People

Emily Schaller's appreciation of the natural world started during her childhood in Connecticut playing in the mud with her brother, hiking in the woods with her dad, and picking flowers and berries with her mom. She was a dedicated Girl Scout for 10 years, which helped instill in her a love of exploration and a sense of civic responsibility. 

She pursued her interest in connecting people to the natural world and inspiring action to sustain it by earning her MS in Ecological Leadership and Education from the Audubon Expedition Institute of Lesley University. This unique program included 3 semesters of living and learning outdoors while traveling across different bioregions of North America in a retrofitted school bus. This transformational experience provided her with a deeper knowledge of herself as well as the role she could play in building connections between people, their communities, and their place. 

She has since developed and delivered a variety of environmental education experiences for all ages at Naturebridge Yosemite, Teton Science Schools, and the University of Michigan's Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research (CEDER). Emily currently supports professional learning programs offered through Shelburne Farms' Institute for Sustainable Schools, focusing on education for sustainability, climate education, and food systems education.

Colleen Hartman, CPBT-KA is the Director of Ambassador Programs and Education at the Carolina Raptor Center. She has been working with a variety of species of raptors since 2014. Colleen is responsible for the care and management of the collection of avian ambassadors at the Carolina Raptor Center as well as implementing the most up-to-date training practices. She has experience working with birds of prey in dynamic show settings as well as training foundation behaviors for husbandry and educational presentations. Colleen has been hosting raptor training and husbandry seminars since 2016 and has aided other facilities in their understanding and application of raptor behavior, training, husbandry care, and overall welfare through the teaching of formal classes, workshops, and consultation 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.

I am the Vice President of a youth led initiative by name New Visions Agriculture, and I have a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering. Since 2022, I have been involved and led environmental initiatives , awareness and education from renewable energy training, to climate action and sustainable agricultural practices.And have empowered over 400 youth from 8-35 years on climate action and environment through workshops and training programs.

I'm currently based in Milwaukee working on urban environmental education and celebrating biodiversity with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. I am an environmental educator working with the next generation of conservationists.

Carrie earned her B.A. in both Environmental Studies and Spanish, a dual major she explored hands-on while studying in the cloud forests of Ecuador. After attending Indiana University to complete her Masters in Public Affairs, with concentrations in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management, she took on the role of Environmental Educator with the City of Bloomington. Here she connected with community members of all ages, teaching about habitats, sustainability practices, and conservation efforts. 

As an established marketing professional and award-winning public speaker, Carrie brings a variety of skills to NAAEE. Hailing most recently from the private sector, she is versed in planning complex marketing strategies for such names as REI, Icelandair, NPR, and The Weather Channel. A thought-leader in her industry, Carrie has developed and delivered training and audits to hundreds of participants, and prides herself on empowering those around her to excellence. She enthusiastically joins the NAAEE team to combine her creative innovation with her passion for environmental justice and education. 

Carrie has spent her life in the Midwest and currently resides in the rolling hills of southern Indiana. Outside work, Carrie serves on the Bloomington Environmental Commission and takes every opportunity to go hiking with her wife and two rescue pups.

I have been a teacher in multiple capacities since 2008, but really struggled with the limits of classroom teaching in public education. While I often took kids on outdoor field trips, I wanted to go bigger, and create a true outdoor school program. With the support of my school Director, our Charter school developed a full-time, free-to-public Forest Transitional Kindertgarten with a Forest Days programs for our upper grades. I am now the Forest School Coordinator at Wildflower Open Classroom, where I manage the TK program (we have a 3 teachers in the field), and teach the Forest Days program.

As the former Director of Technology, Mary served as the project lead for NAAEE online technology, including the NAAEE website and eePRO, the hub for professional development. Mary had been on NAAEE staff since 1999 and her extensive background in technology, website development, outreach, multi-stakeholder collaboration, security, systems support, and project management experience consistently provided the highest level of support to NAAEE’s team, leadership, and members. 

Mary is now acting in an advisory role, continuing to support the work of the association.