Emily grew up outdoors. She spent her childhood on the Iroquois River in Illinois, swinging on wild grape vines, collecting flax & clam shells, and walking barefoot across tilled dirt in the corn fields.  After a circuitous journey involving a career in medicine, her outdoor roots eventually led her to work for the Tucson Bureau of Land Management field office. There she managed weeklong conservation projects with youth crews in the saguaro dotted backcountry; served as a para-archeologist documenting pit villages & petroglyphs; and performed ranger/GIS duties on the Ironwood Forest National Monument. After her stint in Arizona, she moved to the Pacific Northwest to attend graduate school at the University of Washington. Here she received her M.Ed. and a certification in Environment, Education and Community from IslandWood. She also discovered a year-around berry smorgasbord, slimy yellow witch’s butter, slugs, & salamanders, and the alien marine landscapes of king low tides.  However, her inner lizard was very much in need of sun! Thus, in 2011, she moved to Colorado where she worked for a local environmental education and advocacy organization to inspire conservation action to protect birds and their habitats. Over the next 12 years, she worked in many capacities from coordinator to manager.  Whether creating and teaching bird adaptations curriculum, creating naturalist trainings or organizing a tribal coalition, she has always brought her passion for people and protecting the environment together.  And if she’s not helping others pursue their passions or connecting others to nature, she is adventuring on the trails: smelling ponderosa pines, cloud gazing, or riding bikes with her two spirited children.