People

I've been involved in environmental education through community organizing since 2003.  I have a minor in environmental science with a concentration in community organizing and a minor in anthropology/sociology from Warren Wilson College in 2009. Last year, I completed the Master Naturalist program, and this year I've registered for the Environmental Education Certfication program.

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.

I am cofounder of the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival (PAFF) pafireflyevents.org.  We are in our 14th year of providing non-formal Environmental Education to people of all ages who come to the festival in Forest County to learn about fireflies. I am a retired school based Speech Language Therapist, but am now fully committed to fireflies, environmental education and conservation. I am also a certified level 1, Leave No Trace instructor.  We apply these principles to our Firefly Eco Tours and Outdoor Educational programs. I am seeking PAEE certification to demonstrate PAFF’s level of commitment to building a rigorous curriculum about fireflies throughout the Commonwealth.

Rachel Tidd is the author of the book Wild Learning: Practical Ideas to Bring Teaching Outdoors, the popular Wild Math and Reading Curricula. She is passionate about integrating the outdoors and natural materials in core academic areas such as reading and math.

My name is Amy Johnston I have been in the  Environmental education field  for about 15 years. I am currently an environmental educator at Brandywine Red Clay Alliance in WestChester PA. And have just become executive director of Camp Linden, a summer camp for innercity children,where I have been working for the last 5 years. I'm interested in environmental education in general but I'm most passionate about teaching kids about/ and connecting them to the natural world.

Operations Coordinator for the Mono Lake Committee since April 2025. 

The Living Lakes Canada Centre of Water Excellence for Youth brings together a multitude of youth-focussed endeavours addressing the protection, restoration and health of watersheds in B.C.’s Columbia Basin and across Canada. The impacts of climate change, demonstrated by extreme events including wildfires, flooding and landslides, have disproportionate effects on youth as well as Indigenous peoples, rural communities and vulnerable populations. 

Katie Walsh Fetzer is a graduate of Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina where she earned a B.A. in Environmental Education. For the past 18 years, she has worked as an education manager at an Audubon nature center, public school teacher, naturalist, marine science educator, youth director, summer camp director, and community organizer. She currently serves as Vice President for the Mississippi Environmental Education Alliance and has been an active board member since 2022. Katie is originally from Moss Point, Mississippi but has lived and worked all over the United States. Her goal is to help her community connect to the surrounding ecosystem in order to establish knowledge of and appreciation for its resources. She believes that building this strong sense of place will support the development of personal identity, inspire stewardship, and nurture empathy for all.

I’m a curriculum specialist who helps students connect classroom learning with real-world experiences through career exploration, STEM activities, and hands-on projects. I also support educators by leading regional initiatives and networks that align teaching with workforce needs and community growth.

Buttonwood Nature Center is a non-profit organization serving the region with outdoor programming in environmental and cultural education, and a wide variety of family events. Activities are conducted at various parks and natural areas around the greater Waynesboro area, including Buttonwood. The mission of Buttonwood Nature Center is to guide the people of the Cumberland Valley region to become stewards of their natural and cultural worlds.