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Marsha Francis
Marsha Francis
01:30

Marsha Francis

STE(A)M Truck

Decatur, GA USA

"No move is the wrong move. It's not always as high-stakes as we make it seem."

Career Roadmap

Marsha's work combines: Education, Science, and Teaching / Mentoring

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Day In The Life

Executive Director

I lead an educational nonprofit with a fleet of mobile innovation labs designed to engage kids with STEAM.

My Day to Day

The day may start with a breakfast meeting with a school or community partner to discuss new programming or teacher support. If we're working with students or teachers, I'd go to the school to see the staff in action. Next, I'd go to our headquarters to check out the vehicles and materials. I'd meet with our Marketing and Development team to plan how we'll share STE(A)M Truck stories and connect with funders. I may also attend a city event to represent STE(A)M Truck and share about our programs.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

I've dealt with some regret on my career journey. For example, I made a move before joining STE(A)M Truck that resulted in regret. I couldn't show up fully as a young Black woman. However, I've realized that while regretting your moves isn't great, reflecting on them is. I stopped regretting it and just made another move. The world is changing and you can't really make a wrong move now. You can learn from a move that wasn't the best fit for you and then move forward with a better step.

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Child Development

    Spelman College

  • Certification

    P-5 Teaching Certification

    Spelman College

  • Graduate Degree

    Curriculum and Instruction

    Central Michigan University

  • Doctorate

    Educational Theory and Practice

    University of Georgia

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Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    I grew up in a very service-oriented family.

  • 2.

    I was initially majoring in pre-law English because I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I switched my major to education during my freshman year of college.

  • 3.

    I earned my bachelor’s degree in child development along with a preschool-fifth grade teaching certification from Spelman College.

  • 4.

    I went on to earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Central Michigan University while also working as an elementary school teacher.

  • 5.

    I taught elementary school for Atlanta Public Schools for five years before deciding to pursue a Ph.D.

  • 6.

    During my doctoral program, I got the opportunity to work at Spelman College teaching a math and science methods course to future teachers.

  • 7.

    While teaching, I was introduced to STE(A)M Truck, which epitomized the type of hands-on project based learning I had been teaching about—I decided to take on a part-time role with STE(A)M Truck.

  • 8.

    I worked part-time with STE(A)M Truck for about a year and a half, came back as a sort of thought partner, and then was named executive director in 2021.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Myself:

    I regret making this move. I can't show up fully here.

  • How I responded:

    I've dealt with some regret on my career journey. For example, I made a move before joining STE(A)M Truck that resulted in regret. I couldn't show up fully as a young Black woman. However, I've realized that while regretting your moves isn't great, reflecting on them is. I stopped regretting it and just made another move. The world is changing and you can't really make a wrong move now. You can learn from a move that wasn't the best fit for you and then move forward with a better step.

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