Web-based Learning Community Faculty
Sue Bartow
...…is currently a teaching assistant in the PhD program in Educational Leadership at Miami University. Her research interests include science education, curriculum development, professional development, exploring more democratic and participatory intersections between teaching, learning, and curriculum, and widening the cracks in "the system." Her undergraduate and master's degrees are in Industrial Education. Sue taught unfettered science at a K-8th grade school and has participated in the Earth Expeditions Program.
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.
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.
April Blakeslee
... is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Long Island University-CW Post, where she teaches ecology and general biology courses. Her research interests include marine ecology, biological invasions, parasite ecology, and population genetics. She is also a Research Associate in the Marine Invasions Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). She received her PhD in marine ecology from the University of New Hampshire and before that completed a master's in Ecology at Boston University.
João Canning Clode
…is a Portuguese marine ecologist. João is currently a postdoctoral fellow at IMAR - University of the Azores and also at Center of Oceanography at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon conducting research on biological invasions of marine benthic communities. João received his Ph.D in biological oceanography at the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), Germany in 2005, where he obtained a rigorous formal training in the quantitative analysis of spatial and temporal dynamics in benthic marine communities. In 2009 he got a competitive 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) USA, and also at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama. At the Smithsonian João investigated the effects of pollution and climate change in shaping the invasion patterns of marine fouling assemblages.
Fia Cifuentes
... has been in love with nature and studying the environment her entire life. This love brought her to Miami University where she studied Environmental Education and Special Education as a part of the Western College Program. Years of working with children (especially those with special needs), leading groups through the woods as a naturalist, and encountering new cultures while traveling in far off countries has taught Fia the importance of exploring, taking chances and discovering the endless possibilities this world has to offer. Working as the Sustainability Coordinator at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has only strengthened her love of the environment and her desire to preserve and protect it. Working with the Zoo's aggressive green initiative program as well as with community-based conservation programs throughout her master's work and the Global Field Program has allowed Fia to weave sustainability into her personal, professional and educational careers. After graduating in December 2011 from the GFP, Fia is thrilled to continue to be a part of the Project Dragonfly family.
Jocelyn Ellis Abood
... is a strategic communications manager at The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit conservation organization. She works for the Washington program's marketing department in Seattle with a focus on content development and promotion. She's been with The Nature Conservancy since 2005 both in Illinois and Washington. Jocelyn received her BA in environmental studies from Miami University and an MA in Zoology from the Global Field Program with field experiences in Belize, Baja and Namibia. She is a storytelling expert, skilled in digital marketing, social media, content development and promotion and philanthropy communications. She likes to translate science into stories for a variety of audiences, and is thrilled to join Project Dragonfly as an instructor.
Amy Fowler
... is a postdoctoral research fellow in the marine invasions lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center where she examines the roles marine introductions play in community and population level ecology. Amy received her PhD in Marine Science from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and her BSc in Biology from University of New Hampshire. Amy is also interested in individual and population level phenotypic plasticity and the impacts of climate change on the global range and distribution of species, with particular reference to crabs. Her field and experimental work has allowed her to travel to remote sites in Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and throughout the USA. Amy has previously taught in the classroom, laboratory, and field at the undergraduate level, in both New Zealand and United States.
Whitney Johnson
... is currently a Senior Program Officer at the Anschutz Family Foundation in Denver, Colorado. She received an undergraduate degree in International Studies and a master's degree in Environmental Sciences with a focus on community-based conservation from Miami University. She has co-facilitated Earth Expeditions in Costa Rica, Thailand, and Baja and has taught Zoo Expedition courses at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Her current work and focus is on community change, social change and capacity building among individuals and the nonprofit sector.
Elizabeth Katoa
... recently completed a Master of Arts in Zoology in the Global Field Program through Miami University. She is a high school biology teacher for the North Ridgeville City Schools in Ohio. Elizabeth's teaching career began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific where she taught secondary science and trained local counterparts in instructional methods to increase the use of laboratory experiences in their teaching. She earned her undergraduate degree in biology with an environmental emphasis from the University of Montana and Master's in Education from Cleveland State University which focused on teaching in urban settings. Her love of travel, nature, and interest in conservation started as a child when she spent her summers camping and visiting national parks all over the United States. She enjoys traveling internationally and finding ways to incorporate the experiences into interesting and meaningful learning opportunities for her students.
Jill Korach
... has worked in Project Dragonfly since 2004. She serves as the Assistant Director of Earth Expeditions' Field Program instructing several of our international courses. She is also the Program Manager for the Wild Research Program. Jill earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Washington University in St. Louis where she focused on tropical rainforest ecology. She earned her Master's from Miami University's Institute of Environmental Sciences concentrating in conservation biology. Her interests lie in ethnobotany and she strives to bring focus to the dependence and interconnectedness of people and plants as a way to re-connect us to our environment. Jill accredits her love of the natural world and global perspective to her extensive local and international experiences – and to getting a chance to climb trees as a child.
Alicia Lamfers
... received her MAT from Miami University and her undergraduate degree in biology from Metropolitan State College in Denver. She worked as a paramedic for 6 years in Denver's inner city neighborhoods until switching direction and going into education. She has taught in both formal and informal classrooms. She is currently the Youth and Teacher Programs Coordinator at the Denver Zoo. For the past five years she has created conservation education programming for day camps, field trips, teacher training, and throughout other youth programming. She is interested in developing more and better ways to use inquiry to connect kids to nature and engaging underserved audiences in environmental education.
