2008 Grassroots Gathering

Participants

NOTE: The following biographies are those which were submitted by participants in advance of C&NN’s 2008 Grassroots Gathering. Not all participants submitted biographies.

Janet Ady
Janet serves as the Chief of the Division of Education Outreach at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She is also the lead for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "Connecting People with Nature: Ensuring a Conservation Legacy" initiative, otherwise known as “Let’s Go Outside!” The Division of Education Outreach offers national training, program coordination, technical support and distance learning for conservation professionals. Janet has worked in the Washington Office, the Alaska Regional Office at the SF Bay NWR for the Service. Her degrees are from Humboldt and San Jose State Universities in California.

Karen Anderson
Karen Anderson has served as an employee of the National Park Service since 1985, initially as an Outdoor Recreation Planner with the Grants Division, and since 1995 providing Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance. Her duties within the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance division include providing technical assistance to the Midwest region for the development of trails and greenways. Some of her responsibilities have included developing executive boards, assisting in fundraising, delivering public presentations and convening technical experts for the development of these facilities. She has a Bachelors of Science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Tara Arthur*
Tara received her M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University. She has served as the International Project Coordinator for the Haitian Sports Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of Haitian youth through sports development and education. Recently she worked for The Nature Conservancy as a mentor working with inner city youth on various preservation projects, while encouraging them to explore careers in the environment. Her interests and
research area focus surrounds connecting the benefits of sports development to environmental initiatives.

Elizabeth Denton Baird
As a kid, Liz was always picking up "treasures" during her time outside. Pockets filled with shells, stones, sticks and the occasional live bug were part of the daily routine. That passion for the outdoors has carried over into her work as Director of School Programs and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) where Liz and her staff help improve student understanding of the natural world. From deep ocean research with a submersible, to leading teacher treks in Belize, to launching international Take A Child Outside week, Liz is continuing to discover and share treasures found in the natural world.

McKenzie Barry
McKenzie is an Environmental Education Specialist with the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (NRD) in Lincoln, Nebraska. Through her education work, she gives hands-on presentations to 3,500 students K-12th grade on natural resource topics; administers an outdoor classroom grant program; provides field trips to area wetlands and prairies to school groups; partners with over 100 elementary, middle and high schools in her area to provide financial support for butterfly larvae kits, worms for composting, seeds, and grants for environmental studies materials. The NRD also offers weekly after school Nature Clubs and Family Nature Nights at local schools with hands-on ‘make-and-take’ stations. McKenzie is also part of the Healthy Families Play Outside Network, based in Lincoln, that is working to re-connect youth and their families to nature.

Dr. Joe Baust
Joe is professor and Director of the Center for Environmental Education at Murray State University. He was honored with the 2007 Walter E. Jeske Award Winner by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and was also awarded the Earth Day Award by Kentucky’s Environmental Quality Commission in 2008. He was one of the founding members of the Arts and Culture Commission at NAAEE and has been involved in reestablishing the use of the arts in teaching about and for the environment. This has included working with Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary and other performers to help create Operation Environmental Respect, a program to raise awareness about our earth and our environment using the vehicle of the arts. He has been teaching teachers for thirty-four years and has been in the field of education for more than thirty-nine years. His interest in the environment and nature began at a camp he attended and worked in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He has been involved in collaborative video projects that included the Yellowstone Coming Home Project in 2007, that brought to light an unpublished soundtrack from John Denver. Further similar efforts continue because of his belief in the value of the arts to create a connection to people and nature.

Heather Zahar Bennett
Heather is the Outdoor Recreation Manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. In this role she coordinates various statewide efforts including the Get Outdoors PA program and the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. She recently served on the Education Advisory Panel for The Conservation Fund’s Forum on Children and Nature. Heather holds a Masters Degree in Park and Resource Management from Slippery Rock University, and a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Policy and Analysis from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. As a certified guide and trainer for the National Association for Interpretation and alumnus of the Student Conservation Association, she continues to help educate others on the significance of understanding and experiencing the natural world.

Rick Bjorn
Rick has been the Executive Director of the Rutland County Court Diversion and Restorative Justice Center for eight years. Rick has a passion for the New England region and loves to connect to nature in his free time through camping, hiking and kayaking throughout the region. Rick’s interests include the implementation of leadership, community and nature-based programs into the criminal justice system. Rick feels that these programs can be effective tools in creating change for first-time offenders in both the adult and juvenile populations.

Elizabeth Bonbright Thompson
Elizabeth is the Executive Director of the Washington State Child Care Resource & Referral Network, a statewide private, nonprofit organization. She has held this position since April1992. Ms. Thompson has become a valued voice on child care and early learning policy at the state and national levels. During her sixteen years in this position, she has played a lead role in leveraging over $24 million in new public and private dollars for the child care and early learning system (beyond funding for core R&R services) in Washington State. She has served for over nine years on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) and among other leadership roles, was President of the Board for two years. She is currently Chair of the NACCRRA Public Policy Committee. In addition, she has authored and published many reports and articles which have received national distribution and recognition.

Karl Brummert
Karl has over thirteen years of experience managing, developing, and presenting natural science programs at The New York Botanical Garden, the National Audubon Society, and the National Park Service. Karl has created and led programs for all ages on a variety of natural history topics, from forest ecology in the Bronx to geology on Mount Rainier. Born and raised in Colorado, Karl traveled to most of the western National Parks and spent much of his free time exploring the High Line Canal (a location made famous in the children and nature movement by Robert Michael Pyle). Karl graduated from Rutgers University with a BS degree in Conservation and Applied Ecology. He currently works in documentary film production. In his spare time, when he is not hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, or learning fly fishing, Karl volunteers on a variety of projects, including the protection of California condors, habitat restoration, bird banding, and grant writing. Using his program development, writing, naturalist, research, and teaching skills, Karl hopes to help organizations continue to expand the movement to get more children – and adults – outside.

Brett Bruyere
Brett is an assistant professor in environmental communication in the College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University (CSU). He also serves as director of CSU’s Environmental Learning Center and on the steering committee for the Children and Nature Network of Northern Colorado.

Brother Yusuf Burgess
Yusuf Burgess serves as the current Chairperson of the Environmental Awareness Network for Diversity in Conservation (EANDC) and is a member of the Board of Directors for the national Children and Nature Network (C&NN). He is a former Gang Prevention Coordinator for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is a founding member of the New York State Outdoor Education Association Diversity Committee and a member of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. Brother Yusuf, as most folks call him, is an Environmental Educator at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation where he coordinates the DEC Diversity Program and is responsible for an urban outreach to increase the diversity of their Summer Youth Environmental Education Camps. He is also member of the Albany School District’s Youth Safety Task Force, a collaborator on Youth Violence Intervention Conferencing, a participant in the Albany City School District’s Strategic Planning Committee and a friend and mentor to many youth from elementary school to college. As a concerned and dedicated youth professional he exposes young people to the natural world with engaging outdoor recreation activities.

Krista Bustamante*
My life goal is making a positive difference in someone's life; I value self-sufficiency, a strong work ethic, and free thinking but see the need for more compassion and concern for our fellow human race. In high school, I founded HERO, the Hispanic Education Recovery Organization, which works to improve teenager's ACT scores. I tutored ESL students, and more recently volunteered building classrooms at an orphanage in Sonora, Mexico. This summer I worked as their crew leader with amazing high school students for the Youth Conservation Corp in association with Multicultural Adventures Outdoors. This fall I will continue the various associations on campus and continue studying for a political science degree with an emphasis on international relations, a Spanish major, and a Latin American Studies minor.

