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Learn more about us here, but remember, our members are the heart of Dunwoody Nature Center!
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Meet Our Educators
HOLLY LOVELAND
Nature Classes, Field Trips, Birthday Parties, Summer
Camps
Holly has been teaching at the DNC since 1997 and she's been teaching summer camp since 1990. Holly has a bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University (1994).
During the school year Holly does the birthday party programs for Dunwoody Nature Center and is busy with her own four children.
She really looks forward to the summer camp season as a chance to play outside and brush up on her guitar playing.
ANDREA BOURGEOIS
Summer Camps, Birthday Parties
Andrea received a BA in early elementary education from the University of Alabama. She taught kindergarten at a small private school for five years, then third grade at a public school for two years. She first came to know DNC by bringing her students here for a field trip.
Her service to Dunwoody Nature Center began with 1997 summer camp. When her daughter Madelyn was born, Andrea chose to leave full-time teaching. From fall 2000 through spring 2007 Andrea taught DNC’s seasonal classes: Tails & Tales for Twos and Little Beavers. We'll miss her as she returns to teaching preschool in the fall!
Andrea continues to teach several weeks of DNC summer camp. Many moms have learned from the nature hikes they take with their toddlers, and many of Andrea’s young students develop crushes on their creative, fun-loving teacher!
SARAH CHALPAN
Field Trips, Nature Classes
My husband, Kirk, and I have lived in Dunwoody since 1981. Our children, Amy and Kevin, attended Kingsley Elementary and graduated from Dunwoody High School. Kevin played Dunwoody Senior Baseball right here on the baseball fields adjacent to Dunwoody Nature Center. I love the park. Its nature trails and center offer wonderful opportunities to visit, enjoy and appreciate nature. What an asset for our new city of Dunwoody!
I graduated with a teaching degree from the University of West Georgia and received a master’s degree in middle grades education from Oglethorpe University. Twenty-four of my twenty-eight years of teaching were spent teaching in Cobb County in elementary and middle school. I am now retired, but my Georgia teaching certificate is still valid.
Working with children of all ages continues to be rewarding and fulfilling. Yes, being around children keeps me young at heart! I am looking forward to my partnership with the Dunwoody Nature Center.
JOY FUCHS
Summer Camps
Joy
has 29 years' science teaching experience and holds MA and MS degrees.
She began "Science Excitement" 20 years ago.
Joy joined DNC during the tenure of Deron Davis, over seven years ago. Using a hands-on teaching method she provides science discovery programs to 3-year-olds – 5th graders. She visits many metro preschools, teaches after-school science programs to older students, offers summer camps at DNC and at other educational facilities and conducts workshops for preschool teachers and day-care staff. Joy's Mysteries of Science seasonal classes are as popular as her summer camps. A mother and grandmother, Joy welcomes the excitement of young explorers in her discovery sessions.
ROSANNE LUTZ
Field Trips, Nature Classes, Birthday Parties, Summer
Camps
Rosanne
is a Bostonian — transplanted to the South 26 years ago. She’s
married and has 3 daughters and a fabulous new grandbaby.
Rosanne has a degree in elementary education from Framingham State Teachers College in Massachusetts, is currently a preschool teacher, and recently completed the DeKalb Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program and internship. Rosanne's two-year-old grandson enjoys the Nature Center as well. She fulfills her Master Gardener service obligation here at Dunwoody Nature Center, and is returning for her fifth summer teaching camps, nature classes, and birthdays at DNC.
MICHELLE HUDSON-HONDA
Summer Camps
Michelle
is a gifted educator whose passion for recycling and boundless energy
invigorate each class she leads. She is the creative spark behind the
Enchanted Forest's Magical Maze, many Nature Class protocols, and random
acts of environmental kindness. Married to the ever-supportive Jesse
Honda, she is the mother of two girls, who frequently join her for DNC
activities.
JOANNA ODOM
Field Trips, Overnight Programs
Joanna
grew up in Roswell, Georgia and obtained a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Georgia
in 2001. She worked as a Field Archaeologist for four years and currently
serves as the Education Coordinator for Premier Exhibitions. In
this role, she writes Scouts and
Teacher Guides for worldwide traveling exhibitions such
as BODIES…The Exhibition, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition and
Dialog in the Dark. At
Dunwoody Nature Center, Joanna teaches Overnight Camping
101 and Nite Owls Programs. She enjoys working with the
Scouts in hands-on activities and teaching them useful
camping skills. Night hikes are a favorite among the
Scouts, especially the Owl calling hike! A lifelong naturalist
and camping enthusiast, Joanna and her husband, Matt,
live in Marietta, Georgia with their two cats Oliver and Polly.
