Laura Overdeck

Last updated
Laura Overdeck
Born
Laura Anne Bilodeau
NationalityAmerican
Education Princeton University, Wharton School
OccupationPresident of Bedtime Math
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​
Children3

Laura Overdeck (nee Bilodeau) is an American education reformer, author and philanthropist. Overdeck is the founder and president of the Bedtime Math Foundation, nonprofit that helps parents teach their kids math in fun, recreational ways through a free app. [1] She also authored a book series entitled "Bedtime Math” published by MacMillan. [2] Overdeck is the producer of the movie Rule Breakers, the inspiring story of the first all-girls robotics team in Afghanistan. [3] [4] In her role on the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, she launched the New Jersey Tutoring Corps [5] , which today exists as a standalone statewide nonprofit. [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Overdeck is the daughter of Emily and Gilbert R. Bilodeau of Westfield, New Jersey. [7] She attended Westfield High School, where she was valedictorian of her class. She was also selected for and participated in the New Jersey Governor's School in the Sciences. [8] [9] Overdeck went on to earn a bachelor's degree in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University. [10] She also holds a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School, and an honorary doctorate in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. [7] [11] [12]

Career

After completing her education, Overdeck held positions at D.E. Shaw & Co. and at Stanford Research Institute. [7]

Overdeck founded the nonprofit Bedtime Math in 2012, sending out playful nightly math posts for children to solve with their parents. The blog received early critical acclaim, and the following year she published Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late, her first of four books with Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. [13] [14] [15] [16] In 2021, she received Mathical Honors for Bedtime Math: This Time It’s Personal. [17] Subsequently, the Bedtime Math team created an app version of the offering; University of Chicago researchers found that app usage increased children's math skills by an extra three months in one school year, publishing the results in Science. [18] Overdeck has published opinion pieces on children's math education in TIME Magazine, Huffington Post, USA Today, the Houston Chronicle, and Quartz. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

Overdeck serves as a trustee at Princeton University and is vice chair of the board of trustees at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. [24] She also serves on the advisory boards of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and Khan Academy [ citation needed ]. [25] [26]

Awards

Overdeck was named Educator of the Year by the New Jersey R & D Council in 2017. [27] [28] In 2019 she was the commencement speaker at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she also received an honorary doctorate. [11] [12]

Philanthropy

In 2011, Overdeck and her husband established the Overdeck Family Foundation, an organization that funds educational research and STEM education. [29] [30] [31] The foundation's overall goal is to enable all American children to unlock their potential by strengthening learning in and out of school. [32]

The Overdecks’ education philanthropy focuses on four key issue areas: “early impact,” “exceptional educators,” “innovative schools,” and “inspired minds.” [31] They have made gifts to Robin Hood Foundation for work by MDRC to study the long-term effects of various early childhood programs. The Overdecks have also supported the Harlem Children's Zone with its early impact strategy and the Khan Academy. [31] Other grantees have included the NJ STEM Teaching Fellowship, and Governor's School for the Sciences at Drew University in New Jersey. [33] Overdeck is an alumna of Governor's School and was instrumental in saving the program through private donations in 2006. [9] [34]

In October 2018, The Overdeck Education Innovation Fund gifted $1 million to be distributed over the next three years by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for research on education issues. This is the second gift from the Overdeck Family Foundation, the first of which was $1 million donated in 2016. [32] That same month, the Overdeck Family Foundation pledged $3 million to Opportunity Insights, a policy and research institute based at Harvard University that will publish data on the probability that children will escape poverty based on where they were raised. [35] [36] [37]

Personal life

On October 12, 2002, Overdeck married John Overdeck, co-founder of Two Sigma Investments. [7] They live in Millburn, New Jersey and have three children. [38] [39] [1] They started divorce proceedings in early 2022. [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutgers University</span> Multi-campus public research university in New Jersey

Rutgers University, officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States, the second-oldest in New Jersey, and one of nine colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield, New Jersey</span> Town in Union County, New Jersey, US

Westfield is a town in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 30,316, which in turn reflected an increase of 672 (+2.3%) from the 29,644 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Institute of Technology</span> Public university in Newark, New Jersey, US

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local industrialists and inventors, especially Edward Weston, NJIT opened as Newark Technical School (NTS) in 1885 with 88 students. As of fall 2022 the university enrolls 12,332 students from 92 countries, about 2,500 of whom live on its main campus in Newark's University Heights district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens Institute of Technology</span> Private university in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.

Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical engineering. The 55-acre campus encompasses Castle Point, the highest point in Hoboken, a quad, and 43 academic, student and administrative buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute</span> Research institute

The Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath), formerly the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), is an independent nonprofit mathematical research institution on the University of California campus in Berkeley, California. It is a mathematical center for collaborative research, drawing thousands of researchers each year.