Cheryl Charles, Ph.D.
Cheryl Charles is an innovator, entrepreneur, educator, author and organizational executive. She helped establish and is President and CEO of the Children and Nature Network (C&NN) (www.childrenandnature.org), co-founded in 2006 with author Richard Louv and others. She is also a member of the Steering Committee for the World Conservation Union’s (www.iucn.org) Commission on Education and Communication, a worldwide effort involving 80 nations and more than 1000 non-governmental organizations and businesses. Named a “new patriot” by author Mark Gerzon for her pioneering work to bring ecological concepts into the mainstream of schooling, Cheryl served for close to 20 years as founding National Director of what remain the two most widely used environment education programs in North America for K-12 educators, Project Learning Tree and Project WILD, receiving numerous awards for her leadership. Cheryl’s most recent book, with her husband Bob Samples, is Coming Home: Community, Creativity and Consciousness. Cheryl has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington, with a specialty in factors affecting the achievement of minority youth.

Kim Check
Kim is currently the Education Director of the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland. Through this position she is dedicated to educating children and adults about the preservation of the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Eastern Shore. Originally from western Pennsylvania, Kim’s professional experiences have taken her from south Florida to the Rocky Mountain West. Her diverse experience in conservation and environmental education includes work at the state and federal levels of government including the National Park Service. Most recently her work has been in the non-profit realm including working with the National Audubon Society. Kim’s passion for the outdoors, birds, education, and inspiring others to experience and care for our natural world drives her personal mission to reconnect people and nature.

Avery Cleary
Avery is the founder and Executive Director of Hooked On Nature, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring people to demonstrate love and respect for the earth, each other and all that is. She is a member of the Grassroots Leadership Team for the Children & Nature Network (C&NN). She has a background in early childhood education and community organizing. Hooked On Nature is currently launching Tools for Change to help local initiatives engage the full participation of adults in the children and nature movement. She has one grown daughter and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

Allen Cooper
Allen is an attorney and regional education policy manager for the National Wildlife Federation. The focus of his work is developing state and municipal policy to connect children and families with nature, with current initiatives underway to develop guidelines for natural play areas, and governor’s executive orders in Kansas and Texas. He grew up on a 97 acre hillside farm near Lester, West Virginia, and worked for ten years as a community organizer in Logan, West Virginia, and Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

Richard J. Dolesh
Richard is the Senior Director of Public Policy for the National Recreation and Park Association in Washington, DC. He worked for 28 years for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission managing natural area parks from 1973-1999. He served as the Director of the Forest, Wildlife and Heritage Service of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources from 1999-2001 before coming to NRPA as a Senior Policy Associate. He was appointed Director of Public Policy in 2005. Rich is the current chair of the Rivers and Trails Conservation Coalition, and represents NRPA on the Coalition for Recreational Trails. Rich is member of the steering committee of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden, and serves on the Advisory Panel of The Conservation Fund’s National Forum on Children and Nature.

Shannon Dougherty
Shannon is the Conservation Coordinator for the San Diego Audubon Society. She works on a variety of conservation programs for the organization including administration of their environmental education
program, OutdoorExplore! Shannon also participates in the program as an instructor, where she enjoys playing a direct role in connecting children to their local canyons and natural open spaces. Shannon holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography with Biology and Environmental Science minors, and a master’s degree in Natural Resources & Sustainable Development. She enjoys camping, hiking, canoeing, reading, and meeting new people.

Daniella Ruth Lorincz Drader*
Also known as "Donna," there is a line in Greg Brown's song, "Two Little Feet," that resonates with me. He sings, "tumble us like scree let us holler out our freedom like a wolf across a valley like a kid lost in a game." For me, this short phrase evokes a strong image of nature and of children. It makes me yearn to be immersed in the moment. My name is Daniella Drader and even though I am a busy Washington State University graduate student, I know I need my time outside to keep me balanced. It has been my pleasure to work with numerous local, national, and international groups. From Groundworks and PCEI to Roots & Shoots and SCA, my experiences have stretched me into the person I am today. I am an engaged human being with glory scars to prove my years of service learning, and that makes me a passionate proponent of sharing the benefits of nature.

Jaimz Edwards*
Jaimz is a youth professional who exposes young people to the natural world with engaging outdoor recreation activities. Part of his approach is to take urban youth on camping, boating, hunting, fishing, hiking, and skiing excursions, getting them involved in pursuits that take them outside the often-constricting worlds in which they live. Jaimz is Program Coordinator, Environmental Awareness Network for Diversity in Conservation (EANDC).

Katrina Ellis*
Katrina is a native of Northern California who is currently attending Howard University in Washington, DC where she’s majoring in Biology with a double minor in Chemistry and Math. Nature holds a special place in her heart, which is why she returned to The Student Conservation Association (SCA) where she partook in their High School program as a youth. This summer, she participated as Project Manager/Crew Leader for the Green Force Conservation Crew, a pilot program created to introduce urban youth to the outdoor environment as well as get them acquainted with the conduct of the professional world.

Carmen Field
Carmen is a marine science educator/naturalist at the Kachemak Bay NERR in Homer, Alaska. Here she oversees lab/field programs for K - 12 students—developing and teaching marine biology, estuary ecology, and biological oceanography classes. Carmen also manages the Reserve’s public education and outreach programs, including year-round Discovery Labs and the Reserve’s Kids in Nature programs. Carmen also works independently as a ship’s lecturer/naturalist in Antarctic and Arctic locales. Over the past 25 years she has been a seabird researcher in Maine, an EE specialist in Georgia, and in Alaska a zoo interpreter, ferry naturalist, coastal science camp owner/instructor and USFWS park ranger.

Ken Finch
Ken is the president and founder of Greens Hearts Institute for Nature in Childhood, a new non-profit organization dedicated to bringing children and nature back together. He has spent more than three decades in the environmental education profession. He has worked extensively as a “front-line” educator, and has also directed two large nature centers, leading each through periods of dramatic growth and success. Mr. Finch’s nature center experience has encompassed all aspects of administration and management as well as fundraising, public and scholastic education, and land management. He has also served in middle management positions with two children’s museums, overseeing their education programs and natural science activities. Prior to starting Green Hearts, Mr. Finch served as the Executive Director of the Audubon Society Minnesota, the state office of the National Audubon Society. He holds a master’s degree in environmental education from Antioch – New England Graduate School, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Dickinson College in Carlisle. He has been a volunteer with the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) including two years as its national president and a total of seven on the board of directors. Mr. Finch has served on state environmental education boards in Minnesota and Connecticut, on the national board of the American Nature Study Society, on the board of the Friends of Loren Eiseley, and on several local boards and advisory councils.

Dr. Donna Fleming
Donna Fleming is the Chief of Operations for Public Health in Orange County, California, where she has worked since 2005. Donna oversees prevention, surveillance and treatment services that decrease communicable and chronic diseases. Previously, she served as Executive Director for Camp Fire USA Orange County Council and Deputy Director of AIDS Services Foundation. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Biola University, M.S.W. from San Diego State University and a D.P.A. (Doctorate in Public Administration) from the University of Southern California. Her experience, education and personal interests inspire a holistic, collaborative, and creative approach to public health.

Jennifer Garrett
Jennifer has been an educator and naturalist at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center since 2007. Ms. Garrett works with a variety of students, ranging from children to adults, using the 155-acre
sanctuary as an outdoor classroom, focusing on hands-on science. Her passion for connecting people, especially children, with nature drove her to seek out and become involved in groups with a similar vision and mission, including C&NN, the Texas Children in Nature Community, and Houston’s Children’s Nature Collaborative

Barry A. Garst, Ph.D.
Barry is an educator, researcher, presenter, and facilitator. Currently the national Director of Research Application with the American Camp Association, Barry is a former Assistant Professor/Extension Specialist in youth development at Virginia Tech. His background includes programming and administrative experience as a municipal day camp manager, wilderness mental health counselor, and camp/conference center director. Much of Barry’s current work involves assessment in youth development and nature-based settings, translating research into practice, and promoting the importance of camp and summer learning experiences for healthy child development. Barry resides in Salem, Virginia with his wife Stephanie and daughter Savannah.

