Our Story

Prior to joining PEI in late 2016, Kathryn oversaw STEM curriculum for the Anchorage School District, where she designed the progression for K-12 STEM education to align with career pathways and Next Generation Science Standards. Before her role as STEM Curriculum Coordinator, she was a classroom teacher for 12 years. She began her career as a research biologist and has served in leadership roles with state and federal agencies as well as nonprofit, for-profit, and Tribal organizations in Alaska and Washington State and has served on several nonprofit and association boards. She holds a BS in biology from Lewis and Clark College, an MA in educational assessment with a focus on science performance assessment from Alaska Pacific University, and a certificate of educational leadership from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

With PEI since early 2015, Denise has spent 30 years in the natural resource education arena as a nonformal conservation and environmental educator, teacher trainer, outreach specialist, and nonprofit director. She holds a BS in secondary science education and a BS in resource recreation management from Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. 

Before joining PEI, Gail worked for various local nonprofits in positions ranging from Office Manager to Department Director in Administration & Finance. As PEI’s Finance and HR Director, she is responsible for managing all aspects of finance and business operations, including accounts payable and receivable, budget, accounting and financial reporting, grant management, human resources, employee benefits, payroll, and risk management and compliance. She enjoys the range of duties required in a small nonprofit and the ability to learn many different aspects of nonprofit management. She is also grateful for the opportunity to work for an organization with a positive mission that impacts the teachers and students of Washington State. Gail is half Puerto Rican and a proud descendent of the Nisqually and Colville Indian Tribes.

When not at PEI, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, camping and completing home remodeling projects.

With PEI since early 2020, Katie is an Olympia transplant, originally from Northern California. She holds a B.A. in Education from The Evergreen State College and a Masters in Education from Antioch University. She has a wide range of professional experience, but since moving to Olympia, she has honed her passion for connecting children to nature experiences, a direct result of watching her own children blossom in the Pacific Northwest. Both her education and recent experience in local nonprofits have paved the way to her position as Associate Director of Program with PEI. She is excited to support educators in creating engaging outdoor learning experiences for children and youth in Washington!

Heidi Smith has been working with PEI as a contractor since 2017 before joining the staff as Associate Director of Communications and Development. A California transplant by way of Hawaii, her passions include writing, education and the outdoors.  

After a decade of working with historically underserved students in the Hawaiian islands, Washington State and abroad, she earned a Masters Degree in Teaching from The Evergreen State College. She spent the following 13 years in the classroom teaching middle and high school English and E.L.L. and serving as adjunct faculty at Bates Technical College, Saint Martin’s University and South Puget Sound Community College. Along the way she has been the editor-in-chief of an international quarterly magazine, a high school soccer coach, a humor columnist, a counselor and an eight-time trail crew leader with the Student Conservation Association. When not working, she can be found hiking, cheering on professional women’s soccer teams, gardening or relaxing on her (usually!) sunny deck in Yelm.  

Rachel joined PEI in September of 2022. She is a Seattle native with a love for the PNW and any time spent outdoors regardless of the season. She is confident that real education starts in your backyard/neighborhood through observation, exploration, and play. 

Outside of work, Rachel spends time camping, gardening, hiking, trying new foods and doing some sort of home improvement project. She is excited about joining PEI and looks forward to supporting coordinators so that more educators feel empowered to teach outdoors and connect students with their environment. She believes there is a connection that each of us has with the earth and anytime we get to pause and observe it, or even learn/work in it, we should.

Heather joined PEI in 2022 as Green Jobs Coordinator. In this role, she strengthens statewide green FieldSTEM career pathways in partnership with employers, career and technical colleges, and higher education institutions. She resides in Ellensburg and is excited to connect with PEI’s partners across Washington.

Heather completed her M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy with a specialization in Leadership for Sustainability Education, and a B.S. in General Science, both from Portland State University. She also completed a Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Certificate with Toby Hemenway. Heather has developed a variety of experiential educational programs and has served in an advisory capacity for organizations that focus on sustainability, student development and leadership, STEM careers, civic engagement, and higher education. Outside of work, Heather enjoys gardening, creating art, reading, writing, and traveling.

