Cathy L. Seeley

For more than forty years, Cathy Seeley has been a mathematics educator and change facilitator at the local, state, and national level. She is deeply committed to a high-quality mathematics education for every student, regardless of background or demographics.

Among her experiences in education, she has worked as a mathematics teacher, district mathematics coordinator, and state mathematics director for grades K–12. After her return in late 2001 from teaching mathematics (in French) as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, Cathy was elected to serve a two-year term as President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In that role, she was awarded an EXCEL Gold Award from the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) for her President’s Message, “Embracing Accountability.” Cathy has given presentations in all fifty states, and in Mexico, Canada, Portugal, France, Germany, South Africa, and China. She has appeared on television and radio and authored or coauthored various publications including mathematics textbooks and, within recent years, four books on issues and ideas related to teaching and learning math. Dr. Seeley's first such book, Faster Isn’t Smarter—Messages About Math, Teaching, and Learning in the 21st Century, received a 2010 AEP Distinguished Achievement Award honoring excellence and innovation in the educational community, with a fully updated and expanded second edition published in 2015. In 2014, she published a second volume, Smarter Than We Think--More Messages About Math, Teaching, and Learning in the 21st Century. And in 2016, she published two short books as part of ASCD's Arias series, both co-published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. One of those books is designed primarily for teachers, coaches, families, and a general audience--Making Sense of Math--and the partner book is designed for leaders--Building a Math-Positive Culture.

Cathy continues to maintain an active speaking and consulting schedule after her recent retirement as a Senior Fellow (now Emeritus) with the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, where she worked on state and national policy and improvement efforts, with a focus on prekindergarten–grade 12 mathematics education. For more information, see Cathy’s website at www.cathyseeley.com.