André Isaacs named 2025 LGBTQ+ Educator of the Year

The professional society Out to Innovate has named its 2025 award winners, which include American Chemical Society member André Isaacs, who was awarded 2025 LGBTQ+ Educator of the Year. Isaacs, a professor of chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross, began expressing his cultural identity through the emerging social media platform TikTok, allowing him to connect with the public and deliver science education, during a crucial time: the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic lockdown, Isaacs started posting on his social media accounts to share information about science and chemistry in a fun, personal, and creative way. Many of his TikTok posts feature dance, which he considers an integral part of his Jamaican identity and is a way in which he has been building community and commonality since his childhood.

Isaacs’s increasing numbers of followers and views have provided him with new points of connection to the public, his students, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) educators around the US. These connections have led him to think about his own teaching methods and the larger US educational system. Isaacs continues to explore new possibilities in education, including the potential of teaching online courses through social media platforms. Isaacs believes part of his social media success has come from incorporating LGBTQ+ themes into his educational videos. He believes his identity-affirming approach helps his audience feel connected to the science he is exploring. And Isaacs values the opportunity to share his perspective on making STEM more inclusive.

Isaacs’s work can be found on his social media accounts; his handle is drdre4000 on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

Out to Innovate supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ students and professionals in STEM. It has recognized exemplary individuals with its LGTBQ+ Educator, Engineer, and Scientist of the Year awards for over 20 years. For more information about the awards or Out to Innovate, email T J Ronningen, Out to Innovate chair, at tj-board@NOGLSTP.org.