Lourdes, a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City, began her career as a community biologist in Baja California, Mexico, where her passion for integrating local knowledge and Science led her to work with local fishing communities to design and improve protected natural areas in Mexico. She also designed and implemented high school Science programs in Mexico City.  In 1995, after completing a Master’s degree in Marine Science and Education at the University of Washington, she continued her work to advance citizen science and environmental education both through Mexican and U.S. organizations.

Since 2014, as a Bilingual Science teacher, Washington State Science fellow, and PEI Science grade-level coordinator, Lourdes has promoted teacher participation in STEM Science Programs and students’ field experiences in Washington State. Lourdes continues to support educators to successfully engage in the PEI Science programs to advance scientific literacy by promoting equitable, outdoor, locally and culturally relevant, integrated, career and real-world connected, science education.

Currently residing in Spokane, WA, Michelle hails from Alaska. Her education started with a scholarship to study concert piano and culminated with a BS degree in Agronomy from University of Idaho. She worked for the USDA as an underwriter throughout the Pacific Northwest and moved into national training for USDA programs. She started teaching secondary science in Spokane, became National Board certified, and was honored with Distinguished Educator in 2003 and Spokane Teacher of the Month in 2015. She served on state committees working on state assessments for OSPI. In 2019, She launched the Walking Project: an Experiential Alternative to In-School Suspension. She is currently working with Pacific Education Institute as a curriculum writer and workshop facilitator under ClimeTime grant.

Amy enthusiastically joined the PEI team in late 2021. She earned a BS in Plant Biology from University of California, Berkeley and is completing a Master of Sustainability Leadership degree at Arizona State University. She carries a true love for nature and a desire to facilitate outdoor experiences that spark lifelong curiosity. She has spent a good portion of the past 25 years working with youth (and adults) in a diverse range of environmental education settings and has especially enjoyed exploring ecological restoration, composting, pollinator/native plant gardening, stream monitoring, and more recently civic participation. She holds a special place in her heart for the tiny living things of the world that often go unnoticed. Amy believes solutions-focused community involvement provides a foundation for active hope, something we humans essentially need.

Amy started with PEI in July of 2022. She is the Northwest FieldSTEM Coordinator serving educators, schools and districts in Whatcom, Skagit, and San Juan counties.

Amy loves the intersection of education and environmental stewardship and spent the last ten years as a general education teacher of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Blaine Elementary. Each year she created outdoor learning experiences for her students, integrating content areas and using Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) strategies for language learners. She led the after school club “Forks and Trowels” where students learned to prepare, cook, and celebrate fruits and veggies, and she volunteered on the school’s Salish Sea Interest Committee, working with other teachers to scaffold environmental education K-12.  She believes that all students should have access to rigorous science instruction that is anchored in “place” and enables students to become critical thinkers and stewards who know, love, and protect their environment. 

She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education and M.Ed. in Environmental Education, and partnered with the Whatcom Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum (GSSC) to create Blaine Kids on the Beach, a day of learning about Birch Bay beach ecology for 5th graders. When not tinkering on her gardening projects and yard, you can find her mountain biking on Galbraith mountains, or spending time with her friends and family around Whatcom County.

Hailing from ‘deep in the heart of Texas,’ Daniel pursued his passion for nature throughout his education and career starting with the National Ocean Sciences Bowl statewide competitions in high school. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Schreiner University where he interned for Upper Guadalupe River Authority. Before moving to Washington, Daniel worked across the Texas Hill Country in environmental education at Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, supporting domestic violence survivors for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and protecting endangered salamanders at the Austin Nature & Science Center.

In Washington he mentored youth by fostering green job skills in solid waste mitigation and urban ecological restoration through WA Department of Ecology and Forterra. He also tutored child and adult students in the Family and Child Education (FACE) Program at Chief Leschi Schools. Daniel comes to PEI after earning his Master of Environmental Studies from the Evergreen State College and currently serves as Vice President of the Board for Tahoma Audubon Society, focusing on providing equitable nature experiences for the Pierce County community.

Emily joined PEI in January of 2023 and is the Lower Columbia FieldSTEM coordinator serving districts, schools, and teachers across Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties.  

