Debra Meyer, President, joined the WESO board in 2020. Debra is very interested in event development and works closely with Event Supervisors as part of the Events Committee. Debra’s involvement in WESO began in 2009 when her oldest son competed in his first WESO event. She has served as an event coach, head coach, event supervisor for several events and a member of the WESO Events Committee. Debra holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology and is passionate about bringing science to kids of all ages.
Nancy Dean, Vice President, works closely with Event Supervisors as well as developing, and coordinating many logistical details for WESO. Nancy holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and loves drawing on her extensive scientific training to develop fun hands-on events for WESO. Nancy’s participation in WESO began in 2007 when her sons were part of the inaugural Wines team. She became a board member in 2010.
Shooshan Danagoulian, Treasurer, joined the WESO board in 2024 and works closely with fellow Co-Treasurer Nancy Dean on logistical and financial details for WESO. Shooshan holds a PhD in Economics and is currently a faculty member at Wayne State University. Shooshan’s involvement with WESO started in 2015 when her son, then a student at Dicken Elementary, began participating in the Olympiad. As an educator, Shooshan loves seeing students discover and learn more about science, then bring their passion to competition day.
Emily Schapiro, Secretary, joined the WESO board in 2023. As the daughter of Hedieh Briggs, Emily began her WESO journey as part of Lawton Elementary’s first WESO team. Since then, she has continued to support WESO in various roles, including coaching, supervising events (Potions), and volunteering (Score-runner). Emily fell in love with science through participating in WESO and hopes to inspire other young scientists.
Hedieh Briggs, Member at Large and founding board member. Hedieh brings her enthusiasm and energy to many strategic aspects of WESO including the immense task of organizing our thousands of volunteers. Hedieh’s involvement with WESO began at Lawton Elementary where her daughter was a member of Lawton’s first WESO team! Hedieh is a Director in Psychiatry at Texas A&M University Health Science Center, and she loves seeing the kids enthusiasm for science and love of learning.
Tierra Jackson, Member at Large, joined the WESO board in 2020. Her participation with WESO began in 2011 when she started the Pittsfield Elementary Science Olympiad team and served as their head coach. She is now the school head coach for Logan Elementary, where she is currently a 3rd grade teacher. Tierra has also served on the WESO School Experience committee. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she loves Ann Arbor and the Logan/AAPS Community. Because of this, she is active with Logan’s Academic Games Team and Student Council, the AAEA Minority Affairs committee, New Teacher Chair, and is an MEA Ambassador. Tierra is an enthusiastic educator who enjoys motivating children, teaching children, and learning from children.
Nirmala Rajaram, Member at Large and founding board member. Nirmala is the Open Events Coordinator, and is very involved in overseeing the development of events. Nirmala’s involvement in WESO began in 2002 when her oldest daughter, then a student at Logan, participated in the very first WESO event. Mala holds a Ph.D. and is a Research Scientist at the University of Michigan. Nirmala enjoys seeing kids get excited trying new hands-on science projects.
Shri Rao, Member at Large, joined the WESO Board in 2020. Shri began her involvement in WESO nearly 20 years ago when she was a coach for elementary and middle school, then a supervisor for Map Reading and has been the co-volunteer coordinator for the last several years. Shri works for Merative and is an engineer by profession. Both her children have been involved with Science Olympiad through all their school lives. Shri enjoys being involved with WESO helping kids enjoy science and technology.
Jennifer D’Souza, Member at Large, joined the WESO board in 2026. Her involvement began when her eldest son competed in 3rd grade at Burns Park Elementary; since then, all three of her sons have participated. Jennifer has served as an event coach and co-head coach, with a special passion for building events and hands-on science discovery. An East Coast transplant, she earned three degrees from the University of Michigan, works as a statistician, and loves keeping up with her kids’ activities alongside her husband.
Elizabeth Bernhardt, Member at Large, joined the WESO board in 2026. Elizabeth supervised the Photon Phun event for two years before joining the board. She holds a Ph.D. in physics and is a Senior Application Scientist at IDEX H&S Semrock. Having volunteered for over a decade with Skype A Scientist, Elizabeth is passionate about science outreach and inspiring the next generation of scientists.
Sunanda Venumuddula, Member at Large, joined the WESO board in 2026. Sunanda’s involvement with WESO began in 2010, when her twin sons started competing in the Science Olympiad in 2nd grade. She has since coached events at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, supervised events at Science Olympiad invitationals and at Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad, and helped with scoring and scheduling. Sunanda works as a Software Architect and enjoys giving back to a program that gave her own kids so much.
Jodi Hecker, Member at Large, recently joined the WESO board in 2026. Mother and coach of a two-time placer in iCompute. A compulsive volunteer, she joined the board to assist more formally. Jodi has a bachelor’s degree in the Zoological Sciences from Michigan State University with a special interest in evolutionary biology. She comes to WESO with 10+ years experience in youth program administration and team building facilitation from her previous life and will be applying her website building skills to improve the WESO site this year.
Beth Nazario, Member at Large, joined WESO as an Event Supervisor in 2023, developing and running the iRobot event. However, Beth’s involvement with Science Olympiad began much earlier, participating in Science Olympiad in middle and high school in Ohio. She has also enjoyed coaching her own children in numerous WESO events over the years. Beth has been an educator in Ann Arbor since 2002, teaching a variety of subjects, including STEM courses in robotics, programming, electronics, and 3D design. She particularly enjoys creating hands-on opportunities that help students see science and technology as something they can explore, build, and figure out for themselves. She is excited to continue supporting WESO and its mission of helping young students discover the fun of science and STEM.
Emeritus WESO Board Members:
Susan Blackburn, Emeritus and founding board member. Sue’s involvement in WESO began when her daughter was a 3rd grade student of WESO founder Dee Vayda at Pattengill Elementary School. Susan is a Clinical Research Project Manager at Virtual Incision, Inc. She holds a BSN/MBA. Susan loves seeing the students develop leadership, problem solving and team building skills through their involvement with WESO.
Jane Levy, Member at Large and founding board member. Jane is a retired teacher from Ann Arbor Open, where she taught Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades for 20 years. Jane’s passion for engaging students in natural sciences, and in particular birds, continues as she leads annual workshops for the kids. Jane holds M.A. and M.S. degrees, and she loves to continue to share her love of nature with students of all ages.
Kevin Bohannon, Member at Large, joined the board in 2020. Kevin supervised Feathered Friends for three years and has worked on the WESO Event Committee. Kevin holds a Ph.D. in virology and is a cell biologist at the University of Michigan. He has recently appeared on Jeopardy! and is an avid cyclist, having biked every single street in Ann Arbor. Kevin studied education before becoming a scientist and loves watching students’ “aha!” moments during events.
= Reviewed and updated for 2027
= Additional updates made since original posting
= Materials from previous years yet to be reviewed and may not reflect changes made to events for this year