Richard Hartvig Bagger is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, and former State Senator who later served as chief of staff to Governor Chris Christie. He left the Christie administration in early 2012, and is now an Executive Vice President with Celgene. He is a resident of Westfield, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pennington School</span> Private school in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States

The Pennington School is an independent, coeducational college preparatory school for day and boarding students located in Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey. The school operates for students in sixth through twelfth grades. The Head of School is Dr. William S. Hawkey, who assumed the position in July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield High School (New Jersey)</span> High school in Union County, New Jersey, US

Westfield Senior High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Westfield, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Westfield Public Schools. It was established in the early 1900s at its original location on Elm Street until 1951 when it was moved to its current location on Dorian Road. The new wing designated for biology, chemistry, physics, and other sciences, along with English as a Second Language (ESL) was completed in 2002. Westfield High School is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Hawking</span> English journalist and novelist (born 1970)

Catherine Lucy Hawking is an English journalist, novelist, educator, and philanthropist. She is the daughter of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and writer Jane Wilde Hawking. She lives in London, and is a children's novelist and science educator.

The Governor's School of New Jersey, a member of the National Conference of Governor's Schools, is a summer program for academically talented high school students from New Jersey who have completed their junior year and who are interested in the STEM fields. The School is an intensive residential program conducted on two college campuses in the state. Emphasis is placed on problem solving of complex issues that exist on the local, state, national, and international levels. To foster creativity, the program provides no grades or academic credit.

John Mighton, O.C. born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on October 2, 1957, is a Canadian mathematician, playwright and best-selling author, who is known for his work to support children's successful math education. Mighton founded JUMP Math as a charity in 2002 and developed the JUMP Math program to address student underachievement in math. Mighton has won national and international awards for his contributions to both math education and Canadian theatre as an internationally recognized playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doane Academy</span> Private school in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States

Doane Academy is a coeducational, independent day school serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in Burlington in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Originally called St. Mary's Hall, it was founded in May 1837 by Episcopal Bishop George Washington Doane, initially as an Episcopal girls' boarding school, the first in the United States to offer a classical academic education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sal Khan</span> American educator (born 1976)

Salman "Sal" Amin Khan is an American educator and the founder of Khan Academy, a free online non-profit educational platform with which he has produced over 6,500 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, originally focusing on mathematics and science. He is also the founder of Khan Lab School, a private in-person school in Mountain View, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert L. Barchi</span> American academic (born 1946)

Robert Lawrence Barchi is an American academic, physician, and scientist. He was the 20th president of Rutgers University, holding the position from September 1, 2012, to June 30, 2020. Barchi was appointed to the position on April 11, 2012, to succeed Richard L. McCormick. Previously, Barchi was president of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, prior to which he was provost of the University of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gertrude M. Clarke</span> American educator

Gertrude M. Clarke was a former educator who primarily taught high school physics and nucleonics and extensively engaged in nuclear physics research. She founded the New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Education Consortium and served as its executive director from 1981 until 1999. She was also on the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame for sixteen years, and President Emeritus from 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedtime Math</span>

Bedtime Math is a non-profit organization focused on mathematics education for young children, launched by Laura Overdeck in February 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Lee Shetterly</span> American nonfiction writer

Margot Lee Shetterly is an American nonfiction writer who has also worked in investment banking and media startups. Her first book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (2016), is about African-American women mathematicians working at NASA who were instrumental to the success of the United States space program. She sold the movie rights while still working on the book, and it was adapted as a feature film of the same name, Hidden Figures (2016). For several years Shetterly and her husband lived and worked in Mexico, where they founded and published Inside Mexico, a magazine directed to English-speaking readers.

John Albert Overdeck is an American hedge fund manager. Overdeck is the co-founder and co-chairman of Two Sigma Investments, a New York City-based hedge fund that uses a variety of technological methods, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and distributed computing, for its trading strategies. In 2016, Overdeck reported $375 million in earnings and as of May 2017, Two Sigma Investments has $41 billion in assets under management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Specialized Hospital</span> Hospital in New Jersey, United States

Children's Specialized Hospital (CSH) is a children's rehabilitation hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It has 140 beds. Founded in 1891, the hospital supports a wide range of research with five core areas of research focus - autism, mobility, cognition, brain injury, and chronic illness. It treats infants, children, teens, and young adults up until the age of 21. Its largest campus is in New Brunswick campus which is a member of the greater Children's Academic Health Campus.

