People

Bora Simmons serves as the founding director of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) initiated the Project in 1993 to help educators develop and deliver effective environmental education programs. The Project has drawn on the insights of literally thousands of educators across the United States and around the world to craft guidelines for top-quality environmental education.

Preethi Mony is a specialist in the field of environmental education, program evaluation and grants and has a wide range of experience from developing resource matierials, conducting programs with children and adults, as well as evaluating programs and grant reporting.

Growing up in the busy metropolis of Mumbai, she quickly recognized the importance of the social aspects of conservation in protecting the natural world. She has worked with organizations in India and the US to help with environmental education program planning and resource development. She has over 20 years of experience working with zoos and museums to evaluate programs and exhibits and recommend strategies to improve the overall visitor experience. Over the last 2 years, she has worked at a local community college to support grant work (federal, state, and private) as well as to inform data driven decision making in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space. She brings all of these experiences to her current role of EE Grant and Program Manager at NAAEE.

Preethi holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University. She earned her M.S. in interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida, and a B.Sc. in Life Sciences from the University of Mumbai, India.

I am an Assistant Professor of Environmental Education at Florida Gulf Coast University. I hold a PhD in Science Education from NC State University, along with master’s degrees in Biodiversity, and Environment and Development. I specialize in informal environmental learning and have worked extensively with both urban and rural communities in India. My research focuses on understanding the motivations behind environmental social movements and using social analysis to explore how learning and motivation spread within communities. I currently teach courses in environmental education and environmental philosophies at FGCU.

Katie has been active in the field of environmental education for 20 years. As the executive director of the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, she leads environmental literacy planning and implementation efforts and is active both locally and nationally.

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.

Jimena Cuenca supports NAAEE's digital presence, helping maintain and improve our websites like eePRO so that it serves as a welcoming and useful space for environmental educators. Jimena brings a deep curiosity about how online communities grow, connect, and collaborate. She enjoys learning new digital tools and is always looking to make our web spaces more engaging. When not at work, she's walking her huskies and birding.

Lucy is an associate teaching professor in the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM) Department at Penn State University.

Executive Director of the Missouri Environmental Education Association. A longtime youth gardening educator and outdoor education advocate, who believes that teaching systems thinking is key to tackling our myriad, complex, and intertwined environmental and social issues....and knows that environmental education is the perfect avenue for developing that kind of understanding!

Lori Mann has more than 40 years of experience in environmental education at the local, state, and national levels. Lori joined the NAAEE staff in 2012 as Program and Conference Manager and now serves as Director of Conferences and Programs. In this capacity, she manages all aspects of the NAAEE annual conference and coordinates several national projects related to building capacity to deliver high-quality environmental education.