About Toni Brand, PhD

A resident of San Francisco, Toni Brand, PhD, teaches biology, chemistry, and physical sciences at Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley. Believing in putting her research experience into practice, she has created lesson plans and materials for seventh and eighth graders that engage them in critical thinking and real scientific scenarios. Toni Brand, PhD, came to Mount Tamalpais from a biology team teaching position at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco, supported by a fellowship from EnCorps. She has also served as a microbiology instructor for the University of California at Berkeley and was a middle school science teacher at the San Francisco Day School. Her professional training includes the Developmental Designs-Social Emotional Academic Learning and Summer Academy for Issues and Science workshops.

After earning a BS in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at UC-Santa Barbara, Ms. Brand continued her education with a doctorate in cellular and molecular pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as postdoctoral studies at UC-San Francisco. She is currently developing a podcast for beginning science teachers. A member of the National Science Teachers Association, she is involved in rescuing dogs, including her 10-year-old pit bull Otis.