Christine Braun

(she/her)

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICIER

 

Following my eldest child's enrollment in first grade, the school principal initiated a discussion regarding my child's distinct characteristics in contrast to peers, advocating for homeschooling as a means to adequately cater to his intellectual needs. This pivotal moment ignited both my homeschooling journey and fervor for gifted education. Faced with the absence of suitable educational resources, particularly in fields like robotics and electronics, which deeply intrigued my child, I founded R4K2, an LLC dedicated to addressing the expanding technological disparity among school-aged children. Upon concluding my tenure with the company, I transitioned into the role of I-Lab Manager at Nueva School, where the educational philosophy not only resonated with me, but also enhanced the teaching methodologies I had honed at R4K2. Subsequently, my engagement with Harvard University provided an opportunity to delve deeply into crafting a makerspace culture supportive of the Harvard community.  This journey has led to the Cresconova Academy, driven by a steadfast commitment to offer a community that fosters hands-on, experiential learning tailored to students whose intellectual curiosity transcends conventional boundaries.

EDUCATION

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Master of Fine Arts: Artisanry Furniture Design, 1999

University of the Arts, BFA Sculpture, 1997

 

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Conference Presentations
  • Harvard University Sustainable Fashion Show: Spring 2023, 2024
  • FIRST Collegiate Competition, Harvard University, Fall 2023
  • Harvard Design and Project Fair: 2023, 2024
  • ISAM: International Symposium of Academic Makerspaces: Papers, Publication and Presentations 2023 
  • Art, Science, and Making: Elements for creating a hub of activism at Harvard
  • Designing for the 21st Century: Don Norman, 2021
  • Lemelson MIT: Participatory Design for Global Projects, 2021
  • Gravity Racers Event: 2018, 2022
  • Nueva Middle School Outdoor Classroom: 2021/2022
  • Lemelson MIT Excite Award Speaker: Toy Design for Zoo Animals for grades 5-8: 2021
  • Disney Shop Class: Episode winning instructor, 2019
  • FIRST FTC: Regional Competition Host; Nueva school 2018
  • Design Thinking Institute Presenter: Nueva school: 2017, 2018, 2022
  • Hack Education; VT Hackathon: Keynote speaker: 2016
  • Hack Education: Judge: 2016

Conference Attendance and Curricular Training
  • Aris Demetrios Maker Fellow Training Camp, 2023
  • International Symposium of Academic Makerspaces 2022, 2023
  • Lemelson MIT PD for Excite Award Winner, 2020
  • Identifying Gifted Students of Color, 2018
  • Social Emotional Learning Institute, 2018
  • Equity & Inclusion Institute, 2018
  • Innovative Learning Conference, 2017
  • Design Thinking Institute, 2017
  • GoBabyGo: engineer and teacher: 2017
 

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

Director of the REEF Makerspace Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: 2022- 2024
  • Created Mission, Vision, Values for Harvard’s first community Makerspace. Created partnerships, hosted events, created a Maker Fellow, student program, created an Maker in Residence and Emergent Maker in Residence program
Head of Alumni communication committee, UArts; 2023-2024
  • Working with alumni relations committees on community outreach and professional networking opportunities
FIRST Robotics Lead Coach, SEP-JUNE 2012- 2022
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND BURLINGTON, VERMONT,  2012 SEP-JUNE 2022
  • Coach for Jr. FLL, FLL and FTC robotics competitions.  Hosted regional competition San Mateo, CA, Attended World Championship with team 2016
Adjunct Professor Engineering
  • University of San Francisco: Spring 2022
  • Introduced fabrication processes to first and second year engineering students. 
I-Lab Manager: Nueva School; 2017-2022
  • Manager for Upper and Middle school Innovation Lab; Teacher of Design Thinking classes 
CEO/FOUNDER
  • Robots for Kids too, Bridging the technology gap for students: 2012-2017
Founding Member: Vermont Kids Steam Space: 
  • Working with a team to create a makerspace for students at Vermont Teddy Bear:2014-2016

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY:

"Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life." -Linus Pauling

Exploration into subjects and environments that excite curiosity and joy within students of any age is the key to great learning. Curiosity allows one to lean into the unknown, opens the doors to expanding knowledge and down the path of empathy and invention. Creating events, classes and experiences that spark interest and ignite curiosity is the greatest gift one can offer. A lifelong learner is one who continually explores, experiments and reaches out to problem-solve. Stay curious.