Ralph Izzo is an American businessman and former nuclear physicist. He was the Chairman, President, and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group, a Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in New Jersey. He is also the Chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a nuclear industry trade association based in Washington, D.C.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bedtime Math Foundation". Bedtime Math. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  2. ↑ Laura, OVERDECK. "Bedtime Math 2: This Time It". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  3. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (2024-10-29). "'Sound Of Freedom' Outfit Angel Studios Picks Up Nikohl Boosheri & Ali Fazal Movie 'Rule Breakers' About Afghanistan's First All-Female Robotics Team; Phoebe Waller-Bridge Joins Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  4. ↑ Rule Breakers (2025) | Official Website | In Theaters March 2025 . Retrieved 2025-02-05– via www.angel.com.
  5. ↑ Bergeron, Tom (2021-04-20). "Classroom catchup: Why Overdeck hopes tutoring program is just start of new ways of learning". ROI-NJ. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  6. ↑ "Home | NJ Tutoring Corps - In Person Tutoring - NJTC". New Jersey Tutoring Corps. Archived from the original on 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Laura Bilodeau, John Overdeck". The New York Times. 13 October 2002.
  8. ↑ "44 Receive Diplomas At WHS Commencement" (PDF). The Westfield Leader. 25 June 1987. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Top high school students study science at annual Governor's School" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "Board of Trustees, 2019-20 | Office of the President". president.princeton.edu.
  11. 1 2 "Laura Overdeck, Math Education Reformer and Philanthropist, to Speak at Stevens 147th Commencement". Stevens Institute of Technology. 15 March 2019.
  12. 1 2 Schmidt, Margaret (29 May 2019). "ICYMI: Stevens Institute of Technology sends off the Class of 2019 (Photos)". nj.
  13. ↑ Dell’Antonia, Kj (10 April 2012). "Goodnight, Moon. Goodnight, Math Problem". Motherlode Blog.
  14. ↑ "N.J. Mom Puts Kids To Bed With Math". NPR.org.
  15. ↑ "Macmillan: Series: Bedtime Math Series". US Macmillan.
  16. ↑ Overdeck, Laura (6 June 2017). How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions. Feiwel & Friends. ISBN   978-1250123688.
  17. ↑ "Mathical Book Prizes 2021" (PDF).
  18. ↑ Cho, Adrian (8 October 2015). "Bedtime problems boost kids' math performance". Science | AAAS.
  19. ↑ "How to Help Your Kids Get Excited About Math". Time.
  20. ↑ "Top 11 Reasons Kids Need To Learn Math". HuffPost. 28 June 2013.
  21. ↑ Overdeck, Laura. "Moms, make kids more 'mathletic': Column". USA TODAY.
  22. ↑ "Overdeck: Rethinking what's possible when it comes to learning math". HoustonChronicle.com. 25 March 2014.
  23. ↑ Overdeck, Laura (23 January 2015). "Don't just read to your kids at night, do math with them, too. They'll thank you later". Quartz.
  24. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Liberty Science Center.
  25. ↑ "Search Committee | Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth". cty.jhu.edu.
  26. ↑ "Khan Academy". Khan Academy.
  27. ↑ "The Research & Development Council of NJ Recognizes 2017 Edison Award Winners & Honorees". 1 December 2017.
  28. ↑ "38th Edison Patent Award Celebration Honoree Tribute Films". The Research & Development Council of New Jersey.
  29. ↑ Flowers, Matt (October 13, 2016). "South Jersey looks to improve STEM ed". Courier Post Online. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  30. ↑ "Meet the Overdecks". Overdeck Family Foundation. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  31. 1 2 3 "John Overdeck". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  32. 1 2 Kim, Leslie (October 9, 2018). "Wilson School fund established for education research". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  33. ↑ "Kean University grads among 2015 Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Winners". nj. 5 August 2015.
  34. ↑ "Hoping for a Strong Comeback, Governor's Schools Prep for 2013". NJ Spotlight. 3 December 2012.
  35. ↑ "Behind a New Institute for Economic Mobility: Powerful Data and Billionaire Donors". 5 October 2018.
  36. ↑ Schaffhauser, Dian (2018-05-18). "Detailed Picture of 'Inequality of Opportunity' Emerges -". THE Journal.
  37. ↑ "Grants Roundup: Duke University's Environmental School Receives $20 Million Grant". 10 October 2018.
  38. ↑ Davis, Tom (March 21, 2017). "Meet New Jersey's 6 Billionaires In 2017". Millburn Patch. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  39. ↑ "Forbes profile: John Overdeck". Forbes. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  40. ↑ Gregory Zuckerman; Juliet Chung (9 August 2023). "This Hedge Fund's Two Feuding Founders Are Under Pressure to Make Peace". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. Wikidata   Q121323487 . Retrieved 2023-08-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.