Retired elementary school teacher Elsa Salazar Cade of Texas has garnered many awards for her professional and volunteer work. Photo credit: Washington University in St. Louis.
Many fine teachers have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Elsa Salazar Cade, a Mexican American educator and entomologist from Texas. She has garnered numerous awards for her work and for her philanthropic efforts.
Elsa was born in 1952 and raised in Texas. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Science Education from the University of Texas, Austin, she was employed for two years as a fourth grade teacher, and then for two years as a reading and remedial math teacher. When she completed her Master’s degree in Public School Administration from Niagara University, she continued her career as a junior high school science educator in the public school system in Buffalo, New York.
Elsa, who has been named one of the ten best science teachers in the United States by the National Science Teachers Association, is credited for developing an award-winning interactive science curriculum. She has also served on the staff of the Buffalo Research Institute on Teaching for Education.
As strong supporters of education and youth, the Cades established the Bill and Elsa Salazar Cade Scholarship in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Lethbridge, the endowment of which has reached nearly $130,000. They have both contributed to countless student fundraisers and have volunteered their time with many local organizations, including the Lethbridge Youth Foundation, Alberta Science Foundation, and the Lethbridge United Way. In recognition of her long-standing service to the community, Elsa garnered the Senate Volunteer Award from University of Lethbridge in 2010.
In addition, Elsa previously served on the Board of Science Alberta, a nonprofit committed to science education and awareness. For many years, she was also a member of the Fifth on Fifth Youth Foundation. As if all her work in the field of education were not enough, Elsa and her husband, Dr. Bill Cade, were also honored for their humanitarian efforts, raising money to provide shelter and life-saving equipment to benefit Haitian disaster survivors. The couple also earned a Generosity of Spirit Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Calgary at a National Philanthropy Day in November, 2010.
Elsa Salazar Cade and her husband are retired and live in Texas.