Resource Person Biographies
Clinic
Coordinator
Abby Ruskey
Co-Director, National EE Advancement Project
1333 East Bay Drive NE
Olympia, WA 98506
360-754-4518
amruskey@earthlink.net
Abby
Ruskey is the Co-Director of the National EE Advancement Project.
She originally conceived the Leadership Clinic concept while
working with state leaders to achieve comprehensive EE programs and led
the process to develop the Leadership Clinic Design model.
Ms. Ruskey has degrees in Social Science (B.S. from U.C.
Berkeley) and Natural Resource Management-emphasis EE (M.S. from the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point). After working for the Berkeley,
California City Council and several city council and school board as
well as state and national election campaigns, she served as the K-12
Coordinator for Earth Day 1990. At
Earth Day she coordinated K-12 events and the development of a set of
curricula that were distributed to every school and district in the U.S.
and 120 countries worldwide. In
1991 she began research at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on
successful state and local EE programs.
She co-founded the National Environmental Education Advancement
Project (NEEAP) in 1993. NEEAP
focuses research and programs on the organizational and leadership needs
of state and local environmental education stakeholders working to
develop the infrastructure for environmental literacy.
Ms. Ruskey has authored or co-authored several manuals, popular
press and research articles and organizational booklets related to EE
capacity building and the development of comprehensive EE programs.
These include the Leadership Clinic Manual: Tools for
Transforming Conference Design (2002), NEEAP's Organizational Assessment
Tool (1998) and Promoting EE: A Guide to Strengthening EE in Your State
and Community (1994). Ms. Ruskey is a President-Elect of the Board of Directors of
the North American Association for Environmental Education.
She hails from a large Colorado family and currently resides in
Olympia, Washington with her partner Naki and their 4 cats enjoying
gardening, kayaking, skiing, hiking, home improvement projects and
swapping songs.
Lead
Facilitator
Nan Buckardt
Environmental Educator Manager
Lake County Forest Preserve
21950 N. Riverwoods Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
847-968-3330
847-948-7712 fax
buckardt@quixnet.net
Nan
is a product of the Leadership Clinic system. She has attended as a
participant in all but one clinic, acted as a resource person in the
Leadership Clinic Design Workshop and now is the lead facilitator.
She is a strong advocate for capacity building and has worked
passionately over the past ten years to strengthen EE in Illinois.
One of her proudest accomplishments is helping to take the Tools for
Non-Formal Inservice Providers workshop from an idea to the
national EE community. Nan has worked for the Lake County Forest
Preserves, in Illinois, for nearly 19 years and currently is the
agency's EE Manager. She is married and has three children ranging
from 6 -13 years. Her family is her joy, just ask!
Caroline Alston
Associate Director, Project Learning Tree
1111 19th St NW, Suite 780
Washington, DC 20036
202-463-2472
202-463-2461 fax
calston@plt.org
Caroline
Alston is a native Washingtonian and has worked for the American Forest
Foundation (AFF) for the past 14 years.
Caroline joined Project Learning Tree (PLT) in 1989, and was
elected Associate Director of Community Programs in 1999. She has a B.S.
in Business Management from Hawaii Pacific University.
Caroline
manages the PLT urban initiative �PLT in the City� and the
service-learning/community action program GreenWorks!
Under the �PLT in the City� program Caroline manages targeted
urban initiatives designed to provide quality environmental education.
She is a frequent speaker and advisor on environmental education
issues as they relate to underserved and multicultural audiences. She
increased the urban state and international sponsorship from 32 states
and two countries to all fifty states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. Trust Territories and ten other countries.
Under her leadership the PLT curriculum materials were revised
and expanded to address innovations in pedagogy and current and emerging
environmental issues.
Under
the GreenWorks! service-learning/community action program Caroline
manages the budget that provides grants to PLT trained educators and
their students to implement community based projects.
The GreenWorks! grants are awarded to a variety of projects
across the country, which play a significant role in
education�learning by doing.
