2017: Janelle L. Ball

Jenelle Ball has been teaching chemistry at Chico High School since 1987 and has served as science department chair since 1996. She is currently president-elect of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) and a member of the Recommendations Task Force for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Guidelines for Teaching High School and Middle School Chemistry. Ball graduated with her bachelor's in chemistry from CSU, Chico in 1982. After graduation, she went on to complete her master's in chemistry at UC Santa Cruz and taught at Corning Union High School until 1987. She completed her master's in education from UC Santa Barbara in 1999.In the last 20 years, Ball has served on multiple national committees and received numerous awards. In 2015 she was only the second teacher in California to have received the American Chemical Society's James Bryant Conant Award for excellence in high school chemistry teaching. Ball has been published multiple times in the Journal of Chemical Education, and has received several grants and recognitions for her commitment to chemical education. Ball and her husband, David, met at CSU, Chico and recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They have three children.