Carrie Meyers

Carrie Meyers serves as InSPIRE’s Director of Education and Workforce Talent, where she leads initiatives connecting education, emerging technologies, and regional workforce needs. With three decades of experience in education, she develops innovative programs and partnerships that prepare educators and students for a rapidly changing workforce. Carrie is modernizing professional learning by creating hands-on, career-connected experiences that strengthen educators’ content knowledge and pedagogical expertise.

InSPIRE coursework is designed to help K–12 educators build the skills needed to prepare their students for the future of work. This includes strengthening educators’ AI literacy and helping them understand and meaningfully integrate machine learning, prompt engineering, and other emerging technologies into K–12 classrooms in responsible ways. Educators learn to use AI as a collaborative tool to co-design standards-aligned, high-quality instructional materials that support critical thinking, engineering design, and real-world problem-solving. Other InSPIRE courses, including 3D printing, robotics, and computational thinking, build not only educators’ content knowledge but also their ability to incorporate durable/soft skills into classroom learning. Industry partners consistently identify these skills as essential for their future employees.

In 2025, the InSPIRE workforce development team she co-led received the Ralph Stair Prize in Innovative Education for its innovative AI professional learning courses. Carrie and her colleagues have since shared this work at UCF’s Teaching and Learning with AI Conference and were selected to present internationally at the inaugural Teaching and Learning with AI in Europe Conference, hosted by Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands in October 2026.

Carrie collaborates with state colleges, industry partners, FLATE, FloridaMakes, school districts, economic development organizations, and workforce organizations to strengthen the connection between classroom learning and regional economic priorities. A central focus of this work is examining how curriculum, instructional experiences, and AI literacy can be aligned across K–12 and higher education to create coherent pathways into postsecondary programs and high-demand careers. These partnerships help ensure that learners progressively develop knowledge and skills while gaining greater awareness of the educational and career opportunities available to northwest Florida communities.

In recognition of her contributions to education, workforce development, and industry collaboration, Carrie was named the 2026 FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award winner.

Her work with InSPIRE builds on her prior leadership as Co-Director of STEM Outreach at Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute. Throughout her career, Carrie has worked extensively with K–20 students and educators, authored and edited K–12 STEM curricula, and written two student mathematics books. Her research-based professional learning programs have focused on workforce development, STEM integration, coding, artificial intelligence, and the use of technologies such as 3D printing to enhance teaching and learning.

Carrie manages a team that develops K–12 e-learning tutorials and instructional resources featured on CPALMS. She has also developed computer-based innovations in Pre-K–2 mathematics assessment designed to provide educators with immediate feedback so they can make instructional decisions and better differentiate learning.

Internationally, Carrie has contributed to projects that build capacity for STEM education and support the implementation of educational standards in countries including Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Her work reflects a commitment to creating sustainable educational systems and expanding access to high-quality STEM learning.

Carrie has also designed and led afterschool programs that expand students’ access to engaging STEM experiences beyond the conventional school day. These programs have introduced students to fields such as nanotechnology, semiconductors, agricultural technology, and coding while helping them understand how STEM learning connects to future careers.

Across all her work, Carrie is guided by a belief in the transformative power of STEM integration and strong partnerships among education, industry, and workforce organizations. Her goal is to equip educators to create meaningful pathways for students to explore STEM careers while ensuring that education remains responsive to technological change, local industry, and evolving workforce needs.