People

I am an Agricultural Engineer from Haiti with a background in Natural Resources and Environment.My undergraduate thesis focused on cadmium uptake by cocoa trees, investigating its accumulation in soils and beans as well as potential mitigation strategies. Currently, I am interested in understanding drought-induced forest and tree mortality in the context of global warming.I aim to apply Remote Sensing and GIS to analyze both physiological and ecological patterns and to predict tree mortality. Besides academic work, I enjoy playing and watching soccer, and spending time with my family.

Professor of Environmental Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point;  Director of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education

Educator | Author | Publisher | Entrepreneur | Non-profit Leader | Systems Thinker 

Victoria is passionate about transformational change in schools. Serving as the environmental education and service-learning consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Victoria works with educators and organizations to increase capacity for equitable, authentic learning experiences through meaningful place-based education. She co-founded FIELD Edventures, a non-profit dedicated to taking learning outdoors and designed and led a project-based, environmental middle school.

Jimena Cuenca supports NAAEE's digital presence, helping maintain and improve our websites like eePRO so that it serves as a welcoming and useful space for environmental educators. Jimena brings a deep curiosity about how online communities grow, connect, and collaborate. She enjoys learning new digital tools and is always looking to make our web spaces more engaging. When not at work, she's walking her huskies and birding.

Bora Simmons serves as the founding director of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) initiated the Project in 1993 to help educators develop and deliver effective environmental education programs. The Project has drawn on the insights of literally thousands of educators across the United States and around the world to craft guidelines for top-quality environmental education.

Preethi Mony is a specialist in the field of environmental education, program evaluation and grants and has a wide range of experience from developing resource matierials, conducting programs with children and adults, as well as evaluating programs and grant reporting.

Growing up in the busy metropolis of Mumbai, she quickly recognized the importance of the social aspects of conservation in protecting the natural world. She has worked with organizations in India and the US to help with environmental education program planning and resource development. She has over 20 years of experience working with zoos and museums to evaluate programs and exhibits and recommend strategies to improve the overall visitor experience. Over the last 2 years, she has worked at a local community college to support grant work (federal, state, and private) as well as to inform data driven decision making in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space. She brings all of these experiences to her current role of EE Grant and Program Manager at NAAEE.

Preethi holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University. She earned her M.S. in interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida, and a B.Sc. in Life Sciences from the University of Mumbai, India.

Michael Zanetti grew up in Connecticut. He is an author and a proud environmentalist. He has been a member of The Nature Conservancy for almost 20 years. Michael enjoys creative writing and music. He taught piano for many years and studied literature at Fairfield University. Michael's stories reflect his love for animals and nature.

Sydney spent the bulk of her childhood learning and growing under the canopy of the southeastern deciduous forests that make up her home state of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her undergraduate schooling, she began working as a youth environmental educator, leading her to eventually pursue her M.A. in the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Program to study how nature-based programs can better support nature-connections across diverse groups. While in Utah, she also co-founded Camping in Color, an overnight program designed for black youth and their families in the Salt Lake Valley area to enhance a sense of belonging, appreciation, and engagement in the outdoors. She joins the Natural Start Alliance team excited to further her work in making quality early childhood environmental education more accessible to all.

Madeline is an international programs specialist at NAAEE, supporting the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP), youth leadership programs, and other global initiatives.