Diane Genco
Diane has led numerous programs for families for over 30 years, from teaching programs for two-year olds to day care programs for senior citizens. Diane is also an associate for the National Institute on Out-of-School Time at Wellesley College, where she has trained school administrators and afterschool professionals in 42 states. In New Jersey she serves on the Board of Directors for the Plainfield YMCA, the Policy Board of the NJ Professional Development Center for Early Care and Education, and the NJ Advisory Board for No Child Left Behind. She has also served on the Board of Directors for the National Afterschool Association and was a member of its Board of Advisors. A native of Buffalo, New York, she received a BS in Human Development, Family and Community Relations from the State University College at Buffalo and a Masters Degree in Education and Child Care Administration from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At NJSACC, the state funded network for New Jersey’s Afterschool Communities, Diane leads the organization in promoting and supporting the development, continuity and expansion of quality programs for children and youth during out-of-school time.

Elaine M. Gibson
Elaine was a free-range kid of the 1950s in Texas. Now as an Education Specialist at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, she has introduced a program to reconnect kids to nature after reading Last Child in the Woods and taking students outdoors in March, 2007. Since that time, we have led school groups who are apathetic or terrified of anything in “real” nature outdoors to explore our creek and oak woodland. In as little as 45 minutes of mentored exploration, students’ fear changes to curiosity and total engagement. We are organizing a coalition to Leave No Child Inside Santa Barbara and developing an outdoor area where children can play in a natural setting and where outdoor education will be enhanced. Speaking to groups and organizations, we are raising awareness in our community and the word is spreading quickly. Elaine has degrees from Texas Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska and is a teacher, parent and grandparent.

Sarah Gilbert
Sarah is the Program Coordinator for Wisconsin’s K-12 forestry education program, known as LEAF. She has been involved with the development of the LEAF Conceptual Guide to Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Education, the LEAF Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Lesson Guides, the LEAF Wildland Fire Lesson Guide, and the LEAF Urban Forest Lesson Guide. She coordinates LEAF’s professional development opportunities for educators. Her latest project involves investigating the number of schools in Wisconsin that use outdoor classrooms, and hopes to use that information to improve outdoor classroom use. Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree from UWSP in Forestry with an emphasis in forest recreation and a Master’s degree in Environmental Education, also from UWSP.

Nina Gordon
Nina is Senior Policy Coordinator for California State Parks and heads the California State Parks Children in Nature Initiative. Ms. Gordon has 30 years experience in the park and resources fields, including ten years as a state park ranger. Nina has served in State Parks as Chief of Planning, Grants Manager and Statewide Trail Coordinator for the Off Highway Vehicle Division. She has also served as Senior Consultant with the State Legislature (Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee) and in the California Resources Agency. Ms Gordon has a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a joint degree in Biology/Environmental Studies.

Jack Greene
Jack is a teacher-naturalist and heavily involved with various programs and activities which involve connecting folks of all ages with natural landscapes including the recently launched Leave No Child Indoors-Cache Valley, and Multicultural Adventure Outdoors. Jack resides in beautiful Cache Valley, Utah, near the Idaho border where he is a high school science teacher in his spare time.

Brigitte Griswold
Brigitte is the Director of Youth Programs for the Nature Conservancy of New York. Since 2003, Brigitte has worked to create the first regional urban youth initiative at The Nature Conservancy by building program capacity to support twice as many children and seven additional states across the Northeast. Brigitte serves on the Diversity Council of the Land Trust Alliance and The North American Association for Environmental Education, and leads the Education Panel of the National Children and Nature Forum. She has spoken about her efforts to connect underserved urban youth and the conservation movement at national environmental and education conferences around the country. Brigitte graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA in English literature, and lives in Brooklyn with her overweight cat and miniature Chihuahua.


Paul B. Hai
Paul is Program Coordinator for the Adirondack Ecological Center (AEC) of the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). Mr. Hai lives and works in the Adirondack Mountains, where he develops partnerships with and program content for diverse audiences. With an institutional mission to increase the conservation literacy of New York State citizens, Mr. Hai’s programs use natural history, inquiry-based activities and outdoor experiences as the foundations for teaching the process of science. Mr. Hai and ESF are committed to leaving no child inside, a commitment Mr. Hai brings to the new Northern Forest Institute for Conservation Education and Leadership Training that he is helping to develop. Mr. Hai is a member of the Children & Nature Network’s Grassroots Leadership Team.

Mary Hardcastle
Mary is the Coordinator of Environmental Education and Community Outreach for the Parks and People Foundation in Baltimore City. She is also the regional contact for Hooked On Nature, a national non-profit that promotes Nature Circles to renew a caring relationship with nature. In addition, Mary is the contact for the Leave No Child Inside movement in Baltimore and a guiding member of the Greater Baltimore Children and Nature Collaborative (www.gbcan.org). She also serves on the board of Earthome, a non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainability in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Nancy Herron
Nancy has over 30 years experience in conservation education, volunteer management, community leadership and non-profit administration. Currently she manages the state nature and fishing education programs for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as educational technology, web and program evaluation efforts. Nancy was a reporter and columnist, and a teacher for pre-school through college level and children with disabilities. A former VISTA volunteer, Nancy was instrumental in organizing and capacity-building for multiple non-profit organizations such as a five-county hospice, a Literacy Volunteers of America affiliate and a respite care center for handicapped children. She has been a featured speaker at national conferences on educational technology, best practices in conservation education and volunteerism. Nancy serves on multiple state and national boards, including co-chair of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Education, Outreach and Diversity Committee, the Association for Conservation Information and special committees for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and Project WILD. She is active at the local, state and national level for the Children and Nature Network and is passionate about bettering our children's future. Nancy is the recipient of multiple awards for educational innovations and leadership. She loves to hike, kayak and explore the natural world. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

Lynn Hinkle
Lynn is founder of ASTRA Communications in Kansas City, and has more than 30 years experience in marketing, public relations, advertising and public involvement. A small business owner since 1985, her clientele has included the region’s largest financial institutions, engineering firms, and government agencies. Her recent effort to change behaviors and reduce storm water runoff for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative, has been embraced by the Environmental Protection Agency and municipalities throughout the nation. Lynn is a 1979 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has received national and international recognition for her creative work in video productions, including two International Film Festival of New York Awards, numerous Telly Awards for videos and television spots, and two national Pollie Awards for political television ads for congressional candidates; a public service radio commercial earned a national Silver Microphone award for radio advertising. In 1994 she was selected by her peers in advertising to receive the AAF Silver Medal lifetime achievement award. Along with US Senator Nancy Kassebaum, Lynn was named a 1994 Kansan of the Year in recognition of her efforts to provide political leadership training to women in emerging democracies. She received the JC Penney Golden Rule Award for community service. In 2000, she was presented the “Women Who Make a Difference Award” by the International Women’s Forum for her efforts to train Russian women for leadership in their emerging democracy through the nonprofit organization she founded in 1993, Women of the World.

Jason Holm
In 2006, Jason Holm became Assistant Regional Director (External Affairs) for the Fish & Wildlife Service’s Midwest Region. Previously, Holm was the Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for US Army, Pacific, and was the Information Officer for Pearl Harbor Shipyard. Additionally, as an Army officer, he served in a variety of Military Police and Special Operations positions. Holm received a Masters Degree from Hawaii Pacific University. He has articles and photos published throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Holm has been recognized as a Kentucky Colonel and as Pacific Business News “40 Top Businesspeople Under Age 40.” Holm is involved in several civic activities, including working with orphanages in Uganda and Kenya. He is a board member of the Minnesota Children and Nature Network.

