MS Science Teacher, MS Science Curriculum Coordinator
Diversity and Equity Coordinator - United States Quidditch

Brandi Cannon’s background in botanical sciences and STEAM has led her around the country and she uses her personal and professional experiences to drive critical thinking in classrooms with a focus on underrepresented narratives in science. She is an alumni of Sam Houston State University and Columbia University where she found her love for research and parasitic plants. Her research includes collecting fruit of Phoradendron leucarpum (oak mistletoe), practicing germinating techniques, and testing multiple hypotheses to identify host cues for haustorium orientation and establishment. She also focused on the conservation of endangered Schwalbea americana (American chaffseed) by evaluating root characterizations in response to fire and the genetic diversity of populations across the eastern United States. Over the course of her schooling she was a PEERS fellow, McNair Scholar, and REU intern.

She now works as the Middle School Science Curriculum Coordinator, and 8th grade science teacher where beyond hyping up teenagers about science she leads the Kids of Color affinity group and the middle school WISE (Women in STEM Education) club. For fun she works with multiple non-profits, as the Diversity and Equity Coordinator for the United States Quidditch and DEI consultant for the International Quidditch Association, on initiatives that serve the young adult community on and off the field, creating safe spaces for marginalized groups. She has organized a list of her top 10 plants by color, aroma, flower type, and leaf shape and is willing to share with anyone who will listen.