Meet the Instructors

Elizabeth Choe is the Program Director and Executive Producer of MIT+K12 Videos, a STEM outreach media program in the Office of Digital Learning. Born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, Elizabeth's love of science was cultivated by the various wildlife in her backyard and an extensive amount of Animal Planet viewing. Somewhere along the way, she realized that her love of biology extended beyond snakes and bugs, and she conducted nanoparticle-based cancer therapy research while getting her B.S. in Biological Engineering at MIT. She worked for a Boston-based television production company developing science show pitches, was a former student filmmaker for the pilot round of MIT+K12 Videos, and has produced award-winning video content for MIT's Office of Undergraduate Admissions. She is the creator of Science Out Loud, Q's View, #askMIT, and the outreach and educational programming of K12Videos.

Jaime Goldstein is the Communication Lab Director and an Instructor in Biological Engineering at MIT. Jaime joined MIT in the fall of 2012. Jaime holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Non-Fiction Writing from The University of Pennsylvania as well as a Masters in Education from The University of Pennsylvania. Jaime began her writing career as an undergraduate when she earned a Nassau Fund Award for her research about innovative approaches to protect Utah's wilderness. Soon after, she became a writer and editor for Backpacker Magazine and then segued into the classroom as a UPENN Dean's Scholar, where she taught English for several years. In addition to teaching, Jaime enjoys being challenged in administrative roles ranging from the Associate Dean of Academic Preparation for The Steppingstone Foundation to the Chief of Staff at the Longy School of Music, Bard College. When not being an educational entrepreneur, Jaime can be found hiking with her three-legged dog, Stephen, and her family.

Ceri Riley is an MIT 2016 undergraduate double-majoring in Comparative Media Studies and Biology. As an Educational Media Fellow with MIT+K12 Videos, a UROP with the MITx Biology team, and an MIT Admissions Blogger, she creates all kinds of engaging and educational digital media. She has also interned in comic book publishing, transmedia production, and cable TV production and editing.

Chris Boebel is Manager of Media Development at MIT's Office of Digital Learning, and a producer/director of documentaries at MIT and beyond. Chris is also instructor and co-developer of MIT's "DV Lab", a graduate and undergraduate course that combines theoretical analysis of science documentaries with hands-on documentary production. He has produced and directed feature films, shorts, television programs, and numerous educational media projects. Chris's work has screened at more than 50 film festivals around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, and has appeared on many television networks, including PBS, the BBC, and Nickelodeon. At MIT, he co-produced and was the Documentary Director for the Emmy-Award winning, "Awakening," broadcast on WGBH. Currently, he is collaborating with his wife, MIT Anthropology Professor Christine Walley, on a new documentary project entitled, "Exit Zero," a first-person account of the long-term impact of deindustrialization in Southeast Chicago. Chris is an alumnus of New York University's Graduate Film Program in the Tisch School of the Arts and has been a resident fellow at the Millay Colony for the Arts.

George Zaidan is a card-carrying nerd and lifelong teacher. He studied chemistry as an undergrad at MIT, and is a Goldwater Scholar and a 2012 New Media Consortium Emerging Leader. He has written and hosted series for The Weather Channel, TED-Education, and National Geographic. His science media production company, Free Energy Productions, has produced video for MIT, IBR, Sangari Active Science, Discover Magazine and New Scientist. His recent projects include Chem Lab Boot Camp, a reality series following students as they experience MIT's freshman chemistry lab course. George is a blogger for The Huffington Post, a trustee of the Washington International School, and a Fellow of the Institute for Education. He is also an avid golfer and a recreational cook. George directs filming for Science Out Loud and Q's View.

Josh Gunn started Planet Nutshell in 2007, with a background in motion graphics, writing, and storytelling. As a former Amazon.com employee, Josh worked to explain thousands of products to customers using methods that engaged, informed, and entertained them along the way. Before Amazon, he taught creative writing at The University of Washington. Planet Nutshell lets Josh keep exploring new ways to help people "funderstand" a complicated world. Josh holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from The University of Washington and he received his BA in English from The Colorado College. In his spare time, he works as a journalist, short story writer, and essayist. His work has appeared in leading publications including The Atlantic and Vox.com.

Dr. Natalie Kuldell is the director of a web-based resource called BioBuilder that applies biology to solve engineering challenges, as well as the president of an educational non-profit organization called the BioBuilder Educational Foundation that aims to convert current research into teachable form. She runs BioBuilder summer workshops to train teachers in the engineering of biology and ways to teach it. Outside of her BioBuilder work, she is also an affiliate of MIT's Department of Biological Engineering, a co-PI on a grant with Boston's Museum of Science to engage the public with the engineering of biology, a recent visiting scientist with the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, and a member of several advisory Boards that work on STEM education issues and reform.