Tyrell Hughes*
Tyrell is a graduate from Johnson C. Smith University and received his Bachelors Degree in Liberal Arts with interdisciplinary studies in Sociology and Business Management. Presently he works for the Social Security Administration, as a consultant and CAO of Men Organized to Develop, Empower and Lead, Inc. (MODEL, Inc.) a not-for-profit organization he co-founded in 2004. Through MODEL Tyrell receives his most enjoyment working with young men between the ages of 12-18 as a mentor focusing on their Personal, Professional and Educational development. The aim of MODEL is overwhelm young men with the image of positive role models encouraging education, goal setting and community service. www.menofmodel.org

Dr. Cathy Jordan
Dr. Cathy Jordan, Pediatric Neuropsychologist by training, is Executive Director of the Children, Youth, and Family Consortium (CYFC) and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota. CYFC seeks to build the capacity of the University of Minnesota and Minnesota communities to use research to enhance practice and inform policy to improve the well-being of children and families in our state. We achieve this mission by translating and disseminating evidence-based information and catalyzing multidisciplinary and community-university partnerships to create new knowledge. We host and help coordinate the Minnesota Children and Nature Connection (MN-CNC), a grass roots initiative that aims to build awareness of and commitment to the social, emotional and health benefits of connecting children and families to nature. The MN-CNC addresses this mission by sharing information and research among professionals of different disciplines; fostering research that will improve understanding of both the factors that enhance children’s connectedness to nature and the benefits to children of this connection; expanding parents’ awareness of the benefits of regular contact with nature on children’s mental, physical and emotional well-being; and promoting knowledge and training on best programs, practices and policies among youth-serving organizations. Cathy is also a serious nature photography hobbyist and has a personal interest in the use of visual arts to encourage a connection between children, families and nature.

Lori Kiesser
Lori is the Program and Fund Development Manager for Orange County Department of Education’s Inside the Outdoors, an environmental education program serving over 125,000 students and families annually. She is certified in Ecotourism Planning and Management through Humboldt State University. As a volunteer for OC Parks’ Upper Newport Bay as well as Sea and Sage Audubon, Lori led environmental education school tours, wrote grants, and developed programs. “In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” - Baba Dioum

Manny Kiesser
Manny is a member of the steering committee for Orange County, California’s initiative to get families and children back into the outdoors. He is the on the board and is the current vice president of Inside the Outdoors Foundation. He also serves on the board of Friends of Harbors, Beaches, and Parks. He is the Manager, Cast Health Services for the Disneyland Resort. He is an alumnus of the US Naval Academy, Pepperdine University, and Loma Linda University. - “The answer to every question can be found in nature - if you know where to look and how to ask.” - “The Power of One”

Dr. Clifford Knapp
Cliff has been a place-based educator for over 45 years. He has taught at all levels of education, including 29 years as a teacher educator at two Illinois universities. His interests include ethics and values education, nature immersion activities, indigenous cultures, reflecting on experience skills, and curriculum writing. He has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and 11 books, either alone or with others. Since retiring in 2001, he has been consulting, traveling, speaking, and writing about what he loves. He believes that teaching others how to live peacefully with each other and the earth are two of the most critical needs of our time.

Page Lambert
Page has been leading creative outdoor writing adventures for ten years, often working in partnership with organizations such as The Women's Wilderness Institute, the Grand Canyon Field Institute, and the Aspen Writers Foundation. Author of the memoir In Search of Kinship, a collection of stories about rearing her son and daughter on a small ranch in Wyoming, she believes: "Our vitality, and the vitality of our children, comes from an intimate and enduring relationship with a specific landscape. Telling simple stories to one another about the places we love is fundamental." She is a founding member of the Wyoming chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a board member of the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation, and an active volunteer with The Horse Shelter of Santa Fe. She is also a member of the Quivira Coalition, a collaborative organization of environmentalists and ranchers. Page has been the recipient of two Literary Fellowships from the Wyoming Arts Council, and her stories are widely anthologized. Her work can be found in such publications as Parabola: Magazine of Myth and Tradition, as well as in books, including: Homeland: Ranching and a West that Works; Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon; and The Stories that Shape Us: Contemporary Women Write about the West.

Martin LeBlanc
Martin is national youth education director for the Sierra Club, where he oversees the organization’s youth programs and advocacy efforts relating to children and nature. His advocacy work has been focused, for the most part, on California, New Mexico and Washington State, as well as at the federal level. Martin also has been instrumental in forming partnerships with military and health organizations around the issue of children and nature. He was a founding board member of the Children and Nature Network. Previously, Martin worked as an outdoor educator in Seattle, and served as an outdoor-education advocate for Texas Parks and Wildlife in Austin, Texas. He is currently chairman of the No Child Left Inside committee in Washington State, as well as a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education's Advocacy Committee. Martin believes that "the next generation of American children deserves a special place in nature so they can be empowered to solve the environmental challenges of the future."

Kathy Frederick Louv
Kathy is married to Richard Louv and is the vice president of Richard Louv, Inc. She is also a nurse practitioner, with a Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Washington. Kathy and Rich live in San Diego and the sun rises and sets on their two sons, Jason and Matthew

Richard Louv
Richard is an author and futurist focused on family, community and the relationship between humans and the natural world. His book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, updated and expanded in 2008, has helped spawn an international movement to reconnect children and nature. He serves as chairman of the Children & Nature Network (www.cnaturenet.org), an organization helping to build that movement. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Orion, Parents Magazine, and other newspapers and magazines. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Clemson University and speaks frequently to audiences in the United States and abroad. He has appeared on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS Evening News,” NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” and many other programs. In 2008, he was awarded the Audubon Medal by the National Audubon Society. Past recipients have included Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. He is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and the father of two sons. He would rather fish than write.

Kyle Macdonald
Mr. Macdonald’s connection to nature began early in life, on family trips in the Appalachian Mountains of New England. He began working with youth at the age of 17 and has worked with urban youth in Boston, Detroit, Ann Arbor and San Francisco. He has taught outdoors -backpacking, canoeing and basic rock climbing- and in the classroom, in public schools in New Orleans and Boston. He is the founder and co-director of Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) and drives new initiatives and strategic growth for the organization. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and two small children.

Fran Mainella
Fran is a Visiting Scholar at Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. Previously, Director Mainella completed nearly six years as the 16th Director and the first woman to lead the National Park Service. Fran served twelve years as Director of Florida’s State Parks, which were awarded the Gold Medal Award, recognizing Florida as the best state park system in the country. She has also served as executive director of the Florida Recreation and Park Association and as president of both the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association of State Park Directors. Clemson University has presented Fran with its Walter T. Cox Award, and also named an award in her honor, encouraging women to pursue conservation careers. The American Recreation Coalition also presented her with the Sheldon Coleman Great Outdoors Award. In 2006, she was awarded the William Penn Mott, Jr. Award for Excellence by the NSPR. Most recently Fran was presented the 2007 Pugsley Award, the highest award given by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. Fran is currently a member of Newsweek Magazine’s Environmental Advisory Board, a board member of the National Society for Park Resources, a fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, a member of the Advisory Board for the Children and Nature Network, and a national speaker on parks and recreation. Director Mainella holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut, a master’s degree, and an honorary doctorate from Central Connecticut State College.

Tom Mansell
Tom lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, works in the video production field, and is an avid participant in nature-focused programs through the non-profits Hooked On Nature (HON) and For Generations To Come Sanctuary (FGTC). Tom is following HON’s Nature Circles initiative, developing a Nature Circles series that will focus on bringing people together in a space to study and share sounds of nature. This Nature Circles series will be held this Fall at the FGTC Sanctuary near Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the setting of a beautiful 145-acre nature preserve.

Heather Marks
Heather first connected with the Teton Science Schools in 1996 as a student in the graduate program. Most recently Heather spent five years on the Upper School faculty of Journeys School. Heather also has experience directing natural history museum education programs and outreach science programs in paleontology. She loves Wyoming but also enjoys traveling, and has spent extensive time in Alaska, SE Asia, France and the Intermountain West. When in Jackson Hole, she enjoys hiking, cooking, gardening, and country-western dancing.

Juan Martinez
Juan is the Sierra Club’s youth volunteer coordinator. He is a proud resident of Los Angeles and grew up two miles from here in South Central. Through a trip to the Teton Science School sponsored by the Sierra Club, Juan not only changed his life around, but has gone on to be an emerging environmental professional.

