Science and Engineering Fair of Southwest Florida, the Florida State Science Fair, and the International Science and Engineering Fair. Paul has volunteered as a judge at multiple regional and local science fairs, and became involved as a volunteer and later an advisory board member of CSRSEF in 2015. When he is not practicing law or volunteering, he is spending time with wife and two sons in West Seattle.
