People

I have been a teacher for about 30 years. I taught 2nd and 3rd grade in my hometown in Western Washington for 22 years, before moving with my family to Central Washington 5 years ago. I am now teaching in a SPED/Life Skills class as an emergency teacher for the remainder of the year while I look for a full time, continuing job for next year. I am married and we have one 15 year old bright and athletic son.

NAAEE’s Senior Director of Capacity Building, Sarah Bodor comes from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where she held a number of program management and leadership positions throughout the organization. She worked closely with state education agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to develop and pilot standards-based curricula and provide teacher professional development. Her background also includes communications and fundraising. In 2008, she served as the writer of Maryland’s Children in Nature Plan, which resulted in passage of Maryland’s environmental high school graduation requirement.

Brandi Stewart is a Space Science Outreach Coordinator for the Earth to Sky Interagency Partnership. Brandi grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved out west to complete an M. Ed. in Environmental Education and Non-profit Leadership through the North Cascades Institute's residency program. Brandi brings a background in place-based engagement, training development, and program management, primarily through their work with the National Park Service. Prior to joining the Earth to Sky team in November 2024, Brandi worked for the National Park Service for almost 14 years, as an educator and interpreter at parks such as Mount Rainier, Devils Postpile, Death Valley, and Grand Canyon. 

Bug Hartsock is a graduating Master's student in an Entomology lab. When he's not staring at small critters, he spends his time reading, making art, and going on hikes (as well as playing plenty of Dungeons & Dragons). Bug is passionate about scientific outreach and communication, creating zines and comics designed to make science accessible to everyone. He's also spoken at conferences, on public radio, and at a variety of school outreach events. It's his hope to encourage the rest of the world to fall a little bit more in love with its tiny, many-legged residents.

The first thing you should know about me is that I really don't like to talk about myself. That said, I'm a gardener, a mom, a home cook, a florist, a hiker, an avid coffee drinker and a life long learner with a passion for the environment. The more I learn or the older I get, not sure which, the more I want to share my love and passion for protecting our home. Not just the physical home that I live in, but this whole connected Earth that we share with countless other creatures. It's a daunting task, but I am one determined old lady who believes that if I can sway even just a few minds into protecting all that is around us, the ripple of that will be felt for generations to come. Wish me luck!

I am an educator and an advocate for public-involvement and community science, working at the intersection of people, nature, climate, and science. I am the PI on the MacroBlitz project, leading a team of National Geographic explorers to empower educators from the Canadian forests to Chilean Patagonia to teach how to survey aquatic macroinvertebrates using iNaturalist as a data platform. My scope of work includes professional and curriculum development on water, soil, and grasslands. I facilitate and advocate for braiding Indigenous ways of knowing and Western STEM in my work.

I’m a high school student in North Carolina who is interested in science, health, and the environment. I enjoy learning about how the human body works as well as how natural systems are connected and affect our daily lives. I’m currently working toward my Environmental Education Certification to better understand how to teach others about environmental responsibility and sustainability. In the future, I hope to use this knowledge to help my community make more informed and eco-friendly choices.