Susan Grebe

I am a native Floridian, born in Jacksonville and growing up in Satellite Beach on the east coast of Florida. I was the 4th of six children. I literally grew up with the space program as my father was hired by NASA in 1959 to work with unmanned launch program. My father was a mathematician & retired Army Lt. Col. My mother, a retired Army officer and nurse. Despite the military background of my parents, I was not a "military brat" as neither parent was on active duty when I was born.

Growing up at the height of the space program in schools rich with science and math, mirroring the intellectual community surrounding Kennedy Space Center and its space programs., I developed a love of math and science. But, I also had a creative side, taking art classes in various mediums while in high school and singing in the church youth group. My father instilled in me a love of music, as he was a musician as well as a mathematician: playing multiple instruments and had a wonderful tenor voice. I grew up surrounded by music and mathematics as he nurtured me in both.

Following in the footsteps of my father, brothers, and sister, I attended University of Florida, where I majored in Computer & Information Science in the college of Business Administration. Here I meet my husband, Paul, who was an Arts & Science CIS major. We were married in 1976 and I completed my bachelor’s degree before our daughter, Kristie was born. After 15+ years of computer consulting, I returned to school to get a masters degree in education. I have now taught for over 10 years at the elementary and middle school levels (primarily in high-risk schools). My teaching certifactions include elementary (1-6), ESE (k-12), and Integrated Middle Grades Subjects (6-9). I have also completed national board certification in NBPTS Middle Childhood Generalist.

Paul and I have three children, all grown and out on their own. Kristie, our oldest, graduated from UF, went on to pursue her PhD in Immunology in Denver at the Univ. of Colorado (Medical School). Upon completing her post doc at the NIH in Washington D.C., she joined Abbvie in Massachusetts as a research scientist. She and her husband, Tim (a virologist) are the parents of my grandson, Charlie. Gregory, our middle child is a Full Sail University graduate, receiving a bachelor’s degree in game programming and design. He is my "techie" with a natural talent for coding and gaming. After initially working for n-Space i