Caroline�s
other major responsibilities include the management of the annual PLT
International Coordinators� Conference and co-editor of the Branch
newsletter. She is an
active member of the North American Association for Environmental
Education and was appointed to a three year term on their Board of
Directors. Caroline has
served on a variety of advisory boards that include Houston�s Nature
Heritage Society, Atlanta�s Outdoor Activity Center and NAAEE�s
Urban & Multicultural Commission.
Delia
Clark
Director of Program Development
Antioch New England Institute
40 Avon Street
Keene, NH 03431-3516
603-357-3122 x265
603-357-0718
dclark@antiochne.edu
Delia
Clark is co-founder and Program Director of the Antioch New England
Institute (ANEI) of Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, NH, a
non-profit consulting institute working to promote a vibrant and
sustainable environment, economy and society through informed civic
engagement (www.anei.org). Delia's most recent work has focused on
engaging citizens in their communities through place-based education,
community visioning and school/community partnerships. She has led
community vision-to-action workshops throughout New England and has
taught the community engagement process throughout the US, and in
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania and Estonia. She regularly speaks on place-based education and
civic engagement at conferences nationally and has recently consulted
for the US National Park Service on place-based education and civic
engagement. Through ANEI
Delia is the co-director of Project CO-SEED, a place-based education
program. She is the co-author of Community Treasure Hunts: Fostering Sense of Place and Stewardship to be published in
2004 by University Press of New England.
Gary Cook
Director, Project WET USA
201 Culbertson Hall
Bozeman, MT 59717
406-994-5564
406-994-1919 fax
gcook@montana.edu
I
came to environmental education via the public school classroom.
In the late 1970s, while teaching seventh and eighth graders in a
public school in Shawnee, Oklahoma, I learned about conservation
education from my local Conservation District.
With a scholarship from the District, I attended a summer
"Conservation Education Leadership Training Course" at a local
university, and I never looked back. After a stint in graduate school
(and a few other detours required by marriage and family) I went to work
for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission spreading the conservation
education gospel, coordinating Project WILD and, eventually, Project WET
in the state.
My
work with Project WET led to my move to Montana to join the national
Project WET staff. I am now
the Director of Project WET USA. My
job is primarily to serve the network of state Project WET Coordinators
by listening to their needs and striving to meet them; to lead by
listening. My current interests in environmental education are in using
literature to teach environmental concepts and in the area of Christian
doctrine and stewardship of creation.
Laura Downey-Skochdopole
Executive Director, KS Assn for Conservation and EE
2610 Claflin RD
Manhattan, KS 66502-2743
785-532-3322
785-532-3305 fax
ldowney@oznet.ksu.edu
I
have a bachelor's degree in elementary education (emphasis in math and
science), a master's in administration and supervision and am currently
a doctoral candidate in Science, Math and Technology Curriculum and
Instruction. I was an
elementary teacher for 11+ years in both inner-city and rural settings.
In addition, I taught elementary science methods courses for
preservice teachers and supervised preservice teachers in schools.
I currently work as the executive director for a statewide,
non-profit environmental education organization (KACEE). I have attended
several NEEAP Leadership Clinics, NAAEE Affiliate Workshops and the
Annual NAAEE Conference over the last 6 years while working with KACEE. In addition, I am a member of the EETAP States Advisory
Council and a board member for the Council for Elementary Science
International. I am also a
member of NSTA, ASCD and have made professional presentations at many of
the national educational conferences.
In addition, I am a trained facilitator for Projects Learning
Tree, WET, WILD and WILD Aquatic and currently serve as the state
coordinator for PLT.
History
of Involvement with the NAAEE Affiliates Network: Though I am relatively
new in the field of EE, I have been actively involved over the last six
years in the Affiliates Partnership and NAAEE.
I have served on several committees for NAAEE and the Affiliates
and most recently was the chair for the Pre-Conference Workshop
Committee. I also serve as
a member of the Affiliates Steering Committee.
I have attended several Affiliate workshops in the past and have
been in attendance at the business meetings as well.
