Cathy Kinzer

Dr. Cathy Kinzer was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. She grew up working alongside her parents and siblings on her family's cattle ranch. She was the proud mother of Kacie and Kye and the happy wife of Grant Kinzer.

Cathy was a passionate and dedicated educator, who sought to transform education at both the state and national level. She received her master's degree in curriculum and instruction from NMSU in 1993 and began teaching elementary school at Mesilla Park Elementary, where she was honored for her exceptional work by receiving the U.S. Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence in Washington, D.C. In 2002, Cathy began working as an educator at New Mexico State University, where she also received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction, with a specialization in mathematics education in 2005.

Cathy became a tenured professor in the College of Education and served on many state and nationally funded grant projects to improve mathematics teaching and learning. She focused on creating exemplary learning spaces where children could engage in mathematical sense-making and learn to trust their own ways of thinking. She was a founding member of the Mathematically Connected Communities Project, which partners with teachers and principals across New Mexico to improve children's mathematics learning in the classroom. Her research focus was studying the instructional practices that best support the mathematics learning of Emerging Bilinguals and her advocacy for all students continues to impact teachers and leaders throughout the U.S. Among many other positions, she served as president of New Mexico Council of Teachers of Mathematics and chaired the Emerging Issues Committee for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Additionally, Cathy actively supported the goals and mission of TODOS: Mathematics for ALL in and through her academic work, as well as serving as part of the Planning Committee for the first TODOS: Mathematics for ALL conference.