TRACEY WILEY
Nature Classes, Summer Camps
Tracey Wiley grew up in Virginia and North Carolina where she spent
a great deal of her time wandering about in the woods that bordered
her neighborhoods. She had lots of ideas about what she might
like to be one day, such as a veterinarian or zoologist, and ended up
with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in marine policy
from the University of Delaware. But it wasn’t until she
taught elementary school in Ecuador and later became the mother of two
wonderfully rambunctious boys that she figured out her heart lies in
education. Combining her love of children, teaching and the natural
world, she became a teacher at Zoo Atlanta and the Dunwoody Nature Center
and lived happily ever after. “It is the supreme art of
the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” (Albert
Einstein)
ANGELLE BLASKE
Summer Camps, Nature Classes
I
have been working with the DNC for three years know. I have been in
the field of education for 11 years. I have a huge love of nature and
spend much of my time increasing my knowledge and exploring the outdoors
. I love when I can share this with children and teach them to
appreciate the world in ways that the walls of the classroom can just
not offer. I work for the Fulton County Schools and live here in Dunwoody.
I love to hike, fish, camp, garden and read. Many of my vacations with
my husband and daughter include enjoying the great outdoors.
I just recently came back from camping near the beach in Florida. I
am currently away exploring the wilds of Alaska. I look forward to a
gret season of camp. Can't wait to meet all the campers and explore
the great outdoors.
BOBBY ADAMCZYK
Field Trips, Summer
Camps
My name is Bobbie Adamczyk. I have a B.F.A. in art education and I have been a teacher for many years. I also love participating in awesome summer camp programs! I am married and I have 3 fantastic children, one in college and two in high school. My youngest daughter, Markie, will be a junior counselor at the camps I teach. I also have a noisy bird, 2 needy cats, and a beagle puppy named Sadie. I love to make art, take long walks in the woods, read mysteries, and meet new people!
KARA HOUSEHOLDER
Field Trips, Birthday Parties, Summer Camps
Kara Householder has been teaching summer camps at the Dunwoody Nature Center for 8 years. In 2002 she left the 4-H program to begin a teaching career. She joined Teach For America and taught in Atlanta Public Schools for four years. She received her Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from GA State in 2005. Currently she teaches 4th grade math, science and engineering at Marietta Center for Advanced Academics. In addition to teaching and leading summer camps, she also writes stories for children and women's fiction novels. Kara lives in Kennesaw with her husband, Travis, and her son, Cole.
LAURIE MCDOWELL
Summer Camps
I am a Native Atlantan and am very excited about returning to Dunwoody
Nature Center this summer. I taught preschool for four years,
and currently work as a teaching assistant in an elementary school. I
am also working on my master’s degree in Early Elementary Education,
and I should be finished in Spring of 2010. I have three big kids—ages
20, 18 and 15, and I was a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for many
years. I love the outdoors and last summer, my family and I backpacked
through the Grand Canyon for the second time.
DIANA SNYDER
Naturalist, Scout Leader, Summer Camps
Diana Snyder has been a girl scout leader for 13 years, and has taken many environmental and outdoor education classes to equip her to teach her girls. She teaches art at Christ the King School.
She is certified in Projects WET, Wild, Learning Tree and Access Nature, and trained in basic outdoor skills through Girl Scouts USA. Diana began teaching at DNC nine years ago. She has two daughters, and her family spends lots of time outdoors.
GABRIELLE GUYTON-EDMISTON
Overnights, Summer Camps
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Gabrielle teaches 5th grade at Dunwoody Springs Charter School.
Gabrielle is an Atlanta native and graduate of The Paideia School. She received degrees in Sociology from UGA and Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University. This is Gabrielle’s fifth summer teaching camps at DNC. As a lifelong nature enthusiast, Gabrielle loves being outdoors exploring with the kids. She is looking forward to teaching several exciting camps in 2010!
