Laura Overdeck
Born
Laura Anne Bilodeau
NationalityAmerican
EducationPrinceton University, Wharton School
OccupationPresident of Bedtime Math
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​

Laura Anne Bilodeau Overdeck is an American math education entrepreneur and philanthropist. Overdeck is the founder and president of the Bedtime Math Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to bring recreational math to children through their parents.[1]

Early life and education

Overdeck is the daughter of Emily and Gilbert R. Bilodeau of Westfield, New Jersey.[2] She attended Westfield High School, where she was valedictorian of her class. She was also selected for and participated in the New Jersey Governor's School in the Sciences.[3][4] Overdeck went on to earn a bachelor's degree in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University.[5] She also holds a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School, and an honorary doctorate in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.[2][6][7]

Career

After completing her education, Overdeck held positions at D.E. Shaw & Co. and at Stanford Research Institute.[2]

Overdeck founded the nonprofit Bedtime Math in 2012, sending out playful nightly math posts for children to solve with their parents. The blog received early critical acclaim, and the following year she published Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late, her first of four books with Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.[8][9][10][11] In 2021, she received Mathical Honors for Bedtime Math: This Time It’s Personal.[12] Subsequently, the Bedtime Math team created an app version of the offering; University of Chicago researchers found that app usage increased children's math skills by an extra three months in one school year, publishing the results in Science.[13] Overdeck has published opinion pieces on children's math education in TIME Magazine, Huffington Post, USA Today, the Houston Chronicle, and Quartz.[14][15][16][17][18]

Overdeck serves as a trustee at Princeton University and is vice chair of the board of trustees at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. [19] She also serves on the advisory boards of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and Khan Academy.[20][21]

Awards

Overdeck was named Educator of the Year by the New Jersey R & D Council in 2017.[22][23] In 2019 she was the commencement speaker at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she also received an honorary doctorate.[6][7]

Philanthropy

In 2011, Overdeck and her husband established the Overdeck Family Foundation, an organization that funds educational research and STEM education.[24][25][26] The foundation's overall goal is to enable all American children to unlock their potential by strengthening learning in and out of school.[27]

The Overdecks’ education philanthropy focuses on four key issue areas: “early impact,” “exceptional educators,” “innovative schools,” and “inspired minds.” [26] They have made gifts to Robin Hood Foundation for work by MDRC to study the long-term effects of various early childhood programs. The Overdecks have also supported the Harlem Children's Zone with its early impact strategy and the Khan Academy.[26] Other grantees have included the NJ STEM Teaching Fellowship, and Governor's School for the Sciences at Drew University in New Jersey.[28] Overdeck is an alumna of Governor's School and was instrumental in saving the program through private donations in 2006.[4][29]

In October 2018, The Overdeck Education Innovation Fund gifted $1 million to be distributed over the next three years by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for research on education issues. This is the second gift from the Overdeck Family Foundation, the first of which was $1 million donated in 2016.[27] That same month, the Overdeck Family Foundation pledged $3 million to Opportunity Insights, a policy and research institute based at Harvard University that will publish data on the probability that children will escape poverty based on where they were raised.[30][31][32]

Personal life

On October 12, 2002, Overdeck married John Overdeck, co-founder of Two Sigma Investments.[2] They live in Millburn, New Jersey and have three children.[33][34][1] They started divorce proceedings in early 2022.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bedtime Math Foundation". Bedtime Math Foundation. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Laura Bilodeau, John Overdeck". The New York Times. 13 October 2002.
  3. ↑ "44 Receive Diplomas At WHS Commencement" (PDF). The Westfield Leader. 25 June 1987. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Top high school students study science at annual Governor's School" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Board of Trustees, 2019-20 | Office of the President". president.princeton.edu.
  6. 1 2 "Laura Overdeck, Math Education Reformer and Philanthropist, to Speak at Stevens 147th Commencement". Stevens Institute of Technology. 15 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 Schmidt, Margaret (29 May 2019). "ICYMI: Stevens Institute of Technology sends off the Class of 2019 (Photos)". nj.
  8. ↑ Dell’Antonia, Kj (10 April 2012). "Goodnight, Moon. Goodnight, Math Problem". Motherlode Blog.
  9. ↑ "N.J. Mom Puts Kids To Bed With Math". NPR.org.
  10. ↑ "Macmillan: Series: Bedtime Math Series". US Macmillan.
  11. ↑ Overdeck, Laura (6 June 2017). How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions. Feiwel & Friends. ISBN 978-1250123688.
  12. ↑ "Mathical Book Prizes 2021" (PDF).
  13. ↑ Cho, Adrian (8 October 2015). "Bedtime problems boost kids' math performance". Science | AAAS.
  14. ↑ "How to Help Your Kids Get Excited About Math". Time.
  15. ↑ "Top 11 Reasons Kids Need To Learn Math". HuffPost. 28 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Overdeck, Laura. "Moms, make kids more 'mathletic': Column". USA TODAY.
  17. ↑ "Overdeck: Rethinking what's possible when it comes to learning math". HoustonChronicle.com. 25 March 2014.
  18. ↑ Overdeck, Laura (23 January 2015). "Don't just read to your kids at night, do math with them, too. They'll thank you later". Quartz.
  19. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Liberty Science Center.
  20. ↑ "Search Committee | Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth". cty.jhu.edu.
  21. ↑ "Khan Academy". Khan Academy.
  22. ↑ "The Research & Development Council of NJ Recognizes 2017 Edison Award Winners & Honorees". 1 December 2017.
  23. ↑ "38th Edison Patent Award Celebration Honoree Tribute Films". The Research & Development Council of New Jersey.
  24. ↑ Flowers, Matt (October 13, 2016). "South Jersey looks to improve STEM ed". Courier Post Online. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  25. ↑ "Meet the Overdecks". Overdeck Family Foundation. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  26. 1 2 3 "John Overdeck". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  27. 1 2 Kim, Leslie (October 9, 2018). "Wilson School fund established for education research". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  28. ↑ "Kean University grads among 2015 Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Winners". nj. 5 August 2015.
  29. ↑ "Hoping for a Strong Comeback, Governor's Schools Prep for 2013". NJ Spotlight. 3 December 2012.
  30. ↑ "Behind a New Institute for Economic Mobility: Powerful Data and Billionaire Donors". 5 October 2018.
  31. ↑ Schaffhauser, Dian (2018-05-18). "Detailed Picture of 'Inequality of Opportunity' Emerges -". THE Journal.
  32. ↑ "Grants Roundup: Duke University's Environmental School Receives $20 Million Grant". 10 October 2018.
  33. ↑ Davis, Tom (March 21, 2017). "Meet New Jersey's 6 Billionaires In 2017". Millburn Patch. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  34. ↑ "Forbes profile: John Overdeck". Forbes. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  35. ↑ Gregory Zuckerman; Juliet Chung (9 August 2023). "This Hedge Fund's Two Feuding Founders Are Under Pressure to Make Peace". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q121323487. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
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