Sister Mary Gertrude Hennessey is an elementary school administrator at Saint Ann’s School in Stoughton, Wisconsin.~ Prior to becoming an Elementary school administrator, Dr. Hennessey taught Science to students in grades one through six.~ By studying how her students develop their understanding of scientific content and by applying the findings to her teaching, she has shown that young students possess a greater capacity for learning complex science material than previously thought. In addition to challenging existing theories of child development, Dr. Hennessey worked with the Harvard University Graduate School of Education on a project funded by The McDonnell Foundation. She collaborated with Dr. Susan Carey (Co-PI) and Dr. Carol Smith (PI) on a study designed to test the claim that elementary school students can make significant progress in developing a sophisticated, constructivist epistemology of science, given a sustained elementary school science curriculum that is designed to support students’ thinking about epistemological issues. She has also conducted a multi-year study to describe the multifaceted nature of young students’ metacognitive abilities. Dr. Hennessey is a founding member of WEST (Wisconsin Elementary Science Teacher's Association) and has held various offices in this organization including president.~ She has collaborated with researchers from such institutions as the Smithsonian Institute’s Center for Astrophysics, University of Maryland--Physics Education Research Group, The Ohio State University, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, and the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Dr. Hennessey has received numerous national, and state level awards for excellence in Science Teaching. She received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin--Madison.