Experienced Educator, Innovator, Curriculum Designer, Coach

Erin Rockenhaus is the founder of Circular STEM, a K-12 education company based in Upstate South Carolina. She designs and delivers programs that help young people understand how systems work, from the materials economy to the algorithms shaping their attention, so they can think clearly about the world they are inheriting.

Erin has sixteen years of classroom experience teaching science and STEM across elementary, middle, and high school settings, including AP Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy & Physiology. She built a school-wide STEM program from the ground up, wrote and implemented STEM education grants, and mentored student research projects that placed at the state level. She holds a B.S. in Education and an M.S. in Biology from Clemson University, with additional coursework at the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in theology. She holds industry certifications in AI application and circular economy design.

Erin also provides professional development for teachers and youth leaders, giving them the technical grounding and shared vocabulary to lead informed conversations about AI with the young people in their care. She works with schools, churches, and community organizations across Upstate South Carolina.

She was named Conservation Educator of the Year by her county. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Circular STEM currently offers two programs. The flagship curriculum uses circular economy principles, specifically cradle-to-cradle design thinking, to teach systems-level reasoning through hands-on projects and design challenges. Erin presented this work at the National Science Teaching Association national conference in 2024, and a book based on the curriculum is in preparation. 

The second program teaches AI literacy to youth ages 11 to 15, not through tool training or prompt tricks, but by starting with what a human being actually is: embodied, relational, developing through effort and relationship. Students physically model neural networks, build their own chatbots, and learn to notice in real time whether their technology use is building their capacities or quietly replacing them. The program draws on classical philosophy, positive youth development research, and human development science.

Every workshop and publication is built around direct personal attention, offering classroom-ready tools that foster authentic curiosity without superficial tech gimmicks.

Explore enrichment for youth or tailored professional development workshops for your teaching staff.