Directors

Chris Myers

...received his Ph.D. in ecology from Vanderbilt University and is now a professor of Zoology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University. His research areas include community-based conservation, participatory science, and national education reform. Chris is the founding Director of Project Dragonfly and served as Editor-in-Chief of Dragonfly magazine--the first national magazine to feature the investigations of children. Project Dragonfly has reached millions of children through award-winning print media, teacher programs, and the Emmy-Award winning national PBS children’s television series, DragonflyTV. He has written more than 60 professional articles and has directed projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization for Tropical Studies, and other agencies. Chris directs Earth Expeditions and the Global Field Program, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand, and taught environmental education at Yale University.


Lynne Born Myers

... is a founder and co-Director of Project Dragonfly, where she oversees national exhibits, participatory media, and learning programs. She served as the founding editor for Dragonfly magazine and now leads the development of national exhibits for Wild Research and iSaveSpecies. These two NSF-funded projects are designed to engage millions of families at zoos, aquariums, and other public learning institutions throughout the U.S.

Lynne also writes fiction and nonfiction books for children with her husband, Chris, including McCrephy's Field (Houghton Mifflin), Forest of the Clouded Leopard (Houghton Mifflin), and Galapagos: Islands of Change (Hyperion).

Lynne received her B. Phil. from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University. She has developed conservation partnerships in many countries for Earth Expeditions, and works on a variety of research and education projects addressing human relationships with nature.


Jamie Bercaw Anzano

... is Director of Communications and Research at Project Dragonfly at Miami University, where she instructs international and web-based graduate courses and serves as a graduate advisor. When Dragonfly began more than 15 years ago, Jamie served as an editor for Dragonfly children's magazine. She has since worked on a number of Dragonfly initiatives to implement inquiry-driven reform in formal and informal learning environments. Prior to her work at Dragonfly, Jamie wrote hundreds of articles as a newspaper reporter and magazine writer. She has a bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University in journalism and a master's in environmental science with concentration in environmental education from Miami University's Institute of Environmental Sciences. Her interests lie within the intersection of theory and practice and in helping educators and other professionals explore ways to use inquiry to improve human and ecological communities. Jamie has explored many countries throughout the world, but she particularly enjoys rediscovering her backyard with her two young sons.


Jill Korach

... is the Assistant Director of Field Programs for Project Dragonfly at Miami University where she instructs both international and web-based courses and serves as a master's Advisor. Jill serves as the President of the Board of Imago, a Cincinnati-based grassroots environmental organization focused on connecting communities to the outdoors and sustainable living (http://imagoearth.org). Jill earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Washington University in St. Louis where she focused on tropical rainforest ecology and a master's from Miami University's Institute of Environmental Sciences concentrating in conservation biology. Jill's interests lie in community-based conservation as way to highlight the interconnectedness of people and habitats in our integrated landscape. She credits her love of the natural world to the everyday adventures she takes with her family and getting a chance to climb trees as a child.


Kevin Matteson

... is the Assistant Director of Master's Programs for Project Dragonfly at Miami University. Since 2002, Kevin has researched ecology, pollinator conservation, and entomology in heavily developed urban landscapes in both Chicago and New York City. For his doctoral research, conducted at Fordham University, Kevin utilized high-resolution GIS datasets to evaluate landscape factors influencing the diversity of bees and butterflies in community gardens of East Harlem and the Bronx. In addition to teaching at the undergraduate- and graduate-level, Kevin has served as an educator in a variety non-traditional settings including bilingual art-based science education in the Bronx and student-led programming while at the Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society. Kevin has also engaged in scientific outreach through work as a scientific consultant and blogger for an urban citizen science program (www.greatpollinatorproject.org) and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Urban Ecosystems Ecology section (www.esa.org/urbanecosystem/) of the Ecological Society of America. He currently resides in Yellow Springs, Ohio with his wife and two young children.


Faculty Team

Amy Foote-Wenz

... is a high school biology teacher from Washington State. As a child, she grew up wandering the woods, fishing and swimming the lakes and exploring the beaches of New Jersey. These early experiences fostered a deep connection with nature. Amy earned a BS degree in wildlife management and a certificate in teaching from Rutgers University and an MA degree in teaching from Miami University Global Field Program. She strongly believes in experiential learning and has led field courses to Hawaii and the Olympic peninsula for high school students. Solo traveling is her greatest passion and she loves to camp, hike, swim and explore nature with her family.


