National Environmental Education Advisory Council Membership
Current NEEAC Members
Federal advisory committee members can serve terms with a maximum of six years. As members retire, leave their place of employment, or as their terms expire, new members are appointed. Under special circumstances, the membership can be extended for an additional year.
*Indicates member served previously
Name
|
Stakeholder Perspective
|
State and EPA Region
|
---|---|---|
Andrea Falken* | U.S. Department of Education | Ex – Officio |
Joshua Leonard | Primary and Secondary Education | Minnesota – Region 5 |
Shari L. Wilson | Business and Industry | Kansas – Region 7 |
Position Open | Senior American | |
Position Open | Not for Profit Organizations | |
Position Open | Not for Profit Organizations | |
Position Open | Colleges and Universities | |
Position Open | Colleges and Universities | |
Position Open | Business and Industry | |
Position Open | Primary and Secondary Education | |
Position Open | State Departments of Education and Natural Resources | |
Position Open | State Departments of Education and Natural Resources |
Current Member Biographies
Josh Leonard
Belwin Outdoor Science Center, Minnesota Saint Paul Public Schools
Mr. Leonard is the educational director for the Belwin Outdoor Science Center in Afton, Minnesota, and has 18 years of experience in developing and implementing environmental education programming. The Belwin Outdoor Science Center includes 225 acres of trails, prairie, forests, ponds, a marsh, and a stream where students can experience science hands-on. Facilities at the center include classroom space and an observatory. As educational director of the science center, Mr. Leonard designs and implements environmental science curriculum for Saint Paul Public School (SPPS) students in grades 1 through 12. He also works to provide the SPPS district with best practices for environmental education, and reports on the program’s impact on students. Mr. Leonard serves as an advisory board member of the Como Woodlands Outdoor Classroom and is the Belwin Conservancy and Saint Paul public schools liaison; he also participates with the Minnesota Phenology Network and the Nature Center Network. Before he joined the Belwin Outdoor Science Center, Mr. Leonard was a high school science teacher with 13 years of teaching experience and created an environmental science learning program at Como Park Senior High School. He received a Master of Education and Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota.
Shari Wilson
Project Central, LLC
Ms. Wilson is the founder and president of Project Central, LLC, an organization that provides project start-up and management services for projects focused on education, the environment, arts, and the health of communities. Through Project Central LLC, Ms. Wilson has coordinated an outdoor classroom and nature trail for middle school students and provided assistance to schools implementing Green Schools projects and curriculum. Ms. Wilson also develops curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and has given talks and workshops in countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Georgia, Armenia, Sweden and Germany on Green Schools and environmental and agricultural policies in the United States. Before she founded Project Central, LLC, Ms. Wilson was the Statewide Partnerships and Planning Director for a statewide non-profit organization, where she was manager of the Kansas Green Schools Program. Ms. Wilson is the recipient of several awards, including the 2015 Missouri Recycling Association COAM Outstanding Organics Award, the 2009 Kansas Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievements Program Educator of the Year Award, and the 2005 U.S. EPA Region 7 Regional Administrator’s Award for Environmental Excellence. Ms. Wilson has a Bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from Washburn University and a Master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology with an emphasis on water environments from the University of Kansas. She grew up in rural Kansas and lives in Kansas City, Kansas.
Most Recent Former NEEAC Members
Name
|
Stakeholder Perspective
|
State and EPA Region
|
---|---|---|
Angie Chen | Not for Profit Organizations | California – Region 9 |
Vidette (Kiki) Corry | State Departments of Education and Natural Resources | Texas – Region 6 |
Andrea Falken | U.S. Department of Education | Ex-Officio |
Scott Frazier | Business and Industry | Montana – Region 8 |
Kenneth John Gembel | Senior | Michigan – Region 5 |
Cara D. Gizzi | Business and Industry | Massachusetts – Region 1 |
Richard Gonzales, Vice-Chair | Not for Profit Organizations | Texas – Region 6 |
Dr. Kelly Keena, Chair | Primary and Secondary Education | Colorado – Region 8 |
Dr. Mark L. Kraus | Colleges and Universities | Florida – Region 4 |
Caroline Lewis | Primary and Secondary Education | Florida – Region 4 |
Dr. Edna L. Negron-Martinez | Colleges and Universities | Puerto Rico – Region 2 |
Victoria Rydberg | State Departments of Education and Natural Resources | Wisconsin – Region 5 |