Illinois Extension and Sea Grant K-12 education specialist joins the team

Posted June 5th, 2024 in Education, Featured, K-12 Education
Julie Fiorito

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) welcomes Julie Fiorito, the program’s new K-12 education specialist. The focus of Fiorito’s work will be to increase Great Lakes literacy among Illinois and Indiana youth through development, delivery, and evaluation of science-based educational programming. 

“I believe that access to quality educational programming can give Lake Michigan communities the agency to create policy and cultural shifts to improve the health of the lake ecosystem,” said Fiorito. “I am excited to join IISG in this role to empower young learners in these communities through place-based education to become part of the solution to the environmental challenges the Great Lakes face.”

She will offer support to educators throughout the southern Lake Michigan basin in bringing the most recent aquatic research into their K-12 classrooms through immersive and engaging professional learning.

In her role with IISG, Fiorito will develop educational programming around Great Lakes issues, such as coastal resilience, invasive species, aquaculture, and food web ecology, that address local needs and increase science and Great Lakes literacy. She’ll also work directly with teachers in Illinois and Indiana to develop resources and opportunities including curricula, field days, and teacher training workshops.

Fiorito is skilled in a variety of education methodologies and has extensive experience as a high school teacher planning, directing, and coordinating various educational programs. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in biology teacher education from Illinois State University in 2012 and a Master of Science in teaching biological science from University of Illinois in 2017. 

She will be housed in Illinois Extension and located in Chicago at the Illini Center. 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

IISG Instagram

Got a research idea worth a bigger room? The 2026 State of Lake Michigan Meeting is accepting proposals for symposia and workshops, and we want to hear yours!

📅 Nov. 4–6 | Michigan City, IN
⏰ Proposals due June 1 at 1 PM ET

Help shape what the Great Lakes research community discusses this year.

🔗 Submit at the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18204947476345346
Got a research idea worth a bigger room? The 2026 State of Lake Michigan Meeting is accepting proposals for symposia and workshops, and we want to hear yours!📅 Nov. 4–6 | Michigan City, IN⏰ Proposals due June 1 at 1 PM ETHelp shape what the Great Lakes research community discusses this year.🔗 Submit at the link in bio.

To every educator who has brought the Great Lakes into their classroom, thank you. 🍎

Your curiosity is contagious. Your lessons last. And the students who learn to love these waters? They’ll protect them.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week from all of us at IISG.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18114413005816537
To every educator who has brought the Great Lakes into their classroom, thank you. 🍎Your curiosity is contagious. Your lessons last. And the students who learn to love these waters? They’ll protect them.Happy Teacher Appreciation Week from all of us at IISG.

Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.

Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral.

Application deadline: June 3, 2026.

To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18059750612478364
Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: June 3, 2026.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.