Deborah Pomeroy spent her early years in New York and New Hampshire before heading west to attend college in Colorado. After graduating, she began her professional career in California. In 1967, her journey took her even farther north to Fairbanks, Alaska, where she made her home. There, she joined the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD) and taught science—primarily chemistry—at West Valley High School for 19 years.

Toward the end of her time in Fairbanks, Deborah developed a deep interest in teacher education. She was particularly inspired by the work of Eleanor Duckworth, a psychologist and professor of education at Harvard. Motivated by Duckworth’s ideas, Deborah applied to and was accepted at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she earned her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) under Duckworth’s mentorship. An early retirement settlement from FNSBSD helped fund her studies and made this next chapter possible.

After completing her doctorate, Deborah moved to Pennsylvania, where she spent 14 years at Arcadia University, just outside Philadelphia, chairing, and teaching science education. During her tenure, she consulted on science curriculum integration and contributed to several large grants across both the inner city and greater Philadelphia area. Alongside colleagues, she co-directed a nine-year, $14 million math and science education project involving 45 schools and 13 universities. From this work, a subgroup of the team founded The Twenty-First Century Partnership for STEM Education (21PSTEM), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing STEM education.

Deborah retired from Arcadia in 2006 but continued working part-time from her home in Vermont on a major National Science Foundation grant until 2011. Then, something unexpected happened.

In the 21PSTEM office, Deborah gave a brief presentation on curriculum integration to a visiting Egyptian education delegation, the group was eager to learn about STEM education. After a successful meeting, a decade-long project began that became the perfect culmination of Deborah’s career in science and education.

With support from the United States Agency for International Development, the initiative helped develop five model STEM schools designed to break away from the country’s test-driven public education system. The success of these initial schools led to an expansion and the model’s success has also inspired broader educational reforms across Egypt.

Deborah is often asked whether such transformative changes could take place in the United States. Her answer? “Yes, but it’s complicated.” Her new book, New Era—New Urgency: The Case for Repurposing Schools, co-authored with a long-time colleague, explores this very question. Drawing on their collective 100 years in education—including insights Deborah gained in Alaska—the book offers a compelling case for reimagining American schools.

Thinking back on her years in Alaska, Deborah reflects, “My Alaska retirement and benefits supported me during my time at Harvard and have helped support me ever since. I was in the first tier of TRS benefits, and the medical benefits I have are the envy of all my friends. I am just so sad that others in tiers later on do not have the same benefits. I still look back at those earlier times and think about how lucky we all were. I'd like to think we repaid it many-fold through our dedicated teaching and contributions to our communities even through the pipeline years.”

If you would like to learn more about how your State of Alaska retirement can allow you to enjoy a comfortable retirement, please contact the Division toll-free at or at in Juneau.

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