who we are

sprout's founders

  • NAGLE
    Michael Nagle is fascinated by how people learn. While studying theoretical math at MIT, he began working to build environments that support sustainable inquiry for kids, and later, adults. If he didn't think education was in such vital need of renewal, he would probably be a hardcore mathematician and a softcore DJ.
  • ALEC
    Alec Resnick is looking to discover what research and education could look like in fifty years, particularly as aided by new forms of community organizing. Excited but ultimately disappointed by time spent studying physics and math at MIT, he's especially interested in how computational tools and ideas can change the way we describe and explore our world.
  • SHAUNALYNN
    Shaunalynn Duffy was disappointed by the community offered by MIT, and is working to build a more powerful, thoughtful learning community at the intersection of education, art, and activism. She is interested in topics around urban planning, especially examining how we can take a more active role in designing our physical and social environments.

    • sprout's board of directors

    • BETH
      Beth O'Sullivan is the co-founder of Science Club for Girls: a program that brings hands-on science clubs to 600 girls in the Boston area, working to close the socioeconomic and gender gaps in science. She is the founder and director of the Mathemagics Workshop, which has created a series of games and activities to help children learn math.
    • BAKHTIAR
      Bakhtiar Mikhak was a visiting scientist and lecturer at the MIT Media Lab where he founded and directed the Grassroots Invention Group, served as technical director for the Playful Invention and Exploration Network, and led the Fab Lab program as the outreach director for the Center for Bits and Atoms. He was also a founding Board Member of the Community Charter School of Cambridge. Bakhtiar currently works at MediaModifications developing educational software whose mission is to expose and enhance the structure of media to make its full learning and creative potential accessible to all.s
    • JOHN BELL
      John Bell co-founded the Great Small Works theater company: a New York City collective of artists working to keep theater at the heart of social life. He is also a founder and coordinator of the HONK! Festival, to "Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Streets!" John is currently a fellow at MIT's Program in Art, Culture, and Technology and director of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut.