People

I have been a teacher for about 30 years. I taught 2nd and 3rd grade in my hometown in Western Washington for 22 years, before moving with my family to Central Washington 5 years ago. I am now teaching in a SPED/Life Skills class as an emergency teacher for the remainder of the year while I look for a full time, continuing job for next year. I am married and we have one 15 year old bright and athletic son.

NAAEE’s Senior Director of Capacity Building, Sarah Bodor comes from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where she held a number of program management and leadership positions throughout the organization. She worked closely with state education agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to develop and pilot standards-based curricula and provide teacher professional development. Her background also includes communications and fundraising. In 2008, she served as the writer of Maryland’s Children in Nature Plan, which resulted in passage of Maryland’s environmental high school graduation requirement.

The first thing you should know about me is that I really don't like to talk about myself. That said, I'm a gardener, a mom, a home cook, a florist, a hiker, an avid coffee drinker and a life long learner with a passion for the environment. The more I learn or the older I get, not sure which, the more I want to share my love and passion for protecting our home. Not just the physical home that I live in, but this whole connected Earth that we share with countless other creatures. It's a daunting task, but I am one determined old lady who believes that if I can sway even just a few minds into protecting all that is around us, the ripple of that will be felt for generations to come. Wish me luck!

I am an educator and an advocate for public-involvement and community science, working at the intersection of people, nature, climate, and science. I am the PI on the MacroBlitz project, leading a team of National Geographic explorers to empower educators from the Canadian forests to Chilean Patagonia to teach how to survey aquatic macroinvertebrates using iNaturalist as a data platform. My scope of work includes professional and curriculum development on water, soil, and grasslands. I facilitate and advocate for braiding Indigenous ways of knowing and Western STEM in my work.

I’m a high school student in North Carolina who is interested in science, health, and the environment. I enjoy learning about how the human body works as well as how natural systems are connected and affect our daily lives. I’m currently working toward my Environmental Education Certification to better understand how to teach others about environmental responsibility and sustainability. In the future, I hope to use this knowledge to help my community make more informed and eco-friendly choices.

We Want work wBio about me

Muhammad Nadeem Akhtar is the Head Teacher at Central Model School Khanewal, Pakistan. He is a dedicated Global Schools Advocate and passionate educational leader committed to providing globally competitive education to underprivileged children in a resource-limited setting.

 

His school proudly received the International School Award from the British Council for promoting global citizenship and collaborative international learning. Through the Connecting Classrooms Project, Mr. Akhtar and his team worked for over six years with UK partner schools, facilitating teacher exchange visits. Teachers from his school visited various cities in the UK including Birmingham, Huddersfield, Derbyshire, Manchester, and Nottingham, while UK educators also visited his school in Pakistan. As part of this initiative, he also received leadership training at the University of Nottingham under the British Council platform.

 

Furthermore, his school was recognized by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (UK) through the Face to Faith programme for raising awareness about malaria. Currently, the school is collaborating with the JDO Foundation (USA) to promote digital learning through Google tools, equipping students and teachers with 21st-century skills.

 

Mr. Akhtar continues to lead climate change, environmental, and innovation projects, ensuring his students are not only well-educated but also responsible global citizens.

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. 

As the Associate Director of Conservation Education at The Marine Mammal Center, an educational center and the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, Adam challenges the community to think differently about ocean conservation using the stories of individual patients that are rescued by the Center.