Jeanne McCarty
Jeanne is the Executive Director for REAL School Gardens, a grassroots gardening program that helps children by supporting elementary schools as they design, install and sustain outdoor classrooms. REAL School Gardens has supported more than 50 schools in North Texas, and has begun plans for national expansion. Prior to this position, Jeanne served as the vice president and director of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program, a global youth service program focused on conservation. Jeanne is active in national and international initiatives to connect children and families to nature and to promote youth leadership in conservation.

Sky McClain
Sky is an NPS Interpretive Specialist at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. She coordinates the hike and library programs for the general public, provides staff training, and is on both the Wilderness and Partnership Planning Teams. She has worked extensively over the years with school children leading field trips and giving classroom presentations as well as supporting after school programs such as Mojave Outdoor World. MOW reaches out to underserved urban populations of young people through outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, birding, rock climbing, kayaking, and camping. She is currently in the process of earning her Master of Science in Resource Interpretation.

Deb McCollister
Deb is co-chair of Radical Amazement, Spirituality and Childhood, a Countryside Church Center for Faith Studies event featuring Richard Louv on Thursday April 2, 2009 (No Child Left Inside: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder) and Dr. Susan Linn (A Case for Make Believe: Why Play is Essential) on April 3rd, 2009. Ms. McCollister’s professional career through the specialty toy sector has focused on developmental play, emphasizing the value of unstructured, open-ended play in the lives of children.

Kit McGinnis
Kit is the land projects manager for the National Park Trust (NPT), a land conservancy dedicated to preserving America’s national system of parks, wildlife refuges, and historic monuments. Part of her role is implementing the organization’s vision that everyone will have an American park experience. Kit grew up on cattle ranches in the Rocky Mountain west, where her love of the land was nurtured. Prior to joining NPT, she managed a meditation retreat center; worked extensively in the developing world,
produced social issues documentaries; reported for the Wall Street Journal; and received joint master’s degrees in Business Administration and Urban Planning.

Heather Moffat
Heather is Director of Education & Exhibits at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. For nearly twenty years, she has taught science education emphasizing outdoor experiences to a wide range of grade groups, from preschool to graduate students. In addition to being an educator, Heather is also a paleontologist and her field work has enabled her to enjoy first-hand the value of spending time in nature, as well as its vital importance to understanding how our dynamic world works. Heather holds a M.S. in Earth & Environmental Sciences from University of Rochester, a second M.S. in Geological Sciences from University of Southern California and an A.B. from Smith College in Geology.

Kelly Mortenson
Kelly is Communications and Networking Coordinator for LEAF, Wisconsin’s K-12 Forestry Education Program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her experience in the field of communications includes website development, promotion, event management, membership coordination and data management. She grew up in the urban forests of Minneapolis in the 70’s, when kids still took off on their own for hours. As a communications professional in the field of outdoor education and the parent of two school-age children, Ms. Mortenson is committed to helping others understand the relevance of unstructured outdoor exploration to healthy development in children.

Kina Murphy*
Kina is the president of Global Conservation Assistance. She is a former Fulbright scholar and has been working in Southern Africa for the past eight years. Currently, she is developing wildlife corridors in Malawi, business nature mechanisms that help corporations fund and support conservation and a Conservation SOS program that offers a semester of study in conservation for college students and youth. Kina’s ability to work on a grassroots level with children and communities, as well as with local and national governments and international private sector organizations, allows her to be highly successful in bridging culture and nature. She hopes to bring her experience to the Children and Nature Network to engage youth in careers in conservation.

Elizabeth Murray
Elizabeth combines her great passions of nature and creativity to make gardens, books, photographs, paintings, and workshops. Trained as a naturalist, with majors in Environmental Studies, and Art, Elizabeth has brought nature, children and creativity together since 1972. Recently she has worked with indigenous youth in both the Amazon rain forest and in the Queen Charlotte Islands, BC. In 1985 Elizabeth assisted in the restoration of Monet’s gardens in France, she returns annually to photograph. She is the author of five books, including the best selling Monet’s Passion: Ideas, Inspiration and Insights from the Painter’s Gardens and Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul. Please visit elizabethmurray.com

John Norwood
John is director of finance and business strategy for a planned education center called Earthpark. Earthpark’s™ mission is “inspiring generations to learn from the natural world.” Through the creation of a global education network focused on accelerating science literacy and promoting leading inquiry and project-based teaching methods, Earthpark™ will be a 21st century best-in-class educational facility that introduces and immerses students, their teachers, and visitors of all ages to the world’s most critical, fascinating and threatened ecosystems. For more information, please visit www.earthpark.org. Norwood is a native of Massachusetts. He holds an undergraduate degree from Williams College and two masters degrees from Yale in environmental management and business administration. His planning group is located in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mari Offenbecher
Mari has been the Executive Director of School's Out Washington since 1990. Mari has provided leadership to local and statewide community building efforts including The MOST Initiative, It's
About Time for Kids, BOOST Learning, the Leadership Council for Quality Care and Education and the Washington Afterschool Association. She currently participates on a variety of local and state committees to help shape policy to benefit and sustain community-based out-of-school time programs and systems. Mari is responsible for the overall administration of School's Out Washington including budget, staff, program and community building efforts. Previous to her work at School's Out, Mari was the Children's Services Director for the YWCA. Mari has a degree in Child Development from California State University.

Marcie Oltman
Marcie recently became the Director of Early Childhood Education at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee, WI where she oversees the Center’s early childhood initiatives and nature preschool. Marcie has an M.S. in Environmental Education, an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and a B.A. in Biology. Marcie has been active in early childhood nature education for 21 years and has helped nature centers and children’s museums across the country develop early childhood programs, preschools and exhibits. She works with local, state and national partners to increase opportunities for all children to have nature a part of their everyday lives. Marcie is the founding chair of the Minnesota Early Childhood Environmental Education Consortium and editor of Natural Wonders: A Guide to Early Childhood for Environmental Educators

Barron J. Orr, Ph.D.
Barron is an Associate Professor and Geospatial Extension Specialist based in the Office of Arid Lands Studies at the University of Arizona. Affiliated with the translational science objectives of NASA, NOAA and USDA, he works to bridge the gap between Earth systems science and technology innovations and the needs of potential users through Cooperative Extension. He has been instrumental in developing easy-to-use mobile and web based spatial decision support solutions non-experts can use. He is leading the Stealth Health and Eco-connections, which are youth-driven initiatives to make mobile technologies and social networks part of the solution.

Lisa Panich
Lisa is the Marketing/Communications Coordinator at the Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC) as well as the Coordinator for the Leave No Child Inside Initiative in Kalamazoo MI. She will be organizing the upcoming Richard Louv presentation hosted by KNC and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The event will be held at Michigan State University on October 22, 2008. After spending 15 years as an art director and client services manager in Chicago, Lisa along with her husband and son, moved back to Michigan to have more time.

Bob Peart
Bob is a registered professional biologist, with a background in biology and education. He has worked for the past 30 years in parks planning and advocacy as well as public conservation education. He has worked at both professional and senior management levels within government agencies including Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. Bob has also held Executive Director positions with conservation NGOs such as the BC Outdoor Recreation Council and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society as well as serving on many other conservation organization boards. In the area of public education he has similar senior level experience having served as the Assistant Director of the Royal BC Museum. Drawing on his diverse experience, he also served as Executive Assistant to BC Cabinet Minister the Honourable John Cashore in the portfolios of both Environment and Aboriginal Affairs. His work has been extensively linked to aboriginal communities especially in British Columbia.

Ernesto Pepito*
A native of San Francisco, Ernesto is a young leader in his own right. Ernesto was honored as a Crissy Field Center Community Hero in 2001 for his work with the San Francisco Conservation Corps. In 2003 Ernesto was one of three US youth invited to participate in the World Parks Conference in Durbin, South Africa. In 2007 Ernesto represented Crissy Field Center at the UNESCO/UNEP sponsored 4th Annual Conference for Environmental Education in Ahmadabad, India. In his job as Manager of Youth Leadership Programs at Crissy Field Center, Ernesto encourages new generations to become bold leaders for thriving parks, healthy communities and a more environmentally just society.

Sandy Perchetti
Sandy graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Business Administration. Employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 15 years, she is currently the community partnership and volunteer coordinator for the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ, and one of the Service’s Connecting People with Nature Ambassador for the Northeast Region. Prior to working for the USFWS, Sandy produced young adult dance programs for USA Network, King World and Fox Television Network. She is co-chair of the ecotourism committee of the Greater Atlantic City Region Tourism Council, and is a freelance graphic artist.

Amy Pertschuk
Amy is managing director of C&NN and part of the strategic planning and implementation team. She designed and developed C&NN’s online strategy and continues to manage the ever-expanding Web site resources to serve the needs of the growing children and nature movement. Her work includes outreach and communications with network members as well as grassroots leadership. Amy is especially active in the regional children and nature campaign in Northern California, where she lives. She also serves as a member of the board of directors of Hooked on Nature, and was a co-founder of eNature.com, the Web’s premier nature-discovery resource: www.enature.com

Mark Pertschuk, JD
Mark is a consultant with expertise in public health policy, building effective grassroots movements, and strategic planning for advocacy organizations. He is the past President and former Executive Director of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) and the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF) in Berkeley, California (1986 – 2007). From 1987 to 1990, Mark initiated and led the grassroots campaign to ban smoking on commercial airline flights in the United States. In 1995, Mark co-founded Californians for Responsible Gun Laws (CRGL), a statewide gun violence prevention organization. As Executive Director of CRGL, he developed a grassroots advocacy campaign to mobilize support for four major statewide firearm laws and more than 40 local ordinances. From 1999 to 2002, he served as Legislative Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in Washington, DC. During that time, he was a key strategic advisor to the Million Mom March (May 2000). From 2002 to 2005, he served as Executive Director of the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog, where he directed a major strategic planning process. Mark has served as a consultant, trainer and facilitator for numerous organizations and campaigns, including the Interfaith Alliance, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium, and the California Department of Health Services. Mark served as a mentor and trainer in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse program from 2003 to 2006. Mark has lectured extensively at conferences and universities. Mark is a graduate of Oberlin College and The American University, Washington College of Law, and a member of the California Bar Association.

Patrice Petersen-Keys
Patrice Petersen-Keys is a graduate of Iowa State University in Animal Ecology with an emphasis in nature interpretation. She has worked for Polk County Conservation for the past 15 year. She is currently the environmental education coordinator. Des Moines is located in Polk County so has the largest population in the state with most residents being urban. Polk County Conservation provides classroom programs and field trips for the about 125 schools. In addition, we provide programs for youth and adult groups, conduct special events and lead bus trips and outdoor excursions. In her spare time, she is involved in golden retriever rescue and shows her three goldens in obedience, agility, and field.

Akiima Price*
Akiima Price is the Chief of Education and Programs at the New York Restoration Project (NYRP). For the past 15 years, Akiima has worked with numerous environmental organizations creating and implementing innovative programs that connect low income residents with the natural environment, educating them about the environment and preparing them for responsible citizenship while teaching the basics; confidence, courage, and life skills. One of few African-American urban environmental education specialists in the country, her expertise is creating engaging programs in nature that teach kids to love the world around them while learning to love themselves.

Maya Quintana*
Maya Quintana is a Native American from the pueblos of Cochiti and Zia, and a recent graduate of Rio Rancho High School in New Mexico. In her high school career, she was on the National Honor Society, a Lieutenant in ROTC, and a member of both the Native AISES. Maya is proud to have received three school letters in Academics, Varsity Softball, and ROTC Varsity Sharp Shooter. She is currently a student at the University of New Mexico, where she is pursuing a degree in Nursing and plans on becoming a Physician Assistant. Maya is also a participant in the Santa Fe Mountain Center’s Emergence program.

Rafael Reyes
Rafael is Program Manager for ecoAmerica where he leads large scale for-profit and non-profit partnership projects to make the environment relevant to mainstream Americans. Rafael is project manager for the "parents campaign" under development in collaboration with the Children & Nature Network. Among Rafael's other projects with ecoAmerica are the collaboration with Monster.com to create GreenCareers, a green jobs service which shows that environmental progress leads to economic opportunity, and the college Green Rating with the Princeton Review, which makes college green practices relevant to mainstream students by showing how they improve campus quality of life and career preparation. Rafael also sits on the board of the Sierra Club where he is focused on climate crisis initiatives. Fluent in Spanish, Rafael has presented "An Inconvenient Truth" in both English and Spanish. Rafael was born in Peru, is a graduate from UC Berkeley and his career includes 15 years of high tech project management, systems architecture design and business consulting.

Cathy Rezabeck
Cathy, originally from Wheaton, Illinois, has lived and worked in Alaska for 28 years at Denali Park, Kodiak, and most recently Anchorage. She is the Regional Outreach Coordinator for the Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and has also worked as an Environmental Education Coordinator in the same office. She is the Alaska lead for the Fish & Wildlife Service’s “Connecting People With Nature” national priority. In addition, she is an active participant in an Anchorage coalition that formed the winter of 2008 to “Get Outdoors Anchorage.” The goal of this coalition is to facilitate more outdoor activity for Anchorage’s kids, especially in natural settings. A workshop is being planned for this coming
December for all stakeholders and she hopes to gather ideas here in Nebraska to immediately apply to the workshop. Cathy’s husband is a retired state park ranger and they have an 18-year old son who is a
freshman at Montana State University. She enjoys vegetable and flower gardening and traveling in the family pickup camper with two brittany spaniels.

Mary Roscoe
Mary is the coordinator of the Children in Nature Collaborative and the San Francisco Bay Area’s regional children and nature movement. She was a co-chair of the original planning team for an event two years ago with Richard Louv that launched the area’s “Leave No Child Inside” initiative. Mary is presently working intensively with the Children in Nature Collaborative and a consulting firm on a strategic plan to be completed by January. Mary’s past experience includes starting an independent school and serving as the school’s administrator for over twelve years. She is currently a board member of the Institute for Social Renewal.

John Rosenow
John is the founder and Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, which has nearly a million members. In addition to the many programs offered in support of tree planting and community forestry, the Foundation operates Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA, home of Lied Lodge & Conference Center. The Arbor Day Foundation is collaborating with Dimensions Educational Research Foundation in the creation of the Nature Explore program, which offers a wide variety of resources for educators and families, such as the Learning with Nature Idea Book, to help effectively incorporate nature education into children’s daily lives.

Dale A. Rosselet
Ms. Rosselet has been with New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS) since 1983 and has extensive experience teaching pre-school, elementary, and secondary grades in both formal and non-formal situations. She has been involved in providing opportunities for teacher professional development as well as curriculum development for New Jersey-specific natural history topics. Ms. Rosselet is a current member and past board member of Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education, executive board member of the Watershed Partnership for New Jersey and chairs the New Jersey Commission for Environmental Education. A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Ms. Rosselet has brought her love of the state to bear on a number of resources designed for teachers. She is co-author of Bridges to the Natural World: A Natural History Guide for Teachers of Grades Pre-K through Six which was acknowledged by the US EPA as an exemplary environmental education guide and New Jersey WATERS: Watershed Approach to Teaching the Ecology of Regional Systems, a guide for middle and high school educators. She authored Fishing for Answers in an Urban Estuary: An Educator’s Guide to the Newark Bay Complex with staff from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and wrote and coordinated the publication of Linking Our Natural Treasures, a bilingual student guide to the Highlands. Her most recent publications include Wild Journeys: Migration in New Jersey is a popular book to the wonders of our state’s natural phenomena and an online education resource entitled Songbirds at the Crossroads of Migration. Ms. Rosselet holds a bachelor of arts in Environmental Studies from Ramapo College of New Jersey, a NJ teaching certificate from William Paterson College and a Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Conservation from Rowan University. Prior to joining New Jersey Audubon Society, she taught elementary school in Ridgewood, NJ.

