People

Enthusiastic educator with experience in diverse environments, from aquariums to university classrooms. Afterschool Education Coordinator at Mass Audubon, focusing on expanding and intensifying community outreach in Massachusetts' MetroWest region.

Hello! My name is Ashley Sander and I have taught at Metro Early College High School for the past 9 years in Columbus, Ohio. I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA where I taught for the first three years of my career. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education and a Master of Education in Instruction and Learning.

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.

A focus on the environment, education, the arts, human service, social justice, and sustainability has been at the core of Dave’s professional life for more than forty years. For twenty-five of those years, he successfully led and managed a variety of nonprofit organizations within these fields at the local, regional, and national levels. For almost twenty years, Dave has worked as an independent organizational consultant, concentrating his work as Founder and Principal of DRC Consulting on various aspects of organizational development, including strategic planning, board, and staff training and development, process facilitation, program evaluation, and conflict resolution. Dave has also served as Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University, where he has taught and advised graduate students in the Environmental Studies, Education, and Management departments. He holds a B.S. in Natural and Human Resource Management from the University of Maine and an M.Ed. in Organizational Teaching and Learning Environments from Harvard University, as well as post-graduate certificates in Organizational Development, Leadership and Management, Nonprofit Administration, Human Resource Management, and Professional Coaching. Dave is a Lifetime Member of NAAEE and a past recipient of the organization’s President’s Award. He, his wife Amy, and their Black Lab Grendel, live in a 19th-century farmhouse on the coast of Maine.

I'm a climate change environmental educator. As a freelancer I'm is focused on climate change, public lands, interdisciplinary watershed studies, geography, and teaching and learning through my gig, Wild Rose Education. I design and facilitate educator professional development workshops, public lands courses, Arctic STEM programs, and a multi-state regional climate change educator cohort. I have created and facilitated numerous environmental education programs including the award winning Youth Water Leadership Program, and Project Learning Tree Canada's Climate Change and Forests curriculum. 

My expertise includes best practices in watershed and climate change education, adult learning and facilitation, and interpretation. I'm a past board president for Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, am a member of the NAAEE Guidelines Trainers' Bureau, an Environmental Issues Forums deliberation moderator, Certified Interpretive Guide, Certified Interpretive Trainer, Colorado Certified Master Environmental Educator, Land Ethic Leader, Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor, Climate Reality Leader, and Wilderness First Responder. Sarah is currently based in western Colorado Colorado.

I’m a Guatemalan environmental activist with a great passion for marine life conservation and sustainability. I’m a senior student of Environmental Engineer at Universidad Rafael Landívar, where I was the vice-president of the students’ association of my faculty for two years, and I work as a teacher.

I've been involved in the planification and implementation of environmental education and volunteer programs for children and youth in my country. The programs have focused on solid waste management, biodiversity, and understanding Ocean Literacy Principles to acknowledge and analyze the relationship between the ocean and climate. I've worked with coastal communities, educational centers, international and local organizations, and I'm currently the Environmental Education and Communications Coordinator in SOA (Sustainable Ocean Alliance) Guatemala. 

Judy Braus brings to her role as NAAEE Executive Director a wealth of experience in the environmental education profession, with a focus on conservation education, diversity and inclusion, and using the power of education to help create healthier communities that empower local communities, stakeholders, and individuals to help restore and protect the environment. She comes to NAAEE from the National Audubon Society, where she was the Senior Vice President of Education and Centers, overseeing an extensive nationwide network of nature centers and educators. Prior to that, she led the education programs at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the U.S. Peace Corps, and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

As the Director of Interpretive Programming at Red Rock Canyon NCA I use my skills as an Environmental Educator, Drama Therapist, Naturalist, and NAI Certified Interpretive Guide, the creative arts and our natural environment to educate and connect with children, their families and teachers. Connection to our natural world is key to inspire people to be better stewards and protect and conserve the world that we rely on for physical and emotional survival. I am a Nevada and California Naturalist, Xerces Society Ambassador and UC Climate Steward, with a passion for community science projects, especially in the field of pollinators and habitat restoration.

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.