Ava Nemerovski, MAT’26, and Erin Lippitt, MAT’25, were chosen by the Knowles Teacher Initiative as members of its 2026 Cohort of Teaching Fellows.
Ava will be a first-year teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Rhode Island, during the 2026-2027 school year, where they will teach 9th grade biology as well as 11th and 12th grade oceanography. Ava earned a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Brown University before continuing on to complete their Master of Arts in Teaching. While at Brown, Ava served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for CHEM 0350 and worked as a Problem Solving Fellow.
“I was drawn to apply to the fellowship because I wanted to be part of a national community of teachers that support each other in their professional growth,” Ava shares. They hope to use the fellowship to develop lessons and activities that help their students understand and connect with the natural world, and to improve their own teaching abilities by learning from mentors and peers.
Erin is currently teaching at The Greene School in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, where she teaches 11th grade physics and 9th grade field ecology.
"I was drawn to Knowles for the nationwide model and how it connects STEM teachers across the country," Erin shares. "As a physics teacher at a small school and in a small state, it can be difficult to find collaborators. With Knowles, I'll be able to connect regularly with both new and veteran physics teachers." She adds that the funding provided by Knowles is also an asset for her students, noting that the professional development and funding for classroom materials she'll receive will provide a direct and immediate benefit to them.
The Knowles Teacher Initiative supports a national network of more than 600 mathematics and science teachers across more than 40 states who are collaborative, innovative leaders improving education for all students in the United States. The fellowship supports early-career, high school mathematics and science teachers in their efforts to develop teaching expertise and lead from the classroom. Through the program, Knowles Fellows receive an annual budget for stipends, grants for classroom materials, professional development, and leadership activities, as well as mentoring and coaching from experienced teachers and teacher educators.