Amy Fultz

... is a primatologist whose focus is on chimpanzee behavior. Amy is the Behavior and Education Program manager at Chimp Haven, Inc., a sanctuary for over 150 chimpanzees.  Amy’s love for the natural world started in her youth when she would help her father to clean up local streams and creeks in Michigan. Amy has lived in many states with beautiful natural features including North Carolina, Texas, and now Louisiana. Amy holds a degree in Biology from Hillsdale College in Michigan and recently graduated from the Global Field Program with an MA in Zoology. She has traveled to rain forests in Panama, Mexico and Uganda, as well as traveling to Belize, Borneo, and the Amazon with the GFP.  In Amy’s free time she enjoys reading, spending time exploring her two daughter’s interests, gardening and being outside with her dogs and cat. Amy looks forward to additional learning experiences and collaboration with interesting individuals all over the world.


Bariushaa Munkhtsog

... Dr. Bariushaa Munkhtsog has been working with snow leopards since 1993 and was active in the reintroduction of Przewalski's horse at Hustain Nuruu National Park, Mongolia. He currently serves as senior wildlife biologist at Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Board director of Irbis (snow leopard in Mongolian) Mongolian Center, Board director of Gobi bear conservation NGO, and is co-founder of the Pallas' Cat Conservation Project in Mongolia, started in June 2000. Dr. Munkhtsog also teaches biology and ecology at colleges and has supervised Bachelor's, Master's and PhD’s students on snow leopard, Pallas' cat, wild cat, and wild camel ecology and is a member of IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group and Snow Leopard Network.


Ben Nims

…is a secondary science teacher at Maplewood Richmond Heights High School in St. Louis, MO. For the past five years, he has developed and taught environmental science and sustainability courses in an effort to promote students’ understanding of the interrelatedness of society, the economy, and the environment. Ben received his master’s degree in Biology (focus on Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics) from the University of Missouri – St. Louis where he studied the population genetic structure of the endangered Galápagos penguin. As a graduate student, he fell in love with teaching as part of a National Science Foundation GK-12 grant that placed him in a public high school with the aim to improve science literacy and connect researchers to students. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from St. Norbert College.


Bernadette Plair

... is the Neo tropical Conservation Program Manager at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo. A native of Trinidad, Bernadette is also Director of the Center for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (CRESTT). Bernadette earned her B. s. degree in Biology at the College of Mount Saint Joseph and her M. s. degree from the University of Cincinnati. Bernadette has devoted her life to the conservation of Trinidad’s wildlife resources, including the reintroduction of the blue-and-gold macaw to the Nariva Swamp in Trinidad. She worked with the zoo’s education department to set up an education program at the Emperor Valley Zoo in Trinidad. She has developed community-based behavioral monitoring programs for reintroduced macaws and conservation education programs in community schools bordering Nariva Swamp.


Celso Poot

Celso Poót started working with the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center in 1994. From 1997 to 1999, he worked in the Ministry of Agriculture’s Vampire Bat Education, Control and Research Program and with the Forest Planning and Management Project. However, because of his passion for the environment and his drive to educate younger generations about the country’s ecology and wildlife conservation, he returned to the Belize Zoo and has been heading the Education Department ever since. Celso is responsible for both onsite and outreach school programs and works with more than 15,000 school children and teachers each academic year. Celso also coordinates foreign school groups offering ecological field courses in Belize. His various jobs have allowed him to travel the entire country and provides a stimulus to continue his work with the Belizean environment.


Claire Lannoye-Hall

... is a Curator of Education at the Detroit Zoological Society, overseeing youth programs, educator professional development and the international conservation program in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. She was a member of the first graduating class in 2011 after visiting Baja, Belize and Trinidad. Claire also holds a bachelors in Elementary Education and is a licensed Emergency Medical Technician in the state of Michigan.


Corinne Kendall

… believes that research and education are both integral parts of conservation and looks forward to sharing her passion for conservation with Earth Expeditions students. Corinne is currently a Lecturer at Columbia University in the Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Department, where she teaches Frontiers of Science, a multi-disciplinary science course required of all freshman. She also develops curriculum for and teaches a middle school after-school program at the American Museum of Natural History. She graduated from Cornell University with her B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and did a Master's at Columbia University in Conservation Biology while working as an educator at the Bronx Zoo. She recently completed her PhD at Princeton University where she focused on the effects of human activities on avian scavengers, mainly vultures, in East Africa. Her interests include community ecology, animal behavior, human-wildlife conflict, and environmental education.


Corrin LaCombe

... received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her Master of Science degree in Primate Conservation Biology from Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. Corrin’s master’s research focused on evaluation and modification of a conservation education program designed for children aged 8 - 12 throughout Bangladesh. Corrin is now the Conservation Education Research Coordinator in the Conservation Education Division of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Her primary duties at this facility include developing, implementing, and evaluating conservation education and outreach materials for audiences ranging from students, to teachers, to donors, and practitioners. Corrin also conducts research and facilitates in-situ conservation education initiatives for San Diego Zoo Global in Vietnam, Baja California, Mexico, Malaysia, and soon in Cameroon, Africa. Corrin’s most recent focus is on the development of sustainable alternative livelihoods, conscious consumerism, and conservation psychology. Corrin also found Primate Connections in 2009, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping grassroots primate conservation organizations grow.


Cory Christopher

...is the Graduate Program Manager at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Cory earned BS and MS degrees in Ecology from the University of Georgia, where he specialized in Mammalogy. He then moved to Cincinnati, and received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cincinnati, specializing in the ecology of herbivores and invasive plants. Cory's research interests focus mainly on plant-animal interactions, particularly as they apply to restoration of sensitive habitats, including Longleaf Pine savannas in his native Georgia. His fondness for all things natural and his willingness to get incredibly muddy comes from spending most of his childhood running through the hills and streams of the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills where he was raised. In his downtime, you can usually find him running, traipsing around in the woods, or eating cupcakes. He speaks French very poorly, but loves traveling and has a stunning personality.


Craig Beals

... is a chemistry and Earth science teacher at Billings Senior High School in Billings, Montana. Craig grew up chasing fish and game in the mountains of Montana where he gained an appreciation for nature at a young age, and he continues to share his passion for the outdoors with young people. Recently he joined an expedition to the Summit of Greenland's Ice Sheet where he collected atmospheric samples and data for climate research. He received a B.S. in Biology and Broadfield Science as well as a teaching certificate from Montana State University. He has traveled to Mongolia, Namibia and Borneo with Earth Expeditions and recently completed his M.A. in Zoology from Miami University's Global Field Program.


Dan Marsh

... is the Director of Education at the Cincinnati Zoo, where he manages the departments’ educational programs for the general public and schools. Dan received his B. A. in Biology from the University of Louisville and an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati. He spent a year in Japan on an academic scholarship, which sparked his interest in international travel. He has escorted trips for the zoo to Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands, in addition to traveling extensively on his own. Dan is a Professional Fellow with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and is an education liaison to the Felid Taxon Advisory Group. He is also a member of the National Association for Interpretation and the Environmental Education Council of Ohio. Dan grew up near Louisville, Kentucky, where his parents allowed him the freedom to roam and develop his interest in wildlife and conservation.


Datu Md Ahbam Bin Abulani

… began working in the field assisting with orang-utan research in the 1990s with HUTAN, a French NGO based in Malaysian Borneo. HUTAN has a strong focus on staff capacity building and Bam progressed to supervising all field research as well as heading HEAP, the HUTAN Environmental Awareness Program where programming focuses on local youth. Prior to his work at HUTAN and HEAP, Bam was a tourist guide in his wife's village of Sukau. From here, he joined the newly created Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project which was initiated jointly by the Sabah Wildlife Department and NGO HUTAN. Bam has also worked in the timber processing industry and as a fisherman.


David Jenike

... is Chief Operating Officer at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. David has a magical way of involving his students, youngsters, and adults in his program presentations and interpretations of the natural world. David received his B. S. degree in Zoology and his M. S. degree in Environmental Education from Miami University. David completed the Environmental Institutional Management Course at Delaware University. He is the Education Liaison to the AZA’s Rhino Taxon Advisory Group. The Institute of Environmental Sciences at Miami presented David with an Award of Distinction in 1996. David is a Professional Fellow with the American Zoo & Aquarium Association. David grew up in Cincinnati as a member of a family of educators. He and his brother Mark wrote and photographed the children's book, Ituri – A Walk through the Rainforest, which chronicles the wildlife and people of the Ituri Forest.


