Meet the Vivify Team
Claire Meschkat
Co-Founder, STEM Education Specialist
claire@vivifystem.com
Claire is a Pre-K thru 9th grade STEM teacher and STEM program coordinator at a Texas private school. She specializes in developing engineering curricula for elementary and middle school grades including the STEM Explorers series. Claire is 2023 Masters graduate in Educational Psychology - Creativity & Cognition from Texas A&M University.
Before Vivify, she worked as an aerospace engineer at Boeing Commercial Airlines, Boeing Space Exploration, & Air Tractor, Inc.
Claire lives in rural north Texas. She loves being a wife to her entrepreneurial Industrial & Systems Engineer husband and a mommy to their three sweet and spunky daughters. Fun fact, Claire can't go a day without chocolate! And why would anyone want to?
Natasha Wilkerson
Co-Founder, Director of Space Club
nwilkerson@vivifystem.com | Click for CV
In 2014, Natasha founded Space Club, a program that started in San Antonio and now inspires students around the world! Natasha specializes in developing engineering curriculum for middle school grades and STEM Family programs. Natasha is a doctoral student in Curriculum & Instruction at Texas A&M University.
Before Vivify, Natasha worked as an engineer for the United States Department of the Navy in radar and satellite spectrum management.
Natasha lives in College Station, Texas with her husband, Justin, a mechanical engineering professor. She is mom to two sweet daughters and a silly pug. Natasha is fluent in Greek, but she is still working on those Greek cooking skills!
Michelle Bogden
STEM Education specialist
Michelle Bogden is a STEM Education Specialist with Crown Consulting at NASA, including internship recruitment. She is also an Education Advisory Council member of the Cosmic Leap Foundation. Prior to joining NASA, she was a 5th - 8th-grade science teacher at Hawken School and was passionate about getting her students involved in STEM programs like engineering fairs, Science Olympiad, and NASA's Young Astronauts Day. Michelle has a B.S. in 7-12 Integrated Science and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction. Michelle lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband Adam, son Bennett, and sheepadoodle Rosie. She enjoys spending time with family and friends at their lake house on Lake Erie.
Em Gee
Marketing & Programs Coordinator
Em Gee started off her career studying elementary education and then worked in customer service. She has a passion for STEM education and mental health. She joined the Vivify team in 2019 starting as a virtual assistant and now is a jack of all trades! She lives in Tennessee with her daughter and husband. Geek chic/culture is very prominent in her life.
Lauren Kelly
STEM Education specialist
Lauren Kelly is a STEM/GT specialist in Crowley ISD with over 11 years of education experience. She specializes in elementary STEM curriculum, is a Liftoff alumni, Region 11 Design Committee member, and a master teacher content creator for LabXchange. Lauren has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and an M.Ed in Educational Leadership. Lauren lives in Burleson, Texas with her husband Chris, and daughter, Holly, and is a big fan of LEGO and NASA.
Julie Lyons
STEM Education specialist
Julie Lyons has over 15 years of experience as an educator and currently works as a STEM and Technology teacher for Grades PK-5. Julie lives in coastal Delaware where she loves doing all things beach-life related with her husband and four kids. Julie enjoys planning adventurous trips, hot yoga, and researching new topics that light up her brain’s neural pathways!
Kristina Ohl
STEM Education specialist
Kristina Ohl is a science teacher who strives to develop lessons that are engaging for all learners. She has taught as an outdoor educator and in many STEM roles from grades 3-8 and currently teaches middle school science. Improving access to quality STEM educational resources to positively impact the lives of all students is her passion. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts with her fiancé and her rescue dog Finley.
Terese Wills
STEM Education specialist
Terese Wills is an engineer turned educator who currently teaches STEM to grades 3 - 5. Terese started her career working as a mechanical engineer in HVAC design and now shares her passion for STEM to inspire the next generation of engineers. Terese lives in Sheboygan, Wisconsin with her husband Jeff who is an energy recovery and mechanical systems design engineer. They have five kids and two dogs, a laid back cockapoo, and an emotional husky.
Vivify’s Story
Back in 2005, Natasha and Claire met at Texas A&M University at Freshman Fish camp, discovered they were both studying aerospace engineering, did some crazy dance moves, and never looked back! They became roommates, study partners, and basically inseparable (nicknamed "Clasha"), as they navigated the long days and nights of becoming an engineer.
They soon discovered a shared passion for STEM education. Throughout their tenure as classmates and roommates, they found their place in school, and in life, was to not only become engineers but to share with others the opportunities and knowledge that contributed to their success. Together, they led student organizations, developed a freshman engineering mentoring program, and organized outreach service events with the goal to support future engineers. They eventually graduated with degrees in Aerospace Engineering and are proud members of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2009, whoop!
After graduation, Claire and Natasha went separate ways and worked as engineers at Air Tractor and the Department of the Navy, respectively. But after a few years, their shared passion for education brought them back together, and they set out to reengineer the way that we approach STEM education. The result is Vivify STEM, which equips teachers with resources that help bring STEM education—and STEM careers—to life.
Thank you for joining us in our mission to use STEM education to engage and equip students to succeed in the classroom and beyond!
Our Philosophy
STEM transforms classrooms into an exciting world of curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity. Successful STEM education is an empowering interdisciplinary approach that brings math, science, and engineering concepts to life through challenging opportunities that mimic the complexities and excitement of the real world.
Every teacher or parent can incorporate STEM into their classroom or home given the right resources, and that is where Vivify comes in! We love creating STEM materials and are excited to bring STEM to more classrooms and homes!