I strongly believe that the Affiliate's partnership is a powerful
tool for states and provinces in their capacity building efforts and I
try to assist in this partnership whenever and wherever possible.
Amy Heart
Program Assistant, National EE Advancement Project
CNR, UW-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4179
715-346-4385 fax
aheart@uwsp.edu
I
have served as NEEAP�s Program Assistant since January 2002. I am a
graduate of UW-Stevens Point, with a BA in Communication. My journalism
background includes several years working as a broadcast journalist at
radio stations throughout Wisconsin. I served as the WI correspondent
for the National Radio Project out of Oakland, CA. I have also
contributed to print publications such as the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, Duluth Ripsaw, Indian Country News, and served as a
fact-checker for the Columbia Journalism Review. My husband John Brown
and I were drawn into the Green Party while we spent some time traveling
across the country a few years ago. I have served as the Co-Chair for
the Wisconsin Green Party and media coordinator for the Green
gubernatorial campaign in 2002. I recently received 35% of the vote in
the Stevens Point mayoral election. I�m currently running for state
assembly as a Green Party candidate. For more information visit www.amyheart.org.
I also serve on the Stevens Point Area Co-Op Board of Directors, Hunger
Prevention Partnership, Portage County Network of Environmental and
Outdoor Groups, UWSP Equity and Affirmative Action Committee, as well as
other community committees.
Joe Heimlich
Institute for Learning Innovations
166 West St
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-268-5149
heimlich@ilinet.org
Joe E. Heimlich is
Associate Professor, Environmental Education and Interpretation, School
of Natural Resources at The Ohio State University and is a Senior
Research Associate at the Institute for Learning Innovation in Annapolis
Maryland. Besides trying to maintain two lives, Joe is President of
NAAEE for 2003. He has been actively engaged in national and
international EE for 13 years. Before that, he was involved in doing
EE without knowing there was a field to support it. Thus, he truly
understands the ways in which people enter EE and the needs of those in
the field. His work is focused primarily on how people learn in
free-choice environmental settings and evaluation of EE programs.
Jeremy Higgins
Outreach Specialist, National EE Advancement Project
CNR, UW-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4179
715-346-4385 fax
jhiggins@uwsp.edu
Jeremy
has been involved with environmental education for more than six years.
Starting out as a nature center volunteer, then a staff member of
Pheasants Forever (Leopold Education Project and youth education),
Jeremy is currently the Outreach Coordinator for the National EE
Advancement Project. In that role he coordinates the EETAP States
Program and contributes to several other NEEAP activities. His other
professional roles include being the NAAEE Membership Committee chair,
conference exhibit chair for the Wisconsin Association of EE and the
education chair for the Invasive Plants Association of WI. Jeremy earned
his B.S. in geography from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
and his M.S. in Biology from South Dakota State University. When he is
away from his computer, Jeremy enjoys traveling, writing, biking,
hiking, canoeing, hunting, fishing, woodworking, photography and many
other relaxing distractions.
Hyder Houston
Diversity and EE Consultant
3008 Raymond CT
Fort Washington, MD 20744
301-248-7357
301-248-1315 fax
diversityee@earthlink.net
Hyder
Houston takes the helm of Diversity in Environmental Education
after having served as the driving force for environmental education
within the Greater Washington Urban League, one of the 108 affiliates of
the National Urban League the second oldest civil rights and social
service organization in America. Miss
Houston, a sixteen year veteran with GWUL, was influential in
establishing the Office of Environmental Programs where she served as
the director from May, 1995 until January, 2002.
Miss
Houston�s affiliations include service on boards and committees such
as the National Review Board for the Ground Water Foundation, Anacostia
Environmental Science and Computer Technology Academy Board, Alice
Hamilton Occupational Health Center Board, Charter Member Project WOW,
Transition Special Education Program George Washington University Board,
and the Executive Committee EPA National Children's Health Summit. She
has over 25 years of experience in community education, outreach, and
organization and over 20 years as a workshop facilitator, presenter,
lecturer and classroom skills instructor. Hyder Houston was one of seven
individuals recognized nationally as a Groundwater Hero during the 25th
Anniversary Celebration of the Clean Drinking Water Act in Washington,
DC on December 16, 1999. She
has been a writer, contributor and editor for several environmental
education organizations including The Water Course, Project WET-Montana.