David Western

... is chairman of the African Conservation Centre. A Kenya citizen, he was raised and educated in Tanzania, obtained a B.Sc. (Hons.) from Leicester University and a Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi. He began research into the savannas at Amboseli in 1967, looking at the interactions of humans and wildlife aimed at developing conservation policies applicable at an ecosystem scale. His work in Amboseli has continued unbroken since then, serving as a barometer of changes in the savannas and a tested of new conservation solutions. He has a particular interest in pastoralism and community participation in conservation. Western has been active in many areas of conservation, including field research, community-based conservation, international programs, ecotourism, conservation planning, directing government and non-government agencies, training, creation of conservation institutions and public education. He directed Wildlife Conservation Society programs in East Africa for many years. He established the Wildlife Planning Unit in Kenya in 1978, was the chairman of the African Elephant and Rhino Specialist Group in the 1980s, was founding president of The International Ecotourism Society, chairman of the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, director of Wildlife Conservation Society (International), director of Kenya Wildlife Service and founder of the African Conservation Centre in Nairobi. He is an adjunct professor in Biology at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Minnesota. Western’s publications include Conservation for the Twenty-first Century (OUP, 1989), Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation (Island Press, 1994) and In the Dust of Kilimanjaro (Shearwater, 1997).


Glen Schulte

... has been a high school science teacher since he graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1986. He has been teaching at the Zoo Academy since 1996, an incredible program where juniors and seniors take intense college preparatory classes and spend 2 hours every day working with the keepers at the Zoo. He received a Masters in Science Teaching from Miami University in 1996 and promptly started teaching in the MAT program. Glen was a student, then an instructor the following year on the Costa Rica expedition.


Hays Cummins

... is a professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University. Hays is a founding Co-Director of Project Dragonfly and served as the science editor for Dragonfly magazine. Hays received his Ph.D. in oceanography from Texas A&M University and has led international courses for years to the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, Curacao Island, and Costa Rica. His research focuses on the reconstruction of past ecological communities in marine systems and understanding ecological change. He also has a passion for weather and astronomy. Hays has authored many research papers and popular articles focusing on science and science education.


James Danoff-Burg

... is Director of the Conservation Education Division at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. With his energetic team of top-flight educators, he helps enhance the success and sustainability of the conservation projects conducted by San Diego Zoo global researchers by ensuring public participation and support. He and his staff help popularize conservation success stories through local and national education and outreach efforts, online campaigns, and local conservation education efforts for the 120+ field conservation projects that SDZG does in 35+ countries around the world. James is an insect community ecologist with research and teaching interests in reducing the negative effects of human activities on biodiversity through conservation education. He holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Kansas. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vermont, a Samuel Research Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and finally a researcher and professor at Columbia University for 14 years before coming to SDZG in 2011. James is also fluent in Spanish, conversant in Portuguese, and has travel language abilities in French, Italian, and German. He is yoga teacher as well as an accomplished triathlete and ultramarathoner and as such is often thought of as slightly unhinged. Of the seven instruments he plays poorly, the ukulele is his favorite, mainly because it translates as jumping flea.


Jeff Hegnauer

... has spent the last dozen-ish years as an elementary school teacher at Cherry Tree Elementary School in Carmel, Indiana. Ten of those years were spent teaching and assisting in the development of a non-traditional, multi-age/multi-grade classroom program. He currently teaches fourth graders. In addition to his classroom responsibilities he serves as the school's lead science teacher, working to support and train teachers in implementing the district's science curriculum. Since 2010 he has also worked as a trainer and professional development planner with the Indiana Science Initiative, a program to train kindergarten through eighth grade teachers and administrators to incorporate a more participatory and inquiry-based approach to their school districts' science programs. Jeff's experiences through the Earth Expeditions programs in Baja, Belize, Costa Rica and Trinidad have helped to fuel his passion for getting teachers and students, figuratively and literally, outside the four walls of traditional elementary school learning experiences. He earned his B. A. in Elementary Education from Anderson University and completed his M.A.T. in the Biological Sciences through Miami University's Global Field Program in 2011. He likes to spend his free time teaching his own children how to get muddy, climb trees, and submerge kayaks.


