About me
For over 25 years, I have worked in the environmental education field. Between a BS in Biological Sciences from Southern Illinois at the University at Edwardsville, Illinois and master’s in environmental education, I had been the education director for over 15 years at The Nature Institute, Godfrey, IL. Currently, I am the Assistant Director for the Joe Budd Youth Conservation Center Network (FYCCN) for 7 years. FYCCN educates youth in fishing, shooting sports, paddlesports and all things wildlife discovery as part of our 15 years creating the "Next Generation That Cares"! I have been using Growing UP WILD (GUW) curriculum since 2010. As a facilitator for GUW, I have trained hundreds of educators to use GUW in their classrooms. I have created and conducted a monthly "Knee-High" Naturalist program at Joe Budd and monthly GUW monthly programs at local Pre-K classrooms. I was awarded the Growing UP WILD educator of the year 2012 by the Council of Environmental Education of Illinois. My passion for getting the littles outside is what drives me to further our mission of creating caring individuals about Florida's ecosystems.
