People

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.

Hello! My name is Sofie and I work as an environmental educator for the NOVA region.

I am a teacher working outside the conventional classroom striving to reimagine the spaces we learn in.
I believe that connection is what our world needs most: with the physical world, with each other, and with ourselves.
I build and co-create learning communities and design experiences, unconstrained with the walls of classrooms and boardrooms, to help people explore these connections, uncover passions, and explore what it means to be human.

I am an Assistant Professor of Environmental Education in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. I work collaboratively with educators and youth on design-based research to understand and develop pathways for people to learn about and care for the natural world we are all a part of. I focus on urban communities and explore questions of environmental identity, environmental literacy about complex ecological issues, and the structure and function of learning ecosystems.

Fossil Rim invests in the future by providing formalized training to foster talented young people into the professions of wildlife conservation and education, veterinary medicine and the care of husbandry and wildlife. Many of our dedicated, intelligent and hardworking Fossil Rim interns go on to work in zoological, wildlife and conservation fields. Providing quality hands-on conservation training is one of the efforts of which Fossil Rim is most proud.

Hi.  My name is Brian McGonigal.  I am a 6th grade math teacher at Park Forest Middle School in State College, PA.  I am currently obtaining my master's degree through Slippery Rock University in Environmental Education.

Second year student at the Ohio State University studying Natural Resource Management within the School of Environment and Natural Resources. 

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.