Ruth Ann Steinbrecher has over 5 years of wildlife education experience. She has an MS in Biology and is passionate about educating children about the environment and the value of the outdoors. She has taught at nature centers in South Georgia as well as Atlanta and loves seeing children embrace the outdoors through education and play. In her spare time she can be found hiking through the forest surrounding the city of Atlanta or paddling along the Chattahoochee in her kayak.
Summer Camp Teacher Information
Rachael Bruss has been teaching at Dunwoody Nature Center since 2017. She has a BS in Early Childhood Education from Brenau University and has been teaching for 10 years. Currently, she is a kindergarten teacher in Brookhaven. She enjoys hiking and loves searching for the perfect waterfalls!
Hannah Campbell is a recent UGA grad with a BS degree in Environmental Health Science and a minor in Ecology. Through providing educational programs with the DNC and Cobb County Water Department, she became passionate about developing scientific literacy and love of nature in children of all ages. Hannah is very excited to share the wonders of the outdoors and the magic of science to all the kids coming to camp!
Lauren Girard has been teaching art in the Metro-Atlanta area for five years after earning a BFA in Art Education from Georgia State University. Education has always been her passion, and she is very excited to share it with the campers at Dunwoody Nature Center! When not teaching, Lauren enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, and spending time with her two cats, who also like to explore the outdoors!
Caitlin Sabers has worked at the Dunwoody Nature Center since 2015. She teaches nearby at Woodland Elementary during the school year. She graduated from Georgia State University with a dual certification in Early Childhood Education and Special Education and loves teaching year-round! As an avid hiker, runner, and camper, she enjoys sharing her love of the outdoors while educating young minds. She is always excited to take your camper along on her next adventure!
Bonita Y. Cason-Atlow has been a Lead Educator at Dunwoody Nature Center (DNC) since 2017. She holds an Associates Degree in Business and has worked as a Teacher’s Assistant at a private school for the last two years. Bonita enjoys helping others and volunteers her time and talents whenever possible. Bonita’s hobbies include teaching children’s yoga, meditation, tennis and she has a passion for gardening and nature.
Emily Tabb holds a BA in Education, and is passionate about non-traditional education. She has over 10 year of experience working with kids, including 8 summers working at summer camps. In fact, she met her husband at summer camp! Emily’s constructivist approach to education often lends itself to teaching students through silly songs, games, and other hands on activities. She and her 4 year old son, Calvin, are very excited to be a part of Dunwoody Nature Center summer camp this summer!
This is Leah Smith’s first summer teaching at Dunwoody Nature Center and she is super excited! During the school year, she teaches the gifted program to grades 1-5 at Woodland Elementary. She received her Early Childhood Education degree from KSU in 2008. Leah enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her daughter (21 months), husband, and dog!
Elizabeth Bowman is a Speech and Language Pathologist who works with children of all ages. She has her Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and English. Elizabeth has worked for three other summer camp programs and loves nature and summer activities!
Allison Sockwell has been teaching at Dunwoody Nature Center since 2017. She has a BS in Special Education from Georgia College and State University and has been teaching for 3 years. Currently, she teaches 3rd-5th grade students with moderate autism. She enjoys hiking, camping, and any other fun outdoor activity!
Sharon Kalahar has been an elementary school teacher for over 30 years. Through travel experiences on 5 continents she has enjoyed learning about different cultures, natural resources and animal habitats. Sharon is looking forward to her second summer as an educator at Dunwoody Nature Center, along with gaining new insights about nature with the campers.
Jessy Garris is the Media and Educational Technology Instructor (fancy word for librarian) at Woodland Elementary. She is passionate about reading, hiking, and conservation sciences. She hopes to help young nature enthusiasts ignite and nurture their sense of wonder for the outside world. Someday, Jessy plans to become a park ranger for the National Park Service. This will be her third year as a summer camp instructor at the Nature Center, and she is so excited to greet the campers!
Heather Wickham has been a Lead Educator with the Dunwoody Nature Center since 2011. She has a B.S. in Secondary English Education and a M.Ed. in Learning, Design, and Technology in K-12. Although her primary experience is with teenagers, she loves the opportunity of sharing summer camp with kids of all ages. Whether we’re exploring nature, creating crafts, or hypothesizing an experiment, it’s sure to be a great week!
Megan Clark graduated from Auburn University in 2010 and has been involved in environmental education ever since. She has worked at the Dunwoody Nature Center since 2013 and loves teaching summer camp!
Paul Raser has been working in nature education for 4 years now. He graduated in 2014 from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Economics and Statistics. Despite the degree in business, Paul loves working outdoors and with children. He especially likes working with wild animals like owls, snakes and opossums. In his spare time he enjoys running, doing yoga and eating fancy cheese.
Will West has spent the last year studying environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and has a passion for nature. He loves working with kids and helping them to find a love for the great outdoors. Will loves talking about conservation and sustainability. You can usually find him in the classroom, on the trails, or napping in his hammock by the river.
Ashley Rico is a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist at a local elementary school. She received her Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Tennessee and her Master’s of Science at Tennessee State University. She has a passion for teaching children and watching them learn and grow. Ashley enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and exploring the great outdoors.
Sue Hebda has taught at Dunwoody Nature Center since 2012. She has taught young children at Dunwoody Baptist Preschool and for the last 15 years at Dunwoody United Methodist Preschool, specifically the kindergarten class for the last 5 years. Her favorite subjects are science and nature, so teaching young children at the Nature Center is a special way to spend the summer!
Lisha Wedderburn has been teaching at the Dunwoody Nature Center since 2011. She has a BS degree with environmental focus and has taught informal education in nature centers and on the trail. Lisha enjoys sharing her love of the outdoors and educating everyone about nature around us.
Bethany Hull is excited to be teaching at Dunwoody Nature Center for the first time this summer! She has an environmental science degree from Georgia College and State University and has previously spent eight months working with ring-tailed lemurs. She loves camp because it lets her be outside enjoying nature and sharing her passion with campers.
Terri Carter loves the Dunwoody Nature Center! She has taught summer programs and ECO classes here for the last three years and has worked with children teaching Pre-k at Midway Methodist Church in Alpharetta for the past 21 years. She also drove a school bus for ten years with Forsyth County, driving grades kindergarten thru high school and special needs children during the summer. She has two grown daughters and 4 dogs.
