People

Madeline is an international programs specialist at NAAEE, supporting the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP), youth leadership programs, and other global initiatives.

Jimena Cuenca supports NAAEE's digital presence, helping maintain and improve our websites like eePRO so that it serves as a welcoming and useful space for environmental educators. Jimena brings a deep curiosity about how online communities grow, connect, and collaborate. She enjoys learning new digital tools and is always looking to make our web spaces more engaging. When not at work, she's walking her huskies and birding.

Bug Hartsock is a graduating Master's student in an Entomology lab. When he's not staring at small critters, he spends his time reading, making art, and going on hikes (as well as playing plenty of Dungeons & Dragons). Bug is passionate about scientific outreach and communication, creating zines and comics designed to make science accessible to everyone. He's also spoken at conferences, on public radio, and at a variety of school outreach events. It's his hope to encourage the rest of the world to fall a little bit more in love with its tiny, many-legged residents.

As the Youth Education Program Manager at the Center for Community and Citizen Science at the UC Davis School of Education, Peggy supports researchers, students and educators (both formal and non formal) by designing and developing curriculum as well as professional learning opportunities around engagement with participatory science programs. Peggy co-collaborates in research on how community science projects engage students in deepening content learning as well as their connection to the environment as they develop environmental science agency.

Katie has been active in the field of environmental education for more than 20 years. She currently works as an environmental and outdoor learning consultant, partnering with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) to strengthen environmental education networks and support national initiatives that build capacity across the field. Previously, Katie served for 17 years as Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE), where she led environmental literacy planning and implementation efforts and helped advance environmental education through statewide partnerships, policy, and collaboration. Her work continues to focus on building the people, partnerships, and systems needed to ensure everyone has access to high-quality environmental and outdoor learning opportunities.

Vince Meldrum is President and CEO of Earth Force. Vince is an experienced nonprofit leader who has worked in environmental and civic education for 20 years. Vince leads Earth Force, a national organization with a unique focus on combining active civic education with environmental education to prepare young people with the civic skills, scientific knowledge, and motivation to improve our local environment.

Megan Fink serves as the Partnerships & Policy Manager for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). Working in the field of Environmental Education for over a decade, Megan brings a robust, place-based, outdoor education background to the NAAEE team. She has built enduring working relationships across the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Mid-Atlantic region. As a graduate of Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Science and Biology, Megan began her career as an Environmental Educator at the North Carolina Aquariums before joining the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) in 2011. Through several program management positions with CBF she led students, teachers, school administrators, and environmental professionals on ecological, cultural, and historical investigations of the Bay. She also managed a statewide leadership program for high school students, teaching them how to become environmental advocates at the local, regional, and national levels.

Megan earned an Executive Master of Natural Resources from Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability in 2020. In 2022-23, she served as Education Director for the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, supervising 15 Environmental Education Programs and expanding their reach to 14,000 participants annually. She also initiated and managed a project to launch a brand-new, nature-based preschool and served on the Maryland State Department of Education’s Workgroup to develop statewide Outdoor Preschool licensing standards. 

Throughout her career, Megan has designed programs that inspire participants to act on behalf of their local natural resources and enhance people’s understanding of and connection to the natural world through compelling environmental education experiences. In her spare time, she can often be found hiking, gardening, paddling, and spending time with her loved ones, including her dog, Ruby, splashing around the Bay watershed!

My name is Cecilia Mann. I am passionate about education, exploring and studying the outdoors. Outside of work, I spend my weekends and evenings outdoors, whether it be kayking,hiking or fishing.

I am a new teacher starting in the fall. I graduated with my Masters in May and am excited to join the Hardy team. I have two children and live in a small town where community means a great deal. This makes the MWEE idea perfect as helping make our farm and rural lands healthy is something most will get behind. Additionally, my background is in environmental engineering, so I do have a familarity in some of the concepts. I am excited to learn more and be well prepared for my journey!

My name is Geneva or Neva for short. I have five years working with children who have experienced domestic violence as a volunteer with Safe Alliance. My passion is watching them learn resiliency through interactions with each other and the world around them. My goal is to teach children life skills gained from learning how to use the environment around them. 

I am a nature-based educator, providing opportunities and advocating for the right of every child, from preschool through high school - and the grownups who guide them - to have meaningful experiences learning in, about, and with nature.