Miss
Houston's current role is as a consultant to NEEAP of the University of
Wisconsin Stevens Point through a grant funded by the US Environmental
Protection Agency Office of Environmental Education.
Miss Houston is a recent past member of the US-EPA National
Environmental Education Advisory Council and the Government and Policy
Cluster National Committee of the US Department of Education.
Miss Houston approaches environmental education as a necessary
tool for enhancing the quality of health and life of urban dwellers.
Amy Kowalski
Communication Specialist, National EE Advancement Project
CNR, UW-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4748
715-346-4385 fax
akowalsk@uwsp.edu
Amy
has been part of the National Environmental Education Advancement
Project (NEEAP) team since May 1997. Starting as the Program Assistant,
she maintained all of the NEEAP budgets as well as performed the regular
office duties. Amy moved to part-time status after her first child was
born and her role has changed to Communication Specialist for NEEAP. She
designed and maintains the NEEAP website as well as editing The EE
Advocate, NEEAP's newsletter. Amy was an integral part of completing
the Leadership Clinic Manual, and served on the planning team of the
Leadership Clinic Design Workshop. (The Manual and Design Workshop are
training tools that explain and encourage participant-driven techniques
when designing a meeting, workshop or conference.) She has been involved
in the planning of three National Leadership Clinics and three state
clinics. Amy's personal interests include spending time with her family,
playing guitar & singing, photo scrap booking, crocheting, playing
softball & volleyball and skiing (downhill and water).
Cindy Kreifels
Executive Director, The Groundwater Foundation
PO Box 22558
Lincoln, NE 68542-2558
402-434-2740
402-434-2742 fax
cindy@groundwater.org
Cindy
serves as the executive director for the Groundwater Foundation and has
been with the Foundation for ten years.
The Groundwater Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose
mission is to educate and motivate citizens to care about and for
groundwater. As executive
director, Cindy oversees the development and implementation of all of
the Foundation�s programs and projects including the Children�s
Groundwater Festival, Groundwater University, and Groundwater Guardian.
Through her work at the Foundation, Cindy has gained practical
experience in program design and implementation, evaluation methodology,
community partnerships, volunteerism, facilitation, fundraising, youth
programs, and community-based environmental education.
Gus Medina
Project Manager, EE Training and Partnership
107 Flynn Street, Box 189
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON CANADA L0S 1J0
905-468-8031
905-468-8592 fax
gmedina@istar.ca
Dr.
Medina is responsible for the day‑to‑day operation of the
Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP), a consortium
of eleven organizations that are working to increase the capacity of
education professionals to deliver quality environmental education.
EETAP is a national project funded by the U. S. Environmental Protection
Agency�s Office of Environmental Education under Section 5 of the
National Environmental Education Act of 1990. Dr. Medina was also the
Project Manager for the first phase of EETAP when the North American
Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) was the managing
partner. Prior to joining EETAP, Dr. Medina was a program officer with
World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US). He worked with numerous government and
private conserva�tion groups throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
to design and implement conservation, sustainable use, and environmental
educa�tion projects. During his tenure with WWF-US he designed�
environ�mental education programs, public awareness campaigns,
education resources and conducted environmental education training
workshops throughout Latin America the Caribbean. Project design,
project management, strategic planning, cultural diversity, and proposal
writing are some of Dr. Medina's areas of interest and experience.