Jen Hajj

... was a student on the Earth Expeditions trip to Trinidad in 2004. She received her BS degree in Biology at Westminster College of Salt Lake City in 1992. Having worked for 3 years as the Education Manager at Tracy Aviary, Jen now coordinates the education program at HawkWatch International, an organization that monitors migratory raptors across eleven States. She is also working on her MS degree at the Univeristy of Utah, due to be completed in Spring of 2006. Her thesis will explore the importance of affect in learning, investigating the effect of education outreach programs on Sense of Wonder in upper grade-school children.


Jenny Mears

... is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Woodland Park Zoo, where she facilitates the Advanced Inquiry Program Master's degree for educators as well as stewardship opportunities for the greater community. She graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Urban Horticulture and a B.A. in Art. She also earned her Master of Arts in Zoology from Project Dragonfly's Global Field Program, from which she discovered a love of participatory education and community mapping. Jenny looks forward to connecting with her fellow travelers as they explore the biodiversity, conservation, and culture of Borneo and Mongolia!


Jerran Orwig

... is currently the Public Programs Coordinator in the Education Department at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio. She oversees interpretive programs at the Zoo, as well as runs programming in Nature's Neighborhood, the Zoo's children's exhibit. But like any other zoo educator, she is involved in lots of various other forms of educational programing as well. She has a B.S. in Biology from Calvin College and completed her M.A. in Zoology with the GFP program at Miami University. She spent several months during her undergrad living in Kenya studying wildlife management (best experience of her life) and since then has become a travel addict, hoping to see the whole world during her lifetime. She is honored to remain connected to the Project Dragonfly community and cherishes the adventures and experiential learning it brings. Jerran loves photography, the outdoors, reading good books, delving into a bowl of ice cream, and is a passionate Michigan Wolverine fan.


Jongdee To-im

... is a Thai woman who graduated with her Ph.D. in Science and Technology Education from Mah.idol University, Thailand. Her dissertation focused on the development of learning packages on local ecosystems to promote conceptual understanding, to develop a more caring/positive attitude toward ecosystems, and to improve the behaviors of lower secondary school students. She has participated in Earth Expeditions courses in Thailand and Costa Rica. Currently, she is an instructor of Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University. Her interests include transformative learning, the inquiry approach, Buddhism and conservation, and applying indigenous knowledge into formal educational systems.


Joshua York

... is currently an Education Supervisor and Naturalist for Five Rivers MetroParks, protecting 15,000 acres of forests, prairies, and river corridors in and around Dayton, Ohio, USA. There, he builds a Culture of Conservation through immersing diverse groups of people in local habitats. From exploring a creek to bird watching, his visitors engage with nature, realize they are a part of it, and get involved with conservation efforts. Joshua understands that conservation knows no age boundaries, and has a passion for inspiring preschoolers to take action for healing natural areas. Joshua holds an Associates Degree concentrating in nature interpretation from Hocking College, a B.S. in Biology from Ashland University, and is a recent graduate of Miami University's Global Field Program, visiting Baja, Namibia, and Australia.


Katie Corr

... is an Education Specialist at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo where her main role is to coordinate and lead Cleveland's section of the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP). She loves helping students discover the power (and fun!) of inquiry while exploring the local environments. She strives to connect people to their surroundings and to help them discover their own voices for change. She holds a B.A. in environmental studies from Hiram College and a M.A. in zoology from Miami University's Global Field Program. Katie loves traveling, at home and abroad and is always up for a good road trip, especially if it involves cheesy tourist stops. She likes running and reading (though not at the same time) and is a soccer enthusiast.


Katie Remine

…works as the School and Community Engagement Supervisor in the Education Department at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, where she has been employed since 1997.  She develops and presents conservation education for educators of K-12th grades, supervises on-site and outreach school programs, and facilitates programs that engage community members in conservation actions. Katie is a huge believer in the potential of international experiential learning to foster a sustainable global community! She spent a year in Iceland as an exchange student, and then received a BA in Biology and a minor in African Studies from Colorado College (with two semesters of study abroad in east and southern Africa). She recently completed her MSc degree in Biodiversity Conservation and Management through Imperial College London. Although she’s an avid traveler, Katie’s heart lies in the gorgeous mountains, forests and waterways of the Pacific Northwest!