Eliza Russell
Eliza graduated from State University of New York at Oswego in 1990 with a BA in American History and Museum Studies. Ms. Russell has worked in the non-profit career field both with the US government and independent organizations. Ms. Russell worked for the National Park Service as a Park Ranger at Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York before becoming a member of the lead staff to open the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. During her tenure at USHMM, Ms. Russell was instrumental in advancing the professional status of the visitor service staff as well as her work to create a sustainable volunteer core. Ms. Russell’s experience with starting new venues was next tested at the Baltimore’s Children Museum - Port Discovery where she managed and directed the daily operations for the Museum, its visitor service staff and volunteers. Currently, Ms. Russell is the Director of Education Programs for the National Wildlife Federation and directs NWF Education outreach activities, including NWF’s Habitat programs, Volunteer and Youth programs. Previously, Ms. Russell’s served as the Sr. Volunteer Manager and helped to create and strengthen NWF’s volunteer presence as a nationally recognized volunteer organization increasing volunteer involvement in all aspects of the organization.

Carrie Samis
Carrie Samis is the Education Coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, one of 28 National Estuary Programs. With over 15 years experience as a conservation education professional, Carrie has been involved in developing a variety of programs designed to help children and adults foster a connection with nature. Carrie works with a multiple partners to help organize community leaders and coordinate children & nature activities throughout the Delmarva region – where she enjoys exploring Delmarva with friends, family, colleagues, and visitors. Now, she is excited to share her love of nature with her 1 ½ year-old daughter, Ella.

Daphne Sewing
Daphne is a Project Manager with the Public Lands Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She manages two environmental education programs: one program offers science activities on a floating classroom on Lake Mead; the other offers outdoor recreation opportunities on public lands to economically-disadvantaged youth. Daphne was a secondary teacher for 11 years and held various environmental educator positions in Kentucky, Washington, Alaska and Utah. Daphne holds a B.S. in Secondary Education and an M.S. in Wildland Recreation Management.

Aekta Shah*
Aekta Shah hails from the “other OC”, Orange County, New York. Born, raised, and schooled on the East Coast, she emmigrated to San Francisco, California soon after her graduation from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology and Education. Aekta was one of the founders of the Big Green Bus project, a cross-country, waste vegetable oil fueled journey across the country to promote sustainable development. Committed to providing environmental leadership opportunites to youth, Aekta has also represented the Crissy Field Center and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at the UNESCO/UNEP sponsored 4th Annual Conference for Environmental Education in Ahmedabad, India.

Dr. Mara Smith
Working with a broad spectrum of athletes, Dr. Mara Smith's focus is not on the specifics of the sport, but on building mental skills which benefits athletes at all levels. She is a staunch proponent of play and helping the sport world understand the importance of both spontenaity and thinking. A 4 year All-Ivy gymnastics team member at Cornell University, she graduated with with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, her interest in sport continued as Mara pursued a M.Ed. in Human Movement and an Ed.D. in Developmental Studies and Counseling at Boston University. Mara now finds herself consulting with individual athletes and teams developing mental skills. She also has a special interest in redefining how parents and children define sport and activity and encouraging active family play. She works with various national governing bodies including USA Hockey, USA Gymnastics, and USA Luge, as well as parents, coaches and administrators. Mara currently resides in Lake Placid, New York with her favorite team…her husband and four children. Working with a broad spectrum of athletes, Dr. Mara Smith's focus is not on the specifics of the sport, but on building mental skills which benefits athletes at all levels. She is a staunch proponent of play and helping the sport world understand the importance of both spontenaity and thinking.

Rolland G. Smith
Smith has over 40 years of broadcast experience as an anchor, reporter, documentary producer, and writer. Smith formally worked for the CBS network where he was co-host of “The CBS Morning Program.” He also anchored WCBS-TV Channel Two News in New York for many years and anchored the Ten O’clock News at WWOR-TV in New York. Smith is the recipient of eleven Emmy awards. He is an author and poet. His book of poetry, Quiet Musings, published by Sunscape Publications, was nationally released with critical acclaim. A second book Encore - The Poetry of Nature followed in 2001. He received an Editor’s Choice Award from The National Library of Poetry among other honors and awards. His third book of poetry and commentaries entitled Stone Wisdom is schedule for publication in early September of 2008. Details and contact information at http://www.rollandgsmith.com

Jamie Spanks
Ms. Spanks works to develop fund-raising strategies for foundations, corporation and individual donors to support the wide variety programming at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. In addition to her fund raising experience, Ms. Spanks has worked as a classroom teacher and also directed after-school and summer programs for urban youth. Her B.A. is in History and American Studies from the University of Minnesota and she has a M.Ed. from the University of New Hampshire. In addition she is currently working on a Master’s degree in Public Policy at the University Of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.

Dean Stahl
Dean is an editor, writer and researcher, the author of Dolphins (Child's World Inc.) and co-editor of Abbreviations Dictionary (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), he is a consultant for the Children & Nature Network.

Molly Stevens
Molly, Executive Director of Westcave Preserve, has been dedicated to environmental and natural area protection for nearly 20 years. Before coming to Westcave Preserve she was the Texas managing director for Environmental Defense and Sate Development Director for the Nature Conservancy of Texas. While at Westcave Preserve, Molly has worked with a team of local community leaders to launch the Austin Children in Nature Community (ACINC). Since 2006, ACINC has organized two events with Rich Louv, several conferences geared to segments of the target population, a premiere of Where Do the Children Play as well as several gatherings of the larger ACINC community.

Sandy Tanck
With 30 years of experience in creating educational programs, activities and exhibits that engage people with plants and nature, Sandy still loves doing it. Currently she oversees Arboretum Interpretation including yearly exhibitions, family and early childhood programs, guided tours and signage.
In her past experience with schools, she wrote curriculum units and fieldtrips, delivered teacher programs and led grant-funded partnerships between the Arboretum and suburban, urban and out-state schools in northern reservation communities. She also led the design of the children’s education facility at the Arboretum, including the Sunshine for Dinner interactive exhibits and Under the Oak nature play area housed there

Kellie Tharp
I am fairly new to Arizona and have been with Arizona Game and Fish Department since May 2007. I completed my B.S at Humboldt State University in Wildlife Biology with a minor in Botany. I completed my M.S. in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. While in Baltimore I worked at The Maryland Zoo in the education department directing their summer camp program, teaching school programs on zoo grounds and taking animals into schools and teaching about their biology and conservation efforts for their outreach department. Previously I taught High School Science in the bay area of California. As a biologist by trade, I have worked for the USFS as a biological science technician and served as a wildland firefighter, BLM as a stream biologist and USGS in Alaska determining breeding success of Dusky Canada Goose nest sites along the Copper River Delta.

John Thielbahr
John is the Director of Professional Education at Washington State University’s Center for Distance and Professional Education in Pullman, Washington. In that capacity, John directs the creation and delivery of non-credit continuing education programs to professionals in the workplace in both face-to-face and online learning environments, focusing on emerging issues of importance to society. Prior to joining Washington State University, John spent 25 years in a private sector career that included corporate finance for major U.S. financial institutions, international consulting, and business ownership. John has also managed a business incubator for economic development in North Idaho and was a Regional Director for the Idaho Small Business Development Center. John holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from Stanford University. As a volunteer, John is President of the Board of Directors of the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute of Moscow, Idaho (a “More-Kids-In-The-Woods” grant recipient), is Southeast Region co-chair of E3 Washington, serves on the Washington No Child Left Inside Advisory Committee for legislative funding allocations, serves as a member of the Children and Nature Network Grassroots Leadership Team, and is a member of Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna’s Youth Internet Safety Task Force. John is married and the father of four.

