People

I work directly with the PLT network of state and international partners to strengthen the implementation of PLT programs at SFI. I spend my weekends hiking and getting out as much as possible with my partner and two sons.

Yue Li, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of environmental education in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. Her research focuses on professional development for formal and non-formal educators, interventions to enhance learning and action, and community-engaged learning to address environmental and sustainability challenges. She collaborates with scholars across disciplines and bridges quantitative and qualitative methods to conduct interdisciplinary research in both online and face-to-face settings, and in different cultural contexts. Her recent collaborative research projects centers on nature-based environmental education, sense of place, transformative learning, and generative AI in teaching and learning. She has taught environment and sustainability courses at Cornell and UWSP, which have provided high quality and equitable learning opportunities for students, environmental and sustainability educators and other professionals from all over the world.

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.

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.

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).

Mary Ford is the Senior Director of Roots & Shoots, the youth action program of the Jane Goodall Institute. Mary has an undergraduate degree in environmental science and policy from Harvard University and a master's degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Her career has focused on environmental education and citizen science. She has worked at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the World Wildlife Fund, the National Audubon Society and the National Geographic Society. She has taught preschool, middle school, and high school, and has done ecology research from Borneo to Siberia. Mary has served on the board of the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Education Operating Committee for Project Learning Tree, the Advisory Board of Toyota TogetherGreen, and the board and Education Working Group of the Citizen Science Association.

As a former zookeeper at the San Diego Zoo, I have transformed my passion for conservation into a focus on field research and conservation education. My research encompasses conservation education, sustainable land use, and rainforest fragment ecology. With over ten years of experience in the zoo field and hands-on work in Borneo, Costa Rica, Belize, and Laos, I founded Green Dragon Conservation Education (GDCE) to bridge the gap between field researchers and conservation education, integrating mindfulness practices into curriculum development.

Additionally, I teach botany, general biology, and biodiversity courses at Cuyamaca Community College and CSU Dominguez Hills. I firmly believe in the power of multidisciplinary collaboration to create research and education programs that foster mindful, curious, and lifelong global stewards.

My motto is strategic thinking for practical results! I like to start with the big picture, thinking about all the amazing ways that people in the field of EE are striving to make the world a better and more inclusive place for all our wonderful diversity. Then I seek to collaborate with people who bring many ways of knowing and lived experiences to developing strategies and pathways that lead to practical actions and results.

Daniella earned her B.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecology from Arizona State University.  She holds a certificate in Sustainability and Behavior Change from the University of California-San Diego and is pursuing her master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Prescott College. She has been in the Environmental Education field for over a decade. This includes working as a gallery interpreter for the Arizona Science Center, as a Recreation Coordinator for the City of Chandler Nature Center, and then as a Water Conservation Specialist for the City of Chandler. Daniella recently transitioned to the East Coast and has helped the Shaw Institute, a nonprofit marine and environmental research center in Blue Hill, Maine, with outreach and special projects. She’s excited to join the NAAEE team and help support the ee360+ program.

Dedicated educator and mother committed to inspiring curiosity and a deep sense of belonging by connecting children to the natural world.

I am an environmental education researcher in the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University.

Blog: http://environmental.education

Website: http://alexkudryavtsev.org

Educator, Yoga Alliance, National Park Geek. My goal is to create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and inspire community among the underserved. Proud Latina mom.