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.

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.

I work as an interpreter in several parks in Sonoma County, incl. at Pond Farm Pottery, a National Historic Landmark, Armstrong Redwoods, and at the Sonoma Coast State Park beaches. While working with school-age students, my greatest joy is seeing them lose all sense of time and self-consciousness in exploring their surroundings. I aim to create memories that create understanding, curiosity and appreciation for a place, no matter whether it's a cultural landmark, a harbor seal pup, the grassland or a sprouting redwood tree.

I am Katherine DeCamp, an Environmental Studies student at Susquehanna University.

Sydney spent the bulk of her childhood learning and growing under the canopy of the southeastern deciduous forests that make up her home state of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her undergraduate schooling, she began working as a youth environmental educator, leading her to eventually pursue her M.A. in the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Program to study how nature-based programs can better support nature-connections across diverse groups. While in Utah, she also co-founded Camping in Color, an overnight program designed for black youth and their families in the Salt Lake Valley area to enhance a sense of belonging, appreciation, and engagement in the outdoors. She joins the Natural Start Alliance team excited to further her work in making quality early childhood environmental education more accessible to all.

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

Jack Hilgert serves as the Statewide Environmental Education Coordinator for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and Oklahoma State Coordinator for Project WILD and Project WET. He specializes in K–12 engagement, educator professional learning, and building statewide networks that connect students with hands-on, place-based environmental learning. Jack coordinates environmental education programs for youth, educators, and families while managing a network of volunteer facilitators. His work strengthens school and district partnerships, expands access to environmental education, and supports sustainable programs that reach rural and underserved communities. He also supports Oklahoma Envirothon and serves on the OKAEE Board.