People

Laura Downey, Executive Director, Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education--From an early age, being outdoors in every season was an important part of Laura's time growing up. The woods, ponds and sand dunes of Michigan were where she spent time exploring and observing the world around her. As important to her as time spent outdoors was playing "teacher" and that interest carried into her professional life. Laura holds a B.S. in elementary education, an M.S. in Administration and Supervision and PhD in Curriculum and Instruction (Math, Science and Technology). Laura's career has centered around a deep belief in the power of education to change the world. She began her career teaching in the Chicago Public Schools system and early on recognized the power of working collaboratively to do more better. She is one of the founders of a nonprofit focused on engaging teachers in school reform, has had the privledge of working side by side with social disruptors and become a voice for school change in Chicago. She moved to Kansas and continued to teach at the elementary, middle and preservice level and it was here that she found the field of environmental educaiton and recognized that EE was an ideal match for her passions, interests and values. Laura joined KACEE in 1998 and gravitated toward the affiliate network as an opportunity to amplify the work we are doing. Laura has also been engaged in the leadership for Project Learning Tree's Education Operating Committee and served on the boards of the American Forest Foundation, the Sustainable Forestry Intiative, the Council for Elementary Science International and several local boards including serving as the co-chair for Kansans for Conservation. She brings 25 years of experience in affiliate nonprofit management.

So. Calif. has been my home all my life and each year I continue to be inspired by the natural spaces. When I am not working I enjoy cooking, reading, and exploring new cities. Currently, I am working to earn my M.Ed. in Environmental Literacy and am completing a certification program through AEOE.

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.

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.

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.

I work at Chatham Middle School teaching 6th grade science.  I love traveling and have gained first hand knowlege,  both good and bad, about the world we live in.  I enjoy connecting students to issues that affect them directly and how it relates to others around the world.  

I am a homeschool teacher in California looking to incorporate more ideas from environmental education into my lesson planning.