Lori Sinclair born and raised in DeFuniak Springs, FL and attended West Defuniak Elementary, Walton Middle School, and Walton High School (C/O 91). After graduating from WHS, she continued her education in Huntsville, Al at Alabama A&M University earning a B.S. degree in Accounting.  She holds 2 Master’s degrees in Education and Taxation from Florida A&M University and Nova Southeastern University respectively.  Her dad, Benson B. Campbell, Sr. was an educator in Walton County for 38 years. Teaching has been part of her life for a long time. She has 18 years of teaching experience. This includes 4 years in Palm Beach County Schools, 12 years in Rockdale County School District (GA), and 2 years at Emerald Coast Middle School.  She loves teaching because she loves to see the light bulb come on for her students. She makes a significant impact on her students here at ECMS as an 8^th Grade teacher.  She is also proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

In her spare time, she loves playing board games, helping others and working with numbers.

She is glad to be home.

Ms. Vanitta Bumpers is new to the WDE family this year, but she’s not new to education.  She has over 25 years of teaching experience! As a 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Bumpers brings lots of enthusiasm and excitement to her classroom. She was born and raised in Mobile, AL and attended Mobile County Schools. She earned her undergrad degree in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from the University of Alabama and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Capella University. Ms. Bumpers always knew she wanted to be a teacher from a young age.  She used to tutor neighborhood children when she was a teenager.

Here are a few fun facts about Ms. Bumpers. She was featured in Woman’s Day Magazine in 2017 as a part of their “Live Longer & Stronger” campaign.  She went to New York City in November 2016 for a photo shoot for the magazine.  She went back to NYC a second time in February 2017 for “The Red Dress Awards” as part of the Woman’s Day campaign and was on the set of “The Today Show”.  Ms. Bumpers is also a published author!  Check out her book, Ricky Rabbit Learns a Lesson”.                 

 

 

 

Medical scientist Patricia E. Bath was born November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York, the daughter of a Trinidadian immigrant father and Cherokee Native mother who was a descendant of African slaves.

Bath developed an interest in science early in her life while attending school at Charles Evans Hughes High School.  Patricia received a grant in 1959 from the National Science Foundation to attend the Summer Institute in Biomedical Science at Yeshiva University in New York.  She worked on a project studying the relationship between cancer, nutrition, and stress and this institute.  Graduating from Hunter College with a degree in chemistry, she went on to attend Howard University Medical School.  Ms. Bath graduated with honors in 1968 winning the Edwin J. Watson Prize for Outstanding Student in Ophthalmology.

From 1970 until 1973, Bath was the first African American resident in ophthalmology at New York University’s School of Medicine.  Bath first conceived her invention, the Laserphaco Probe in 1981, and decided to learn more about laser technology traveling to Berlin University in Germany to study the skill.  During the next five years, she developed, tested and produced a model laser instrument that could be tested. The Laserphaco Probe was patented in 1988.  The probe is used during eye surgery to correct cataracts, an eye condition that clouds vision and leads to blindness.  The Laserphaco Probe was a less invasive, less risky and more precise than previous devices and is currently used around the world.

Mrs. Bath’s list of “firsts” are many:   First African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology; the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the United States and the first African American female doctor to secure a medical patent.  To complete this list is her status as co-founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness.  Bath was inducted into the International Women in Medicine Hall of Fame in 2001.

We salute you, Patricia Bath and thank you for your groundbreaking work in the field of ophthalmology! 

 

Chelsey has been teaching for 3 years, and loves being a teacher.  She loves to watch her students grow in their knowledge and to learn new things every day.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with family.