People

My name is Benicio Ortiz, I am 20 years old, 21 as of tomorrow January 27th. I am a Zoo Science major at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown PA, and I'm currently at the tail end of my Junior year entering my Senior year next semsester. I'm from Malden Massechusetts where I graduated from Essex Technical and Agricultural High School where I was apart of the Veterinary Science program and later became a CVA in my Senior year, and still am. I have good expereince in veterinary, zoo, and agricultural animal enviroments, so I work well with both dometics and exotics. I also work well in both animal care as well as having a strong suit for animal education and making a connection between our animals and people. I also played baseball for most of my life, though I am adept at other sports like Football, and soccer. My favorite animals are herps, and my favorite herp would have to be a tie between Leopard Geckos and Kenyan Sand Boas.

Second Year student at the University of Rhode Island studying Marine Biology and Environmental Science.

I started as an environmental educator in 2022. My passion is educating the public on conservation, invasive species, bats, and geology, especially fossils. 

As the former Director of Technology, Mary served as the project lead for NAAEE online technology, including the NAAEE website and eePRO, the hub for professional development. Mary had been on NAAEE staff since 1999 and her extensive background in technology, website development, outreach, multi-stakeholder collaboration, security, systems support, and project management experience consistently provided the highest level of support to NAAEE’s team, leadership, and members. 

Mary is now acting in an advisory role, continuing to support the work of the association.

Adrian has enjoyed a lifelong career in environmental education. Starting out as a park ranger, he has since served as Statewide Director of Education at Massachusetts Audubon, Director of Operations at the Center for Whole Communities, in Vermont, and as NAAEE's Senior Director for Technology Programs. As the founder of eeMatters, an environmental education and interpretive planning consulting group, Adrian led professional and community-based teams that developed strategic plans, master interpretive plans, exhibits, and technology-based communication tools for clients as varied as NAAEE, Maine Audubon, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Trustees of Reservations, Monadnock Media, Old Sturbridge Village, and New York Botanical Gardens.

I am a nature and environmental educator who loves teaching people of all ages about the natural world and our place in it. I am a big fan of hands-on and interactive education.