Kelly Frazee

... is a School and Community Engagement Specialist at Woodland Park Zoo, where she develops and presents inquiry-based programming for youth and adults. She graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, and is nearing completion of her Master of Arts in Zoology through Project Dragonfly’s Global Field Program through which she travelled to Baja, Guyana, and Borneo. Kelly is an avid wildlife tracker, and for several years has used her skills to help determine movement patterns of animals along the I-90 corridor of Washington as part of a citizen science monitoring project. Fascinated by the aspects of inquiry and connections to place that involvement in citizen science projects foster, this became a major focus of Kelly’s work in the Global Field Program.


Kevin Andrewin

... Born and raised in Belize, Kevin has known manatees all of his life. He grew up watching manatee outside of his home, Gales Point Manatee, which was named after the marine mammal. Kevin works for Wildlife Trust, where he splits his time between researching tracked manatees and finding creative ways to protect sea turtle nests from predation. To keep coastal Belizeans informed of manatee research tracking, Kevin visits fishing villages all along the coast of Belize to explain the manatee tracking process, what transmitters looks like, and how they operate. Kevin is the youngest member of his village council and an active voice for manatee conservation in his village. He is also the chairman of the Gales Point Manatee Tour Guides Cooperative.


Laura Schetter

… is an elementary teacher at Wildwood Environmental Academy in Maumee, OH.   She also is an instructor for Project Dragonfly’s Earth Expeditions and web-based courses.  In her elementary classroom young learners explore their world through project and inquiry-based approaches.  She is a leader of the  school’s environmental education activities, by helping plan and implement programs that reveal conservation messages.  Laura earned her M.A.T. from Miami University’s Global Field Program in 2011.  She earned her B.S. in Education from Ohio University.  Her childhood memories are filled with vacations of outdoor adventures with her family, which fostered a curiosity for the natural world.  These travel experiences piqued her interest in leadership of conservation efforts.  Laura strives to use her life experiences to motivate others to care for and to connect with nature.


Laura Sennet Houston

…is a high school chemistry teacher who received her B.S. in Education and B.A. in Chemistry from Miami University in 2004. She obtained her M.S. in Chemistry from Wright State University in 2006 focusing her work on kinetically controlled polycondensation polymerization reactions. In 2011 she was honored to be part of the first graduating class of the Global Field Program receiving her M.A.T. in Biological Sciences. Laura is also a registered yoga teacher and loves to use the practice of yoga to connect with people and introduce them to a more mindful and peaceful way of life. When not teaching she loves to travel and spend time outdoors backpacking and hiking with her husband.


Laurie Marker

... is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) based in Namibia, Africa. Having worked with cheetahs since 1974, Laurie set up the not-for profit CCF in 1990 and moved to Namibia to develop a permanent conservation research center for the wild cheetah. In 1988, in collaboration with these two institutions she became the Executive Director of the Center for New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences, based at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo. She continues to serve as a NOAHS Research Fellow. In 1996 she was made a vice-chair of the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Species Survival Commission's (SSC) Cat Specialist Group. In 2000 Laurie was recognized as one of Time magazine's Heroes for the Planet and given the Burrow's Conservation Award from Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2001 Laurie was locally honored in Namibia, receiving the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Windhoek Rotary Club. And in 2002 she received a special award from the Sanveld Conservancy, signifying public acknowledgement of Laurie and CCF's contributions from Namibia's farming community.


Liz Dame

... teaches biology at the University of Cincinnati. She received her B.S. in marine science from the University of South Carolina, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. She conducted her doctoral fieldwork in Curacao where her research focused on coral reef ecology, specifically factors affecting the resilience of reefs and the recovery of a keystone grazer. Liz is an avid scuba diver and is certified as a rescue diver.


Marc Ancrenaz

…is the Director of the "Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project", in Sabah, Malaysia. A native of France but resident of Malaysia, his research focuses on a variety of topics including eco-ethological studies of orang-utan adaptation to disturbed habitats and the management of conflicts between orang-utans, elephants and human communities. Marc is also a trained veterinarian, who worked as the head of the Mammal and Veterinary Departments at the "National Wildlife Research Center," Taif, Saudi Arabia.


