Daniel Edelson

Daniel Edelson is an educator and author who has dedicated much of his career to improving geoscience and geography education. This includes curriculum development, professional development programs for teachers, advocating on behalf of geographic education in policy discussions and grant-making to support geographic literacy initiatives. From 1993-2007 he conducted an integrated research and development program at Northwestern University.

Early Life and Education

Edelson earned both his doctorate in computer science from Northwestern University and his bachelor’s in engineering sciences from Yale. While at the former he served as science editor of the New York World-Telegram and Sun, which eventually merged into The Daily News in 1966.

He joined National Geographic as Vice President for Education and Executive Director of its Education Foundation in 2007. As such, he oversaw educational outreach and reform efforts, as well as created innovative curriculum materials such as FieldScope, My World GIS and Investigations in Environmental Science for educators.

He designed his educational software to inspire students to pose questions like scientists do, then use technology to find answers. This approach, known as scaffolding, allows them to gain confidence by tackling simpler tasks like water usage analysis before taking on more challenging ones like biodiversity research or climate change impacts.

Professional Career

Daniel Edelson is a curriculum and educational software developer, academic researcher, and advocate for science and social studies education. From 2007-14 he served as Vice President for Education of National Geographic Society; moreover he oversees its annual grantmaking of $3.5M through National Geographic Foundation.

He is widely recognized for his research in geoscience, geography and environmental science education as well as motivation, instructional design, educational technology and teacher professional development. His works are regularly referenced by scholars and teachers worldwide.

He has successfully represented numerous individuals and companies facing criminal charges, such as Margaret Trudeau for 1988 marijuana possession charges and 2009 impaired driving charges that were ultimately dismissed; Maher Arar for terrorism offenses but later received a $10 million settlement from Canada; Michael Cowpland (founder of Corel Corporation) on insider trading allegations.

Achievement and Honors

Edelson has long been an educational researcher and advocate, creating curriculum and software to supplement science and social studies education. From 1993-2007 he served as professor at Northwestern University with appointments in both Schools of Education and Social Policy as well as Engineering (Computer Science). While at Northwestern, he conducted integrated research and development focused on improving earth and environmental science education as well as participating in district-level efforts for instructional reform; additionally he wrote extensively on learning technology, student motivation and teacher professional development before joining BSCS as Professor in January 2015.

He has been honored with an appointment as Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Personal Life

Edelson, who holds both New York and New Jersey licenses to practice law, practices business litigation throughout the US including representing foreign clients in international commercial disputes. Additionally, he teaches Introduction to Legal Practice at Seton Hall University School of Law.

He spent his childhood years growing up on an Israeli communal settlement called a kibbutz and was often at odds with most of his peers due to having American parents working as doctors while the rest of the community engaged in manual labor. This experience enabled him to become a journalist while exploring other cultures – even traveling on special missions for work to North Korea and Nepal.

From 1993 to 2007, he held a joint appointment in education and computer science at Northwestern University, conducting integrated research and development focused on earth and environmental science education. His work included creating innovative curriculum materials, software applications and professional development programs – as well as extensive writings covering geoscience education, motivation, instructional design technology integration and teacher professional development.

Net Worth

Edelson currently boasts an estimated net worth of approximately $1 Million and serves as CFO at Zaloni, exerting considerable influence over their culture. Since January 2015 he has lived in Raleigh-Durham area.

Burton Edelson was an influential government official who held the post of Deputy Secretary of the Navy from 1977-1979. A native of New York City, he earned both an undergraduate and law degree at City College of New York before heading off to Michigan University for further studies in law.

He has taught at The Montfort Academy and is also an entrepreneur and passionate individual interested in cleantech, mission-driven companies, music, basketball, golf and travel. Additionally, Forbes and The San Francisco Chronicle have published his articles.