Tom Martinez is a 33-year veteran teacher from Glenbard East High School in Lombard Illinois. Glenbard East is a school with a tremendously diverse student population consisting of over 2,600 students. He currently teaches AP Biology and Biotechnology. As a Biology teacher and artist, Tom can appreciate the complexities and enormously varied patterns within living things. He tries to instill many different creative perspectives and learning experiences for his students. Nothing makes him happier than teaching students authentic and meaningful science that they can successfully execute and remember for a lifetime. "As a teacher, you never really know what impact you have on a young life and that’s what makes high quality learning experiences so important."

The BLM program's emphasis on being a citizen scientist, which gives students the opportunity to perform their part in the application of real-world research, has motivated my students to really want to participate in something that they had never done before. The results were fantastic! All of my students achieved a sense of accomplishment and pride as the program guided them through the complexities associated with molecular genetics. BLM is a perfect program to support the goals and outcomes of the Next Generation Science Standards and is unlike any program that I have ever done. This program is authentic and does not come from a box with predictable outcomes. BLM has been one of the best experiences for me as a Biology teacher because it allowed me to expand my reach into topics that are non-traditional and it reinforced my confidence in teaching molecular genetics in a new way. I know that my students feel unique, fortunate and excited about their experiences with BLM and I would recommend this program without hesitation. The continued support from the BLM scientists has helped ensure my successful implementation of the DNA barcoding program, which sets this apart from other programs that are currently available to teachers and students.