Autor/-in: Kevin D Finson

Kevin has always had a deep faith and has been integrally involved in church leadership and service. He served on the board of elders (the Session) in his local Presbyterian church beginning in 1984, in his local Disciples of Christ Christian Church as vice chair in 1987, and then board chair and chair of elders from 1988-1999. In 1998, Kevin had an intense conversion experience and began the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). He entered the Catholic Church in 2000. He was first commissioned as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion in 2001 and became chair of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in 2009, serving in that capacity until 2018. During that time, he also served on his parish's RCIA/OCIA team and has continued with its organization and instruction to this date in every parish in which he has resided. Professionally, Kevin is a retired professor of science education, having taught 34 years at the college level, two at the high school level, and five at the middle school level. He is an earth scientist by training but also taught physical, life, and other science subjects (as well as instructional theory and program evaluation). His teaching focused on inquiry learning. During his working career, Kevin was heavily involved in service to professional science education associations and maintained a consistent publication record that included the publication of eight academic books, seven book chapters, eight monographs, and over 50 reviewed journal articles. Most of his publications focus has been on science for students with disabilities and on students' perceptions of scientists and visual data. Kevin has a sense of humor and really likes puns and shaggy dog stories. Kevin has been married for 50 years, and he and his wife have two daughters and five grandchildren. After retiring in 2018, Kevin began writing children's books for his grandchildren and is now publishing them for others to enjoy.