Originally from Southern Oregon, Emily moved to New York to earn a BS in Biology with minors in chemistry and mathematics from Adelphi University. She then continued her MS through intertidal and invertebrate ecology research off the North Atlantic Coast focusing on predator-predator prey interactions and the impact of invasive species on the local communities. Emily moved back to the west coast, earned her teaching certificate through the University of Washington’s UACT program, and has taught middle school math and science in Washington for six years. She is passionate about all students having access to high quality education and believes that learning outdoors, through hands on experiences and play are keys to engaged and thoughtful citizens. With her own kids, her family strives to reach the 1000 hours outdoor challenge each year and their favorite outdoor activities include hiking, kayaking, rafting, and camping.  

Julie is a naturalist, writer and beekeeper who has worked for PEI since 2014.  Her goal as an educator is to help teachers experience the mystery and magic of everyday places – she says “students do not need to travel to stunning landscapes to find something to study; science is happening everywhere.”  Julie has been connecting children and adults to natural places since 1996 and has worked in a variety of settings, including narrating tours of the Lynn Canal in Alaska, teaching at a residential environmental education camp in Maine, and working as the environmental education specialist at Cape Disappointment State Park.  She has a BA in Recreation Management from Western Washington University, with a focus in Environmental Education and Outdoor Recreation.

John grew up in Seaview and Long Beach and went to high school in Camas. He received a BA in Biology from Pacific Lutheran University and an MS in Biology from the University of Southern California where he worked in the “Worm Lab”. He worked as a curatorial assistant in the Invertebrate Department of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology caring for one of the world’s largest spider collections. After teaching science in private schools for several years he worked as a non-formal science educator in upstate New York and was a deputy director for the Gannett School of Science and Man, a life-long learning program in the Rochester Museum and Science Center. He got a teaching certificate in secondary science through Connecticut’s Alternate Route to Certification II while delivering watershed education programs as a naturalist on the Schooner Quinnipiack. Returning to Washington in 2005, he taught science at Forks High School until he retired from classroom teaching in 2021.

He is a representative to the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee and the alternate to the Education Seat on the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. He also is a life member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators. While he was a classroom teacher he built on what he learned in PEI workshops to engage his students in learning science that was happening on the Olympic Peninsula and was named FieldSTEM Teacher of the Year by PEI in 2020.

His natural habitat is outdoors, gardening or walking beaches, preferably with his grand-children. During the monsoon season, he likes to read, cook, and fold origami.

Lara is an environmental educator, biologist, and artist who joined the PEI team in 2021. She is passionate about engaging youth with nature in ways which nurture community, identity, and a fierce sense of place. She has an extensive background in formal and informal environmental education, bringing over twenty years of experience teaching and designing environmental and sustainability programming in the Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay regions. She also served as a backcountry guide for at-promise youth and was the founding director of K-12 Green Schools and STEM programs in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Prior to joining PEI, she taught middle school environmental science in Olympia. Lara holds a BS in biology and an MS in molecular ecology. 

Outside of her work with PEI, Lara is an avid backpacker, skier, gardener, rockhound, folk artist, chicken herder, mountain lake swimmer, and dog mama. 

With PEI since mid-2019, Megan earned Bachelors Degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Central Washington University. As a certified teacher, she has taught in traditional and non-traditional public and private high schools and elementary settings, including helping migrant students graduate and helping K-4 Summer Literacy Camp students improve their reading. As a Science Fellow, Megan worked with ESD 105 and helped to lead workshops on implementing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and provided quality resources and support for local teachers. Megan also worked in the Pacific Science Center’s “Science on Wheels” program where she developed and delivered K¬-8 STEM curriculum to students across Washington State. She’s excited to dig into everything that PEI does to support our educators, communities, and environment!

Molly is an Oregon transplant who joined PEI in 2020 and rejoined in 2022.  She believes that nature has the ability to improve human health, foster strong connections to the world around us, and provide more equitable learning spaces. She is passionate about outdoor education and has seen how strong community partnerships can open doors and offer opportunities to students.  One of her goals in life is to share this passion with children and adults alike.  Bringing over twelve years of experience as a formal educator, Molly is a life long learner and continues to take courses from science literacy to aboriginal world views and healthy food systems.

