Education Director

Natalie Dorrler,
Natalie was raised in a rural community in central Wisconsin where she fell in love with the natural world.  She studied Biology at the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point with an emphasis in Entomology and minors in Water Resources and Resource Management.  After working in Environmental Education at various institutions after college, she decided to pursue her Master’s degree in the field.  Natalie finished her MS in Environmental Education at Concordia University Wisconsin in May 2011 before heading to Alaska to teach at a nature camp for the summer and finally here to Nature’s Classroom Institute as the new Education Director.  In her free time, Natalie enjoys Milwaukee Brewers baseball, hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, board games, and alphabetizing everything in sight.  Natalie’s future career will most likely be in the field of underwater basket weaving.    

Teaching Staff

Alice Foreman,
Alice grew up in northeast Iowa among many Hawkeye fans, but broke out on her own to attend the University of Illinois after high school.  She graduated with a degree in Earth Systems, Environment, & Society, which is just a fancy way to say Environmental Studies.  After that, she spent some time interning at youth literacy focused non-profit organizations in Chicago before settling down in the bustling metropolis of Mukwonago.  When she isn’t mucking through the Enchanted Forest, she loves to catch up on the phone with family and friends, listen to old episodes of This American Life, and fry up fresh eggs from the farm for breakfast.  Her favorite terrible movie is St. Elmo’s Fire, because nothing beats the rat pack!  Alice has a prospective future as a critic of inadequately produced films and poorly composted novels- think Roger Ebert and LaVar Burton combined!

Ashley Marszalek,
Ashley graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies (focus marine science).  She loves immersing herself in the outdoor environment and especially loves the water (she should have gills)!  Some of her favorite things include scuba diving, skiing, biking, kayaking, eating hotdogs, music, and spending time with friends and family.  After her time at NCI, Ashley is suspected to take a job as the next Steve Irwin due to her tremendous knowledge regarding shark attacks.

Dan Jakubczak,

Satira Lord
Satira graduated from Green Mountain College, in the spring of 2010, with a degree in psychology. While attended Green Mountain, Satira became focused on sustainable farming system. For her Environmental Studies internship, she spent seven months living in the Italian Alps where she studied and practiced permaculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry. For her final semester, she completed an internship working with her local school districts teaching the importance of watershed management, implementing hands on water quality testing with elementary, middle, and high school students while emphasizing the need to take care of our environment.  These experiences led Satira to become an instructor at NCI as she finds herself in her second year teaching with us.  In her free time, Satira volunteers with the Natural Resources Conservation District conducting soil research. She is also a certified Wilderness First Responder.  In the future, Satira is likely to become the world’s strongest woman and join the Ringling Brother’s circus to display her talents.

Lillie Anderson
Lillie is a product of the University of Oregon where she got a degree in Biology. Although she loves the great Northwest, she is a Wisconsin girl at heart and is very excited to be back in her homeland. This is Lillie’s second season at NCI.  Lillie loves being outdoors, playing in the dirt, and knitting while watching Golden Girls.  Lillie’s future lies in the hands of a production channel that will buy her reality television show featuring herself as the domesticated feminine version of Bear Grylls. 

Zach Furman
Zach is from Ithaca, New York and has always been an avid outdoorsman. From his childhood where he spent hours exploring his backyard, to his year spent in Mexico, Zach has immersed himself in nature. A graduate of Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Zach studied Environmental Studies and History.  Zach has joined the NCI team for his second season.  In his free time, Zach owns his own photography business.  You can view his amazing work at www.naturesfinestzf.com. You are likely to see Zach with a camera in hand searching for insects, running about playing games, and teaching.  Zach’s most likely career path will be as a well-balanced hybrid of MacGyver and Indian Jones determined to save the world one adventure at a time.

Troy Heinrich
Troy is excited to be back at NCI for his second season.  Troy is a 2010 graduate of Carthage College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Spanish. He grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He recently took a trip throughout Guatemala where he hiked through dense rainforests, visited Maya archaeological sites in Tikal, and climbed volcanoes. He enjoys traveling, being outdoors, studying history, and teaching.  Troy is a likely suspect to jump into the political field as a campaign manager for the 2012 election season- alliances to remain anonymous. 

Vanessa Snyder,
Vanessa graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University, in May 2011, with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in psychology.  Although raised in Indianapolis for 21 years of her life, Vanessa is a small-town girl at heart and enjoys rural settings.  Sustainability, animal husbandry, and ceramics are three topics in which Vanessa is highly interested.  In her spare time she enjoys giving attention to shelter animals, reading, and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in her free time.  In the next couple of years, Vanessa would like to attend graduate school for a degree of which the subject is still under consideration.  Vanessa’s future career will most likely be as a zookeeper- Dr. Seuss style- where she will inevitably release all the animals into a life of freedom (Reference to: Dr. Seuss’s “If I Ran the Zoo”).