Matt Hallett

... is the iSaveSpecies Coordinator for Project Dragonfly at Miami University where he assists in the facilitation of a project that will engage millions of families in inquiry and conservation through a new generation of socially-networked exhibits at zoos, aquariums, and other public learning institutions throughout the U.S. He previously worked in public education in zoos and aquariums in the U.S. and in research and community-based conservation in Kenya, South Africa, Malaysian Borneo and Guyana. It has been experiences in the field that have inspired Matt to consistently pursue work that falls at the intersection of humans and nature with the challenge of developing creative solutions that maximize the benefits to both. Matt earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with minors in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the College of Charleston and a Master of Arts in Zoology from Miami University/Project Dragonfly's Global Field Program. He is currently working towards an additional advanced degree in Environmental Science at Miami University’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES). His research focus is on the abundance and spatial distribution of jaguars in the Kanuku Mountains of Guyana.


Matti Nghikembua

... is the Senior Research Assistant and Education Officer of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) where he assists with ongoing ecological research and the bush encroachment program. Matti is responsible for training student interns from Namibian universities and coordinates environmental education and outreach programs at CCF. Matti has seven years' experience in field surveys, conducting interviews, baseline vegetation surveys, and holds a National Diploma in Natural Resource Management. In 2006, Matti was named a Conservation Hero by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund for his outstanding commitment to environmental education in Namibia and the important contributions he has made researching cheetahs and their habitats. To top it all off, Matti is fluent in five Namibian languages, and is a joy to work with and know.


Meghann McDonald

... has been an ocean-based creature from the very start. She grew up on the Sea of Cortez -- snorkeling, dissecting marine creatures, and listening to her father lecture his college students on the magic of upwelling since she could crawl. Meghann went on to earn a B.S. in Earth Systems Science and Policy, with a concentration in Marine and Coastal Ecology at CSU Monterey Bay. However, it was there in the Monterey Bay -- at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories -- that she found her true loves: scientific research diving and ichthyology. Meghann is the Vice President of the Vermilion Sea Institute, a non-profit dedicated to education and field studies. As such she gets to introduce students of all ages to the terrestrial and marine worlds of Baja California. Here, she fuses scientific field methods with first-hand experience to show students that they can overcome any obstacle from plunging into the world of fish to conquering the really scary stuff: statistics.


Ricardo Stanoss

... joined the Brookfield Zoo in 2006 as the Director of Education and International Training. He graduated as a D.V.M. at the University of Buenos Aires in 1991. Previously, Ricardo was the Assistant Director of the National Audubon Society International Programs, and Associate Director of Education at Miami Metrozoo. Fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese, Ricardo has experience in environmental leadership training, strategic planning, organizational management, fundraising, and communications. As Director of Education and International Training, Ricardo is responible for developing, implementing, and directing a comprehensive program to establish formaland informal public education initiatives and training of conservation professionals to develop human capacity to lead conservation efforts in Chicagoland and worldwide.


Robin Keith

...is the Conservation Program Specialist in the Conservation Education Division at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Robin holds a B.S and M.S. in Biology from San Diego State University, where she studied the evolutionary biology of arachnids. Since joining the San Diego Zoo Global in 2007, Robin has focused on community engagement in conservation. She has helped develop a national teacher workshop in conservation research, and is excited to partner with Project Dragonfly to grow San Diego Zoo Global’s (SDZG) professional development programs. Robin manages SDZG’s Advanced Inquiry Program Master’s degree and assist in coordinating and instructing the new Hawai`i Earth Expedition. Robin also works closely with the Institute’s field conservation programs, and is currently developing a community-based conservation education plan for the Hawai`i Endangered Bird Conservation Program. She feels very lucky to be able to share her passion for biodiversity and conservation with students, teachers and community members, both locally and worldwide.


Samantha James

... MLIS, is the Community Outreach Manager, Iwokrama. Samantha grew up in Toronto to Guyanese parents but for the past 12 years has been working with the wildlife clubs of the North Rupununi. She believes in learning though inquiry and the strength of local knowledge tempered with knowledge of "Western" science techniques for locally owned resource management. She is responsible for managing and developing Iworkama's support to the wildlife clubs of the North Rupununi and is currently working to evaluate the efficacy of Iwokrama' s work with clubs to determine if they have had an impact on development of club members into conservation leaders. She lives in the village of Kwatamang, North Rupununi with her partner, Lake, their two little girls and Ted the dog.


