Kirstin Milks

Teaching science to change the world

Dr. Kirstin Milks creates innovative, collaborative, science- and justice-oriented learning experiences for children and adults. Kirstin is a National Board Certified Teacher, a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow, and a Senior Fellow at the Knowles Teacher Initiative. She is the co-editor of SOCIAL ACTION STORIES, a work/book of high-impact storytelling for classroom and community, and is delighted to be the 2025 president-elect of the National Association of Biology Teachers.

A graduate of Stanford University’s Schools of Medicine (PhD) and Education (MA), Kirstin generates wisdom and co-designs curriculum with high schoolers in Bloomington, Indiana. She works with organizations including the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and universities and school districts across the country to envision, engineer, and enact the future of education, with a focus on humane and socially-responsive science teaching.

Kirstin is also an artist, maker, and cultural worker whose work connects us to animals, nature, and each other.

Learn more—including how to contact Kirstin (she/they)—here.