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Tracy Ostrom: Retired but Still Doing GLOBE!

May 12, 2026

*Tracy Ostrom greeted GLOBE educators and Partners at the 2026 National Science Teachers Association conference.*

Long-time GLOBE Partner Tracy Ostrom recently retired from the University of California at Berkeley. Although we know she will stay involved with GLOBE throughout her retirement, we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate some of Tracy’s many accomplishments and contributions to GLOBE.

Tracy has supported the U.S. GLOBE Regional Student Research Symposia (SRS) since they began in 2016 by participating in planning committees, hosting regional events, mentoring students as they completed research, and facilitating discussions for a virtual symposium. By our count, Tracy has participated in nine regional SRS, as well as numerous local symposia.

Tracy also provides direct guidance and support to classrooms. Jess Kunz, a science educator at ASCEND in Oakland, has collaborated with Tracy for more than a decade. Tracy has visited Jess’s classes to help train students on data collection protocols and give them practice in discussing and inquiring about the data they collect. Jess said, “As someone who works in a small school without many other science folks to collaborate with, Tracy is often the first person I would go to with an idea for a science activity. Tracy has been a strong mentor, thoughtful planning partner, and all-around support through my career as a science teacher.”

Within the GLOBE Partner community, Tracy has been on numerous planning committees for the North American Regional Meetings, was a U.S. Partner Forum representative from 2018 to 2023, and was an integral part of the California Strong collaborative of scientists, researchers, outreach specialists, and educators who work together to spread Earth system science initiatives throughout California using the tools and resources of the GLOBE Program. California Strong began as part of the Earth System Science Collaborative project.

Tracy completed her Ph.D. in Education in December 2025. Her dissertation was titled “Exploring Data-Rich Pedagogy and Data Fluency in K-12 Science Educators.”

Congratulations to Tracy and thank you for all you do for the GLOBE community!

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Check out these GLOBE news stories featuring Tracy.