JACKIE FLOWERS
Summer Camps
Jackie grew up in Dunwoody and attended Austin Elementary and Dunwoody High School. She is a graduate of Georgia State University and has been teaching for nine years, the last four at Dunwoody Springs Charter School. As a child, she also attended several camp sessions at Dunwoody Nature Center so she feels at home tromping through the woods and wading in the creek. Jackie offers a challenging, hands on learning technique which enables campers to seek and discover the world around them. "We will go on hikes, collect bug and plant samples, create beautiful art projects, observe nature, plant flowers and learn ways to protect the environment. I am so looking forward to meeting all of you!"
JESSICA HARPER
Summer Camps
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Jessica grew up exploring the natural environments of the Georgia piedmont and mountains. She obtained a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife in 2007 from the University of Georgia, and will return to UGA in August to begin work on a Masters of Natural Resources in Conservation Education. She is certified in Projects WET, WILD, and Learning Tree. She currently works for the Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division in the Outreach Unit. She works with Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Rivers Alive, Project WET, and River of Words.
KATIE JACKSON
Summer Camps
While originally from Peachtree City, GA, Katie now lives in Gulfport, MS. She is a University of Georgia graduate, licensed in middle grades science education. After graduating from UGA in 2006, Katie completed a one-year internship at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. During this time, she wrote and designed the park’s Junior Ranger book, which is now the basis for DNC’s Junior Ranger Camp. Katie currently works on a project with an endangered amphibian in southern Mississippi, allowing her to bring her passion for conservation and the outdoors to work with her every day!
NIKKI BELMONT
Field Trips, Special Programs, Camp
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A native Bostonian, Nikki attributes her love for nature to Massachusetts
Audubon camps she attended as a kid where she banded
her first bird and acquired her first (and still intact) field guide. She
holds a master’s degree in environmental education from Antioch
University New England and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife conservation
from UMass Amherst.
Nikki got her start as a seasonal educator in the Mass. state park system. After college she became the director of operations and teacher-naturalist for a metro Boston nature program and afterwards, spent a couple years in an administrative role at the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation. Since moving to Georgia, Nikki has worked at Sawnee Mountain Preserve as a naturalist and is currently an elementary school science lab teacher in Cobb County.
In her free time, Nikki loves to hike, bird, garden, sew, play softball and explore Georgia with her husband, Tom, and son, Ellery. She is also “mom” to a dog, cat, tarantula and thousands of compost worms.
KRISTIN CARR
Summer Camps
Kristen grew up in Northern Virginia and has always enjoyed the great
outdoors. From her backyard creek and Washington & Old Dominion
hiking trails to being a Brownie and Girl Scout, she has always had a
fondness for all things “nature”. Kristen spent many
years teaching teambuilding skills and communication in the corporate
world, while assisting in her son’s Cub Scout Den, devoting time
to her daughter’s Brownie troop and teaching Sunday School. This
year she had been a teacher of 2 year olds at Dunwoody United Methodist
Church Preschool and is excited about using Dunwoody Nature Center’s “Outdoor
Classroom” as a new teaching experience. Kristen and her
family have been in Atlanta for the past 15 years and have found many
ways to enjoy the bountiful gifts the Nature Center has to offer—enriching
children during a summer camp experience will just be one more!
JOAN BLUMENFELD, Summer Camp
Joan Blumenfeld has been teaching both elementary and middle school students for almost twenty years. She has taught in both public and private schools, and is currently employed at The Davis Academy. She has loved learning and teaching about nature since her Girl Scout camp days, and has been gardening since she was seven years old. Joan is in charge of the gardening club at the Davis Academy which includes care of the “worm hotel.” As both a camp counselor and teacher, Joan has worked with children of all ages, and loves to share her knowledge of all aspects of the out -of -doors with them.
Jessica Sherwood, Summer Camp
Jessica Sherwood is a flutist and educator who shares her passion for contemporary music with students of all ages. She is a founding member of Sonic Generator, the new music ensemble-in-residence at the Georgia Institute of Technology. At Tech, she has worked closely with composers, faculty, and students in the development and implementation of electronic music technologies. Jessica’s first exploration into world music was in performing with the Indonesian Gamelan Ensemble at the University of Michigan. Through research, workshops, and private study, she continues to learn different flutes of the world. She currently serves as the Irish flute instructor at the Atlanta Irish Music School in Roswell. An active free-lance musician, she has performed with many orchestras in the area, including the Atlanta Symphony, the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and the Alabama Symphony. Jessica presented her nature show, “Flutes, Frogs & Fireflies”, at the 2009 Environmental Educators Alliance Conference in Tifton, Georgia.