Rama Devagupta has been an educator for 17+ years. She has spent the last 12 years at Southridge High School teaching Biology, Honors Biology, Advanced Placement Biology, and Forensics to students of all grades. She previously taught Biology, Environmental Science, and Physical Science at Three Rivers HomeLink, and Earth Science and Physical Science at Highlands Middle School. She has also been an adjunct chemistry faculty at Columbia Basin College for the last 15 years.

Rama’s infectious passion for science and search for knowledge led her to seek professional learning opportunities that enrich student learning. She worked at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2018 and 2019 as a Murdock Partners in Science Teacher and used the supplemental grant funds to purchase Vernier Go Direct Sensors to empower her students with data incorporation technology.

Rama is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (2023). Rama received the 2024-2026 Hutch Fellowship for Excellence in STEM Teaching, 2024 Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program Fellowship, 2024 STEM Research Grant from Society for Science, 2024 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award, and the 2023 Washington Education Association Human & Civil Rights Commission International Peace & Understanding Award. Rama was a semifinalist for the 2024 and 2025 Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellowship Award and a semifinalist for the 2025 Shell Science Teaching Award. She also received the 2023 Fund for Teachers Fellowship and 2022 National Education Association Foundation Global Learning Fellowship.

Rama is National Board Certified in adolescent and young adult science with endorsements in biology and chemistry. She earned her B.S. in chemistry, botany, and zoology, her M.S. in chemistry from Ravishankar University, and her Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry from Texas A&M University. She serves the educational community as a member of the Washington Education Association’s National Board Certified Teachers Leadership Cadre and board member of the Washington Science Teachers Association.

Rama is also an artist, a freelance writer on comparative spirituality, Neural Ed champion, and Heartfulness meditation trainer. She is currently getting trained to become a Heartful Communications facilitator.