Like my fellow NEED Board Members, I joined the board to be part of an organization that is deeply committed to a balanced approach to energy education and to the support of teachers and students in the classroom. As we begin the 2011-2012 NEED year, I am honored to be NEED’s new Chairman. I look forward to continuing our work with NEED’s teachers, students, sponsors and partners to design and deliver high quality energy education programs to schools across the United States. The teachers, students, sponsors and partners who bring time, resources, commitment, and energy to NEED’s programming are the foundation of a growing, dynamic NEED network. I am always grateful to hear reports of the impact NEED’s sponsors and partners have on the classroom – providing the financial resources that allows NEED to supply curriculum, kits and teacher training.

As part of the Hydropower Research Foundation (HRF), and Director of Member Services for the National Hydropower Association, I have witnessed firsthand the quality curriculum development and training that the NEED Staff develops, designs, and delivers to schools. The staff is creative, flexible, deeply committed to a balanced energy message, and above all, fun. There is never a moment when the NEED staff and our teachers and students are not exploring, learning, and teaching. When NEED asked the HRF to support the design and delivery of Exploring Hydropower curriculum and teacher training, we knew it would be a great product – one that engaged students, excited teachers, and used science, math, language arts, and social science to teach about America’s leading renewable energy source. The results are obvious on the faces of teachers at workshops and in the enthusiastic discussions among students when they are experimenting in the classroom.

The companies, agencies, and organizations that support NEED each year make a difference in so many ways. Teachers receive training, students receive up-to-date, engaging hands-on energy equipment and curriculum, and schools reduce energy use, families learn how to use energy more wisely, and our partners have the opportunity to make an investment that has a longitudinal impact. Together, we all make a difference. As we begin the 2011-2012 school year, let me say THANK YOU to the teachers, students, parents, and sponsors that make NEED successful in the classroom.

Diane Lear

Chairman