Prior to joining PEI, Molly taught at a public Montessori school in Tacoma and was a K-3 Support Specialist for Bethel Schools.  She holds a B.S in Political Science, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and a 6-12 Montessori Teaching Certificate.

Outside of work, Molly enjoys spending time with her family, frequenting local farmer’s markets, digging in the garden with her chickens, walking on a beach and forest bathing.

Tressa has been with PEI since July 2020. She earned a BA in Government from the University of Texas and a Master of Marine & Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the PEI team, Tressa worked as a Washington Sea Grant Hershman Marine Policy Fellow with the Washington Department of Ecology. She has taught literacy and special education in public schools and has worked with informal educators for NOAA Science Camp in Seattle. Tressa is passionate about environmental literacy, engaging outdoor experiences, and place-based learning, and looks forward to supporting educators throughout the region!

Education/Degree(s):
B.A. English & American Studies, University of Rochester
Master’s in Teaching, John Hopkins University

Area of Expertise: Thinking Skills, Habits of Mind, Integrated Curriculum, Literacy, Common Core ELA.

Education/Degree(s):

B.Sc. Geology and Zoology, Minor in Chemistry, University of Adelaide, South Australia

Masters in Public Health in Environmental Health & Community Health Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii 

Ph.D. in Urban Education: Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Science and Environmental Education, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Area of Expertise: Helping school districts integrate PEI’s “field investigation” models into their science inquiry programs, projects with a focus on wildlife issues, program evaluation and assessment of student learning in environmental education and education policy.

Education/Degree(s)

B.S. Biology, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana

M.S. Forest Ecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Teaching Certification, Antioch University, Seattle, Washington

Areas of Expertise:  Developing and delivering science and environmental education professional development with an emphasis on investigations and engineering practices in the field. Co-developing integrated curriculum including Field Investigations; Drain Rangers; and Healthy Forests, Healthy Waters, schoolyard investigations and ELA performance tasks. Former member of the Washington Science Assessment Leadership Team developing, range finding, and reviewing test items for the state science exams. Pat received the Project Learning Tree Educator of the Year award in 2001 and the Project Learning Tree Gold Star award in 2015.

Currently residing in Vancouver, WA, Barbara has 30 years of workforce development experience in the state. Since serving as Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy at Centralia College, she was awarded Emeritus status there. Her board and committee service includes organizations such as Corporation for A Skilled Workforce; IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Community College Outreach; WA Joint Center for Deployment and Research in Earth Abundant Materials (JCDREAM); National Hydro Foundation; WA HB2227 Evergreen Jobs Leadership Team advising the Governor and Legislature on federal ARRA investments in clean energy; National Commission on Energy Policy’s Task Force on America’s Future Energy Jobs; U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Commission Green Jobs Roundtable; U.S. Department of Education delegation to Germany’s Global Sustainable Education Training and U.S. Canada Clean Energy Forums.

Randall James, a lifelong resident of Spokane, is the founder and was the director of the Institute of Science and Technology at North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. Mr. James earned his BS in Biology from the University of Oregon and his MS in Biology from Eastern Washington University. He was a public high school science teacher for thirty-nine years. Randall, winner of numerous national, regional, and state recognitions, has focused for the past twenty years on immersing students in authentic, novel research opportunities in the Institute. His primary research focus was Conservation Genetics and Molecular Ecology. He absolutely loves teaching his students of all ages and believes he has the best job in the world — being an educator. Randy firmly believes all of his students are YATOs, (You Are The One), and they will solve the world’s greatest challenges.

Residing in Olympia, Hattie is currently a classroom teacher in an alternative program. She has been working with PEI since July 2019. In addition to her work at PEI, Hattie has been a science kit master trainer for ESD 123, a member on several science working groups at OSPI and was a STEM teacher in the Pasco School District. Hattie has a passion for elementary science education, equity in science learning and diving deep into the Next Generation Science Standards. Hattie is excited to continue providing professional learning opportunities to teachers of Washington state that want to connect their students to the environment and community through real-world science learning!