Andrea Loayza
... is a Bolivian Ecologist. She interested in plant-animal interactions, experimental design, conservation, population biology, and teaching life sciences. Andrea has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level, in both Bolivia and United States. She has also taught several field-based courses. Andrea has done research in the tropical savannas, the neo-tropical rainforests, and the Pre-puna - a high altitude semi-arid environment. She is currently and associate researcher at the Institute of Ecology in La Paz Bolivia. Andrea completed her B.S. in Unviersidad Mayor de San Andres, her M.S. in Biology and her Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Kevin Matteson
... is the Assistant Director of Masters 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.
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.
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 the children's exhibit, and is involved in summer camps, messaging projects, school programs, and more. She spent four months during her undergraduate years living in Kenya the (best experience of her life!) and since then has caught the travel bug, hoping to see the whole world in the years to come. She has a B.S. in Biology from Calvin College and recently completed her M.A. in Zoology with the GFP program at Miami University. She is very excited to join the amazing Project Dragonfly staff and is looking forward to the adventures it will inevitably bring. Jerran loves anything Reese's, a good book, Christmas lights, photography, and will always remain a Wolverine wherever she lives. Go Blue!
Reema Persad-Clem
... Reema is a Trinidadian ecologist who earned her MS degree from the University of Arkansas and her PhD from Miami University. As a primatologist, Reema's past research efforts have focused on behavioral ecology e.g. howling monkeys in Trinidad, chimpanzees in sanctuaries. She enjoys being in field-settings and is always happy to be a guinea pig for any non-toxic bug repellant that reportedly works like a charm. She credits her experiences with Field Expeditions as opening her eyes to the critical relationship between local community involvement and long-term sustainability in conservation efforts. Reema believes that we are all environmental stewards and we can each contribute to the preservation of biological diversity, sustainability of resources, and maintenance of healthy ecosystems. As communities worldwide face conservation challenges, she sees a global approach as the only way to preserve our Earth's wondrous resources for future generations.
Bernadette Plair
… is a Research Associate and Conservation Liasion at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. A native of Trinidad, Bernadette is also Director of the Center for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (CRESTT). She earned her BA degree in Biology at the College of Mount Saint Joseph and her MS degree from the University of Cincinnati. Her diverse background in assisted reproduction and cryopreservation techniques in both endangered animals and plants has contributed vastly to her passion for wildlife preservation especially in her native Trinidad. Bernadette spear-headed the successful reintroduction of Blue and Gold Macaws to their historic range in Trinidad and promoted community based conservation and environmental education in support of the reintroduction efforts. Bernadette has been part of Earth Expeditions program since its inception in 2004 and is the in-country host for the Trinidad Field Expedition. She has an undying passion for learning and sharing knowledge about man's coexistence with nature and finds the Global Field Program an ideal platform for doing just that.
Adriana Rodriguez-Ferraro
... is a Venezuelan Field Biologist/Ecologist. She is currently working as a consultant for Provita in the "Evidenced-base Conservation" Project. Adriana, has worked in Environmental Education, Wildlife Legislation, and Avian Conservation. She has taught many life science courses at high school and university level. Currently, Adriana's research interest is in Population Ecology, Genetics, and Avian Conservation. She graduated with a BS in Biology from the Universidad Simon Bolivar- Venezuela and completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Missouri.
Stephanie Stowell
…is a conservation education consultant and with more than fifteen years of experience working with formal and non-formal educators. Stephanie worked for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) for nine years overseeing their national Schoolyard Habitats Program and serving as the Senior Director for Field Education Programs. In her roles with NWF she oversaw curriculum development, teacher training programs, community-based volunteer conservation initiatives and program evaluation. Most recently, Stephanie served as the Director of Education at Woodland Park Zoo where she directed and evaluated the development and implementation of educational programs for children and adults, schools and communities, that inspired them to care for and protect the natural world. Stephanie earned her Master’s in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Montana concentrating in conservation education. Travel and immersion in other cultures through exploration of the natural world has always been a priority in Stephanie’s life and she is thrilled to connect these professional and personal pursuits through the Global Field Program and Earth Expeditions.
Jose Tori
...is currently a retired physician interested in the integration and intersection between medicine, social justice, conservation science, education and technology. He has a particular interest in collaborative learning environments as they relate to psychology and neuroscience. He is currently working on a science fiction novel. He completed his Molecular Biology and Biochemistry degree at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Minnesota.
Jody Vogelzang
...is currently teaching Anatomy and Physiology in the Biomedical Science Department at Grand Valley State University. She graduated from Miami University as one of the very first Global Field Program students with field experiences in Trinidad, Baja and Belize. She holds a doctoral degree from Walden University in Health Services with a specialization in community health. Her dissertation and research dealt with maternal influence on health behaviors. Vogelzang also holds a MS in Biomedical Science, BS in Dietetics, and is a registered dietitian. She was a second career high school teacher with six years of experience in teaching AP biology and forensic science before she returned to a university setting.
Jessa Watters
... is the herpetology Collection Manager at the University of Oklahoma's Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. She works behind the scenes organizing and managing more than 50,000 amphibian and reptile specimens. Prior to this, Jessa was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Earlham College - where she taught Biodiversity, Evolutionary Biology, General Ecology, Population Biology and Community Ecology. She also taught High School Biology in Pensylvannia. Jessa completed her B.A. in Biology at Earlham College, and her M.S. in Zoology at the University of Hampshire. Jessa enjoys the outdoors, and her experiences in Galapagos, and Kenya had been instrumental in her developing a passion for experiential learning, field work, teaching and research.
AIP Master Institution Faculty
Past Web-based Learning Community Faculty