Brian Gifford

Brian has a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Science with an option in Watershed Management from Pennsylvania State University.  Previously to joining Nature’s Classroom as a teacher, Brian worked as a Government Relations Specialist with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA.  He also worked as an environmental advocate for the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a short time after completing his education at Penn State.  Brian enjoys all sorts of outdoor activities (singing, playing guitar, Yoga) and can frequently be found wandering around with binoculars pressed to his face, attempting to identify the multitudes of birds that spend time at Nature’s Classroom.

Becky Woll

An avid runner and rock climber, Becky has several years experience as a geographer and hydrologic technician for the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division.  With an undergraduate degree in English and a Master’s in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she was also the managing editor of Personal Fitness Professional and e.bill trade magazines and an archivist for the H.H. Bennett photography collection for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Dave Oyama has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Carleton College in Minnesota.  Before coming to NC, Dave worked for Project Common Ground that strived to build connections between students of different economic and ethnic groups.  He also spent a few years leading wilderness trips, teaching both rock-climbing and technical tree climbing, as well as facilitating students on low and high rope-courses.  Dave enjoys kayaking, inline skating, and reading.

David Bernie Bernhardt

"David Bernie” Bernhardt comes to Nature’s Classroom straight after receiving his Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TESOL/TEFL) certificate in Montpellier France. Before that, he enjoyed eight months living abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland during which he volunteered with an environmental education program, Earth Calling, working with kids ranging from 6-12 years old. Prior to his move to Scotland, he finished school in Kalamazoo at Western Michigan University where he graduated with a double major in Environmental Studies and in Earth Sciences. As an internship project at an environmental themed student house, the Gibbs House, in Kalamazoo, he promoted and organized a community vegetable garden, worked with a local elementary school class on a butterfly garden project, which he designed and also spent two months living and working at an organic farm in Northern Thailand. He is especially interested in glacial geology, animal tracking, woodcarving, wild edible plants, a good game of Ultimate Frisbee, and is currently beginning to learn how to play the fiddle.

Erin Chapman

Erin has a Bachelor’s degree for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Natural Resource Management with an emphasis in Environmental Education and Interpretation.  She spent some time working at an Environmental Education Center in South Carolina before deciding that she missed Wisconsin and its diverse weather systems.  In February of 2006 she moved back and now spends her days hanging out with kids in the woods.  In her free time Erin enjoys hiking, backpacking and spending time with her fiancé.

Liana Sonne

After attending Hamline University, Liana spent many years as a naturalist and wildlife rehabilitor, including work with the Siberian Tiger Conservation Association.  She has developed programming and worked as an environmental educator for the Savannah Urban Gardening Project, the Desert Discovery Center, and Adventures Cross Country.  Liana has traveled all over the United States and applied methods of sustainable living as a Permaculture gardener with Whirled Peas of Ohio and Windspirit of Arizona.

Laura Boersma

Laura has a background in paleoecology, air and water quality monitoring, and ecosystem management.  She has worked with the Bilby Research Institute of Northern Arizona University taking sediment samples, microscope analysis of sediment cores, and computer data analysis of sample.  Laura received a certification in chainsaw use during her time in the Americorps, where she worked as part of a team thinning forests and maintaining trails.   She also gained extensive fieldwork experience collecting mountain lion DNA for a resource management project at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas.

Kevin Geer

Kevin graduated from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point in 2004 with a degree in Wildlife Management and Environmental Law Enforcement. From there he moved to Big Bear City California where he taught 5th and 6th graders for a year and a half at Camp High Trails Outdoor Science School. During the summers he leads climbing, canoeing, and backpacking trips in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Joe Meyer

Joe graduated in 2006 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Environmental Science Education.  He has 
volunteered at several Wisconsin nature centers as a naturalist and in invasive species management. Before coming to Nature’s Classroom, Joe worked as an interpretive ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine.  Joe has a passion for teaching and loves to get youth involved and knowledgeable about the world around them.  He is an avid outdoorsman and loves hiking, backpacking, bird watching, and traveling. 

Molly Amster

Molly Amster graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts with a BA in History.  While in college she was a mentor in a mentoring program for 9-12 year-old girls and served as the program’s director as well. She took a year off from school to intern on two grass-based dairy farms where she learned how to milk and care for sheep and cows, make cheese and bake bread in a wood-fired oven. She comes to NCI with a love of the outdoors and a passion for teaching and providing children with new, exciting experiences.