People

Lori Mann has more than 40 years of experience in environmental education at the local, state, and national levels. Lori joined the NAAEE staff in 2012 as Program and Conference Manager and now serves as Director of Conferences and Programs. In this capacity, she manages all aspects of the NAAEE annual conference and coordinates several national projects related to building capacity to deliver high-quality environmental education. 

I'm a student who works as a nanny with young children with a basis of emergent and nature-based teachings.

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.

I am a student at NKU and need to use this site for my course.

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.

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.

I am a graduate student pursuing my masters in environmental education at Florida Atlantic University. I spent over 6 years in public health and emergency management before deciding I wanted to focus on my true passion, the environment. I am now gaining invaluble experience as I work splitting my time as a graduate teaching assistant at FAU Pine Jog Environemental Education Center and as an environmental educator at Friends of MacArthur Beach State park. 

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.

Laureanna brings energy-related activities to teachers across her home state through KEEP - Wisconsin's K-12 Energy Education program. She has a background in elementary and environmental education, and in her free time she writes picture books, hikes, plays board and card games, and dreams of places in the world that she'll visit next.