Teresa Mourad
Operations Officer, NAAEE
1707 H St NW Ste 900
Washington, DC 20006
202-261-6481
586-620-5975 fax
tmourad@naaee.org
I
joined the North American Association for Environmental Education
(NAAEE) as Operations Officer in May 2003. Prior to this, I was the
Executive Director of the Environmental Education Council of Ohio, an
affiliate of NAAEE for 61/2 years. During my tenure in EECO, I was
actively involved with the NAAEE Affiliates Program Committee and
Steering Committee and developed several initiatives to diversify EE in
Ohio with a grant from the EETAP States Program. Some of these
initiatives include a partnership with the Office of EE at Ohio EPA to
offer a model urban school EE program, the Language of Nature Creative
Writing Institute for lanaguge arts teachers and annual Cultural
Sensitivity/Diversity Workshops. I also served as NAAEE Board member and
briefly as the Chair of NAAEE�s Diversity Committee.
Linda
Rhoads
Executive Director, EE Association of Oregon
PO Box 15192
Portland, OR 97293
503-234-3326
lindarhoads@mindspring.com
Linda
is currently EEAO�s first executive director, focused on guiding the
transition of the organization from an all-volunteer organization to a
fully functioning statewide non-profit.
She gained extensive project and program management experience
during her 10 years with a Global 500 corporation and was responsible
for designing, facilitating and leading strategic planning processes.
As Program Manager in the North Carolina Office of Environmental
Education, Linda managed and coordinated all activities for a
collaborative statewide environmental education program involving
numerous government agencies, businesses, non-profits, environmental
education centers, teachers and schools.
She also worked as an Educational Forest Ranger and as an
Environmental Educator with a non-profit environmental education center.
Linda has a M.S. in Adult Education and undergraduate degrees in
geography and psychology.
As
an environmental educator, Linda prefers facilitating learning
experiences as a generalist, helping students understand relationships
among the many components of our world.
The skills and experiences Linda brings to the table to share
include: [strategic]
planning, goal setting, cultivating relationships, management and
supervision, financial management, facilitation, curriculum development,
educating adults, team building, human resources and professional
development, and a business/for-profit perspective.
Bora Simmons
Dept of Teacher Ed
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9069
815-753-8594 fax
boras@niu.edu
Katy Wang
Outreach Program Services Director, NAAEE
1409 Sutter Street, Suite 301
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-351-0741
415-561-0833 fax
wangkn@eelink.net
Through
her pioneering work with capacity building using Internet based tools,
Katy has created an extensive set of relationships and contracts with
NAAEE state affiliates and other environmental education NGO's.
Katy and her team at EE-Link are currently working with six
states developing customized EE resource databases that will increase
each state�s capacity to develop, deliver, and coordinate statewide EE
programs, thus promoting their long-term sustainability. All of
EE-Link�s resource databases include in-depth organizational profiles,
programmatic information, and related program event dates.
The goal of the database network is to help educators access EE
resources that meet their needs quickly and efficiently, and to allow EE
providers to more effectively promote their services to schools and
other clients. This fall EE-Link�s network of resource databases will
be linked together in a national interface, enabling regional and
national queries.
In
addition to database development, EE-Link�s services also include web
site design and content development, listserv hosting and technology
consulting services. With an M.S. in Environmental Education from the
University of Michigan, Katy brings expertise in environmental education
to all EE-Link projects as well as extensive experience with the use and
development of Internet-based technologies.
Emilio
Williams
President, The KOI Group
PO Box 305
Riverdale, MD 20738-0305
301-779-7391
301-779-0389 fax
ewilliams@koigroup.com
www.koigroup.com
Emilio
N. Williams, President of The Koi Group, is an independent trainer,
consultant, and keynote speaker in human, resource and organizational
development, diversity, and building multicultural collaborations. Most
recent cultural work and diversity clients include National Zoos and
Aquariums (AZA), Columbia River Basin Leadership Clinic, Environmental
Leadership
Program, National Association of Forest Practitioners, Amtrak,
Prudential Insurance Company, and the National Parks Conservation
Association. Emilio assisted in the development of a Community Partners
Planning Guide to be used by local communities and the National Park
Service to break down barriers to race in our Nations Parks.