Samantha Russell

... is a doctoral candidate in Conservation Ecology. Closely affiliated with the African Conservation Centre, she lives and works in the South Rift Valley in Kenya where her work involves establishing a practical ecological monitoring program for the Magadi region. Alongside this she is helping the local Maasai community to establish community-based research for conservation. This involves helping to establish a South Rift Resource Centre and train local community youths in resource assessment and data collection. Having been born and raised in Kenya, Samantha has always held a passion for wildlife and as she grew up developed a keen interest in working with the people who live alongside it, and has worked with Dr. David Western on learning about the relationship between wildlife and people since she graduated from Bristol University in 2002 with an undergraduate degree in Zoology and Psychology. She has also been involved with Dr Western in conducting the first major audit of Kenya’s wildlife and presented this information at a recent Wildlife Policy Review workshop.


Sarah F. Navarro

… grew up in Michigan where her parents fostered her love of nature with frequent camping trips and encouragement to explore the wildlife around her grandparents' cottage with her cousins. Sarah earned both her B.S. and M.S. in Zoology from Michigan State University (go Spartans!). While in college, she also had her first exotic, educational opportunity when she studied the ecology of African wildlife in Kenya, Africa. To experience such a hands-on, out-of-your-comfort-zone opportunity left her forever changed and inspired to make a career out of facilitating connections between people and wildlife. She joined the Education Department of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in fall of 2001 as an Education Program Coordinator and has been involved with the Earth Expeditions' Zoo and Field Expeditions programs since 2005. When she is not at work, she is playing in and exploring nature with her husband, son, and daughter.


Scott Wingate

... is the education coordinator at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, where he manages the Zoo's youth public programs. He received his B.S. in Biology from The Ohio State University with an emphasis on Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. After graduating he found himself sharing the joys of the natural world with others as a naturalist. Working at the Wilds really piqued his interest in global conservation and how important education is in its success!


Sharon Matola

... is a wild woman. Never, ever taking no for an answer, she has built the Belize Zoo & Tropical Education Center into one of the world’s most effective zoos and conservation organizations. Starting with 20 captive animals left behind more than twenty years ago by a natural history film crew, Sharon has dedicated her life’s work to engaging the Belizean people with their wildlife. First with education programs in schools throughout the country, and later by establishing the zoo, Sharon has shared her love and the need for wildlife and wild areas. From its humble beginnings, and against all odds, Sharon charmed, cajoled, and worked until the Belize Zoo finally opened its gates at its new home in 1991. Today’s Belize Zoo employs a staff of 25, all Belizeans. It is a conservation and education center run by and for Belizeans.


Sorrayut Ratanapojnard (Asia)

... Dr. Sorrayut received his PhD in Environmental Education from the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University. He is a professor at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. He has ordained as a Buddhist monk and was the director of Thailand's Project Local Science and the Spiritual Health Program. He writes weekly newspaper columns on spirituality and health.


Thane Maynard

... is Chief Executive Officer of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Thane is best known as a writer and host of numerous wildlife programs, including the daily public radio series The 90Second Naturalist, which airs on stations across North America. He has been featured on Good Morning America, Today, and CBS This Morning, has been a regular wildlife expert on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and has authored 13 books on wildlife. From his youth exploring the swamps of central Florida, Thane went on to earn his M. S. degree from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program at the Harvard Business School, as well as the first National Education Leadership Institute sponsored by World Wildlife Fund and Disney.


Ursula Valdez

...is a tropical biologist, ornithologist and conservationist. She obtained a Biology degree from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru and a Master's Degree in Zoology and Animal Behavior from North Carolina State University. Recently, she finished her PhD at the University of Washington studying Forest-falcon ecology in the Peruvian Amazon. Currently, she is a lecturer at the Biology Department at UW where she teaches Conservation Biology, Ornithology and tropical biology. Ursula is a passionate field biologist who has conducted ecological and ornithological work in Peru, as well as in Ecuador, Panama, USA and Spain. She worked in Peru and Panama as a raptor biologist and was the Director of the Neotropical Environmental Education Program of The Peregrine Fund. She has been an instructor in tropical ecology courses in Peru and Costa Rica. She has also run field courses in ornithology for Latin American students and field biology and conservation courses for UW undergraduate students. Ursula started a conservation center in Peru (www.ceccot.org) dedicated to raise awareness among local communities of the importance of the rainforest ecology and conservation but integrated in the local human context. At the center she and her colleagues conduct research on birds and other taxonomical groups, work on public outreach and offer training in sustainable living. She is a committed conservationist and active in finding ways to lower humans’ ecological footprint.