People

Melissa Taggart has been working in the field of environmental education for more than 20 years, and currently serves as Environmental Education Specialist with the USDA Forest Service. Prior to this role, Melissa served as Managing Director at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) where she managed the organization’s international programs, and supported strategic planning, fundraising, and evaluation for the organization. She also worked at the National Audubon Society on a $25 million partnership with Toyota to build community conservation efforts and to strengthen and diversify environmental leadership. Melissa has a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and an M.S. from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, and lives in Takoma Park, MD. 

I am currently pursuing a career in the environmental and conservation education field. I have held various seasonal positions in environmental education trip leading and program planning and development, as well as field conservation work. My experiences taught me to adapt to unexpected changes and circumstances, to clearly communicate with others, to organize people in the midst of stressful situations, and to collaborate as a team member. Strong attention to detail and a conscientious work ethic guide everything I do. I aim to bring environmental awareness and knowledge of sustainability to the public through environmental education programs that communicate the importance of conservation and ecological concerns. I am currently looking for opportunities in environmental education, outreach, education program planning and development, and field research.

I work at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus, working both with classes in higher education and with elementary education for local schools.

Hello, I am an environmental science and management major with a focus on environmental education and interpretation at Cal Poly Humboldt. 

Ana Leirner oversees Project Learning Tree’s professional learning initiatives and curriculum offerings. She advances the work of the SFI education pillar by ensuring that people working with youth and communities have the resources, knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to advance environmental education, forest literacy, and green career pathways through the lens of trees and forests. Ana is passionate about leveraging the power of education to create a more sustainable future. Before joining SFI, she worked as a learning designer in various industries, developing courses on topics that included climate and STEM education. Originally from Brazil, she now lives in the Washington D.C. area with her family. Ana holds a Master of Education in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University and a Master of Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil.

Victor Ayegba Mathew is a community development and environmental educator with more than 7 years of experience in promoting eco-friendly solutions and creating programs for environmental learning across schools in Nigeria. 

He has supported and volunteered for countless organisations related to water, environment, and nature education. He encourages sustainable interaction with the environment through proper waste management demonstrations and activities that educate community members.

Victor has been actively involved with environmental firms in his country in both paid and volunteer roles. He volunteered as an assistant data collector for Greenfaith during the 2021 FaithsforClimate Justice, with EarthCharter as a course co-facilitator, and organized campus FaithsforClimate justice under Greenfaith. Victor also partnered with the Swarovski WaterSchool Project (EarthChild International) to promote WASH projects across schools in Nigeria. Currently, he teaches at Sahel Academy Kano state, Nigeria as an Environmental Educator and a fellow with the Foundation For Environmental Education GAIA Fellowship.

Victor has a degree in Environmental Science, and a Post Graduate diploma in disaster and risk management. He has completed a program with the University for Peace on Systems Thinking and Regenerative Leadership, and a Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics course with EarthCharter. He was recently recognized as a Climate Champion with the Climate Leadership Fellowship (Climate Smart Nigeria) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Network (Nigeria). He's also one of the young persons trained and certified by former United States Vice President Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader.  

Driven by the desire for an environmental sustainability-conscious and eco-literate world with individuals and institutions as its frontrunners, Victor is always looking to boost his skills in project design and systems thinking, behavioral change processes, community and educational engagement, corporate social responsibility/investment, social leadership, and people management to amplify the work he’s already doing in the environmental space locally and globally.

I have had the priviledge to be an informal and formal educator both in the US and abroad with over 30 years of guiding learning in life, earth, and physical sciences.  I am also a parent who has been intentional with my kiddo and the great outdoors so my daughter gets excited about nature (instead of running screaming).   www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylnovak

I am a professor of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at a small university in northern Japan. I have a Master's Degree in Linguistics and TEFL from the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive/Corpus Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. I also am a Yoga Alliance registered yoga instructor (ERYT500) and teacher trainer (RYS200). My recent research interest in Ecolinguistics was born out of the amalgamation of the previous interests, i.e., Linguistics meets Universal Humanity (meaning here the study of language related to the nonbinary realization of humans as part of our environment).