Betsy Townsend
Betsy is co-chair of Leave No Child Inside - Greater Cincinnati. Early in 2006, she heard Rich Louv interviewed on the public radio, rushed out to buy Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and made a commitment to help save them! She met with a number of organizations in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati Nature Center, whose director, Bill Hopple, had also met with local organizations about forming a collaborative. In June of 2006, Leave No Child Inside - Greater Cincinnati was formed. Its stated mission is to “educate the community that time spent in nature is essential for the physical, mental and emotional health of all children”. The collaborative now consists of eighteen major nature organizations in the Greater Cincinnati Area. They have focused their efforts on making connections with organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area, primarily in the health, education and child services fields. This has enabled them to exponentially increase the number of people reached with minimal time and expense by taking advantage of existing distribution systems. Betsy is also a member of and serves as Chair of the Grassroots Leadership Team for the Children & Nature Network. She serves on the Board of the Directors of the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, the Cross Boundary Leadership Team for the Community Learning Centers, an initiative of the Cincinnati Public Schools, and is a member of the Cincinnatus Association.

Julie VanDeMar
I am an elementary teacher at The Harley School in Rochester, NY. After reading Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, it was easy for me to convince my colleagues to get the kids outdoors and to study "Our Big Backyard." This successful program happened two years ago and lead to the planning of a natural playground on our campus (still in process). Our Upper School also formed a "Green Team" which has planted an organic garden that supplements our lunch program, composted cafeteria waste, eliminated styrofoam cups and dishes, and recycled milk cartons, paper, and even sneakers! Harley is now in the process of moving a post and beam barn which will be rebuilt on our campus as a "green building" and will house our upper school science classrooms.

Mary C. Vidas
Mary Vidas is the Director at the Tamarack Nature Center, a 320 acre nature reserve within Ramsey County’s Bald Eagle-Otter Lake Regional Park located in White Bear Township. Tamarack is in the beginning stages of a 12M, multi-year umbrella project entitled Destination for Discovery designed to expand and enature based education and recreational opportunities for public enjoymeuse. Prior to her work at Tamarack, Mary was the Public Policy Director and Education Coordinator for the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum working closely with diverse stakeholders regarding issues of land-use and design, ecology, preservation of natural resources, low impact development, education and sustainability. Mary is also a consultant to the University of Minnesota’s Business and Community Economic Development Center assisting locally owned businesses and public/private partnerships looking to strengthen their organizational capacity and outreach. Mary earned a Masters from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, is a current Humphrey Board member and an affiliate member of the ASLA American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Having worked in formal and informal education settings as instructor and administrator of experiential learning, Mary maintains a keen interest in the study of “biophilic design” and built environments aimed at supporting human/nature connections. Mary is a frequent speaker specializing in research, benefits and practical applications of creating nature rich environments and connecting children and families to nature. Her work has been featured in both local press and on national media. Mary is a member of the Executive Board of the Minnesota Children and Nature Network, a professional member of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Minnesota Association for Environmental Educators (MAEEA) and the National Association for Strategic Planning.

Aimee Wedemeier
Aimee is the Municipality of Anchorage’s Parks and Recreation Department’s first-ever Outdoor Recreation Supervisor. In this role, Aimee seeks to reconnect families with nature by spearheading a new city-wide “Get Outdoors” initiative. Aimee has served in the recreation and outdoor education fields for ten years and, in her spare time, continues to train new outdoor educators throughout the west coast states. Her passions include: learning, finding new ways to make environmental issues relevant to youth, hiking, science, and everything having to do with water.

Tamara Wendt*
After 18 years growing up by the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Puerto Rico, Tamara set out for the main land Up-State New York for changes of seasons and college. She focused her studies on Philosophy and Religion and traveled broadly through India on a study program and across the United States and Mexico. Many twists and turns later, she has served in the California Conservation Corps Backcountry Trails Program, helped Mexican students for 5 years in Colorado as a Project Coordinator for the “I Have A Dream” Foundation enrichment and at-risk youth scholarship program, and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to support the creation of the For Generations To Come Sanctuary. She is currently working with Hooked On Nature to create engaging new media content to inspire a deeper connection to the earth through conversations on the internet and beyond. Stay tuned for the soon to launch 52 Ways to Fall In Love the Earth blog and weekly e-mail.

Jeff Williamson
Jeff was named the President of the Arizona Zoological Society in 2007. The Arizona Zoological Society is a 501©(3) Arizona not for profit corporation founded in 1961 to operate the Phoenix Zoo as a zoological garden and recreation destination that engenders affection for and appreciation of nature. He was CEO/President and Executive Director of the Zoo from 1996-2007. Before that he was the Deputy Director for three years. Prior to his work in Phoenix, he was Deputy Director at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Mr. Williamson is a life-long conservationist who grew up on farms and has spent his career trying to integrate the interests of people and nature. He is an advocate for sustainable community and is involved with many regional conservation organizations. He routinely speaks to issues of land conservation, water, urban development and wildlife habitat conservation.

Dr. Terry L. Wilson
Terry is the Director of the Center for Mathematics, Science and Environmental Education at Western Kentucky University, which is a program designed to encourage the collaboration of educators, scientists, and the general public. Terry has spent most of his career specializing in teacher and leadership training in the area of environmental education. Besides working with thousands of teachers in Kentucky and much of the U.S., he has also conducted extensive international training in environmental education for educators and natural resource managers throughout North American, Asia, and Russia. Born and raised in Ohio, Terry became a teacher and director of the Outdoor Education Program for the Madison Local Schools (Mansfield). This marked the beginning of a career developing and implementing science and environmental education programs which has now spanned 38 years. Dr. Wilson moved to Kentucky in 1974. Since then he has directed several environmental education programs for schools, universities, and government agencies. He served as the Environmental Education Coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Education and directed the Center for Environmental Education at Murray State University for ten years. He has served on the board of directors for numerous state, national, and international organizations involved in promoting science and environmental education, including three terms on the board of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). He served as President of NAAEE during 2002. In 2006, he was the recipient of the Walter Jeske Award, which is the field of environmental education’s highest honor, given each year by NAAEE.

Susan Wirth
Susan is the Nature Explore Outreach Director for the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation. The Nature Explore program is a national initiative designed to help children re-connect with the natural world as an integral part of daily learning. Susan has spoken and authored articles nationally on the subject. In her 21 years with the Arbor Day Foundation, she has served as Education Director and been involved with the design and development of many interpretive/interactive nature experiences at Arbor Day Farm as well as in the creation of national youth education materials. Susan has received awards from the Girl Scouts of America and Project Wild for her work in conservation education.

Jen Wright
Jen is the VP of Education at the Kalamazoo Nature Center in Michigan. She has 11 years of experience in interpretation and nature center management and has extensive experience in working with schools, community partners and professional organizations. Her current responsibilities include facilitation of both full and part-time educators and on any give day she can be found teaching programs, creating and monitoring budgets, writing business plans and grants or developing new program ideas. She is a Certified Interpretive Manager through the National Association of Interpretation and has been an active member of the Children & Nature Network and the Michigan No Child Left Inside movement.

Marilyn Wyzga
Marilyn convenes the NH Children in Nature Coalition, a statewide initiative she helped launch in 2006. As an educator with the NH Fish & Game Department, she writes and speaks on enhancing habitat in residential and community spaces, including co-authoring Integrated Landscaping: Following Nature’s Lead. She also coordinates Project HOME, the award-winning schoolyard habitat program. Marilyn received her M.S. in environmental communications from Antioch Graduate School New England, and her B.A. from Colgate University, and continues studies in landscape design. In 2007, Marilyn was named New England’s Environmental Educator of the Year. She currently serves on the board of the New England Environmental Education Alliance.

*Natural Leaders Participants in the C&NN 2008 Grassroots Gathering.

Welcome from Richard Louv

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Natural Leaders --Tyrell Hughes on Environmentoring

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List of video excerpts:

Kina Murphy: “I want to hear from youth.”

Cheryl Charles Opening Comments

Fran Mainella: Putting Fire on the Ground

Richard Louv: The Third Ring

Nina Gordon: Engaging Health Care Professionals

Akiima Price on the Youth Summit

SaraT: Engaging Youth

Community Action Guide: the Power of Persuasion

Targeted Outreach to Youth

National vs. Regional Youth Summit

Action Guide Facilitators