People

Author COnservation in the COntext of a Changing World: Concepts, Strategies and Evidence Cambridge University PRess 2023

I am Program Director for Ecological Education at the Institute for Applied Ecology in Corvallis, Oregon. I have over 21 years of experience in formal and informal (free-choice) science education. My background includes ethnobotany, botany and ecology.

My name is Jillian. I'm passionate about marine science education through digital and in-person teaching. Working at the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island was my first experience in environmental education, and I loved it! While finishing my undergraduate degree in Environmental and Marine Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill, I had the opportunity to take a class about informal education, which opened my eyes to this profession. I can't wait to learn more! I'm currently working on my NCEE certification. 

Take Me Outside is a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness and facilitating action on nature connection and outdoor learning in schools.  We believe in a future in which spending time outside playing, exploring and learning is a regular and significant part of every student’s day. We work collaboratively with other organizations, school boards and individuals to encourage children and youth to spend more time outside through various projects and initiatives.

TMO’s target population is students and educators across Turtle Island/North America who we reach mainly through the education system. Our goal is to encourage schools to extend the learning environment beyond the desk and four walls and to use the great outdoors as part of the regular teaching practice. The ultimate goal is to encourage more time spent outside during the school day to counter balance excessive screen time and sedentary tendencies. Our programs are simple, fun and accessible to all.

Sam - She/Her

Environmental Sustainability Teacher at High Meadows School in GA serving students in grades K-5

I am currently a PhD (DPhil) candidate at the University of Oxford in the Department of Education. My research focus, under the supervision of Dr. Ann Childs and Dr. Steve Puttick, is Environmental Education for students living in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Gamal Sherif’s commitment to environmental education started in Philadelphia when he served as a high school science teacher. While teaching in an 80 year-old building with unhealthy indoor environmental quality, Gamal realized that this situation was neither just nor sustainable, and that curriculum, instruction, assessment, and policy should be aligned to improving students’ experiences.

Since then, Gamal has served as a curriculum director, a principal, and as a consultant the Center for Teaching Quality, the National Science Foundation, and the North American Association for Environmental Education. As a Program Manager with the environmental education nonprofit EcoRise, Gamal worked with educators, students, architects, and engineers to create a green building network replete with year-round professional development, equitably paid internships, and related credentialing.

Gamal has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from SUNY-Binghamton, a Masters in Teaching from Temple University, and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012, he was selected as a fellow with the U.S. Department of Education and since then, has provided guidance on national climate education policy and energy efficiency planning. In 2019, he became an ambassador with the United Nations’ #TeachSDG (i.e., Sustainable Development Goals) program. Gamal is also a credentialed LEED Green Associate.

Gamal and his family enjoy cooking, biking, and gardening. After years of replacing lawn with native perennials, shrubs, and trees, they turned their yard into a National Wildlife Federation-certified wildlife habitat.

Jeanine Ancelet is the principal and co-founder of Audience Focus. She directs audience research and evaluation projects and guides strategic and interpretive planning initiatives for leading museums and cultural organizations across the country.  In her spare time, you can find her in nature serving as a Maryland Master Naturalist and Audubon Habitat Advisor.

Maggie Allen is an Education Specialist at NOAA's Office of Education, contracted through TechGlobal. Beginning her role in the office as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, she now coordinates grant and partnership programs, such as a network of 27 aquariums, that work to build a more environmentally literate society. Maggie has a B.A. in Environmental Sociology from Whitman College and a Master's in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington, where her thesis focused on how partnerships and policy contributed to a successful indigenous-led social movement against a fossil fuel export terminal in the Pacific Northwest. Maggie has worked as a social scientist for NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, an AmeriCorps VISTA at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and as an environmental educator in the Florida Keys.